 The time now the place any u.s. Army hospital the patient a u.s. Soldier His chances for recovery Excellent thanks to the skill of the men and women of the u.s. Army Medical Service the subject of this big picture Let me present picture An official report produced for the armed forces and the American people From the Revolutionary War to Korea members of the Army Medical Service have been the constant tireless companions of foot soldiers Who have fought to preserve our freedom in every part of the world? Frequently the facilities have been primitive, but knowledge and skill have always been of the highest order Over the years the services record of improvement has been clearly shown in the statistics of men recovering from wounds or disease Constantly new techniques have been introduced to improve the medical services effectiveness Today is never before the American soldier has available to him anywhere in the world the finest medical attention Since its creation the service has come a long long way Established by General George Washington in 1775 the Army Medical Service has established many firsts The first American textbook on surgery by Dr. John Jones The first American textbook on psychiatry by Dr. Benjamin Rush The first American textbook on the processes of digestion by Dr. William Beaumont And oddly enough Army doctors like Albert J. Meyer and Joseph Lovell laid the foundation for the weather bureau Army Dr. George Sternberg led the way in research on malaria and tuberculosis Men like Surgeon General William Gorgas of Canalzone fame Dr. Walter Reed helped to prepare the Army Medical Service for what was to prove its biggest test till then World War One Volunteers and draftees were going overseas to fight not only a new kind of war in strange lands They would also be facing new weapons and new kinds of disease Three months after our declaration of war there were more than 20,000 members of the US Army in Europe There would be more than two million by war's end Month after month the battle lines in France were static Muddy trenches were ideal breeding places for disease From Aime to Yplis, American troops fought in a kind of warfare where casualties from disease were far greater than those from battle wounds The use of gas was a new and terrifying weapon which added to the toll In France and Germany the Army Medical Service was faced with the greatest challenge in its history The remoteness and vast stretches of the battle fronts the unprecedented size of the Army the demoralizing effects of gas warfare the need for exploiting the new types of medical practices All combined in World War One to create problems which severely tested the professional skills of the men of the Army Medical Service Not the least of the medical problems faced was caused by what the British Tommies called trench fever a typhus-like disease It was a former regular American Army officer Colonel Richard P. Strong who directed a medical team Which revealed that trench fever was carried by lice. This was a major contribution to military medicine Another first for the Army Medical Service was the extensive use of motor transport in France for evacuating patients to rear areas Many hospitals were set aside for the treatment of particular wounds and disease The growing tendency towards specialization in civilian medicine was carried over into military practice by doctors who had been specialists in civilian life this common interest in medicine by civilian and military Continues to this day Men wounded or crippled by disease Received treatment and rehabilitation care and clean up-to-date facilities far from the mud and gunfire at the battle front New types of therapy were devised to speed recovery of gas victims For others time and rest proved the best therapy for a successful recovery With wars in the Army Medical Service had performed with unexcelled valor and vigor Among the veterans returning from war ravaged Europe were thousands who owed their lives to the efforts of the men and women Who proudly wore the medical insignia, but for the Army Medical Service World War one was only a sample of what was to come in World War two The greatest war in history might well have been expected to produce history's most staggering casualty The Allied invasion of the coast of France's history symbol of the battles that raged over Europe during that war The enemy's defenses were as strong as he could make them And Before them men fell in heavy numbers on the beaches that made this day immortal The men of the Medical Service who trained for their job as rigorously as the fighters Moved in with the first wave of assault troops and began compiling an astounding record Almost 90% of the wounded received medical care within 10 minutes of being hit Emergency treatment was only part of the medics task evacuation of the wounded was another in the teeth of the enemy's fire Using every means available medics carried their fallen brothers to the ships which would return them to England These LSTs had but a short time before been ships of war Depositing at the enemy's gate their cargoes of fighting men now they had quickly become ships of mercy Some wounds could not wait to be treated each LST included an emergency operating room where many a life that might have been lost was saved As the battle moved inland Across the hell of Europe's fire swept fields through the scarred and ancient cities where the enemy held on desperately Army medics continued to write their stirring record of courage and devotion during combat a degree of responsibility Staggering in its implication falls upon them. They frequently must be doctor nurse and litter bearer rolled into one Human suffering is their personal war and the marks of that war are always visible They wear the old young faces of haggard men said a reporter who recorded their work in Europe But courage and devotion alone can rarely win battles of any kind The glory of the army medical services record in World War two was in large part the result of a practical workable system In which not only courage and devotion but skill too could function to the fullest advantage Treatment of casualties was set up on a progressive basis After emergency treatment was given at the front casualties were moved in whatever way was feasible to a series of medical stations deeper in the rear Urgent cases Perforating abdominal wounds sucking wounds of the chest did not have to wait for evacuation from the combat zone Field hospitals