AVHC News
AVHC’s new Video
We have just finished a new video that highlights the mission of AVHC. Thanks to Dave Neuhardt for hosting it.
Photos from the Beer Garden Party
The AVHC Beer Garden Party last night at Troll Pub was a great success. We filled the place, had a lot of fun, and raised some funds for our mission of preserving and restoring the historic buildings at the Dayton VA. Thanks everyone for coming out for this Party With...
A Beer Garden Party!
$10 cover charge at door will benefit the mission of the American Veterans Heritage Center. Imagine: "In the chill night air our Civil War ancestors sat around their campfires sharing stories of the battlefield, remembering their fallen comrades and thinking of home....
Fisher House Dedication
Exciting news! The dedication for the Fisher House has been set - Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 2 pm. You can get your free tickets to the dedication on Eventbrite. Click Here to Learn More. Here's a description of the event: You are cordially invited to the Dayton VA...
Gettysburg Gate is Open
The Gettysburg entrance is now open once again. If you use 35 West, take the Gettysburg exit. You will now access the Dayton VA straight across from this exit! Once in, your first left is the road to the Grotto Gardens. Parking is available in the lower area of the...
Good News From the Dayton VA
Good job, Richard! Keep spreading the GOOD NEWS! https://www.facebook.com/DaytonVAMC/videos/2163630090316523/
In the News
A story about the Dayton VA's Home Chapel in the Dayton Daily News.
Party with a Purpose
Please join us for an evening of mirth and merriment as we partner with “Party with a Purpose!” Help us to honor our military heroes!
Inside the Protestant Chapel
The Protestant Chapel, before and after. It took a lot of work to get the Chapel restored to it's original use. Today, it serves the spiritual needs of veterans on a daily basis. (Before photo courtesy AVHC volunteer Robert Makley)
Lincoln’s Promise Event
Thanks to everyone who joined us for today’s Lincoln’s Promise event at the historic Putnam Library at the Dayton VA. You can help us bring this memorial of The Great Emancipator to reality by donating to the AVHC or by purchasing a memorial brick.
Patriot Freedom Festival 2018
Join us at the Patriot Freedom Festival May 26-27 from 11 am to 6 pm. See you there!
Susan Pearson- Master Gardener & Grotto Volunteer
Susan Pearson April 10, 1954- December 24, 2017 Below is an excerpt from the most recent Newsletter from the Montgomery County Master Gardeners- a loving tribute to Susan Pearson Afternoon all. I have some sad news. One of the original Grotto Garden...
13th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival – Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Soldiers Home!
Our 13th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival is May 27-28, 2017 from 11AM – 6PM both days! The kick-off for the event is the Opening Ceremony on Saturday, May 27, 11 AM on the historic Band Stand, at which we will celebrate the Dayton VA’s 150th Anniversary with noted...
Dayton to become home to National VA History Center
Dayton has been selected to become the home of the National VA History Center. To learn more, take a look at this article in the Dayton Daily News:
Dayton VA 150th Anniversary Celebrations
The Dayton VA is celebrating its 150th Anniversary this year with events paying tribute to the Soldiers Home, the Veterans and their families who served and sacrificed for the past 150 years! Activities began in January and continue through December. Visit...
13th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival
May 27-28, 2017 – The Patriot Freedom Festival in 2017 celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the Dayton VA Medical Center, which was then known as the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The 2017 event, our 13th Annual Festival, will focus on 150 years of...
Grotto Garden Party
Our Garden Party in the Grotto was a great success! Many came to discover the beauty of the Grotto Gardens at our “Edwardian” period party. Great food and entertainment was provided as well as a charming setting and distinguished company on a lovely afternoon. Many...
12th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival
Our 12th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival is May 28-29, 2016 from 11AM – 6PM both days! The kick-off for the event is the Opening Ceremony, at which we will honor and recognize our “Women in the Military.” Throughout history women have not be recognized nor credited...
Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) will bestow its Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation March 8 honoring an extraordinary example of teamwork between government and nonprofit organizations seeking a common goal. The...
