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On a VA medical campus, one veteran created an escape for others

NPR | By Quil Lawrence

Published June 5, 2026 at 3:44 AM CDT

Through years of controversy and delayed construction, one Iraq veteran has been rehabilitating a Japanese garden in the middle of the on the vast VA campus in West Los Angeles.

Quil Lawrence

Quil Lawrence is a New York-based correspondent for NPR News, covering veterans' issues nationwide. He won a Robert F. Kennedy Award for his coverage of American veterans and a Gracie Award for coverage of female combat veterans. In 2019 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America honored Quil with its IAVA Salutes Award for Leadership in Journalism.

See stories by Quil Lawrence