A Home for Our Heroes: A History of the Dayton Veterans Administration

It is an honor to welcome you to a special place. A place of honor, healing and home-like environment, the Dayton Veterans Home or as we know it today, the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In this book, you will learn that we are a site of care designated by one of our greatest Presidents, Abraham Lincoln. The Veterans Home was one of the first efforts by the federal government to establish a system of medical care for those who have sacrificed for our national defense. In 1865, there was no public health system. If you had money, you bought care from a physician. If you did not have money, you relied on the charity of family or churches. That system worked fine, but it was not enough to handle the surge of more than 1 million causalities from the Civil War. I hope you will find after reading this book that we have accomplished President Lincoln's vision to create a home for our most brave citizens, our Veterans.