PART IV 
NAVY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT 
EXTRA- CONTI NENTAL CHAPTER XIII 
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPERVISION 
The internal functions of a Navy Medical Department 
facility overseas were placed under the charge of an officer of 
the Medical Corps, Dental Corps, or Hospital Corps. Usually the 
senior medical officer of a given command had charge of the Medical 
Department personnel, facilities, property, supplies, and records of 
that command. In the absence of a medical officer, an officer of 
the Dental or Hospital Corps was designated as officer in charge. 
At small stations or on small ships or vessels where no officers 
of the Medical, Dental, or Hospital CDrps were assigned, an enlisted 
man of the Hospital Corps had charge of the medical department. 
At large Navy Medical Department facilities, the officer in charge 
had administrative assistance from medical and dental officers of 
lower rank, officers and enlisted men of the Hospital Corps, and 
to a limited extent, officers of the other staff corps. With the 
exception of Fleet (Mobile) Hospitals and medical supply depots.medi- 
cal officers were never in command of independently commissioned units 
overseas* 
All metrical officers who had command or cha±ge of Navy 
Medical Department facilities received their orders from and were 
directly responsible to officers of the line. From a narrowly legal 
standpoint, commanding officers exercised administrative authority 
and supervision over all medical officers in command of fleet hospitals and senior medical officers in charge of ship or shore medical 
departments. From the standpoint of day-to-day practice, of course, 
these line officers in positions of command had neither the training 
nor the time to deal with the professional, technical, and scientific 
matters of medical service; neither did they have the time to 
concern themselves with the routine functions of Medical Department 
administration. It was necessary, therefore, for the various 
commanders, especially those on the higher levels of authority, to 
delegate the supervision of medical service to medical officers 
serving on their staffs. Staff medical officers, as representatives 
of commands superior in authority to the commands to which senior 
medical officers were immediately responsible, were^therefore, 
the administrative officers from whom Medical Department officers 
had technical direction. 
During World War II, the number of staff medical officers 
increased greatly, and as the War progressedvmore and more command 
categories came to have Medical Department representatives .on their 
staffs. By the close of the War, it was the general practice to have 
medical officers on the staffs of all fleet and force commanders. 
The senior medical officer on the staff of a fleet commander was 
generally referred to as the "fleet medical officer" or "fleet 
surgeon"; the senior staff medical officer for a force commander 
was called a "force medical officer" or "force surgeon." 
The kinds of commands to which fleet, force, and other 
2 staff medical officers were assigned were various. At the 
headquarters of the Pacific Fleet, by the end of the War, there 
were a fleet medical officer for the Pacific Fleet and force 
medical officers for such commands as the Fleet Marine Force; 
Amphibious Force; Air Force; Submarine Force; Service Force; 
V 
Commander, Battleships; Commander Cruisers; and Commander Destroyers. 
The operating fleets in the Atlantic and Pacific in turn had staff 
medical officers who served on the staffs of commanding officers 
of fleets and forces. Commanders of temporary task forces had 
the assistance of force medical officers; commanders of task 
groups and units generally had staff assistance from a medical 
officer. Lost commanders of bases and islands, also, had Medical 
an yd 
Department personnel assigned to their staffs. Base^island command 
medical officers usually exercised direct administrative 
supervision over all Medical Department activities on bases or 
islands under Navy control. 
The duties of staff medical officers differed in 
detail according to the kind and level of command to which they 
were assigned. Broadly their duties were substantially the same. 
They acted as advisors to commanding officers in all matters 
relating to the health and physical fitness of their commands. 
They accompanied their commanding officers on general inspection 
tours and conducted specified and periodical inspections of 
Medical Department activities under the purview of their commanding 
officers. They kept their commanding officers informed as to sanitary 
3 and health conditions. Upon their own initiative or upon orders 
from their commanding officers or other higher authority, they 
made special studios of unusual problems or conditions and sub- 
mitted reports and appropriate recommendations. They gathered and 
assembled data on Medical Department personnel, facilities, 
equipment, and supplies of their commands, and kept the proper 
authorities informed as to the materiel, personnel, and trans- 
portation needs of the Medical Department. They assigned or 
made nominations for the assignment of Medical Department personnel 
within the jurisdiction of their commands. They furnished pro- 
fessional advice and assistance to medical officers and procured 
and administered the services of specialized Medical Department 
units such as the epidemiology and malaria control teams sent out 
by the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. They prepared directives 
and manuals which instructed Medical Department personnel in 
standardized and approved methods of organization and procedure 
to be followed on certain types of ships or in certain kinds of 
naval operations. Staff medical officers assigned to task forces, 
groups, and units prepared the medical plans for naval operations, 
established the logistical requirements for the Medical Department, 
provided for the training and indoctrination of personnel under 
Medical Department jurisdiction for the duration of the operations, 
supervised and•ooprdanatodmedical and casualty evacuation services 
during the operations,and after the completion of a campaign or 
4 battle, prepared the medical sections of the action reports. 
The command relationships of the average senior medical 
officer were constantly shifting during the War. The strictly 
operational chain of command was of course much less stable than 
the administrative chain. From a purely administrative point of 
view, ho maintained fairly constant communications, if quite re- 
mote at times, with the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, the fleet 
medical officer of the Atlantic or Pacific Fleet, and the staff medi- 
cal officer of the type command. Relationships of senior medical 
officers afloat with the fleet medical officers of the .various (numbered) 
fleets and with staff medical officers of task forces, task groups, 
task units and other temporary commands were frequently of brief 
duration. For the shore-based facilities of the Medical Department, 
the chain of command was more stable but not unchanging. Fleet 
and bases hospitals, especially those which were transported from 
one location to another, had changes of command similar to those 
of ships. 
To supplement inspections of Medical Department facilities 
conducted by commanding officers and by fleet and force medical 
officers in the Pacific, an Inspector of Medical Department Activities 
for the Pacific Area was maintained throughout most of the War. The 
principal duty of this inspector was to keep the Bureau of Medicine 
and Surgery informed as to the efficiency of logistic support in the 
Pacific. His duties were distinct from those of the fleet medical 
5 officer in that his sphere for inspection covered Medical Department 
activities of the bases established in all the Pacific Ocean areas. 
The Inspector of Medical Department Activities communicated reports 
to the Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, to the Commander 
in Chief of the Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Area, to the 
Commander of the South Pacific Force, and to the Commander of the 
Seventh Fleet. After completion of a tour of inspection, he re- 
turned to Washington, where he had conferences with the Surgeon 
General and other officials in the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. 
To illustrate in detail the broad generalizations of this 
chapter, materials abstracted and excerpted from historical and 
sanitary reports from a variety of specific activities and organi- 
zational units arc appended herewith in three parts. 
The first part, Appendix A, contains abstracts and excerpts 
which describe or explain the organization, functions, and duties of 
staff medical officers and their subordinates. In this appendix 
will be found enumerations of the duties of fleet, force, squadron, 
group, wing, base, and island command medical officers. In addition, 
several brief excerpts about special administrative problems such 
as assignment of personnel and maintenance of medical records in 
amphibious operations have been included. 
In part two, Appendix B, will be found abstracts and excerpts 
dealing primarily with the relations of ship medical departments to 
6 higher commands. Those describe the constantly shifting opera- 
tional and administrative chain of command for ships. Some of the 
reports from the smaller vessels show how senior medical officers of 
squadrons, divisions, and flotillas exercisod administrative as well 
as professional supervision over the medical departments of vessels 
which had only hospital corpsmon aboard. 
The third part, Appendix C, contains charts which 
depict in graphic form both the organization of staff medical offices 
and the relations of ship and shore medical departments to higher 
commands. 
7 APPENDIX A 
Organization and Functions of Staff Medical Offices 
I Duties of the Force Surgeon, Amphibious Force, 
Pacific Fleet (1942). 
II Organization of Staff Medical Office, Administ- 
ration Command, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet. 
III Duties assigned to the medical department of the 
staff of the Commander, Administrative Command, 
Amphibious Forces, U. S. Pacific Fleet. 
IV Functions of Force Medical Officer, Amphibious Force, 
Eighth Fleet, 1944. 
V Duties of staff medical officer of Commander Cruisers, 
Destroyers Administrative Center, Pacific Fleet. 
VI Organization of Staff Medical Office, Submarine Force, 
Pacific Fleet. 
VII Staff medical office of Air Center Command, Pacific. 
VIII Duties of staff medical office, Twelfth Fleet. 
IX Duties of Force Surgeon, Seventh Amphibious Force, 
1943. 
X Duties of staff medical office, Service Force, 
Seventh Fleet, 1943. 
XI Duties of Staff Medical Officer, Commander Landing 
Craft and Bases, Europe. 
XII Staff medical office, Marine Aircraft, South Pacific, 
Fleet Marine Force, 1943. 
XIII Administration of Headquarters Squadron. 
XIV Duties of the Wing Medical Officer. 
XV Squadron and Group Medical Departments. 
XVI Malaria and Disease Control Staff, Headquarters, 
Commander South Pacific, Noumea, New Caledonia* 
XVII Preventive medicine organization in Seventh Fleet. 
XVIII Assignment of Hospital Corps Personnel, Service Force, 
Seventh Fleet, 1943. 
XIX Duties of an Island Command Medical Officer. 
XX Office of Base Medical Officer — Organization and 
Functions. 
XXI Marine Aircraft Group Twenty-one. 
XXII Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force. 
XXIII Medical Records, Amphibious Operations. APPENDIX A 
Organization and Functions of Staff Medical Offices 
I Duties of the Force Surgeon, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet (1942) 
1. Supervision of amphibious corps medical personnel during 
their training in landing operations. 
2. Supervision of medical needs and operation of AP’s, APD’s, 
and AK’s. 
3. Holding conferences with transport and landing force 
medical officers directly before operations. 
4. Participating in landing operations. 
5. Study of medical logistics as related to amphibious opera- 
tions . 
6. Inspection of medical facilities aboard transports and 
landing craft. 
7. Initiating necessary studies and research to improve medi- 
cal aspects of amphibious operations. 
(Abstracted from annual sanitary report for 1942 from Force 
Surgeon, Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet.) 
II Organization of Staff Medical Office, Administrative Command, 
Amphibious Forces.Pacific Fleet 
The Commander Administrative Command, Amphibious Forces, Pacifi# 
Fleet, was charged by the Commander Amphibious Forces, Pacific 
Fleetjwith the administration of all vessels assigned to the 
Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet, and of all Amphibious Forces 
bases in the Hawaiian, Marianas, and Philippines areas. He was 
authorized to deal directly with Cincpac, Comserpac and other 
appropriate naval and military commands in the discharge of 
those duties. Adcomphibspac grew out of the Administrative 
Command, Fifth Amphibious Force, which was established in Febru- 
ary 1944. The medical componant of Adcomphibspac was headed by 
the Force Medical Officer, who assumed the additional duties of 
medical officer with the administrative command in 1944. He re- 
mained at the Administrative Headquarters, however, only be- 
tween campaigns, during the planning phase. By the beginning 
of 1945 the scene of operational activity had moved so far west 
that the Force Medical Officer no longer returned to the Pearl 
Harbor headquarters of the administrative command, and his 
duties at Administration headquarters were taken over by a 
commander, (i.IC). 
1 Medical Staff, Administrative Command Amphibious Forces, 
U. S. Pacific Fleet, 1945. 
1 Commander, (MC), 
1 Lieutenant, (HC). 
2 Pharmacists. 
6 Pharmacist's Mates. 
(Abstracted from cumulative history report) 
III Duties assigned to the medical department of the staff of the 
Commander. Administrative Command, Amphibious Forces, U. S. 