100 years ago…
Pancho Villa (5 June 1878-20 July 1923), a Mexican Revolutionary commander of the Constitutionalist Army’s “Division of the North,” was wreaking havoc against the Mexican Government. Villa is credited with decisive military victories in Mexica, leading to the ousting...
2015 Reflections 2016 Goals
January is traditionally a time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the year to come. A number of our American Veterans Heritage Center members were invited to send in their thoughts and we thank them for their submissions… Dennis Samic, AVHC, Executive Vice...
Do You Know The History Of Veterans Day?
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice or...
What Will You Do On Veterans Day?
With Veterans Day just a week away, many are making plans to honor our veterans at various venues across the Miami Valley. What will you do on Veterans Day? Miami Valley Military History Museum 9AM – 5PM, Tours and Open House; located at the Dayton VA Campus on Ohio...
“Getting To Know You”
Our volunteers have been hard at work! They set up information tables at many venues over the last month, to spread the word about AVHC and our activities and events, including the two 5K Runs we have on the VA Campus and the Patriot Freedom Festival. We are working...
2016 Patriot Freedom Festival News
BREAKING NEWS! The THEME for the 12th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival is “Honoring Women Veterans.” Our purpose is to recognize and honor our women veterans throughout the history of our country. The Festival will begin with our Opening Ceremony at which several women...
Dale Huffman
It is with sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our friend and AVHC Honorary Trustee and supporter, Dale Huffman. HUFFMAN, Dale Myers, age 79 of Miamisburg, passed away Saturday, July 25, 2015 at Kettering Medical Center following many years of illness. Dale was...
The VA grotto gets a makeover
OSU Master Gardeners help with landscape projects (Originally published in the Dayton Daily News on Friday, July 5th, 2013) DAYTON — Volunteers at the Veterans Administration Old Soldiers Home facility on Gettysburg Road in Dayton are digging up the bones of a garden...
Charles Harper is Reunited with the Grotto Gardens
Some months ago, several of us were at the VA Archives doing some research when Tessa Kalman (the woman knows everything about the VA history) showed us a partial Dayton Daily News article about a member of the VA Grounds crew in the early 1980s. While clearing some...
2015 Patriot Freedom Festival
The 11th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival – held May 23-24, 2015 was a great success because of our many volunteers, reenactors, entertainers, and our vendors! We had an estimated 10,000 attend the Festival this year – much of that due to the advertising we did with...
11th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival
We cannot begin this newsletter without acknowledging the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, April 30, 1975. To all of our military who served, but especially those who served “in country,” we say a heartfelt, “WELCOME HOME” and “THANK YOU” for your sacrifice and...
Welcome to the Dayton Grotto Gardens!
The Ohio State University Extension Montgomery Master Gardeners have worked very hard to bring the Grotto Gardens on the campus of The Dayton VA Medical Center (DVAMC) back to life. The Master Gardener Volunteers became involved in the Grotto Gardens restoration...
Focus On Our Volunteers!
Louise Stephens 1937 - 2014 Louise Stephens was a long-time volunteer for the Patriot Freedom Festival. She helped with so many different things, but the last few years, she was involved with the “AVHC Shop.” Louise knew more about the history of the Dayton VA Medical...
State Historic Preservation Office Awards
Each year, the State Historic Preservation Office recognizes achievements in historic preservation by presenting awards in Public Education and Awareness, and Preservation Merit. One of the 2014 Preservation Merit awardees is the American Veterans Heritage Center and...
Focus On Our Volunteers!
We are very proud of the accomplishments of our volunteers. Robert Kincses, a Marine Corps Veteran who is on our AVHC Board of Trustees as well as the AVHC Events Committee, is influential in bringing people together for a common cause. Robert has always been...
Volunteer Recognized in Special Ceremony
Michael Turner, a Marine Corps veteran, volunteers with the AVHC Events Committee. Michael is well-known throughout the Dayton VA community as a veteran, a patient and a volunteer. Mr. Turner served in the Marine Corp. with 1st Battalion, 4th Marines Alpha Co. at 29...
Grotto Garden and Tree Dedication Ceremony
The Dayton VA Medical Center recognized its donor’s contributions to the Historic Grotto during the “Grotto Garden and Tree Dedication Ceremony on Monday, August 18, 2014. The event was held in the Grotto near Building 320 in collaboration with the Greater Montgomery...
