Featured Stories

On October 3, 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant visited the Central Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (NHDVS) in Dayton, Ohio, becoming the first post-Civil War president to visit a branch of the NHDVS. This visit and subsequent presidential engagements with NHDVS sites highlight the longstanding tradition of U.S. Presidents honoring and supporting Civil War Veterans.

For many Americans, including Veterans, Thanksgiving has long served as a time of gratitude. At the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (NHDVS), the holiday was often celebrated with a grand meal, musical performances, and other activities for the Veterans to enjoy.

The Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital cemented itself in Hollywood history as the filming location of The Men (1950). Directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Carl Foreman, the film tells the story of Ken Wilocek, a paralyzed Veteran struggling to come to terms with his disability and his need to accept help from others.

In the post-Vietnam era, Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals introduced a variety of treatments for Veterans grappling with addiction issues— including specialized units, self-help programs, and various drug dependency interventions. The rise in recreational drug use in the 1960s coupled with the greater availability of drugs in Southeast Asia, a prime region for opium and heroin production, fueled an epidemic among military personnel in Vietnam. This signaled a new era in the VA’s approach to addressing addiction among Veterans.

Native Americans have a long tradition of service in the United States military. Although Native Veterans were, in 1919, among the first groups of Native Americans to be extended U.S. citizenship, many still faced challenges obtaining and using their Veteran benefits. This was in part due to changing Federal policies affecting tribal groups.

Over the past 250 years, America’s Veterans have faced challenges that are persistent, yet unique to each generation. Substance abuse and addiction are examples of challenges that have long affected Veteran communities. America’s first opioid [...]

Often regarded as the first modern war, World War I was the first conflict to use machine guns, tanks, planes, and chemical warfare on a mass scale. This, coupled with the international nature of the conflict, led to unprecedented casualties on the battlefield.

During the Civil War, the U.S. military was quickly overwhelmed by the need to care for hundreds of thousands of wounded and disabled soldiers. These wounds included mental illness, sometimes a result of war experiences or preexisting conditions complicated by injury or disability.

This is Part 6 of a 6-part short history of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management. This short history is also the first in a series of histories covering VA Central Office directorates.

This is Part 5 of a 6-part short history of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management. This short history is also the first in a series of histories covering VA Central Office directorates.

This is Part 4 of a 6-part short history of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management. This short history is also the first in a series of histories covering VA Central Office directorates.

In the early 1940s, as the United States mobilized for World War II, construction slowed at VA. When the country entered the war, building supplies grew more limited and the number of available laborers was reduced by enlistment.[1] As soldiers returned home, public criticism of the pace of VA construction and its approach to medical care increased.