Pacific Fleet, 
1. 42 - Medical Officer 
(a) Advises the Administrative Commander as to the condition 
and efficiency of medical departments, health of personnel, 
and sanitary conditions of all units of the command. 
(b) Makes recommendations for the assignment of officer and 
enlisted medical department personnel. 
(c) Compiles medical logistic data. 
(d) Is a member of Board of Inspection for ships and bases; 
arranges and conducts separate medical department inspections 
of ships and bases. 
(e) Receives and processes required medical department 
reports from the Amphibious Forces, Pacific. 
(f) Arranges training and instruction conferences for 
medical personnel afloat in the area. 
(g) Provides medical service for Staff and Flag Detachment. 
(h) Prepares medical department reports for Staff and Flag 
Detachment, 
2. 421 - Administrative Assistant to Medical Officer. 
(a) Assists medical officer in all administrative matters. 
(b) Maintains allowance lists for medical departments of 
amphibious type ships and craft; prepares allowance lists 
for special purpose conversions. 
(c) Screens medical requisitions from landing craft. 
(d) Receives and handles correspondence. 
3. 4211 - Medical Personnel and Training Officer. 
(a) Maintains card index files of all medical department 
personnel, officers and enlisted, attached to Amphibious 
Forces. 
2 (b) Maintains qualifications files of medical officer 
specialists and enlisted technicians; furnishes qualifi- 
cations data to Amphibious Forces and Groups on call. 
(c) Processes hospital corps reports from units of 
Amphibious Forces. 
(d) Supervises training of hospital corpsmen in the area. 
4. 4212 - Medical Inspections and Statistical Officer. 
(a) Assists in medical department inspections. 
(b) Maintains file of ships inspected and due for inspection. 
(c) Processes casualty, morbidity, and sanitary reports 
from the Amphibious Forces. 
(d) Assembles medical statistical data. 
(Extracted from cumulative history report) 
IV Functions of Force Medical Officer. Amphibious Force. Eighth 
Fleet, 1944. 
From a military point of view, highlights of our amphibious 
operations in the Mediterranean during 1944 included the Anzio 
invasion in January, the capture of Elba in June, and, in 
August, the landings on the southern coast of France. In each 
operation the force medical officer, based on information 
received from the fleet medical officer, coordinated and inte- 
grated medical planning in the form of a medical annex to the 
General Operation Plan. This annex included a statement of 
the objectives, procedure for casualty evacuation and hospitali- 
zation, medical logistics, and any other information deemed 
necessary in the execution of the operation. 
(Extract from annual sanitary report of the Amphibious Force, 
U. S. Eighth Fleet, for 1944.) 
V Duties of staff medical office of Commander Cruisers. Destroyers 
Administrative Center. Pacific Fleet 
Duties of the Staff Medical Officer: 
1. Advises the Type Commander of the conditions and efficiency 
of the medical departments, health of personnel, and the 
sanitary conditions of all units of the command. 
2. Makes recommendations to the Type Commander concerning the 
prevention and checking of disease, and the care and comfort 
of the sick. 
3 j>. Makes independent sanitary inspections of all units of 
the command. 
4. Accompanies the Commander Destroyers and Cruisers, 
Pacific Fleet, in all military and material inspections. 
5. Holds frequent and informal conferences with the individual 
medical and dental officers of the various units to keep 
them informed regarding matters of policy, procedure, 
changes in personnel, and matters of medical interest and 
health conditions. 
6. Prepares medical guard schedule. 
7. Handles surveys of medical stores. 
8. Makes recoramandations relative to assignment of medical 
personnel. 
Duties of the Underway Medical Officers: 
1. Primary duty to board destroyer escorts, under operational 
control of Commander Air Pacific during carrier training 
periods, which did not have regularly assigned medical 
officers. 
2. Also supervised the medical care of the personnel of the 
base and flag allowance. 
Duties of the Base Force Medical Officer: 
1. Care for the personnel of the base, in conjunction with 
the underway medical officers. 
2. Assist the senior medical officer in inspections of ships 
of the type command. 
Duties of the Administrative Assistant (Chief Pharmacist): 
1. Supervise DesCruPac medical department spaces and material. 
2. Maintain "uptodate” information on all ships of the 
command concerning: 
a. dates of inspection 
b. medical officer and enlisted personnel data 
c. ship’s medical correspondence: transfer and 
detachment of medical officers and enlisted personnel. 
d. supplies, account books, narcotics, etc. of the 
ships inspected by the medical officer 
3. Prepares the final reports of ship's inspections for 
signature of the chief of staff, or Commander Destroyers, 
Cruisers, Pacific Fleet. 
y * 
(Abstracted from cumulative history report.) 
4 VI Organization of Staff Medical Office, Submarine Force. Pacific 
Fleet. 
1. Prior to July 1944, the medical department of the Submarine 
Force, Pacific, "was vested in several individual units 
consisting mainly of the various squadron medical depart- 
ments, located at bases or in tenders without an active 
central controlling activity." 
2. From July 1944 to present: 
Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet* 
Force Medical Officer 
Medical Deplt Submarines 
Medical Dep’t 
Tenders, 
Salvage Vessels! 
and 
Auxiliary Craft 
Medical 
Department 
Bases 
(Abstracted from cumulative history report.) 
VII Staff medical office of Air Center Command, Pacific* 
The Air Center Command was established in 1943, and 
a medical department attached to the staff in May. 
1. Supervision of aviation dispensaries. 
2. Arrangement for evacuation of sick and wounded aviation 
personnel. 
3. Supervision of all flight surgeons. 
4. Coordination and supervision of sanitary and malaria 
control effort in aviation activities. 
(Abstracted from historical data supplement to annual 
sanitary report from Air Center Command, Navy 
Number 145, Pacific.) 
VIII Duties of staff medical office, Twelfth Fleet, 
Staff Medical Officer: 
1. Responsibility for medical material and personnel from 
all sources. 
5 2. Screening of all requests for medical material and personnel 
from all sources. 
3. Advisory help as to medical material and personnel for all 
U. S. Naval activities in the U. K. or ETO. 
4. Coordination of facilities for care of the naval sick in 
the U. K. or ETO. 
5. Coordination of facilities for e/acuation of naval casualties 
from the U. K. or ETO. 
6. Dissemination of pertinent information and instructions 
through appropriate channels to naval medical facilities 
in the U. K. or ETO. 
7. Coordination of necessary reports and returns of the 
medical department to Washington. 
8. Responsibility for the care of the dead, accidents, etc., 
occurring ashore in the U. K. or ETO, and not locally 
under cognizance of a U. S. Naval hospital or dispensary. 
9. Liaison with all U. S. or Allied medical echelons in the 
U. K. or ETO. 
Personnel of the Office of the Staff Medical Officer, Twelfth 
Fleet, London: 
1. Staff Medical Officer and one assistant. 
2. Four officers engaged in chemical warfare instruction and 
research. 
3. One officer in aviation research and observation. 
4. Three hospital corps officers and administrative assistants. 
Duties of the Staff Medical Officer, Twelfth Fleet in Connection 
with the Overlord Invasion: 
1. Provision of beds for patients at naval bases and base 
hospitals in the U. K, and establishment of a central re- 
porting and recording system to provide knowledge and con- 
trol of these beds. 
2. Establishment of a central reporting and recording system 
to provide knowledge and control of patients for 
evacuation to U. S. and Navy facilities. 
3. Establishment of uniform methods of maintenance, medical 
records of casualties having operations, and their disposition. 
4. Training and distribution of medical department personnel 
designated for casualty handling in LST’s. 
5. Training and distribution of medical department personnel 
in the treatment of chemical warfare casualties. 
6. Provision for replinishment of medical stores in Navy 
medical supply storehouses for Navy needs, and maintenance 
of central stock control records. 
6 7. Procuring*of’ medical stores to outfit LST's and other 
vessels to be used for casualty handling in the invasion. 
8. Procuring of medical stores to support future operations. 
9. Establishment of storage space. 
10. Responsibility for the completion and preparation 
of medical facilities at the various bases. 
11. Preparation of the medical logistic plan for the Overlord 
invasion. 
Duties of the Aviation Research and Observation Medical Staff, 
Twelfth FlectTXondon: 
1. Observation and investigation of matters of aviation medicine 
and of special medical importance and reporting of same to the 
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington. 
2. Maintenance of liaison for the cxchrnge of medical infor- 
mation of mutual benefit to the naval and aviation service 
of the U. K. and the U. 3. 
3. Visit to and discussion of aviation medical facilities in 
the U. K. 
(Abstracted from annual sanitary report for 1944 from Commander, 
Twelfth Fleet.) 
IX Duties of Force Surgeon, Seventh Amohibious Force. 1943 
A Force Surgeon was on the staff of the Commander Seventh 
Amphibious Force, and was charged with the supervision of all 
medical activities within the command. 
1. Supervision of medical facilities in Seventh Amphibious 
Force training centers. 
2. Provision of sufficient and necessary naval medical 
facilities for amphibious forces afloat. 
3. Inspection of all Seventh Amphibious Force medical facilities, 
4. Maintaining responsibility for medical supply within the Force. 
5. Procuring and assignment of medical department and Hospital 
Corps personnel within the Force. 
6. Assuming responsibility for the maintenance of the general 
health of the Force. 
7. Providing for the study of health conditions and special 
medical problems indigenous to areas in which Force personnel 
are stationed. 
8. Supervision of sanitation of all Force facilities, 
9. Providing for training programs for hospital corpsmen. 
10. Providing for the most prompt and efficient system of 
evacuation in campaigns in which the Force participates. 
(Abstracted from annual sanitary report for 1943 from Seventh 
Amphibious Force.) 
7 X Duties of staff medical office, Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 1943 
Duties of the Medical Department, Service Force Seventh Fleet: 
1. Maintenance of medical statistics of the Service Force. 
2. Planning of medical department activities of the Service Force. 
3. Procurement, distribution, and recording of medical supplies 
for all activities of the Seventh Fleet. 
4. Maintained cognizance of medical aspects of advanced base 
construction, and public works* 
5. Maintained general supervision of hospitals, hospital ships, 
and dispensaries within the Seventh Fleet orbit. 
6. Supervised medical aspects of rest camps and recreation centers. 
7. Procurement, assignment and distribution of Hospital Corps 
personnel for the Seventh Fleet. 
S. Maintenance of a Hospital Corps training program. 
9. Registration of deaths and graves of deceased personnel 
of the Seventh Fleet. 
Medical Personnel, Service Force Staff, Seventh Fleet: 
1 Commander, (MC), USN 
2 Lieutenants (j.g.), (HC), USN 
2 Chief Pharmacist’s Mates 
1 Pharmacist1s Mate First Class 
1 Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class 
1 Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class 
(Abstracted from historical data supplement to annual 
sanitary report for 1943 from Service Force, Seventh Fleet.) 
XI Duties of .Staff Medical Officer, Commander Landing Craft and 
Bases, Europe, 
1. Study of the problems associated with LST evacuation. 
2. Training of medical officers and corpsmen for duty with 
LST evacuation of casualties in amphibious operations. 
3. Provision for frequent demonstrations in casualty handling 
procedures. 
4. Distribution of medical personnel for casualty handling. 
5. Preparation of a "Medical Department Organization and 
Doctrine for LST's". 
