The Virginia Department of Veteran Affairs will open a new care center for veterans in Fauquier County next year.

The new clinic, which is currently near the end of its construction phase, is being built on the former Vint Hill Farm Property. In 2017, state officials told us construction was set to begin.

The clinic, which will be known as the Puller Veterans Care Center, is one of two new locations being built by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services. The second will be located in Virginia Beach and will be known as the Jones and Cabocoy Veterans Care Center.

Both locations were chosen because of large veterans populations living nearby. The Fauquier clinic sits 13 miles from Manassas, which also has a large concentration of veterans.

The new centers are being built on property that was donated to the commonwealth for the purpose of creating these clinics. They will operate as long-term care facilities which will offer in-patient nursing care, Alzheimer's and memory care, as well as short-term rehabilitation care for veterans.

The centers will include amenities such as private rooms with bathrooms, a beauty and barbershop, a pharmacy, activity rooms and lounges, a library, and a game room.

"With the addition of the two new veterans care centers, VDVS will have centers nearby most veterans throughout the state," says Jeb Hockman, VDVH spokesman. "Nothing is more important than paying back our veterans for their unselfish service to protecting our freedoms."

The Puller Center is named for the Puller Family whose members have served with distinction in the U.S. Armed Services. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller saw action as a Marine in Central America, World War II, and in the Korean War before retiring in 1955. Gen. Puller is only one of two men to receive the Navy Cross a record five times which among other accolades makes him one of the most decorated soldiers in Marine history.

His son, Lt. Lewis B. Pulley Jr., also served with distinction in Vietnam in 1968 where he was awarded the Purple Heart for saving his platoon after he set off a trap which caused him to lose both legs, his left hand, and several fingers on his right hand.

Toddy Puller, who served in the Virginia General Assembly from 1992 to 2016 and was married to Lewis Puller, pushed for the new veterans care facility in Northern Virginia. When she retired, she represented portions of Fairfax, Prince William, and Stafford counties in the Virginia Senate. 

The VDVA is responsible for the welfare of the more than 720,000 military veterans who live in the state of Virginia. VDVS also operates two existing veterans care centers, the Virginia Veterans Care Center in Roanoke and the Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center in Richmond.