Celebration of VA centennial begins
Photo by Dave Boyd Secretary of VeteranÕs Affairs
Anthony J. Principi spoke to a crowd of hundreds who
gathered at the VA Mountain Home centennial celebration
opening ceremony Friday morning.
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By Abby Morris
Star Staff
amorris@starhq.com
MOUNTAIN HOME -- Hundreds of people gathered Friday morning
to kick off the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the
Quillen Veterans Administration Medical Center at Mountain
Home.
Several local and state officials, as well as representatives
from the national government and dignitaries from the Royal
Hospital Chelsea in England, attended the ceremony which was
held Friday morning at the bandstand at the VA, which was
once the heart of activity at the Home when it first opened.
Among those who spoke at the opening ceremony of the centennial
celebration were Dr. Carl J. Gerber, director of the QVAMC;
Congressman Bill Jenkins; Senator Lamar Alexander; Secretary
of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Anthony Principi;
and Major John Tatham, of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
In his address to the crowd in attendance, Principi noted
the history of Mountain Home. "The halls and walls of Mountain
Home embrace a century of history. The men and women who come
here for treatment write the most recent chapters. Their scars
and injuries show the true cost of war," he said. "From our
heartland we sent our very best to fight against the very
worst. They come back to the heartland to start their lives
over and partake of the liberties they so selflessly defend."
Principi also spoke about the responsibilities our nation
has to ensuring that its veterans are properly cared for.
"They put their hearts into their service and we must do no
less for them," he said. "Each of them was willing to risk
their life for our liberties."
Jenkins also spoke to the audience of the history of the facility
and he told the crowd of how Mountain Home was part of a vision
by President Abraham Lincoln that he shared with the nation
in his second inaugural address. In his address, Lincoln spoke
of the nation's responsibilities to its veterans and the idea
he had for creating homes for veterans who had served the
Union during the Civil War and had become disabled.
Lincoln's original plan had included the funding of 10 such
homes but initially only eight were funded by the federal
government when the Board who oversaw the creation and management
of the Homes decided to not fund any additional Homes. "Even
in 1901, there were bureaucrats and there were boards and
in 1901 there was a board that said they had funded all they
were going to fund," Jenkins said. "The funding of Mountain
Home was largely due to the perseverance of one man."
Jenkins went on to tell those in attendance about how Walter
P. Brownlow, who served as Congressman from the First District
of Tennessee in 1901, had gone before the Board and in three
minutes convinced them to fund the creation of another branch
of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in the
First District.
Mountain Home also owes part of its success to another congressman
from the First District of Tennessee, former Congressman James
H. Quillen, who was largely responsible for gaining funding
to allow for the establishment of a College of Medicine at
East Tennessee State University which works very closely with
the VA Medical Center, both of which now bear his name.
At the ceremony, a memorial stone to commemorate the centennial
of Mountain Home was unveiled which bears both the original
seal of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers
and the current seal for the VA Medical Center at Mountain
Home. The memorial stone is located next to the walkway leading
up to the bandstand.
A variety of activities are planned from now through Oct.
4 to celebrate the centennial of the facility.