6. Provision for medical logistic support for LST evacuation 
ships. 
(Abstracted from "A History of the United States Naval Bases 
in the United Kingdom".) 
8 XII Staff medical office. Marine Aircraft. South Pacific, Fleet Marine 
Force. 1943 
”1. Marine Aircraft, South Pacific had its inception in June, 1943, 
when the need became apparent for a staff to coordinate the 
widespread activities of Marine aviation units in the South 
Pacific Theatre of the war. These various units comprise two 
Aircraft Y/ings. The Commanding General, First Marine Aircraft 
Wing, by virtue of seniority, had been in command over all units, 
regardless of the Wing to which they were attached. 
”2. Actually, this has continued to be the nature of the 
organization, although certain members of the First Marine Air- 
craft Wing have served additional duty as members of the Staff, 
Commanding General, marine Aircraft, South Pacific for purposes 
of administration. For example, the Wing Surgeon, First 
Marine Aircraft Wing, also serves as Medical Officer, Marine 
Aircraft, South Pacific. 
”4. The duties of the Medical Officer, Marine Aircraft, 
South Pacific, have been entirely administrative and have been 
concerned largely with the handling of personnel and the 
formulation of the policies of the medical department.” 
(Extract from historical data supplement to annual sanitary report 
for 1943 from Marine Aircraft, South Pacific, Fleet Marine Force.) 
XIII Administration of Headquarters Squadron 
Headquarters squadron acts as the administration center for 
the wing. To it were attached the commanding general, deputy 
wing commander, chief of staff and all the wing section heads, 
including the wing medical officer. Their function was the 
administration of wing affairs. Tactical operations were imposed 
in combat areas. 
Chain of responsibility: 
1. Wing Medical Officer 
2. Group Medical Officers 
3. Squadron Medical Officers 
Because of the frequent and distant dispersal of wing units 
in combat, and duo to regional variations of the command, consider- 
able independence of medical action must be allowed in both groups 
and squadron. In general, however, the wing medical section 
supervised the procurement of supplies, personnel, and the 
direction of all broad medical policies within a wing. 
(Abstracted from historical data supplement to annual sanitary 
report for 1943, Headquarters Squadron, Second Marine Aircraft 
Wing, Fleet Marine Force.) 
9 XIV Duties of the Wing Medical Officer ■ 
1. Responsible for establishment and organization of Wing 
Medical Activities. 
2. Responsible for the general health of wing personnel. 
3. Recomr,lends assignment of wing Hospital Corps personnel. 
4. Responsible for physical fitness of naval aviators and naval 
aviation pilots attached to the fleet air wing. 
5. Responsible for the care and custody of health records of 
wing personnel. 
6. Responsible for the proper submission of medical reports and 
returns. 
7. Supervision of medical facilities of tenders attached to 
the fleet air wing. 
8. When in fleet air detachment, based at a naval air station, 
joins with the air station medical department in general 
medical duties. 
9. Training of hospital corpsmen attached to the fleet air 
wing. 
10. Investigation of airplane crashes from a medical standpoint. 
11. Instruction of all personnel in first-aid and rescue training. 
(Abstracted from historical data supplement to annual sanitary 
report for 1943 from Fleet Air Wing Four.) 
XV Squadron Group Medical Departments 
1. Group Medical Officer - Responsible for the over-all 
supervision, supply and dispensary 
facilities for the squadrons. 
2. Group medical personnel - Group Medical officer (a flight 
surgeon or aviation medical examiner'). 
Assistant Group Medical Officer 
(one general duty medical officer) 
One Hospital Corps officers. 
19 hospital ccrpsmen. 
2 Dental officers. 
3. Squadron Medical Department: One Flight Surgeon or 
aviation medical examiner. 
8 (later reduced to 4) hospi- 
tal corpsmen. 
(Abstracted from historical data supplement to annual sani- 
tary report for 1943 from Marine Aircraft Group 31, Pacific.) 
10 XVI Malaria and Disease Control Staff. Headquarters. Commander 
South Pacific, Noumea. New Caledonia 
This v/as the coordinating agency for malaria and disease 
control throughout the South Pacific area. 
1. Carried on and correlated investigations on disease-bearing 
insects. 
2. Maintained a program of sanitation control correlation 
throughout the area. 
3. Preparation and publication of booklets of information 
and instructions on sanitation and disease. 
4. Supervision of all sanitation programs in the area. 
5. Coordinate Army and Navy findings on disease and 
sanitation. 
(Abstracted from Report of Inspection of Medical Department 
Activities in the South Pacific Area — 1945.) 
XVII Preventive medicine organization in Seventh Fleet 
Preventive Medicine Organization consisted of a Fleet 
Preventive Medical Officer, his assistant, a Fleet Entomo- 
logist, and a central Epidemiological Laboratory at Milne Bay, 
New Guinea. In October 1944 the Fleet Preventive Medical 
Officer returned to the U. S. and his duties were assumed by 
the assistant Fleet Medical Officer until a replacement 
v/as ordered early in 1945. During the interim the Fleet 
Entomologist was of great assistance in carrying on field 
coordination of forward control activities with excellent 
results. 
(Extracted from annual sanitary report for 1944 from 
Seventh Fleet). 
A malaria and epidemic control laboratory has been 
established at Milne Bay, New Guinea. This is the head- 
quarters of the Malariologist who directs the malaria 
control program with the assistance of an entomologist. 
Malariology Units are assigned to Naval Base commanders or 
to Task Force commanders who have administrative control 
over advanced operating bases. For administrative control 
they come under the cognizance of the naval base commander 
but work under the technical direction of the Malariologist 
who is attached to the staff of the Seventh Fleet. Epidemologi- 
cal Unit No. 61 recently arrived in this theatre, and is 
being assigned to the Malaria and Epidemic Control Laboratory. 
11 The sanitary sections of Construction Battalions are used to 
provide the manpower for Malaria Control, supplemented at 
some of the advanced bases by native labor. 
(Extracted from letter of the Fleet Medical Officer, Seventh 
Fleet, to the Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, 
dated 20 February 1944 on the subject: "Medical Department 
Activities, Seventh Fleet.") 
XVIII Assignment of Hospital Corps Personnel. Service Force. 
Seventh Fleet, 1943 
"Prior to October of 1943, the program for Hospital 
Corps personnel assignments,rotation of duty or rehabilitation 
was inadequately controlled by the office of the Force Medi- 
cal Officer. Records as to authorized or required comple- 
ments had not been established. The Nav Med HC Forms 4 were 
the only location records available in the Force Medical 
Officer's Office. Hence, some activities were under 
complement, while others were in excess. With the establishment 
of adequate control files, an advanced Hospital Corps plan 
and a system of written nominations to the personnel officer, 
the Hospital Corps situation has been well regulated." 
(Extracted from annual sanitary report for 1943 from the 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet.) 
XIX Duties of an Island Command Medical Officer V 
Functions of the Staff Medical and Sanitation Officer: 
1. Coordination of island medical and dental facilities. 
2. Organization and maintainancc of adequate island sanitation. 
3. Organization of a preventive medicine program. 
4. Advising commanding general on Medical Department activities. 
Sanitation Duties of the Staff Medical and Sanitation Officer: 
1. Eliminating flybreeding areas. 
2. Initiation of over-all insect control program. 
3. Establishment of adequate measures for garbage and trash 
disposal. 
4. Correction of medical facilities. 
5. Controlling of water supply. 
6. Establishment of sanitary practices in heads. 
(Abstracted from cumulative history report from Staff Medical 
and Sanitation Officer, Headquarters Island Command, Pelcliu.) XX Office of Baso Medical Officer — Organization and Functions 
1. A Base Medical Office# arrived with the first components 
which established this base, on 10 February 1945. As 
gradual growth of this Base took place the additional duties 
placed upon the G-6 Unit, the original medical activity, 
clearly became a problem without its jurisdiction. 
2. The Base Medical Officer assumed his duties which were: 
(a) The coordination of all Medical activities under 
the command of the Commanding Officer, Navy Base 
3002, Subic Bay. 
(b) Consultant in the planning of future construction 
projects with regard to their sanitary aspocts. 
(c) Supervision of all Preventive Medical Units functioning 
under command of the Commanding Officer. 
(d) Supervision of activities and plans concerning the Civil- 
ian Hospital, Public Health and Venereal Disease Control. 
(e) Coordination of information supplied by all Medical Acti- 
vities in the Bay Area for statistical purposes and sub- 
mission of reports. 
(f) Over all supervision of general health and sanitary 
conditions likely to be of hazard to New personnel in 
the Bay Area. 
3. His duties multiplied with the rapid construction of the base 
especially in the ever all supervision of, and recommendations 
concerning, the sanitary features involved as well as the 
health and comfort of the men. 
4. The Dispensary (G-6) had an especially difficult situation 
inasmuch as it became necessary to continue its operation in 
an area originally intended as a temporary measure. Even 
though the work of this dispensary increased many times it 
operated with the original field equipment supplied a G-6 
unit until late in August 1945. With this in mind request 
was made to change the designation to a Navy Yard dispensary 
and a consequent revision of personnel complement and added 
equipment. 
5. Work began upon a new Dispensary in a more favorable- 
location during the month of July which has been completely 
adequate. Had the originally scheduled plans for the erection 
of permanent installations been followed, the unsatisfactory 
conditions referred to would not have been present. However, 
along with other projected construction work, all work ceased 
with the withdrawal of the 115th C. B. BATTALION for high 
priority construction elsewhere. 
13 Organization 
FUNCTION 1. The function of the base Medical Officer 
shall be as follows: 
(a) As the Staff Medical Officer at Commander 
Naval Base, Navy 3002, he shall exercise coordi- 
nativc control of the medical activities of all 
components of this command. He shall maintain a 
well integrated relationship between such medi- 
cal activities, and shall have authority to make 
such inspections as are considered necessary to 
determine that they are functioning properly. 
(b) As the Port Medical Officer, he shall ensure 
that port sanitary regulations are carried out 
by forces afloat, and shall act as liaison 
between medical activities ashore and those afloat, 
providing medical services for forces afloat as 
necessary. 
(c) He shall supervise and generally direct the 
activities of the Preventive Medicine Department 
of this base. 
(d) He shall keep the Base Commander informed on 
the current health and sanitation status of the 
base and shall make appropriate recommendations 
on any pertinent corrective measures considered 
advisable. 
(c) He shall act for the Base Commander in super- 
vision of the general activities of, and planning 
for, the Civilian Hospital and the Civilian 
Public Health Department on the reservation. 
(f) He shall collect and coordinate information 
supplied by all the medical activities of the 
Base for statistical purposes and submission of 
appropriate reports. 
(g) He shall act as medical and sanitation con- 
sultant in current Base Maintenance and future 
planning. 
(h) He shall be responsible to the Base Commander 
for the over-all supervision of general health 
and maintenance of satisfactory sanitary conditions 
of the Naval Personnel of the Command. 
BASE MEDICAL 
COMPONENTS 
2, Base activities under the direction of the Base 
Medical Officer arc grouped as follows: 
14 A. Preventive Medicine. 
B. Dispensary Facility. 
C. Dental Facility. 
D. Civilian Hospital and related civilian 
health and sanitation problems. 
E. Medical Storehouse. 
The Base Medical Officer shall be the coordi- 
nating principal through whom all component acti- 
vities shall have liaison with each other. Monthly 
statistical reports of each activity, including data 
upon projects completed, in progress or proposed 
shall be submitted to the Commander Naval Base via 
the Base Medical Officer. 
