Please click the link below to see a brief Veterans Day message from the Director, VA Portland Health Care System, Darwin Goodspeed.

Director's 2020 Veterans Day Message to our Veterans

At VA Portland Health Care System, we are honored to care for our Veterans who have served their country, their families and their caregivers.

In his 2^nd Inaugural address, President Lincoln charged us to care for our nation’s Veteran heroes, and today, we continue that commitment. For those Veterans who seek care in our facilities, Veterans Day is personal; as they will never forget their service- or the service of spouses and families often left behind during that service. It is personal for me too. I reflect on my own decision to join the Navy at 17 and my 21 years of active duty service. I think about the healthcare system entrusted to my leadership whose sole role is to care for those who volunteered to serve this great nation.

Selfless service is putting on the uniform…it is also serving those who served in uniform. As we celebrate the contributions of our nation’s heroes, I take special pride in the 4,500 VA Portland employees, many of whom are Veterans themselves, who care for nearly 100,000 of Oregon’s Veterans.

From all of us, at VA Portland Health Care System, Veterans Day is not just one day, celebrated each November, it’s our lasting commitment, every day. Thank you to our Veterans for your selfless contributions to our Nation.