(photo by Cat DeBinder) The Naval Facilities Engineering Comand and National Naval Medical Center team applaud the efforts of veterans and the construction team Friday at the barbecue luncheon.

The event was held in front of the National Naval Medical Center’s Building 1, also known as the Tower building that was designed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and dedicated in 1942. This site, flanked by construction to the east and west, is the same site of the initial groundbreaking ceremony, attended by President George W. Bush on July 3, 2008.

According to a representative from CBB, the construction company wanted to take the opportunity to thank the construction workers for their sense of respect and the loyalty shown each day as they go forth building this essential facility and give them the opportunity to take a moment to realize the importance of what they are building and that they are building it for wounded warriors.

‘‘To all military persons that have served and those that continue to serve ... on behalf of the whole project team, we thank you for your service to our great nation. We recognize your personal sacrifice in protecting the freedom we all enjoy,” said John Hogan, vice president of Clark Construction and project manager.

Hogan, addressing the collective construction team, asked them to remember why they are here.

‘‘We’re not just building an office building or another project,” he said. ‘‘This hospital expansion, we are building, will provide care for our [servicemembers], our veterans and their families. You should all take great pride in what we are building and be very sensitive to the environment which we are building.”

Because so many of the construction team is Hispanic, Maria Parades, safety monitor, served as a translator, repeating the speakers remarks in Spanish.

Captain John Korka, Officer in Charge of Construction for the WRNMMC project thanked Clark, Balfour Beatty for their hard work and thanked those who worked behind the scenes to put the Veterans Day event together.

‘‘I just want to say to the CBB Team, you’re doing good. This project has captured a lot of attention and you are part of that ... you are actually part of a project that has captured national attention and is very, very, very important,” Korka said.

Captain Daniel Zinder, National Naval Medical Center Deputy Command and Cmdr. Jayson Mitchell, Resident Officer in Charge of Construction joined Korka and other construction company leadership on the stage and presented several awards to members of workforce.

Among other things, the construction team was recognized by leadership for their excellent safety record, so far, in the construction of WRNMMC. They were noted as having worked a total of 137,000 hours with only six first aid incidents, no ‘‘reportables” and no lost time.