PREVENTIVE 
MEDICINE 
3. The designated Preventive Medical Officer shall 
assume responsibility as head of an organized Public 
Health Department. All related functional units, in- 
cluding Base Sanitation, Epidemiology, Venereal 
Disease Control, Malaria Control and Rodent Control 
shall be under his immediate direction. 
His activities are intended to function in an 
over-all supervisory capacity for the entire Naval 
Reservation and naval installations immediately 
adjacent thereto under command of Commander Naval 
Base. 
DISPENSARY 
FACILITY (BASE) 
4. The organization of the base dispensary shall 
be in accordance with the Manual of the Medical Depart- 
ment, with specific references to those provisions 
of the Manual pertaining to the duties of the 
Medical Officer of a shore station. Details of 
operation of this dispensary shall be those as 
set forth in the organization plan of the base 
dispensary. 
Associated with the base dispensary, shall be 
the sub-dispensary at the Ship Repair Unit whose 
personnel shall be derived from and be responsible 
to the Naval Base Dispensary. 
First aid stations at locations established by 
the Base Medical Officer as changing needs require, 
shall be under the cognizance of the Base Dispensary 
from which personnel and supplies shall be drawn. 
Additional duties required of medical officers 
for Boards of Survey, Investigation, or other 
such boards convened by Commander Naval Base shall 
be fulfilled by those medical officers nominated 
for such duties by the Senior Medical Officer, Base 
Dispensary. 
15 (C. B. UNITS) 
As the staff medical representative of Commander 
Naval Base, the Base Medical Officer is responsible 
for the proper collection of statistical data, 
monthly morbidity reports and over-all supervision of 
health and sanitary features of all construction 
battalion units. 
DENTAL FACILITY 
5. All dental activities under the command of 
Commander Naval Base are under the immediate super- 
vision of the Base Dental Officer, who in turn,is 
responsible to the Base Medical Officer. 
Reports of dental services are to be prepared 
and forwarded by the Base Dental Officer, accor- 
ding to the provisions of the Manual of the Medi- 
cal Department. 
An organization plan governing the details of 
operation shall be the instructional guide for the 
dental facility. 
CIVILIAN HOSPI- 
TAL AND REIATED 
CIVILIAN HEALTH 
AND SANITATION 
PROBLEMS 
6. The Civilian Hospital shall be under the direc- 
tion of a designated Medical Officer as regards 
clinical aspects and care of patients. Employment, 
procurement of materials, general supplies, and 
some medical supplies shall be handled by the 
Civil Affairs Officer with the Civil Affairs 
Medical Officer acting as liaison. General 
facilities of the hospital shall be governed by 
Civil Affairs and the Hospital Board, with 
advice and recommendations of the medical depart- 
ment via the Base Medical Officer. 
Public Health and sanitation relating to civilians 
shall be under the direction of the Civilian Affairs 
Medical Officer with the facilities of the Epidemio- 
logy laboratory available upon request. 
MEDICAL STORE- 
HOUSE 
7. Directional supervision of the Medical Store- 
house is vested in the Base Medical Officer. 
OUTLYING 
DISPENSARIES 
8. The Base Medical Officer shall exercise coordi- 
native control over all dispensaries of the separate 
commands of this Naval Base. This includes at 
present, Naval Supply Depot, Receiving Station, 
Staging and Discharge Centers and Construction 
Battalion Camps. 
(Extracted from cumulative history report) 
16 XXI Marine Aircraft Group Twenty-one: 
Marine Aircraft Group Thirty One (MG 31) was originally 
organized with a headquarters squadron, and a service squadron, 
and one (l) tactical squadron (VMF 31l). By the time the 
Group was alerted for oversees duty, four (4) more tactical 
squadrons had been attached (VMF 312), (VMF 321), (VMSB 331), 
and (VMSB 341). This comprised the tactical group, under the 
over - all command of the Group Commander. 
The Medical Department was similarly organized; the 
Group Medical Officer has been responsible for over-all 
supervision, supply and dispensary facilities for the 
squadron. Each Squadron Medical Department consisted of 
one flight surgeon or aviation medical examiner and eight 
(S) corpsmen (later reduced to four (4) corpsmen). The 
Group Medical Department has had higher complements, con- 
sisting in the first portion of the year of the Group 
Medical Officer (flight surgeon or aviation medical examiner). 
One general duty Medical Officer as assistant, one Hospital 
Corps Officer and nineteen (19) Hospital Corpsmen. In the 
later portion of the year the extra Medical Officer was 
eliminated. The Dental Department has consisted of two (2) 
Dental Officers, and sufficient Corpsmen as detailed by 
the Group. 
The Group has been under the control of the Marine 
Aircraft Wing; the responsible Wing changed with each change 
in location of the Group. While in the Samoan area, the 
Fourth Marine Base Defense Aircraft Wing v/as the next higher 
echelon; from the time of the move to Okinawa until the pre- 
sent, the Second Marine Aircraft Wing has been the over-all 
command.” 
(Extract from cumulative history report). 
XXII Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force: 
’’The Medical Department of the Fourth Marine Aircraft 
Wing has functioned primarily in an administrative capacity, 
directing the activity of the various medical departments of 
the Groups within the Wing. This department has administered 
the medical needs and directed the sanitation practices of 
this organization of approximately 700 personnel.” 
(Cumulative history report) 
17 XXIII Medical Records. Amphibious Operations: 
During the follow-up of the Anzio assault, some health 
records were lost due to loss of ships on which they were 
carried. Preparation of new records to replace those lost 
was time consuming. To prevent a repetition of this, before 
the invasion of Southern France, "Medical Records Administra- 
tive Offices" wore set up ashore for type ships. In the 
custody of a pharmacist’s mate were placed all health records, 
the pharmacist mate of the individual ship retaining on 
board a copy of the inoculation record of each man, and an 
extract of any information which the medical officer 
considered important. Such offices were established for 
LST’s, LCI's, LCT's and the Escort Sweeper Group (PC, YMS, 
SC, AM, etc.). Miscellaneous ships not in one of these groups 
were instructed to place their health records ashore for 
safekeeping at one of the bases under this command. After a 
month or six weeks--when it became apparent that further ship 
losses would be minimal—these administrative offices were 
dissolved and the records returned to the ships. 
(Extracted from annual sanitary report of the Amphibious 
Force, U. S. Eighth Fleet, for 1944.) 
Temporary shore bases in Italy were established by the 
8th Amphibious Force at Nisida and Pozzuoli to expedite the 
activities incident to the Anzio and Southern France operations. 
Since these are on the outskirts of Naples no attempt was 
made to sot up dispensaries in cither place. However, a 
medical administrative office was established in Pozzuoli 
through which the ships made contact with the Naval Dispensary, 
Naples and the various Army hospitals used by the Navy for 
hospitalizing sick and wounded naval personnel. The medical 
administrative office assumed the custody of all health records 
of personnel attached to ships and small craft of the 
Amphibious Force. This was done to safeguard records against 
loss, since these ships were operating in an active combat 
area and on several occasions records were lost or destroyed 
as the result of enemy action. Skeleton records v/ere kept 
aboard all ships but the health records themselves were kept 
ashore and maintained according to Navy Regulations by the 
staff of the medical administrative office. This activity 
ceased to function when these activities were no longer re- 
quired for tactical reasons and the records were transferred 
back to the various ships. 
(Annual sanitary report from Fleet Medical Officer, United 
States Eighth Fleet, for 1944.) 
18 Prior to D-day Vicarage Road Camp, U. S. Naval Advanced 
Amphibious Base, Plymouth, was set up as a survivors camp. 
Records of all personnel aboard ships and craft of the 11th 
Amphibious Force were collected there in a Central Record 
Office. A Medical Casualty Record Section under Commander, 
Landing Craft and Bases, Eleventh Amphibious Force was install- 
ed for the compilation from the Running Record of Battle 
Casualties, a list by name, number and craft of all U. S. Naval 
dead, missing and wounded for submission to the various task 
forces involved in OPERATION OVERLORD. This activity was 
moved to the Headquarters, Commander, Amphibious Bases, 
United Kingdom in July 1944 and at present is carried on in 
the Staff Medical Office. It has been of inestimable value 
in obtaining accurate records and in tracing missing personnel. 
(Extracted from annual sanitary report of Commander, Amphibious 
Bases, United Kingdom, for year 1944.) 
19 APPENDIX B 
Relations of Ship Medical Departments to Higher Commands 
I USS NORTH CAROLINA 
II USS TICONDEROGA 
III USS WASP 
IV USS SHANGRI -LA 
V MISSION BAY 
VI USS WAKE ISLAND 
VII USS SARGENT BAY 
VIII USS SITKOH BAY 
IX THETIS BAY 
X USS SAN FRANCISCO 
XI USS GUAM 
XII USS FLINT 
XIII WILKES-BARRE 
XIV USS COMAY 
XV USS EATON 
XVI USS DORTCH 
XVII USS FRANK KNOX 
XVIII USS HOBBY 
XIX USS HAVERFIELD 
XX USS WATERMAN 
XXI USS FLASHER 
XXII USS CASCO 
XXIII USS RIXEY 
XXIV USS FREMONT 
XXV USS BOLIVAR 
XXVI USS PRAIRIE 
XXVII USS PELIAS 
XXVIII USS GRIFFIN 
XXIX USS SPERRY 
XXX USS ROCKY MOUNT 
XXXI USS HENRY A WILEY 
XXXII USS RELIEF 
XXXIII USS BOUNTIFUL 
XXXIV LST(H)464 
XXXV USS CASA GRANDE 
XXXVI LCI(L)954 
XXXVII LCI (5), Flotilla Ten 
XXXVIII LCI(L)188, Flagship, 
LCI Group One, Flotilla 
One* I. US3 NORTH CAROLINA (BB55) 
"For administration and combat purposes, this battleship 
usually operated with one or two other battleships of similar de- 
sign and class of speed to form a battleship division. This 
battleship division was under the command of a battleship divi- 
sion commander usually a Rear Admiral. Several battleship divi- 
sions in turn were grouped under the command of a battleship 
squadron commander. 
"The Fleet Commanders received their orders from the 
Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CincPac) 
and Pacific Ocean Areas (CincPoa). 
"As illustrated in the actions described in the history of 
this ship, this vessel performed many functions. She usually 
operated with a fast carrier force but also performed shore 
bombardment in support of amphibious operations. She made 
day and night surface engagements with the enemy and raided 
enemy shipping and their homeland. She protected our troop 
convoys and gave medical aid to other ships of the fleet 
especially destroyers. 
"Because of the many types of missions this vessel engaged 
in, for operational purposes, the chain of command would shift 
to the Task Force Commander who had been designated for that mis- 
sion, regardless of relative rank. 
"The Medical Department followed the administration and oper- 
ational chain of command as described. 
"The Fleet Medical Officer and the Medical Officers on the 
Staff of the Task Force Commanders and Type Force Commanders were 
informed of-all n cesssry medical information pertinent to their 
commands. However, routine official medical department corres- 
pondence to the Headquarters of the Commander in Chief United 
States Pacific Fleet and Facific Ocean Areas was routed via them 
only if so directed. 
"As this vessel operated with a fast carrier task force all 
of the casualties treated were men of our own crew or from other 
ships of the task force. This ship did not receive casualties from 
the beach during amphibious operations. Chronic or complicated 
cases were treated aboard until contact could be made with a 
hospital ship or they could be transferred to a Naval Hospital." 
