VA History

World War I marked the fourth time Congress declared war, but became the first time America instituted a draft. The "Great War" also created a new series of benefits for Veterans--some that exist in different forms today.

Jo Ann K. Webb’s service as an Army nurse in Vietnam led to a career centered on Veteran-health policy and politics. In 1989, at age 41 with a slim portfolio, she was named Director of the National Cemetery System (now Administration). Webb became the highest-ranking woman at the Veterans Administration for two years, and one of only two women to head the organization. In an oral history interview made for Women’s History Month, Webb didn’t recall that her lofty position was a big deal at the time--but it was.

The Department of Defense and VA naturally share a relationship as military members transition to Veteran status. But for one group of Veterans, that relationship included the CIA and National Park Service. The Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, brings together these federal groups, as visitors learned Nov. 2 during the Prince William Forest OSS Day.

There are more than 1,330 monuments in NCA cemeteries. They take many shapes and sizes to honor the service and sacrifice of servicemen and women

May is the busiest month for NCA as it mows, trims, waters, and fertilize thousands of acres of grass to ready its 136 cemeteries for Memorial Day events.

The team responsible for studying the historic tunnel presented its findings and alternatives to DNCSC and NCA as the first step toward rehabilitation.

On April 26, 1922, a board of officers adopted a new headstone design for all graves except for those of the Civil War and Spanish-American War.

 The majority of our nation's presidents hold the distinction of once being called a Veteran before they ever held the [...]

25 Medal of Honor recipients gathered in the Oval Office to be honored in commemoration of National Medal of Honor Day.

During this year’s Black History Month, let us honor and celebrate all African American Veterans who have risked, and often sacrificed, their lives in service to this great nation.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signed the legislation that created the National Asylum (Home) for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and one [...]

The files were stored in cardboard boxes stacked on steel shelves lining the sixth and top floor of a large, [...]