were set up quickly to handle them The surgeons who operated on the edge of battle frequently with the minimum of equipment scored amazing medical achievements Development such as the use of whole blood and plasma and new medicine such as penicillin Consolidated the gains achieved by the medic and the doctor On the other side of the world where Americans pressed aggression back on scores of beaches dotting the Pacific Here too the medics landed with the first waves bringing the equipment and The supplies which would make the difference over and over again between life and death morphine to cloak pain Penicillin to fight infection Atabrin, Novacain, plasma and surgical equipment They moved forward with them deep into the alien jungles where the enemy lay waiting They moved at the very heels of the men whose job it was to seek out the enemy In these lush jungles the battle was bitter Here as in europe the training the medic had paid off Here too the heroism with which he performed under the most difficult of conditions One for him a position of great respect not only in the record of war but in the regard of his fellows Generally the system of medical care was the same in the pacific as it was in europe Administer what emergency treatment was needed on the battlefield and then quickly Through whatever obstacle nature or the enemy presented Remove the wounded to the rear where more extensive treatment could be made The immediate destination from the front was always the same the battalion aid station a clearing protected From enemy fire by whatever natural concealment was available Where the first thorough examination could be made where at least initial treatment could be given to torn and lacerated bodies Where a wounded man's morale could be restored through the knowledge that he was in safe hands Here as in europe the widespread use of blood plasma and whole blood saved thousands of casualties from becoming fatalities But unlike europe there was another enemy in the pacific disease And against this enemy the medical service fought valiantly Inoculating against typhus typhoid and cholera Examining with infinite care for signs of the most vicious of all the pacific diseases malaria Despite the fact that the islands were rife with disease The thorough and painstaking work of the technicians of the medical service Made the us army in world war two the first in history to lose fewer men to disease than to bullets And through the overall performance of the medical service that magnificent complex of ingenuity Of devotion unexcelled in the long story of man's search for brotherhood Of skill and professionalism functioning under conditions in which only the finest effort of which man is capable could function and flourish These combined with breakthroughs in technology and medicine made available in battle Brought out of world war two the greatest war in history an all-time low of deaths from wounds Less than five years later in 1950 American troops were again called upon to fight this time in korea Supporting our american army and other united nations forces were the men and women of the united states army medical service Serving in the third war a little more than three decades Once again, they would set new records in cutting battle fatalities In a primitive land where even the terrain was hostile to human life As before medics did their jobs superbly while the battle raged around them Koria the medical service again cut in half the record of wounded inaction fatalities of world war two Thus the fatalities from battle wounds were only one quarter of those in world war one In particularly steep and hard to maneuver parts of korean terrain Special rigs were constructed to evacuate the wounded swiftly with minimum aggravation to the soldier's wounds chopper Hurley bird angel All were names for the helicopter which represented the greatest single auxiliary development of the korean war The number of lives saved as a result of helicopter evacuation is a dramatic example of teamwork coordination and skill The almost complete control of the air by united nations forces in koria And the broken terrain of the korean countryside made the continued use of helicopters particularly successful From the early days of the war Helicopters were used to evacuate the critically wounded to rear area medical facilities Where careful and more extensive treatment could be given the wounded Mobile army surgical hospitals were another outstanding medical innovation of the korean war These facilities were originally organized as mobile 60 bed hospitals Their mission was to receive critically wounded non transportable patients from division clearing stations And to render early emergency surgery to prepare them for evacuation to hospitals in rear areas Like helicopters they played a large part in helping the army medical service achieve greater flexibility Once back in the united states the sick or wounded were sent to one of the army's modern specialized treatment centers like walter re After in transit stopovers were made for continuing examination and emergency treatment at hospitals in the far east and the united states Such as tripler army hospital in hawaii Other army hospitals like paterson at fort monmouth new jersey ireland at fort nox kentucky And martin at fort benning georgia are named after men who distinguished themselves in the army medical service Their facilities and staffs are on par with the best hospitals to be found anywhere in the world Book army medical center in texas is another outstanding institution in the field of medicine and medical research To army hospitals and medical centers come medical specialists and technicians from all over the world to study new techniques Or to find ways of improving their own skills in all phases of military medicine The army nurse corps was not established until 1901 But the history of american military nursing goes back to the war of independence Through devotion skill and professional competence the army nurse corps has established a distinguished tradition in military nursing Army nurses today are serving throughout the world to keep the american soldier healthy and physically fit The men and women of the army medical service are able to offer the american soldier this unmatched medical care As a result of modern technology and professional well qualified leaders Army medical service staffs and facilities are comparable to those of the most outstanding civilian institutions