(Cumulative history report.) II. TICONDERCGA (CV 14) 
"This vessel’s organization is that of all Essex class 
carriers. During the period covered by this report it has 
operated with the Third and Fifth Fleets, in various task 
groups as assigned. This vessel’s position in the chain of 
command varied widely in accordance with orders issued to the 
task groupj at various times she was a flagship, at other 
times as a participant in a larger task group." (Cumulative 
history report.) 
III. USS WASP (CV 18) 
"The ship’s position in the Naval Chain of Command varied 
in accordance to seniority of Flag and commanding officers at- 
tached to the Task Unit or Task Group when it was formed by 
various sources of high authority. At times, when the WASP 
carried the Commander of a Task Unit or even of a Task Group 
her position in the Chain of Command graduated toward the top. 
At other times when the flag was located aboard another vessel 
of which the WASP was a member of a Task Unit, her position 
depreciated accordingly. 
"This ship did not stay in any one Task Group or Task 
Unit for any length of time, being continually separated from 
one unit and ordered to another as operations and fleet man- 
uevers necessitated. The WASP was, except when-being ""removed 
from the forward area, attached either to Task Group 58 or 
Task Group 38, depending on which Fleet was at the time in 
the forward area conducting attacks against the enemy. Her 
further segregation as regards Task Units within the Task 
Group was usually changed after completion of her assigned 
mission. 
"Primarily the WASP came under the orders of CincPac and 
GomAirPac in that order. 
"....The Naval Chain of Command insofar as the Medical 
Department was concerned depended whether the Task Group and/or 
Task Unit Commander and his staff (which included a Medical 
Officer) had his flag aboard the ship or some other. Notwith- 
standing those fluctuations, the Medical Department came under 
the Medical Officer, ComAirPac, who in turn came under the 
Fleet Medical Officer, CincPac." (Cumulative history report.) IV. USS SHANGRI-LA (CV 38) 
"This basic organization was augmented by an additional 
Medical Officer (Flight Surgeon) whenever an Air Group was 
embarked. The Senior Medical Officer and one other Medical 
Officer in the ship’s organization were also Flight Surgeons. 
The Senior Medical Officer acted as one of the ship*s depart- 
ments heads, and received his orders from the Commanding Of- 
ficer or the Executive Officer, The Air Group Flight Surgeon, 
when aboard, functioned as a member of the ship’s Medical 
Organization in addition to his duties with the Air Group. 
"The chain of command under which the ship operated, varied 
according to the locale of the ship and according to task force 
and fleet organization. Upon commissioning and while under- 
going shakedown and trial cruises in the Atlantic, the ship 
operated down through the chain of command from Cinclant, via 
Comairlant, to Comfair nor folk. Upon transit of the Panama 
Canal the chain of command changed to Cincpac, via Comairpac 
to Comfairwestcoast. Upon arriving at Pearl Harbor the ship 
reported to Comairpac for duty, and still later reported to 
Commander 5th Fleet in the forward area for duty with Task 
Force 58 on 24 April 1945. The designation of Task Force 58 
was changed on 28 May 1945 to Task Force 38 and the ship re- 
ported to Commander 3rd Fleet for duty. The ship remained a 
part of the 3rd Fleet until the conclusion of the war. Through- 
out this entire period the SHANGBI-LA operated under numerous 
relatively minor task force or task group designations for 
specific tasks." (Cumulative history report.) 
V. MISSION BAY (CVE 59) 
"The Medical Department of the ship operated almost ex- 
clusively under directives and despatches from CidCPac through 
the Fleet Medical Officer and from ComAirPac through the Force 
Medical Officer. Enlisted Hospital Corps personnel were trans- 
ferred and received through the authority of ComAirPac and 
ComFair, WC under the direction of the command now designated 
as ComWesFron.” (Extract from cumulative history report.) 
VI. USS WAKE ISLAND (CVE 65) 
nThc Medical Department functioned as integral component 
of the ships organization and its subsequent activity para- 
lleled therefore, the assignment of the ship to various fleet 
divisions and duties. Following a shakedown cruise, the ship went to the East Coast and was attached to a carrier div- 
ision of the Atlantic Fleet under ComAirLant. One ferry trip 
was made to Karachi, India, followed by two months duty on 
anti-sub patrol and two months training duty out of Quonset. 
In November 1944 the ship departed for the West Coast via the 
Panama Canal and was assigned to various carrier divisions 
of the Pacific Fleet under ComAirPac. During the ensuing 
period to the end of the war the ship operated as a member 
of various carrier task units first with the 7th Fleet dur- 
ing the Luzon Invasion, then with the 5th during the Iwo 
Jima campaign and finally with the 3rd Fleet during the Okinawa 
operation.” (Cumulative history report.) 
VII. USS SARGENT BAY (CVE 83) 
"The U. S. S. SARGENT BAY operated the entire time in 
the Pacific. The position of the ship in the naval chain of 
command was as follows: 
(1) Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. 
(2) Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet 
(3) Commander Air Force, Pacific Fleet 
(4) Commander Third Fleet 
(5) Commander Fifth Fleet 
"During the several operations in which the ship took 
part in the Pacific the ship has been assigned to various task 
groups and task units as listed...." (Cumulative history report.) 
VIII. USS SITKOH.BAY (CVE 86) 
"The USS SITKOH BAY sorved under the following chain of 
command for the greater portion of the war: 
Commander in Chief, U. S. Fleet 
Commander in Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet 
Commander Air Force, Pacific Fleet 
Commander Carrier Transport Squadron, Pacific 
"During its service under the above commands and while 
carrying out its function as a transport, training, and re- 
plenishment carrier this vessel was attached to various Task 
Groups and Task Units that arc not listed above." 
"The SITKOH BAY has operated as a unit of Carrier Trans- 
port Squadron, Pacific Fleet. This vessel has functioned as 
a transport aircraft carrier to supply the far-flung Pacific naval bases, as a replenishment carrier to supply replacement 
aircraft to units of the Fleet engaged in making strikes upon 
the enemy, and as a qualification carrier to afford pilots 
carrier experience.n (Extracts from cumulative history report.) 
IX. THETIS BAY (CVE 90) 
THETIS BAY: Chain while on transport duty 21 April 1944 
to June 1945. 
The Commanding Officer, USS THETIS BAY 
The Commander, Carricr Transport Squadrons, Pacific 
The Commander, Air Force, Pacific Fleet 
The Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet 
The Chief of Naval Operations 
While on replenishment duty, according tp type, 27 June 
to 6 September 1945. 
The Commanding Officer, USS THETIS BAY 
The Commander, Carrier Transport Squadrons, Pacific 
The Commander, Air Force, Pacific Fleet 
The Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet 
The Chief of Naval Operations 
While on replenishment duty, operational 27 June 1945 
to 6 September 1945. 
Commanding Officer, USS THETI6 BAY 
Commander, Task Group 30.8 
The Commander, Third Fleet 
Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet 
Chief of Naval Operations 
(Cumulative history report.) 
X. USS SAN FRANCISCO (CA 38) 
Tactical 
Pacific Fleet 
Cruisers, Pacific Fleet 
Cruiser Division #6 
Administrative 
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Fleet Surgeon, Pacific Fleet 
Fleet Surgeon, Third, Fifth, or Seventh Fleet 
Cruiser Division #6 Medical Officer 
(Cumulative history report.) 
XI. USS GUAM (CB 2) 
"It should be stated that the Naval Medical Bulletin, 
BuMed News Letter and the Pacific Fleet Medical News were of 
inestimable value in not only keeping us informed of problems 
encountered and handled well by other ships as well as in 
making available information on new and changing concepts of 
treatment.” (Cumulative history report.) 
XII. USS FLINT (CL 97) 
* nThc Medical Department of the USS FLINT (CL 97) operated 
as a single department under tho direct supervision of the 
oodical.officer. Coordination v;ith other departments and with 
fleet activities was directed by the Commanding Officer. De- 
partment reports were sent to the Bureau of Medicine and Sur- 
gery either directly or through Commander Cruisers, Pacific, 
The USS FLINT operated throughout the period covered by this 
report as a combatant unit of the 3rd, 5th Fleet with admin- 
istration through Commander, Cruisers, Pacific.” (Cumulative 
history report.) 
XIII. USS WILKES-BARRE (CL 103) 
Tactical: 
Pacific Fleet 
Commander Cruisers, Pacific Fleet 
Cruiser Division #17 
Administrative: 
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery 
Fleet Surgeon, Pacific Fleet 
Fleet Surgeon, Third, Fifth, and Seventh Fleet 
Cruiser Division #17 Medical Officer 
(Cumulative history report,) XIV, USS CONWAY (DD 507) 
"This ship is a 2100 ton destroyer and has been the Flag- 
ship of the Commander, Destroyer Division Forty-Four from the 
time of its entry into the Pacific Theater of war until that 
division was changed to DesDiv 302 in the Inactive Reserve 
Atlantic Fleet on 1 January 1946. The CONWAY and eight other 
destroyers of the class operated in the Pacific as Destroyer 
Squadron Twenty-two. The entire squadron operated under the 
Commanders, Third and Fifth Fleets from early in December 
1942 until ordered as a unit back to the United States in 
August 1944..••Upon return to the Pacific, DesRon 22 operated 
under the Commandor, Seventh Fleet, until detached in December 
1945 to enter the Reserve Fleet. For administrative purposes, 
the CONWAY served under Commander, Destroyers, Pacific Fleet, 
along with all other ships of this type, and the destroyer 
tenders in that Fleet.” (Cumulative history report.) 
XV. USS EATON (DD 510) 
) 
"The USS EATON is a unit of Commander Destroyer Division 
44 and Commander Destroyer Squadron 22. While in the forward 
area prior to return to the United States in August 1944 the 
Eaton was under Commander South Pacific Area and operated 
with the Third and Fifth Fleets. On resuming operations in 
the forward area in November 1944 it was listed under the ad- 
ministrative command of Compandor Seventh Fleet. With the 
exception of the commissioning and shakedown training period 
all activity has been in the Pacific Area under the Commander 
in Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet, with Commander Destroyers, 
U. S. Pacific Fleet as type commander." (Cumulative history 
report.) 
XVI. USS DORTCH (DD 670) 
"The USS DORTCH (DD 670), one of nine ships of DesRon 50, 
which is under the command of Commander Destroyers, Pacific 
Fleet, operated with Carrier Task Force 50 and 30 during al- 
most her entire period of activity, A number of independent 
missions were also carried out by the DORTCH and other ships 
of her division. 
"During the war, each destroyer had one medical officer 
who was assisted by two to three pharmacists mates. The 
medical officer v/as directly responsible to the commanding officer of this vessel and thru him to the Commander Destroyers, 
Pacific Fleet, and the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.” (Cumu- 
lative history report.) 
XVII. USS FRANK KNOX (DD 742) 
"At present there is a Division Medical Officer aboard 
the USS SOUTHERLAND who is in charge of the medical activities 
aboard four destroyers. He is available should any situation 
out of the scope of the pharmacist’s mates aboard arise.” 
(Cumulative history report.) 
XVIII. USS HOBBY (DD 610) 
nTho medical activities of the ship are independent with 
tho exception of periodic timely literature from the Type Com- 
mander of the Atlantic or the Pacific Fleets, and the Bureau 
of Medicine and Surgery. The activities aboard have been pre- 
viously guided by Navy Regulations, Manual of the Medical De- 
partment, and recently by the Destroyer Medical Guide, issued 
by the Commander Destroyers. Pacific Fleet, U. S. Navy.1945.” 
