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

NPR | By Quil Lawrence

Published June 5, 2026 at 4:44 AM EDT

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.

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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.

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