Friends of the Army Medical Department Museum and members of the AMEDD Museum Foundation gathered at the museum on July 25 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the first buildings constructed in 1989.
The event also celebrated the contributions of a founding member and chairman of the board emeritus of the AMEDD Museum Foundation, retired Brig. Gen. Charles Elia.
The AMEDD Museum Foundation staffed by volunteers donating thousands of hours raises the funds to plan, design and complete the construction. Once the construction is completed the new facilities are donated by the foundation to the US Army. The foundation has raised more than $10 million for construction and continues to raise funds to support future building, maintenance, artifact purchase and restoration and educational programs. Additional construction, in five phases, was completed in 1998, 2001, 2006 and 2013.
The museum occupies 45,000 square feet and includes two large exhibit halls, an auditorium, gift shop, research library, and an artifact conservation repository. Outdoor exhibits include a 1950 era railroad ambulance car, a military ambulance pavilion an aeromedical evacuation pavilion and a Medal of Honor Walk with amphitheater.
The original US Army Medical Department Museum was founded as a research facility in Washington D.C. known today as the National Museum of Health and Medicine of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
In 1920 the AMEDD Museum was re-established at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania with the Medical Field Service School. In 1946 the museum was transferred to Fort Sam Houston with the relocation of the Medical Field Service School to the post. The museum received official designation as the Army Medical Department Museum in 1955.
Despite official status, many museum artifacts were located throughout the United States because the existing Fort Sam Houston museum facility lacked sufficient space to exhibit, maintain and restore the artifacts. Because of this, a group of retired military officers and NCOs established the AMEDD Museum Foundation in 1978 to begin the work of funding and planning construction for the museum since funding for construction of military museums is not provided by the Federal Government.
The AMEDD Museum now exhibits more than 4,000 historic medial artifacts dating from the time of the Continental Army and the American Revolution to today's medical support of military operations around the world.
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