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Authorized by War Department General Order 48 on August 24 1943, Van Nuys General Hospital opened in early 1944 to serve as both a general and debarkation hospital. It was soon renamed in honor of Brigadier General Henry Patrick Birmingham (1854-1932), Medical Corps, U.S. Army. Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital operated until 1950 and was acquired by Los Angeles City Schools a year or two later for the token price of $1.00. In 1953, Birmingham High School opened as a 7-12 grade school. Part of the high school campus was used as an air defense missile battalion headquarters from April 1956 to November 1968. Photograph shows a little boy, accompanied by his mother, placing coins inside a tin can that a man holds on his lap. The unidentified man, possibly a war veteran, sits in a wheelchair and holds a sign that reads, 'Contribute Now - Veterans To Washington Fund - Help Save Birmingham Hospital.'" Photograph dated May 15, 1950.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Birmingham Veterans Administration Hospital (Los Angeles, Calif.) Veterans--United States Veterans--Services for--United States Veterans' hospitals--California--Van Nuys (Los Angeles) Hospitals--California--Van Nuys (Los Angeles) Wheelchairs--California--Los Angeles Fund raising--California--Los Angeles Women--California--Los Angeles Streets--California--Los Angeles Boys--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Group portraits Portrait photographs Valley Times Collection photographs
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