History Program Director and first Chief Historian for the US Department of Veterans Affairs
Mike Visconage serves as the History Program Director and first Chief Historian for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He joined VA in July 2019 and was charged with establishing a VA History Office and advancing the development of the National VA History Center as a central location for historical VA artifacts and archival materials.
Mike served in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, including deployments to Iraq as a military Field Historian and as Command Historian for Multi-National Forces. Before joining VA, he worked in a variety of private industry positions, implementing new programs and change-management initiatives. Mike was also an organizer and Co-Director of the Texas World War I Centennial Commemoration from 2015-2019.
Discover two new initiatives at the historic Dayton VA Medical Center (VAMC). Founded in 1867 as one of the original branches of the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, the site originally served Union Civil War Veterans. Today the Dayton VAMC provides world-class medical care on a National Historic Landmark Campus. This session will include information on the National VA History Center (NVAHC), which will occupy two historic buildings on the VAMC campus. Once complete, the NVAHC will be the central location for seminal artifacts and archives of historic significance from across hundreds of VA locations. The site will provide storage, preservation, and access to these materials, as well as a museum and education center. The VA will also present plans to look for private-sector partners to redevelop a series of vacant historic buildings on the Dayton VAMC campus.