(Cumulative history report.) 
XIX. USS HAVERFIELD (DE 393) 
’’The medical department of this vessel was important to 
the other escorts of the group, for with the Division Medical 
Officer aboard it was the center of all medical activities. 
The nodical officers special equipment was set up and rendered 
service to the other medical departments of the Task Group, 
helping to solve the intricate clinical situations that arose.” 
(Cumulative history report.) 
XX. USS TINSMAN (DE 589) 
”A nodical officer under the command of Commander Escort 
Division 71 served the division consisting of six ships. Super- 
vision of the Division Doctor was effected by periodic inspec- 
tions of this ship and nodical assistance, operations* permit- 
ting.n (Cumulative history report.) XXI. USS WATERMAN (DE 740) 
There were six ships in the division to which this des- 
troyer escort was attached. Each ship usually had a chief 
pharmacists mate and a pharmacists mate first class aboard. 
The division doctor spent most of his time on the flag ship, 
but rotated among the other shipsj about two months out of 
the year were spent on the WATERMAN. Each chief pharmacists 
mate was responsible for the medical department of his own 
ship, and reported to the division doctor, who acted as head 
of the medical staff for the division. (Abstracted from cumu- 
lative history report.) 
XXII. USS FLASHER (SS 249) 
"The Medical Department representative on the USS FLASHER 
Consisted of one Pharmacist Mate and was under the direct cog- 
nizance of the Squadron Medical Officer, the Force Surgeon, 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet and the Senior Medical Officer, 
Commander Service Force, Subordinate Command, Pacific Fleet. 
Copies of all reports were submitted to these commands with 
the exception of the Squadron Medical Officer who did not re- 
quire them." (Extract from cumulative history report.) 
XXIII. USS CASCO (AVP 12) 
"Until 2 October 1944, the ship was under the supervision 
of ComAirWing Two with the administrative duties feanfotg handled 
at first by ComForwardArea and later by ComF.larahallSubArea and 
ComMar-GilAreas. Since 2 October 1944, command has changed to 
CcnFlairWing One who has also handled the administrative duties 
of the command. Medical reports were mailed to the Staff Medi- 
cal Officer.of ConSERVForPac, ComServForPacSubCom, CincPac and 
ComAirPac." (Cumulative history report.) 
XXIV. USS RIXEY (APH 3) 
"In the early part of the war and after the war ended, 
the ship was attached to Commander Service Force Command of 
the Pacific, operating independently and carrying troops and 
passengers or evacuating patients. 
"In preparation for invasions the RIXEY joined one of 
the Amphibious forces as a member of a transport squadron, being under the control of the Attack Task Force Command for use as 
an Assault Transport in the first phase of the amphibious oper- 
ation. On the arrival at the beach and after discharging her 
troops she was prepared to receive casualties from the beach or 
adjacent ships. When loaded with casualties she was sailed 
by S.C.P.A. or other Attack Force Commands as directed in the 
operational plan. Then Commander Service Force assumed control 
and directed the ship « to definite ports according to the load. 
Upon discharge of casualties and after servicing the ship it 
was again sailed by Commander Service Force to a port as 
designated in the operational plan, or was directed by the 
Attack Command to await a call forward to the objective 
area." (Extracted from cumulative history report.) 
XXV. USS FREMONT (APA 44) 
"Although the ship functioned as a flagship during opera- 
tions the medical department of the ship had no administrative 
duties but was assigned the care of casualties the same as 
medical departments of other (Cumulative history re- 
port. ) 
XXVI. USS BOLIVAR (APA 34) 
"The Senior Medical Officer of this ship has acted as Trans 
port Division Medical Officer in all operations. Ho had adjust- 
ed personnel requirements within the division to meet the ex- 
isting needs of various ships and has coordinated evacuation 
of casualties from the combat area." (Cumulative history re- 
port. ) 
XXVII. USS PRAIRIE (AD 15) 
"The function of this ship is to furnish tender services 
to destroyers and destroyer escorts. For the last ten months 
of the year, this ship together with other AD’s were stationed 
at three different anchorages where shore based hospital fa- 
cilities were not available....Wkth,the •fippyrval of the Com-, 
nanding Officer of the USS PRAIRIE, the Commander of Service 
Squadron Ton verbally ordered the Senior Medical Officer of 
this vessel to set up an organization for handling and coordin- 
ating medical services and hospital facilities. He also dosig- nated him as anchorage evacuation officer and medical repre- 
sentative of ComSerRonTen.” (Cumulative history report.) 
XXVIII. USS PE LIAS (AS 14) 
”The Senior Medical Officer has performed duty as Head 
of the Medical Department, and has been in direct charge of 
the treatment of the sick and injured, also in charge of medi- 
cal supplies, and has closely watched the sanitary condition 
of the ship and area, and general health of the crew. He has 
also been in direct charge of the health of the submarine crews, 
during refit periods, and the sanitary condition of the sub- 
marines-. Ho has had additional duty as squadron medical officer, 
for Submarine Squadron Six, and temporarily for Submarine Squad- 
ron Sixteen pending arrival of their tender.” (Cumulative his- 
tory report.) 
XXVIX. USS GRIFFIN (AS 13) 
"The Senior Medical Officer was head of the Medical Depart- 
ment. As Squadron Medical Officer he served in an advisory ca- 
pacity in all matters pertaining to the care of the sick and 
wounded, and health and hygiene of the submarines. The USS 
GRIFFIN Medical Department carried out all the usual activities 
relating to the ship and provided medical and dental facilities 
for personnel attached to submarines, and medical stores for 
issue to submarines. In view of the fact that submarines oper- 
ate for extended periods of time away from the tender, every 
effort was made to eliminate or repair the physically or men- 
tally unfit. This was carried out by frequent and repeated 
physical examinations and psychiatric interviews with the 
submariners.” (Cumulative history report.) 
XXX. USS SPERRY (AS 12) 
"The medical officer of the SPERRY is the administrative 
head of the department and has been assigned additional duty 
as Squadron Medical Officer, Submarine Squadron 10,..,The 
medical officer, acting in the capacity of Squadron Medical 
Officer, has had more or less complete charge of assigning 
Pharmacist’s Mates to independent duty aboard the submarines 
of the Squadron as well as other submarines which may have been 
overhauled by the SPERRY,” (Historical data supplement to 
annual sanitary report for 1943.) XXXI. USS ROCKY MOUNT (AGO 3) 
This ship was an auxiliary general communications type 
ship; her primary function was that of a command ship for 
amphibious forces. 
"Throughout all the campaigns in which the ROCKY MOUNT 
took part the ship Ts Medical Department treated large numbers 
of casualties of all types. The Staff Medical Officer directed 
the overall handling of casualties. 
"At Lingayen the ROCKY MOUNT acted as SOPA (Administrative) 
and held sick call and consultations for the smaller vessels." 
(Cumulative history report.) 
XXXII. USS HENRY A. WILEY (DM 29) 
"This ship has been under the Administrative Command of 
the Commander Minecraft, U. S. Pacific Fleet since it entered 
the Pacific theater. The Staff Medical Officer has at all 
times been most helpful when called upon for aid. In the two 
campaigns thru which it has served, this vessel has been for 
the most part under operational control of the assault task 
force commanders of the 3rd and 5th Fleets whose organizations 
made available cither hospital ships or APA’s for receiving 
casualties requiring more aid than could be given on a ship 
of this type." (Cumulative history report.) 
XXXIII. USS RELIEF (AH l) 
In 1942, following a general reorganization of the fleet, 
the RELIEF operated, under Commander Service Forces Pacific, 
Commander Service Squadron Ten, and various Service Division 
Commanders. On occasions, when conditions required, the ship 
operated directly under Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, 
who sometimes assigned her to subordinate commanders for spec- 
ial duties. (Abstracted from cumulative history report.) 
XXXIV. USS BOUNTIFUL (AH 9) 
"During the major portion of the tine, the ship has ser- 
ved as a part of the Service Force, U. S. Pacific Fleet, and 
through that chain of command, under the respective Commanders 
of the Third and Seventh Fleets." (Cumulative history report.) XXXV. USS 1ST(H) 464 
"From the date of arrival in Sydney, Australia, until the 
end of the war, the ship was assigned to the Seventh Amphibious 
Force and received its orders from Commander, Seventh Amphibious 
Force, under the overall command of the Seventh Fleet. Nomin- 
ally assigned to 1ST Flotilla Seven, she never participated in 
group or flotilla movements, but served independently where she 
was most needed under the direct command of Commander, Seventh 
Amphibious Force. 
"Just where the USS 1ST stands in the organization of 
the Medical Department is as ambiguous as it is amphibious." 
(Cumulative history report.) 
XXXVI. USS GASA GRANDE (LSD 13) 
"The duties of the Medical Department and its personnel 
are determined by Navy Regulations, the Manual of the Medical 
Department and the Landing Ship Dock Organization Book, and by 
modifications that have originated from various area commanders 
and task groups that this ship has served under as outline.,,. 
There is no type commander for landing-ship docks ~as yet. 'A 
(Cumulative history report.) 
XXXVII. USS LCI(L) 954 
nDuring the invasion of Southern France a nodical officer 
was assigned to this vessel as part of the ship*s company. 
Since this vessel became command ship for the LCT Type Command- 
er at least one medical officer attached to that officer’s staff 
has been aboard at all times though such medical officers have 
not been assigned to this vessel for duty." (Cumulative his- 
tory report.) 
XXXVIII. USS LCT (5) Flotilla Ten 
Flotilla Ten consisted of LCT1s.. 
uDue to the fact LCT’s have been deployed over a wide 
area on independent duty it has made it impossible for the medi- 
cal department of this command to keep accurate records. There 
arc tines when we do not see some of these craft from three to to four months. Men who have fallen sick during these times 
away from Flotilla 10 Headquarters have been treated or hos- 
pitalized at the nearest available U. S. Navy or U. S. Army 
dispensary or hospital. No records were forwarded to this 
command of treatment, diagnosis, length of time hospitalized, 
etc 
"Letters were sent to all crew commanders instructing 
them to submit a written report to the Medical Officer of this 
command with all the details of casualties, illness, treatment, 
or hospitalization of any of their crew while on independent 
duty av/ay from Flotilla Headquarters A letter was sent to 
each crew commander with attached sheet listing his men and 
shots they needed... .VJhen shots v/ere given, medical officer or 
corpsmen signed attached sheet and crew commander in turn 
forwarded it back to the Flotilla Medical Department and it 
was entered into man's health record. 
"Each flotilla consists of three groups, with twelve LCT's 
to a group. The medical complement of each group consists of 
one doctor and two Pharmacist's Mates first or second class with 
a sum total of three doctors and six pharmacist's Mates to a 
flotilla." 
(Extracts from historical data supplement to annual sani- 
tary report for 1943 from LCT(5) Flotilla Ten.) 
XXXIX. U3S LCI(L) 188, Flagship, LCI Group One, Flotilla One 
nEach member of the medical unit was embarked on board a 
different ship of the group thus affording medical department 
supervision for five out of twelve ships with occasional shift- 
ing of medical personnel as emergencies demanded. Pharmacist's 
mates were thus in a status of independent duty, and only when 
all ships of the group were together in port was it possible 
for the medical officer to exercise direct supervision of their 
activities. He was often out of touch with one or all of the 
pharmacist's mates for periods of weeks at a time." 
