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On July 21, 1930, President Hoover signed Executive Order 5398 and the Veterans Administration was created. It would replace the Veterans Bureau and changed how the federal government managed the growing Veteran benefit system.

The American Civil War began in April 1861 and within a month, enslaved African Americans, like those from Loutre Island, seeking shelter behind Union lines shifted the war’s objectives - improving emancipation policies. NCA intern Jacob Klinger dives into the experience of Soldier John Pitzer, who served in this dynamic time period and is memorialized at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.

When The Best Years of Our Lives premiered in November 1946, the nation was in transition. World War II was over but the process of demobilizing and discharging 16 million service members was still ongoing. The movie depicted the challenges Veterans faced reintegrating into civilian society and it was so powerful that VA leader General Omar Bradley had the movie shown to employees at the central office.

This National Cemetery Administration (NCA) publication is the first in a series on topics related to World War II. For the VA History Office's first Memorial Day features post, take time to learn NCA's efforts to memorialize the men and women who served in that epic conflict and who now rest in cemeteries managed by VA.

Since Memorial Day was instituted in 1868 (initially as Decoration Day), this event at the end of May became an opportunity to dedicate new monuments in national cemeteries. National Cemetery Administration Senior Historian Sara Amy Leach details some of the approximately 100 monuments dedicated on this holiday.