Veterans’ home welcomes weary

May 2, 1888: Unwilling to put up with another cold East Coast winter, a Civil War veteran, Pvt. George Davis of New York became the first ex-soldier to arrive at the new National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (now the Veterans Affairs Center), taking up residence in a tent pitched on the 600-acre grounds.

The site, at what is now Wilshire Boulevard and the San Diego Freeway, was chosen by the government for its “climate and hygiene” from among more than 60 offers of free land, including all of Santa Catalina Island. Veterans did not have to be sick or wounded to live for free at the facility. Within a year after Davis’ arrival, 1,000 veterans would arrive at the home, including 100 elderly men from Northern California who marched 500 miles.