Photos by Bernard S. Little Ninety-nine balloons are launched to commemorate 99 years of Warrior Care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

On May 1, 1909, Walter Reed General Hospital opened it doors to its first 10 patients. The hospital consisted of 80 beds and a staff of five Army medical officers, 62 enlisted Soldiers and three civilians.

ìToday, we staff 247 beds with no fewer than 200 inpatients on average, and about 700 outpatients assigned to our Warrior Transition Brigade,î said Col. Dennis D. Doyle, deputy commander for administration for the Walter Reed Health Care System.

Walter Reed has approximately 600,000 outpatient visits annually, and treats about 13,000 inpatients a year.

ìToday, [we] celebrate 99 years of excellence in compassionate care, medical education and medical research,î Doyle said. ìWalter Reed is the home of warrior care and for many years, has been the flagship hospital of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD).î

Doyle said the medical care Walter Reed provides today, is ìa tribute to the legacy of medical excellence, personal character and professional achievements of Maj. Walter Reed.

ìToday, our warriors survive combat wounds at the highest rate ever thanks to Army, Navy and Air Force physicians, nurses, medics, researchers and logisticians who provide care and support to the wounded more quickly and effectively than ever,î Doyle said.

That knowledge, expertise and compassionate care is taken to the battlefield when WRAMC staff deploys, as well as shared with members of the Department of Veterans Affairs and others to help ease the transition of Wounded Warriors from military to civilian health care, Doyle said.

ìSo today, as we celebrate the 99th anniversary of Walter Reed Army Medical Center and begin our centennial, we are celebrating a legacy of medical achievement and excellence ó [which is] much more than just a building. And in three years when we case the colors at this campus, and then raise them at the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the Bethesda campus, we will again celebrate much more than a structure of concrete and glass.î

Maj. Gen. Carla G. Hawley-Bowland, commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and WRAMC, echoed Doyleís remarks.

ìThe ability to provide quality care for any number of American servicemembers injured in the defense of liberty around the globe, earned this hospital its reputation as the worldís premiere military medical facility,î said the Army Medical Corpsí first female general officer.

ìJust as we take pride in the legacy of all the great doctors, nurses and support staff that came before us, we also shape that legacy by building on our quality patient care, advanced medical knowledge and state of the art rehabilitation,î the general said.

She said WRAMC has treated more than 7,700 warriors wounded in the Global War on Terrorism, including more than 760 warriors with major limb amputations. More than half of these servicemembers have returned to duty.

ìAs we begin our countdown to our 100th anniversary, and to our upcoming transition to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda, we must take this year to think about what we have accomplished at Walter Reed, and what contributions each of us working here today will make to that legacy,î the general added.

ìAt this Walter Reed, and at the new Walter Reed, we will never leave a fallen comrade,î Hawley-Bowland said. ìAs we enter an era of joint medicine, we will never forget the warrior, and never forget the Soldier.î

Retired Col. Leslie Alstatt, composer of the ìBallad of Major Walter Reed,î performed the song with his group at the celebration. He also spoke of the Battle of Fort Stevens, which occurred July 11-12, 1864 when about 14,000 Confederate troops positioned themselves on grounds that are now part of WRAMC. Approximately 9,000 Union troops at Fort Stevens, about a mile south of WRAMC, were able to stop the Confederatesí attack on Washington, D.C., during which President Abraham Lincoln reportedly came out to observe the fighting on both days.

During last weekís celebration, three ìeyewitnessesî to Walter Reed history were also displayed ó Maj. Walter Reedís saber; the swagger stick of Reedís son, Maj. Gen. Walter Lawrence Reed; and the shovel used to break ground for the ìnew hospital,î now called the Heaton Pavilion, on Aug. 26, 1972.

The colors of the 99 balloons launched during the ceremony represented those in the new Walter Reed logo. The symbol of the torch and flame illuminates the legacy of knowledge, expertise and compassion in health care found at WRAMC. It also symbolizes the world-renowned academic training and medical research synonymous with Dr. Walter Reed. The flame burns continuously, ever vigilance and ready to light the way forward, building on the tradition of colors associated with WRAMC ó burgundy from the AMEDD and WRAMC crests; Army gold for the flame; and Army green to evoke WRAMC as part of the military.

Last weekís celebration was sponsored by the Walter Reed Society.