Medical support of the Army Air Forces in World War II PDF
Preview Medical support of the Army Air Forces in World War II
MEDICAL SUPPORT OF THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR I1 General of the Army Henry H. Arnold. Department of the Air Force MEDICAL SUPPORT of THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR I1 bY Mae Mills Link Hzlbert A. Coleman O$ce of the Swgean General, USAF Wasbington, D. C ,. 1955 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 5540024 ~~~~ ~~ CREDIT must be given to the Surgeon General, USAF, for quotation or repro- duction of any material from this volume. The Department of the Air Force wishes to acknowledge its appreciation to the following publishers for permis- sion to quote copyrighted materials: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (Eric Sevareid, Not So WiZd A Dream, 1946); J. B. Lippincott Co. (Isaac H. Jones, Fhing Vistas, 1937); Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation (Grinker and Spiegel, War Neuroses in North Africa, 1943); The University of Chicago Press (Craven and Cate, editors, The Army Air Forces in WorZd War I I , Vol. IV, 1950 and Vol. V, 1955); and Williams and Wilkins (H. G. Armstrong, Principles and Practice of Aviation Medicine, 3d Edition, 1952). Foreword The problems we have overcome in this war will not diffet from possible problems of the future. The solutions will come from the things we have learned in this war. There will be nothing new facing us that has not already been answered in principle if not in practice, It is in keeping with the spirit of these words of Gen. Henry H. Arnold, Com- manding General of the Army Air Forces, that Medicd Support of the Amy Air Forces in WorLd War 11 has been prepared. This monumental task fell to Mae Mills Link, Ph. D., senior medical historian in the United States Air Force, and Hubert A. Cole- man, Ph. D., Professor of History at East Carolina College, who held a comparable position in the AAF during World War 11. Maj. Gen. David N. W. Grant, USAF (MC) (Ret), the wartime Air Surgeon, and Maj. Gen. Malcolm C. Grow, USAF (MC) (Ret), first Surgeon General, USAF, have read painstakingly through the final version. Brig. Gen. Richard Meiling, USAF (MC) (R), who was closely associated with the Air Surgeon’s Office during the war, has given generously of his time in an advisory capacity. Likewise, Brig. Gen. Albert H. Schwichtenberg, USAF (MC), who was the Air Force liaison officer in the Army Surgeon General’s Office, has read and commented upon the section dealing with that complicated relationship. To them all I extend my very warm personal thanks. I wish also to express my appreciation to Maj. Gen. Howard McCrum Snyder (USA) (Ret), Gen. George C. Marshall’s wartime Assistant to the Inspector General for Medical Affairs, for his time and patience when interviewed by the Historian. Col. Wildred J. Paul, USAF, Director, Research Studies Institute, Air University, Dr. Albert F. Simpson, Air Force Historian, Mr. Joseph W. Angell, Jr., USAF Historical Division, and Lt. Col. Eldon W. Downs, USAF, Air University Historical Liaison Officer, by their unfailing support have sustained us through the long and arduous task of historical research. In the final analysis, however, credit for the present volume must rest with the uncounted numbers of medical service officers and men who actually made military medical history at their posts throughout the world. I t is to them, therefore, that this volume is dedicated. DANC . OGLE, Maj. Gen., USAF (MC), 30 July 1954 Surgeon General. The Flight Surgeon’s Oath I accept the sacred charge t o assist in the healing of the mind as well as of the body. I will at all times remember my responsibility as a pioneer in the new and important field of aviation medicine. I will bear in mind that my studies are unending; my efforts ceuseless; that in the understanding and performance of my daily tasks may l i e the future usefulness of countless airmen whose trdning has been difkult and whose value is immeasurable. My obligation as a physician is to practice the medical art with upright- ness and honor; my pledge us a soldier is devoted t o Duty, Honor, Country. I will be ingenious. I will j n d cures where there are none; I will call upon all the knowledge and skill at my command. I will be resourceful; I will, in the face of the direst emergency, strive t o do the impossible. What I learn by my experiences may injuence the world, not only of today, but the air world of tomowow which belongs t o aviation. What I learn and practice may turn the tide of battle. I t may send back t o a peacetime world the future leaders of this country. I will regard disease as the enemy; I will combat fatigie and discourage- ment as foes; I will keep the faith of the men entrusted in my care; I will keep the faith with the cozlntry which has singled me out, and with my God. I do solemnly swear these things by the heavens in which men fly. [v ii] Preface Medical Support of the Army Air Forces In World War II has been prepared to fill a gap in the medical history of that period. Its pur- pose is to present a unified narrative of the total performance of the AAF medical service in support of the Air Forces combat mission. Fundamentally a reference book, this volume is based almost exclu- sively upon unpublished documents in custody of the U. S. Air Force, with occasional citation of published sources. Since this volume, like other comparable military publications in World War 11, is based upon masses of archival material, the project has been in a very true sense a group project. During World War I1 professionally trained historians carried out basic research and writing while professional specialists in aviation medicine prepared highly technical materials. And while as authors we must assume final re- sponsi bility for the historical and technical accuracy of the presenta- tion and interpretation of the present volume, it has been our intention insofar as is humanly possible to establish and acknowledge individual contributions. In the order of sequence in which these group efforts appear, first mention is made of Chapter 111, “School of Aviation and Related Programs” which represents a collation of edited data based upon the series of 6-month histories prepared in the Army Air Forces Training Command under the direction of Col. Neeley Mashburn (MC), by the School of Aviation Medicine, and by the four continental air forces. Chapter IV, “Research and Development” represents in part a collation of materials from the same source, together with a draft prepared by the staff of the Aero Medical Laboratory. Chapter V, “The Air Evacuation Mission” is a collation of data gathered from the histories of the School of Air Evacuation, the School of Avia- tion Medicine, and the Wing histories of the Air Transport Command. None of these chapters represents original research or writing on the part of the editors. The overseas theaters, on the other hand, have been approached somewhat differently. Two historians on the war- time staff were originally scheduled to prepare monographs on the [ixl
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