A soldier salutes



Statue of General Jonathan Wainwright

My husband receives much of his medical care through the Veterans Administration. Usually he goes to the Richland outpatient clinic, but sometimes he has to go to the Jonathan Wainwright Medical Center in Walla Walla when he needs to see a specialist.

I usually go with him when he goes to Walla Walla as it provides a great excuse to get out of the house and away from the computer for a few hours.

The last time he went, it was a beautiful spring day out, so I decided to wander around the grounds instead of sitting inside a stuffy waiting room. The medical center goes back more than 100 years, with some of the original buildings still in use.  It was a great day for a leisurely stroll.

Buildings are located around a huge rectangular field that is punctuated with a large statue of Army General Wainwright in front of a flagpole with the U.S. and MIA flags that happened to be blowing in the breeze that day.

General Wainwright was born in Walla Walla in 1883, and was a career Army officer. After graduating from West Point in 1906, he joined the cavalry, and was later stationed in the Philippines. He served in France during World War I. He returned to the Philippines in 1940 and became a prisoner of the Japanese when he surrendered at Corregidor. A four-star general, he received the Medal of Honor. He retired from the Army in 1947 and died in Texas in 1953.