Walter Reed Annex
By marie2052
@marie2052 (3691)
United States
August 17, 2011 11:11pm CST
It is time to tell a story when you realize you are a part of history yourself.
In 1969, watching the news and seeing Walter Cronkite in the Vietnam Fields and a chopper near to evacuate wounded, I remember telling my dad one evening that I wanted to go in the Army and take care of the men that were hurt. I was already a nurses aide for 2 years working.
Next day he took me to the recruiters when I got out of school.
That in itself is another story.
But after basic training and advanced individual training, I was stationed at Walter Reed in Washington, D.C.
I was taken to Walter Reed Annex otherwise known to us as Forest Glen Annex.
It was like living in a fairy tale.
No two buildings were alike, and while the upper enlisted E5 and above got to live over a beautiful ballroom setting, our building that set off across from the main building we walked to under a covered bridge.
Forest Glen Annex is no longer the place as I knew it. I remember seeing a building where a Colonel and his family lived. If you stood off from it, it resembled a steamship to me.
There was also a building that had pillars in front of it putting you in the mind of the civil war era.
There was even a building that looked oriental called a pagoda.
It was an amazing place to live.
The ballroom was our day room where we had couches and a couple TVs, books to read, and a few tables if you wanted to play card games. The main floor of the ballroom was roped off and highly buffed. We were never allowed to walk across it.
I am linking to a few various pictures of where I lived during my enlistment at Walter Reed. I hope the few that enjoy history will find yet another turn of interest of Walter Reed.
Forest Glen was also home to wounded men that could leave a hospital bed but still in therapy and also lived on the grounds of Forest Glen.
http://www.ask.com/wiki/National_Park_Seminary
1 person likes this
1 response
@marie2052 (3691)
• United States
19 Aug 11
Glad you liked it.
As I said when I was in we did not live in the normal type barracks.
But whats even more funny is I didn't notice the difference when I started going to other bases. Pretty crazy how your youth does not notice what you do as you age.
1 person likes this