Putnam Clean-up Project
Thanks to AVHC volunteer Doug Bahun, all the surplus books have been cleared out from the first and second floors of the building! Over the years we've given books away, had sales at the PFF etc., but it would have taken forever to move all these. Doug contacted Chip...
Veterans Day DAY 5K Run/Walk/Roll – November 9
This 3rd Annual Veterans Day 5K at the Dayton VA is scheduled for Sunday, November 9 and starts at 2:30 PM. This will be the third year we have had this race in honor of Veterans Day and it will benefit the efforts of American Veterans Heritage Center (AVHC). If you...
Grotto Garden and Tree Dedication Ceremony – August 18
The Dayton VA Medical Center will recognize its donor’s contributions to the Historic Grotto during the “Grotto Garden and Tree Dedication Ceremony" on Monday, August 18, 2014 at 2:00 PM. The event will be held in the Grotto near Building 320 in collaboration with the...
10th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival
Our 10th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival was a milestone achieved. We had an estimated 6,000 guests who enjoyed music, vendors, living historians, food, and a beautiful weekend. We hope you were able to attend, but if not, you certainly missed a great event! The...
Come to our 10th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival!
Mark it on your calendar! Make your plans to attend our 10th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival! This is our major event every year and every year it gets better. We have a lineup of entertainment, events, activities, reenactors and vendors to be matched by no other...
Our Volunteers
Our dedicated volunteers are an essential part of our organization. The AVHC Events Committee works hard to bring events to the VA Campus. Our Board of Trustees is an all-volunteer group. We also have volunteers who work in the office a few times a week, and we have...
History of Bldg 120 Putnam Library
The Patient Library, or Putnam Library, (Bldg. 120) was erected in 1880 and was originally used as the Quartermaster's Building. In 1891, it was converted into a library to house the Putnam and Thomas Libraries. Both Libraries were originally kept in the Headquarters...
Historic Grotto Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Wednesday, July 3, 2013
By Robert Kincses July 3rd, 2013 was a historic moment at the Dayton VA Medical Center. The event was the Grotto Springs and Garden Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Hosted by the Dayton VA Medical Center, this event was attended by the Medical Center staff, representatives...
9TH Annual Patriot Freedom Festival Hailed A Success!
American Veterans Heritage Center’s 9th Annual Patriot Freedom Festival, which was held this past May 25-26, was enjoyed by approximately 4,500 guests and participants. We do hope you were able to attend. Be sure to mark next year’s calendar for our 10th Annual...
Restoration of Historical Dayton VA Grotto and Gardens to be Completed This Spring
By Robert Kincses May 2013, the Dayton VA Medical Campus will be completing the final work on the Grotto and Gardens located near the Anderson Gate at the Gettysburg Avenue entrance. The Grotto and Gardens were an early part of the development for the Soldiers Home...
Authors Book Signing April 27 At the Historic Putnam Library
On April 27 from 10 AM – 2 PM in the Historic Putnam Library, (Bldg 120) on the grounds of the Dayton VA Medical Center, the American Veterans Heritage Center and the Miami Valley Military History Museum will host twelve authors for our first Military Authors Book...
Miami Valley Military History Museum Supports Ohio’s first Vietnam Veterans Day
By Mark Conrad Forty years after the last United States troops left South Vietnam, Ohio celebrated its first Vietnam Veterans Day during a week long celebration from 26 to 29 March. While there is no national holiday to specifically honor Vietnam Veterans, Ohio was...
4 Freedom Equestrian Team Share and Care Program at the Dayton VA
By Mark Conrad Don't be surprised if, from time to time, you hear the whinnying of horses and the clip-clop of their hooves on the grounds of the Dayton VA Medical Center - it means you're in for a treat – a visit from the 4 Freedom Equestrian Team! Their support for...
Message from AVHC Board of Trustees President, Judge Walter Rice
By The Honorable Walter H. Rice Two thousand twelve was a banner year for the American Veterans Heritage Center, its members and its volunteers. In May, the Dayton VA rededicated the beautifully restored, historic Protestant Chapel on the VA campus, Lacking only the...