The National Naval Medical Center (NNMC), established in 1940, was a flagship United States Navy medical facility located in Bethesda, Maryland, serving as one of the nation's premier military hospitals. It provided comprehensive healthcare to active-duty service members, retirees, veterans, and their families, with a particular emphasis on advanced trauma care, rehabilitation, and medical research. Over its history, NNMC earned a distinguished reputation for treating high-profile patients, including every U.S. President since Franklin D. Roosevelt, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, and numerous war heroes from conflicts such as World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, and beyond. The facility was instrumental in pioneering medical innovations, including prosthetics and psychiatric care for returning soldiers, and its original tower was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977, reflecting its architectural and historical significance. In 2011, as part of the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiative, the NNMC merged with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to create the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. This consolidation formed a tri-service (Navy, Army, Air Force) medical complex, the largest of its kind in the United States, enhancing efficiency and capabilities in graduate medical education, clinical research, and specialized treatments like oncology and neurology. The Bethesda campus remains the primary site, colloquially known as Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med, and continues to support national defense health needs while operating under the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED). Throughout its existence, the NNMC has been celebrated for its role in military medicine but has also faced scrutiny over issues like patient wait times and facility conditions prior to the merger. Today, as part of Walter Reed NMMC, it upholds a legacy of excellence in serving the nation's leaders and warriors, with ongoing contributions to global health security and humanitarian missions.