(Extracted from historical data supplement to annual sani- 
tary report for 1944 from LCl(L) 188, Flagship, LCI Group One, 
Flotilla One.) APPENDIX C 
Charts 
I Force Medical Office, Service Force, Pacific Fleet. 
II Office of the Commander, Administrative Command, 
Amphibious Forces, U. S. Pacific Fleet. 
III Sixth Amphibious Force. 
IV Sixth Amphibious Force. 
V Administrative and operational relationships of the 
USS NASSAU (CVE 16). 
VI Administrative and operational relationships of the 
USS REDNOUR (APD 102). 
VII Malaria and epidemic control South Pacific. 
VIII Commander, Training Command, Pacific. 
IX Navy Medical Department Organization, Kodiak Sector. 
X Navy Medical Department Organization, Unalaska Sub-Sector. 
XI Navy Medical Department Activities, U. S. Naval Base, 
Subic Bay, Philippine Islands. 
XII TJ. S. Naval Operating Bane, Oran, Algeria. 
XIII U. S. Military Government Unit, Saipan, M. I. 
XIV Base Hospital 2 — position in chain of command while 
located at Efate, New Hebrides. 
XV Base Hospital 2 — position in chain of command while at 
Noumea, New Caledonia. 
XVI Base Hospital 2 — position in chain of command while at 
Subic Bay, P. I., under Seventh Fleet. 
XVII Base Hospital 2 — position in chain of command while 
at Subic Bay, P. I., under Commander Philippine Sea 
Frontier. nn-i Thla 1* a aabanatla ryiiBittli of ih* Oaittil 
organisation galy. It roflaoto ftmad mtlfll 
nador nrtlM oondltlona bat wot wndwr powootlno wii- 
oanataaowo, Currently eartalw NtUtM ora gruwy*d 
for monany of parwannel, **oh grunp tho raw 
*f om offioar u follow*) 
Adnlnlatara aadloal 
aad daatal offlaar 
pool. Hanlnata* 
nodical aad daatal 
offloara aad ouraaa 
for aaalgjaanta and 
trwnafara In POA, 
Arrangao snargsnay 
aaslgnaant# or 
tranafor* of aboro 
paraonnal to ahlpa. 
Maintain* raoorda 
of aaalgnaanto aad 
traa&ar* of all 
1C. B?, K, aad 
40 ’offioar* la 
-BtfiiL oPfTCP 
71.2 (63.11) 
Daralopa Hoapltal 
Corpa paraonnal 
plana. Proouraa, 
aaalgna and dlatri- 
hntoa Hoapltal 
Corpa offloor aad 
anllatad paraonnal 
la tha Pacific 
float and Paolfla 
Ooaaa Araaa. Ad- 
sinister* oenpla- 
aant eontrol of 
Madloal Dapartaant 
paraonnal. Aeta on 
all nattara ralat- 
lng to Hoapltal 
Corpa paraonnal 
axeapt thoaa ln- 
rolrlng poll ay. 
Maintain* raoorda 
naadad to Sanaa- 
pllah abor*. 
HoIRfit 6c*H 
rapsomm. 
omen 
75.3 
Daralopa plana for 
aodleal faellltlaa 
POA, Initiator 
thair proonraaant, 
provide* for tholr 
nalotanaaea aad rao- 
oaawnda thair ar- 
paaaloa or raduet- 
lon. Corralataa 
and appllaa data of 
loglatlo algnlfl- 
oanea proparod by 
the aadloal Mpply 
and aanltattoo aao- 
tlona, Coardlnataa 
aganolaa required 
for aadloal loglat- 
lo aupport of tha 
float aad POt 
baaaa, Halntalaa 
llalaoe with Cine- 
pao aad IW. Do* 
wwlopa plana and 
palltlaa m vaU- 
wp of aadlaal 
aatlrltlaa. 
MDTai 
LOGISTICS 
ament 
25*1— 
HEADQUARTERS 
DISPBISART 
76.* 
ORGANIZATION CHART 
FORCE NEDICAL OFFICE, SERVICE FORCE 
PACIFIC FLEET 
Saraona A validate# 
raqolaltlona, Pro- 
paraa requisition* 
for apaolal outfit- 
ting of ahlpa la 
POA. Raoorda lnvsn- 
torlaa and laaua 
ratoa of aadloal 
aterahonaaa, aadl- 
oal bargao, and 
aadloal atoraa 
laaua ahlpa. Pro* 
paras blook load A 
apaolal raquial- 
tloaa of tha auto- 
wn tie supply wyw- 
tan.Corraota ahort- 
agao on raquiwl- 
tlana fill ad «n tha 
•aat Coart. latl- 
natoa toanaga ro- 
qmiraaaota of raq- 
alaltloaa. Prepares 
aawthly raqaaato 
far tonnaga alloaa- 
tlia. Coardlnataa 
baaMwga fron USD 
Pawl with Cuadary- 
Pao shipping allo- 
aatlaaa. Apadltaa 
aklpnit or trwno- 
far af aadlaal and 
dantal aatarlala. 
IEIcalUTOT 
AND SHIPPINO 
omen 
25*5 
Originate# and dlo- 
aanlnataa notaa on 
flold A ohlp aanl* 
tat loo. Review* aad 
raeonaanda action 
on aanitarjr raporta 
fron Sarrfor ahlpa. 
Datarnlnaa and ad* 
visa* ra raqulroaa* 
nta aanl tat Ion par- 
aonnal, nan aanlta- 
tlon ltana aad out- 
fitting alloranoaa. 
Racoanonda atook 
larala.Acraooa roq- 
ulaltlona. Conwult# 
with FK and CAS 
aaetlon of AST. 
Maintain* llalaan 
with Cinepao. 
POKE MEDICAL OTTICIP 
UnTTITP* 
omcra 
25*i 
Fubllahaa aorthly 
profaaalonal and 
adnlnlatratlra data 
of apaolal lntaraat 
to Madloal, Dantal, 
Koapltal, and Ooraa 
Corpa paraonnal. 
mm 
PAcmc purr 
MttXCAL NWS 
25*2 
Harlaw* and ana] 71a* 
POA paragonal aad 
aatarlal raqulro- 
aaate ralatad to 
nalntanano* of aaval 
•tandarda of dantal 
traataant, Prepare* 
da tall ad plana, ra> 
aoaaaadatlaaa aad 
dlraetlraa ra aatab- 
Uahnaat, aodlflea- 
tlea and diaaatab* 
ltahaant of daatal 
faallitlaa In aaoor- 
danea with ClncPac/ 
POA directive*. 
Soraaaa dantal raq- 
alaltlana. Corrala- 
taa and awiarlaaa 
Sat Iona A raooa- 
tlena on dantal 
nattaro fron ahlpa A 
atatlona la POA. Co- 
ardlaataa aotlrl- 
tlaa of Dantal flold 
Dal to, CoadarrPaa. 
Dew *1 op* plana aad 
pallolaa an rollup 
of dantal aotlw- 
ltlaa.Inapaata Aarw- 
Fer waoorla with 
dantal faallitlaa ra 
thair adafaaayynaln- 
tananaa, aad apaaa- 
tta, alitala 
llalaan wife CUapna. 
ADMINISTRATIVE 
ASSISTANT 
25*1 
WM! IMkl 
omen 
25*1 
Xawpoota SwrrFor 
rmili r* *d*qu*ay, 
wwlntanwnoo, wad 
operation of tb«lr 
aadlaal fwollltlea. 
iNSPinoH 
omen 
1u 
CiTtlofi MflMt I 
of 
tlsnnl p&M. 
PUNtnir 
omen 
—25*10— DET 
APA AG C. B BEACH 
MASTER UMTS 
III 
DETAIL OFFICER 
LANDING CRAFT 
OFFICER 
PERSONNEL 
113 
CORRESPONDENCE 
CpFFICER 
CD ||4 
ORDER 
jfFICER 
121 
ASST ENLISTED 
PERS OFFICER 
12 
ENLISTED 
PERSONNEL 
PERSONNEL OFFICER 
19 
DEMOBILIZATION 
OFFICER 
18 
ARMY PERS 
OFFICER 
15 
PUBLIC 
INFORMATION 
14 
WELFARE B 
RECREATION 
13 
FLAG 
DETACHMENT 
17 
LEGAL 
OFFICER 
16 
HISTORICAL 
OFFICER 
171 
ASST LEGAL 
OFFICER 
161 
ASST. HISTORICAL 
OFFICER 
191 
lift rritur 
—rn— 
SECURITY 
OFFICER 
25 
REG PUB 
OFFICER 
21 
ASST COMM 
OFFICER 
2 
COMMUNICATION OFFICER 
052 
SECRET MAIL OFFICER 
051 
ASST.FLAG SECRETARY 
033 
POSTAL OFFICER 
05 
FLAG SECRETARY 
26 
COMM. WATCH 
OFFICER 
24 
COMM. TRAINING 
OFFICER 
23 
RADAR MATEREL 
OFFICER 
22 
RADIO MATERIEL 
OFFICER 
S^P 
TRAINTNG 
MOVEMENT a 
SUPERVISION 
9F SMlfJL. 
323 
RESEARCH a 
DEVELOPEMENT 
32 
TRAINING 
OFFICER 
T\ 
OPER ADMIN 
assistant 
01 I 
MILITARY LIAISON 
322 
SCHOOL 
TRAINING 
312 
RECORDS 
3 
OPERATIONS OFFICER 
01 
CHIEF OF STAFF 
0 
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMANDER 
34 
TRANSPORT 
O.M. 
33 
BOAT POOLS 
012 
ASST. TO C OF S. 
422 
MED. PERS a 
TRAINING OFF. 
mss. 
MED. LOGIST 
ST3 
SUPPLY a OIS. 
INSPECTIONS 
*n 
ASST. SUPPLY 
OFFICER 
m 
DISBURSING 
OFFICER 
OFFICE] 
-42 
MEDICAL 
OFFICER 
41 
SUPPLY 
OFFICER 
4 
LOGISTICS OFFICER 
03 
FLAG LIEUTENANT 
44 
CONSTRUCTION 
OFFICER 
43 
GUNNERY 
OFFICER 
431 
ROUTME 8 REO 
UISITIONS OFF, 
441 
ASST. CONST. 
OFFICER 
*T5 
AA FIRING 
INSPECTOR 
434 
SMOKE 
OFFICER 
433 
GUNBOAT 
OFFICER 
AMMUNITION 
OFFICER 
442 
TRANSB BILL 
ETING OFF. 
443 
CIVIL 
ENGINEERING 
OFFICE OF THE COMMANOER 
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMAND, AMPHIBIA FORCES 
U. £ PACIFIC FLEET 
513 
TYPE MAINT. 
LCI, LCS,TYPE 
512 
TYPE MAINT 
LST,ARL,APB.LCT 
516 
BOARDING 
OFFICER 
515 
MAINTENANCE 
PLANNING 
OFFICER 
5J4‘ 
TYPE MAPIT. 
LSM.APC 
511 
TYPE MAINT 
APD,AKA 
51 
ASST. MAINT OFF 
TYPE MAINT OFF 
AG C, A PA, LSV, LSD 
3 
MAINTENANCE OFFICER 
SENIOR MEMBER 
INSPECTION BD. 
523 
INSPECTION 
BOARD MEMBER 
RECORDER 
522 
INSPECTION 
BOARD MEMBER 
MACHINERY 
521 
INSPECTION 
BOARD MEMBER 
HULL •x 
First aid to boat 
n crews. 
