Maj. Walter Reed

Although Maj. Walter Reed died on Nov. 23, 1902, his recent ìappearanceî at WRAMC was made possible by Col. Charles Callahan, Walter Reed Health Care System deputy commander for clinical services. Callahan portrayed the noted doctor during WRAMCís 99th anniversary celebration, held in front of the Heaton Pavilion (main hospital) May 1.

ìRemarkable, just remarkable,î Reed said as he looked over the medical center thatís his namesake. ìI remember this as all being farmland. This was crazy Bill Bordenís dream. Itís amazing,î he said in reference to Maj. William C. Borden, also an Army surgeon, colleague of Reed and driving force behind the building of Walter Reed.

It was Bordenís dream to have a large Army hospital as the nucleus of an Army medical center, graduate school, medical library and museum in the Washington, D.C. area.

Reed and Borden were on the faculty of the Army Medical School at the same time. Borden was also commander of the post hospital at the Washington Barracks, now Fort McNair (Washington, D.C.), from 1898 to 1907.

Borden found the conditions at the Washington Barracks post hospital substandard and dreamed of better facilities for patient care, teaching and research. His dream was further fueled by the death of his close friend Reed, who died following an emergency appendectomy at the Washington Barracks in 1902.

Last week, Reed congratulated WRAMC on its 99th anniversary. ìThat really is something ó this hospital has cared for veterans through six different conflicts, nearly half the nationís history.

ìI suspect these last few years have been the hardest of all,î Reed added. ìWhat we do is hard enough without having to deal with the scorn of the press and misunderstanding of the American public, but youíve emerged victorious. So Iím here, among other reasons, to say congratulations.î

As he looked around at the medical center, Reed said he sees much of himself in WRAMC ó a dedication to providing the military and their Families the finest care the nation can offer.

ìFor me, medicine in the military was kind of a means to an end,î Reed added. ìI didnít have a job, and I had to support a new wife. My medical degrees from Bellevue and the University of Virginia were not enough to get a job in New York City, so I joined the Army.

ìItís hard to believe that you think of me in association with a hospital because I pretty much didnít spend any time in hospitals,î Reed said. ìI was a frontier doc. My family and I lived out on the frontier [with assignments in Arizona, Montana, Nebraska and Minnesota]. My kids were born on the frontier. I spent three years doing what I think you call today, ëdetainee operation.í I took care of Geronimo and 400 of his fellow Apaches at Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama. Iíve cared for Wounded Warriors, Indians, civilians, contractors and their Family members and causalities from the Battle of Wounded Knee. I even know something about Warriors in Transition, I think you call them ó my brother lost his hand fighting at Antietam.î

Reed said he also knows the military can be, at times, a frustrating place to work. ìMy wife Emily and I went for a year without pay when the appropriation bill didnít past.î

Reed said it was while assigned to Johns Hopkins ìhe fell in love with teaching, training and education.î He then ìjumped at the opportunityî to teach at the Army Medical School.

ìIt was from that job the Army Surgeon General sent me to Cuba to conduct experiments on yellow fever at the turn of the century,î Reed said. Although he was separated from his Family for long periods, a close colleague died and another almost died, Reed said he was ìdriven to make a singular difference, some singular opportunity to alleviate human suffering in some small way. Thatís what drove me, and that is what I believe drives you, tooî he said to the WRAMC staff.

ìThatís why I see myself here today, in your faces,î Reed said. ìI came this morning to tell you donít give up on what we share in common. Donít give up on patient care. Our Soldiers and their Families are our nationís heritage. Donít give up on training and education. Our nurses, the Soldiers and the doctors you train are the future of our Army. And donít give up on research because itís the future of our science, our art and our craft.

ìThere are changes coming,î Reed said. ìAfter 99 years, weíve seen lots of changes here before, and each time weíve changed the hospital has grown stronger. It will again, but itís going to take dedication and devotion ó your dedication and devotion. The future rests on your shoulders. This is your time. This is your moment. This is your piece of the legacy. I challenge you to grab hold of it. Iíll be watching.î