Local VA Medical Center’s Tradition of Honoring WWII Veterans Adopted by Top VA Brass

The WWII Veterans that now adorn the walls at VA Central Office stem from a project that began more than 12 years ago at the Little Rock VA Medical Center, a project called, Wall of Honor. 

"This Wall of Honor traveled from Arkansas to the SECVA suite as a solemn reminder that we can never lose sight of who we're fighting for. From the Greatest Generation to our newest recruits, the mission remains the same. Deliver for Veterans. It's an honor to have them watching over our work."  Secretary Doug Collins - Department of Veterans Affairs

How did the Wall of Honor make its way to DC one might ask? The missing link was the VA Secretary’s Photographer Eugene Russell. Late 2025, Gene, a resident of Central Arkansas, reported to a medical appointment at his local VA Medical Center (John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas) like millions of Veterans do each year. A wall decorated with unique portraits caught his eye. He walked around the corner to see dozens more, and the next corner, hundreds lining the walls. All of which were portraits of WWII Veterans holding photographs from more than 80 years ago.  

Gene pulled an employee aside and asked about the portraits. He then established a line of communication and began planning to display the portraits in VA Central Office. Over the next several weeks he worked diligently with the VA Medical Center’s Public Affairs Officer, collecting dozens of photographs that he would soon display in Central Office, a number of them directly outside of VA Secretary Doug Collins’ Office.

The Project’s Roots

During the fall of 2013, three long-time Communications Staffers at Little Rock VA Medical Center, Brian House, Anita Plummer, and Jeff Bowen, stood in front of a wall within the facility called Veterans Serving Veterans, a wall that showcased Veteran employees. They wanted to do something new. Something that would be impactful.

Many ideas were considered. In the end, they determined their focus would be on the United States’ Greatest Generation, specifically those who served during the WWII service period (December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1946). Their new mission was to locate WWII Veterans and photograph them holding their service picture or a picture relevant to their service (ship or aircraft they served on, etc.). 

Little did they know, after they displayed the first 10-15 portraits of WWII Veterans on the newly minted Wall of Honor, they would never again have trouble finding WWII Veterans for the wall for the rest of their careers. From the beginning, it became a well-known initiative involving everyone that worked at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. 

Honoring the Greatest Generation

Over the years, the project expanded from a photograph to also presenting WWII Veterans with commemorative coins, and then later, a video series titled, A Lifetime of Service: WWII Veterans Stories. 

Since the project’s inception in 2013, several hundred CAVHS employees have contacted their Communications Office to ask if the WWII Veteran sitting in front of them has been photographed and coined. With each call, the Comms Office searches diligently through its past work to see if there is a new opportunity. 

Now, recently retired from VA, Jeff and Anita reminisce with current and past staff that assisted with the project. 

“I used to walk the halls and see people looking at the portraits, and I’d say let me tell you a story,” Anita said as she laughed and held back tears. “There is a story behind every portrait, and for a lot of those stories we had to do a little off-roading to get there!”

Stories about the tail gunner that was shot out of a plane and landed in a hayfield, the Navy Veteran who told them that he swabbed decks in the Navy, but not to tell his caregiver because she would put him to work, the Veteran with the dog named Bubba that was just as much part of the family as his own kin, and so many more.

“When I was taking those pictures, my goal was to capture that moment in time,” Jeff recalled. “It’s humbling to me that every time I walk those halls, I see people staring at those pictures. I know it is as much the subject matter as it is the photo.”

To date, the Wall(s) of Honor now includes 411 WWII Veterans displayed on 11 walls at both of CAVHS’ medical centers located at Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas. The latest expansion of the project occupies prime real estate at VA Central Office. 

The Veterans, a vast majority who have passed, watch over the VA and the care it delivers. From Veterans greeted at the door at a local VA Medical Center in Arkansas all the way up to the VA Secretary’s Office in DC where the highest-level policy decisions are made.