Post-operated treatment is of equally high quality Nearly 200 years of experience back up the army's care of its patients Physical reconditioning specialists and physical therapists form an important part of the medical treatment team Under their guidance damaged limbs and muscles are treated and exercised so that they may regain their former use Physical and occupational therapy officers plan and supervise programs designed to restore the soldier to normal activity Manual dexterity plays a psychological role in the recovery of long-term patients Therefore the service places a great deal of emphasis on this type of therapy Army psychiatry has been most effective in assisting troubled soldiers to adjust to the stresses of army life and the rigors of combat Success has also been achieved in determining what men are emotionally unsuited to military duty The steady growth of medical and scientific tools since world war two Which are put to use at army medical treatment facilities have restored to useful life Individuals who might have remained partially or totally incapacitated Available to the ailing soldier is a vast array of modern medical apparatus designed to restore health and normal living The army medical service provides the best in dental treatment for the soldier Dental officers are carefully chosen not only for their proven professional skills But also for their abilities to teach new techniques and to contribute to dental research From army laboratories have come many medical discoveries which have been of benefit to all mankind Forever the names of army laboratory specialists and field investigators will be linked with significant Accomplishments against diseases like yellow fever and malaria smallpox and influenza With the advent of the atomic age and the resulting uses of the now harnessed atom The army medical service joined in the use and investigation of radioactive isotopes Possibly the outstanding example of the application in medicine of a radioactive isotope Is the use of iodine 131 in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid ailments Today army medical teams are conducting research and laboratories throughout the world seeking new and useful information about disease From this vast research broad in scope ambitious in effort one day may come new cures In carefully controlled experiments army medical researchers have released radioactive ticks Carriers of many diseases to learn their migration and dispersal patterns Radioactivity measurements showed that ticks may move 75 feet in 72 hours and may hibernate for as much as 16 weeks Such studies may lead to effective control and eradication of such disease bearing pests A boon not only to the soldier but to all the peoples of the world From army laboratories have come many medical discoveries which have been of benefit to all mankind The effectiveness of chloramphenicol for the treatment of typhus like fevers A vastly improved vaccine for use against render pest the cattle plague The use of primoquine in conjunction with chloroquine which together provided the first actual cure for malaria This combination of drugs was first tested on a large scale by the army medical service and is now available for malaria prevention throughout the world The full course of treatment lasts 14 days and material involved costs only pennies a day Another fine example of military civilian cooperation was shown during the asian flu epidemic of 1957 Thanks to the army's isolation and identification of the virus the pharmaceutical industry was able to develop a disease curbing vaccine promptly In army labs research never ends the quest for perfection remains a constant challenging goal Recently adopted for use by the medical service of the united states army is a safe painless fast method of immunization for use in mass inoculation programs One day it is expected the familiar needle will have disappeared completely Research and development has led to a revolutionary new method for packaging blood for battlefield or hospital transfusions Instead of the traditional easily breakable glass bottle whole blood to be shipped is today enclosed in unbreakable plastic containers Reports of these countless experiments and achievements are kept in the national library of medicine Formerly the army medical library and called america's greatest gift to medicine In the area of human physical experimentation Army doctors and scientists are primarily interested in the capacities of man himself In test chambers, for example, endurance research is conducted on human volunteers To determine how long the average soldier can be expected to perform at peak efficiency under a wide variety of conditions The result of these experiments with volunteers who can drop out at any time Are put to use by military commanders to obtain the greatest utilization of troops who might have to fight on a fast moving atomic battlefield As a result of this atomic consideration the average foot soldier today must be more versatile than ever before This holds true also for the members of the army medical service With more and more of our fighting army becoming airborne It follows that the army medics the combat soldiers constant companion are becoming airborne in ever increasing numbers Today's army bears slight resemblance to the army of world war two Fighting techniques have changed as has organizational structure and equipment The army medic looks the same and has the same mission But he too has been modernized and mobilized Field of combat present or future Immeasurable confidence is given the fighting man with the knowledge that there is a medic close by if he should be hit He knows that modern medicine and mobile medical equipment will be available to save his life And to allay his fears of being permanently disabled Medical knowledge and skill advanced as they may be are only part of the story of recovery and rehabilitation A substantial part of recovery rests with the individual and his determination to continue the fight The same effort that carries a soldier into battle must be made if he becomes a casualty The army medical service is ready as it has been for nearly two centuries To assist the sick and wounded with unceasing vigilance and determination The army medical service guardians of human life The big picture is an official report for the armed forces and the american people Produced by the army pictorial center presented by the department of the army in cooperation with this station