VA Chaplain Service finds a "window" of opportunity to preserve history

David Olsen, a Maintenance Mechanic and master carpenter based at the VA’s Vancouver campus, recently created two shadow boxes displaying panels taken from the original stained-glass windows which were preserved from the original Barnes Hospital Chapel before the structure was torn down in 2007.

The shadow boxes are now on display in the Chapel, located in the Community Living Center (CLC) on the Vancouver campus. But Olsen remains humble about his contributions—instead crediting the original designers of the stained-glass panels.

“It’s not my artwork,” Olsen says. “These glass panels were made by people long before me. Maybe someone could find out more about the history of who and when these were made. I was just the person given the opportunity to save them.”

Indeed, VA Chaplain Greg Widmer, who is also a self-described historian, has looked into the history of the Chapels in the local area, and was the impetus behind Olsen’s creation.

“These pieces represent a shared history,” Widmer said. “Anything we can do to remind ourselves of our history is important.”

Working closely with local historian Katie Bush, of the Clark County Historical Society, Widmer was able to piece together an historical timeline dating back to 1851 with the construction of the Fort Vancouver Catholic Chapel, and eventually the Vancouver Barracks Chapel, built in 1892.

Widmer’s timeline includes the original Barnes Hospital Chapel, also known as the WWII Chapel, which was built on the Barnes Hospital Campus in 1942. A decade later, the chapel was relocated a quarter mile to the east to make way for expansion of the I-5 freeway and exit ramp to Fourth Plain Blvd. Widmer estimates the stained-glass panels were probably created or installed in the old chapel sometime shortly after the building’s dedication in December 1942.

The chapel was demolished in 2007 to make way for Building 18 and the new entrance to the Vancouver VA campus. The current chapel located in the CLC was dedicated that same year. Barnes Hospital, which was named in honor of General Joseph K. Barnes, MD, Surgeon General, who was stationed at Fort Vancouver during the Civil War. The Vancouver Barracks Station Hospital became part of the Portland Veterans Administration Hospital in 1955.

The only remaining pieces now on display in the Museum from the original WWII Chapel are the very top of the steeple, a complete stained-glass window, and a pair of large mosaic murals created by Italian POWs who were interred at the Vancouver Barracks during WWII. There is also another set of three large stained-glass windows currently stored in the Vancouver VA warehouse. The two shadow box panels created by Olsen were salvaged from one of these windows.

The shadow box panels now on display at the Vancouver VA Chapel are set in lighted shadow boxes. Roy Long, Maintenance and Repair Supervisor at the Vancouver VA Campus, said the combination of the intricate design with vibrant colors create visually captivating pieces which play with light and shadow when illuminated.

Long also appreciates how the VA honors local and regional history with artwork and displays at its Portland and Vancouver campuses and agrees with Widmer on how important it is for people to know the history of the VA in their region.

“It is extremely important for visitors to the chapel to understand the history of the original chapel,” Long says.

Long hopes to someday see the rest of the stained-glass windows now resting quietly in storage utilized in some kind of display.

“Maybe a local partner could donate their time and expertise to refurbish them in their entirety and we could display them with pictures at a couple locations on the campus,” Long says.

Chaplain Widmer draws a parallel between the timelessness of history and spirituality itself, using the artwork created by Olsen as a metaphor.

“These pieces are a reminder of the core human desire for transcendence,” Widmer says. “I’d love for Veterans to think about the VA not just for their physical or mental health, but also for their spiritual health. Connecting with history for many is deeply spiritual."

The VA Portland Health Care System's Chaplain Service held a dedication ceremony for the two framed stained-glass artwork pieces on Nov. 24, 2025 at their Vancouver campus. About 20 people were in attendance, including a WWII Veteran currently residing at the Community Living Center (CLC).