It is with sadness that we heard the news that the Army’s flagship hospital, Walter Reed, is being closed in a cost-cutting move. The hospital, which POAM members have been visiting each year during National Police Week in Washington D.C., has been the object of a state-wide donation drive for several years now.
This past May found companies like Anchor Bay Entertainment, ABC Warehouse, Sony and Spartan Foods teaming up with POAM members—as well as the Detroit Athletic Club and anonymous donors—to provide a wide range of items to the servicemen and women recovering at Walter Reed. It was an emotional journey each year, a soul-searching one, and one that made us realize how much more we needed to do for the men and women who serve our country.
The more than 100 year old facility will have its operations consolidated with the National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda, Maryland) and a hospital facility at Fort Belvoir (Virginia). The sheer history of the place, all those who have recovered there as well as the people who have walked its corridors will only live on in our memories now and stories passed down through the years. It’s a loss we mourn, but also hope that the new facilities will measure up to the bar that’s been set.
For everyone who has ever served at Walter Reed, we salute you and thank you for your service.
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