The Department of Veteran Affairs has had a major role in the lives of America's veterans for hundreds of years and is an important part of American military history.

2. The Department
of Veteran Affairs
is deeply rooted in
American history.
This timeline
highlights the role of
the VA in the lives of
America’s veterans.

3. 1636
The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony battled the Pequot
Indians. A law was passed to ensure that disabled soldiers
would be supported by the colony.

4. 1776
After encouraging enlistments in the Revolutionary War,
the Continental Congress started to provide pensions to
disabled soldiers.

5. 1811
Federal government authorized the first medical care
facilities for veterans. Officials expanded the veterans
assistance program to cover widows and dependents.

6. 1834
The first federally funded medical facilities
for veterans open.

7. 1873
The National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers
became the first government institution for honorably
discharged volunteer soldiers.

8. 1917
Congress expanded benefits for soldiers and veterans,
including insurance, disability compensation, home
loans, and vocational rehabilitation.

9. 1920
Three separate federal agencies administered benefits
and programs for veterans: the Bureau of Pensions of the
Interior Dept, the Veterans Bureau, and the National Home
for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

10. 1930
President Herbert Hoover signed Executive Order 5398,
consolidating all three agencies into one: the Veterans
Administration (VA).

11. 1944
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act into law, increasing benefits for World
War II veterans.

12. 1973
Conscription is ended, and the VA takes over the
National Cemetery System from the Dept of the Army,
except for Arlington National Cemetery.

13. 1989
President Ronald Reagan elevated the Veterans
Administration to a cabinet-level executive department
and renamed it the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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