Training, supplying 
and equipping land- 
ing craft. 
Basic medical facilities 
(Source: Memeographed copy of ltr. from Coe mender. Sixth Amphib Force to Chief, BuMed, 
FE25/A9, Serial: 0055, dated 22 Nov. 1943.) 
Little Creek 
Landing Equip- 
ment Depot. 
(Basic medical 
facilities.) 
Administrative 
Detachment 
(Basic medical 
I facilities.) 
{Personnel 
'.Supplies 
(Correspondence 
[Field training of 
medical components 
of beach parties. 
Basic medical fac- 
litics. 
REAR ECHELON - TRAINING 
SIXTH AMPHIBIOUS FORCE, ATLANTIC FLEET 
NAVY FORCE SURGEON 
Fort Pierce 
AMPHIBIOUS TRAINII G BASES 
TRAINING 
Special training for 
landing craft officer 
personnel 
Landing exercises 
; with transports. 
(Basic medical facilities. 
coordination with 
Solomons 
Medical preparation of 
vessels of the force for 
operations. 
ARMY FORCE SURGEON 
Medical storehouse, 
Bcac i parties. 
Staging area. 
Basic medical fac- 
ilities. 
Bradford (Source: mimeographed aepy ltr* from Commander, Sixth Amphib F#rce t-m Chief* BuMed, FE25/A9, serial: 
0055, dated 22 nSv, 1943*) 
Supplies 
Evacuation 
C orrespondence 
FORWARD ECHELON - OPERATIONS 
SIXTH AMPHIBIOUS FORCE, ATLANTIC FLEET 
NAVY FORCE SURGEON 
(Prepare task force medical plan) 
Medical component of beach 
parties 
Senior medical officers 
of APA's and AKA*s 
Division evacuation . 
officers of transport 
divisions 
Area 
Evacuation officer in 
Sta ff C omTransPhibla nt 
CD = 
<1 tfl 
P £0 
O H* 
£ tn 
P c+ 
ct* P 
S'r& 
o o 
H5 
f-+> 
H* 
O 
CD 
4 Administrative and operational relationships of the 
USS NASSAU (CVE 16) 
COMINCH C NO 
BUMED 
COMPACFLT 
Fleet Med, Officer 
CCHAIRPAC 
Force Med. Off. 
C 01ICARTRANSRONPAC 
C.O. USS NASSAU 
« Senior lied. Off. USS NASSAU 
t 
(Source: Cumulative historical report.) USS REDNOUR (APD 102) 
"Immediately upon being commissioned this ship was placed 
under ComTransDiv (104), and has remained under that command. How- 
ever, it has never operated with the division but lias always been 
on independent duty. From its commissioning on 30 December 1944 
until its transfer to the Pacific on 3 March 1945, this ship was 
under COTLant. From 3 March 1945 to 25 March 1945, the ship was 
immediately under COTCPac. From the latter date until the end of 
the war, the ship was always under the administrative command of 
AdComPhibsPac. However, as the following table illustrate, the ship 
was at various times under the immediate command of several differ- 
ent task groups or units." 
CinC Pac 
3rd pr 5th Fleet 
Administrative ■, 
Command . 
Operational Command 
AdComPhibsPac 
CTF 16 • 4-8-45 - 4-16-45 
CTG 96.3 4-17-45 - 4-22-45 
CTU 94.6.2 4-23-45 - 4-26-45 
CTG 51.5 4-27-45 - 5-17-45 
CTU 94.16.17 5-18-45 - 5-19-45 
CTG 51.5 5-20-45 - 5-27-45 
CTG 31.5 5-26-45 - 6-13-45 
TU 31.29.8 6-14-45 - 6-26-45 
AdComPhibsPac 6-29-45 
ConTransDiv 
104 \ 
AH) 102 
(Source: Cumulative history report} ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION 
- Personnel 
* Supplies 
- property 
• MAlntenaroe 
ENDINHERING DIVISION 
- Plana, Method*, ooor- 
dlneticn, supervision 
mosquito oontrol 
operations* 
raafiMfilJlffSiOM 
• Plans, methods, co- 
ordination, supervi- 
sion! mosquito surrey 
eooleglcal studies to 
improve oontrol. 
taJELMT LIAISON OFFICE 
URMT FORCE M. 0. 
ADMINISTRATION 
GENERAL ORGANIZATION PUN - MALARIA AND EPlDEVir CONTROL SOUTH PACIFIC 
MARINS FORCE M. 0. 
TBAIKIMO SCHOOL 
• Indoctrination 
of malaria con* 
trcl unit*. 
• Training of key 
line and rnedi- 
oal officer* of 
troop unit* 
TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL DIVISION 
MALARIA AND EPIDEMIC CONTROL OFFICER 
ASSISTANT CONTROL OFFICER 
as 
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES 
FORCE MEDICAL OFFICER 
COMMANDER SOUTH PACIFIC 
DEMALARIAUZATION 
- Method*. 
• Rehabilitation 
ram. ifrimv. 
- '•t.t'-n 
of 9* l«rl a com 
trd unit* in 
group* 
• Training anil a* 
tad an'* offic- 
er personnel. 
MAR PUNS 
NPW ZEALAND FORCE M.O. 
TROOP MALARIA CONTROL UNITS 
- Control within tactical 
unit* responsible to, and 
earring thair own forees# 
• Aottvitiss ooordinatad 
and supervised by perma- 
nent base unite* 
PERMANENT BASE MALARIA CONTROL 
UNITS (Sea Appandlx A.Part 2) 
- Area Control. 
- sarra all Force*. 
mm 14m grovrs 
• Unskilled, heavy labor 
mami wmms imcl) 
• iilnor hand labor 
engineering* Oiling* 
- cnskilled labor* 
C*B.MQSftUITO CONTROL SgCTIO? 
- Major enginaaring projaota 
- Skilled labor 
- heavy equipment 
OPERATIONS 
AIR FORCE M. 0. OBGANI ZATTOHj 
COMMANDER 
TRAINING COMMAND 
Engine . 
COM'AKDER 
SERVICE FORCE 
PACIFIC 
(LOGISTIC SUPPORT) 
COMMANDER 
TRAINING COMMAND 
PEARL HARBOR 
COMMANDING OFFICER 
FLEET 
TRAINING CENTER 
tmL 
SENIOR 
MEDICAL OFFICER 
DISPENSARY 
ANI'TEX 
moxnalua ridg-e 
DISPENSARY 
MEDICAL OFFICER 
AATC WAIAKAE 
DISPENSARY 
FLEET FIRE FIGHTERS 
gCHOOL 
FIRST AID STATION MAVY I2DICAI DSFART?.ifrT ORGANIZATION 
KODIAK SECTOR 
AT NORMAL OFiLRATICWS 
Commandant 
17th Naval District 
Cocauander 
Kodiak Sector 
District 
kedical Officer 
Sector kedical Officer 
& 
Senior iiedical Officer 
NAS Dispensary, Kodiak 
Dispensary Personnel 
5 Lied. Officers 
4 Dent. Officers 
1 Hosp. Corps Off. 
6 nurses 
44 Corpsmen 
Nav. Act. 
Afognak 
1 Corpsman 
Radio Range 
Station 
Chirikof 
1 Corpsman 
Navy Weather 
Station 
Alitak 
1 Corpsman 
1 K.C.B. 
1 Led. Off. 
1 Dent. Off. 
5 Corpsmen 
1 b.li.Uct'. 
2 Corpsmen Commandant 
17th Naval District 
Eed.Off. 
ent.Off. 
orpsmen. 
District 
l, edieal Officer 
NAVY I ED I CAL DEFAPTf. FuT OFGAMZATIGN, UNAI.ASKA SUU-SFCTOR, AT NOFu. AL OPERATION, 
.NTS Akutan 
1- ed.Off. 
2- 
i A7 Otter 
Point. 
2-Corpsmen. 
Army cares for 
seriously 111, 
Sector Wedical Officer 
Senior r.'edical Officer 
4 Trliglt Surgeon. 
NCR Dispensary, Dutch 
Harbor, Alaska. 
Commander 
Unalaska Sector 
Unalga Range 
Paeon Sta. 
1-Corpsrran. 
Naval Net 
Depot, 
Chernofski. 
1-Corpsman. 
1- NCB. 
2- 
Dispensary Personnel 
4 Wed. Officers 
3 Dent.Officers 
1 Hos. Corp. Off. 
6 Nurses 
40 Corpsmen 
Iakushin 
Radio Sta. 
1-Corpsrr.an Blapsnsaiy 
JOB Units 
Disp salary 
■fliTftl 8l«P> PfPgt1 
Msdioal Unit 
Stliifli * Pllflh. 
Dispsnsary 
ggQtlTlMr Station1 
•Prsrsnt Its 
Qfflnir 
agflant Ogntrol 
•Y.D, Bduoation 
•d Control 
9<?qtr93 
'8m giftlUUga 
OMAIUAIIOH CHART OP KBDICiL A0TIVITI1S, HOT 3009 
COMKAHUHF HAYAL QPBRATIHQ BISX, HAHIUUSOBIC 
OOXKA2TDER PHILIPP I HI SEA BBOHTIIR 
BiSX KXDICiL OITICKB 
COMMiHDXR HAYAL BAS1 
Msdioal 1 
StfifUm,.:—1 
'Sub. Disp. 1 
'HaTint fom1 
•Sub. Disp. 
1S. B. U. 
•Bass 
•Dlapansarr 
Pint iid 
Stations 
(brands Is.* 
Saall Boat 
Bapairt 
Oo».Off.Masst 
Bloat Bao. 
Orator _ 
Bata 
PiaUl Off J 
'Blast 
'Dantal 
'01into 
'Oirilian 
1 iffairs 
•Mad- Off. 
1 Cirilian 
1 Public 
fg4alth 
Oirilian sanita- 
, .9? .T«g xm 
(Reports of accidents and injuries. 
Transfers and transportation of 
personnel. 
Shore patrol contact. 
Medical inspections of barracks 
and mess halls* 
Prophylaxis stations.) 
PUBLIC W0RB3 
(Repairs and mainten- 
ance inspection by 
medical officers.) 
REPAIR OFFICE 
(Medical service to 
ships in dry dock. ) 
U.S. NAVAL OPERATING BASE MJEPICAL DEPARTMENT IN RELATION TO Chain nw COffUAl) 
Medioal and dental care and hospitalization of all 
Maval Ope ing Base and ships personnel* 
PORT DISPENSARY 
Base and ships sick call. 
Inoculations.• First-aid station. 
Ambulance service. 
R.P.A. Might Vision Tests. 
MAH PISFE1BARI 
Hospitalization of patients. 
Laboratory control of diseases. 
Sanitation and pest control. 
Dental Clinic — Record Office. 
X-ray service — Operating room. 
Venereal disease controls 
(a) Venereal disease clinie. 
(b) Prophylaxis stations. 
COMMANDANT, KaVT 157 
MD1CAL OFFICER 
EXECUTIVE OFFICER 
U.S. EIGHTH FLEET 
CIVILIAN £..u LOOSMT 
(Galley, Scullery, 
and cleaning help 
obtained.) 
ORDINANCE 
(Dressing and pro- 
phylaxis stations 
at Naval 
QPBIATI0M3 
(Ambulance service 
to incoming ships.) 
FLEET kepqfkcir 
supir Li oms 
(Sanitation &. pest 
control. Fbod and 
stores inspections 
Ships service, fooc 
and stores obtainecn 
COTIUNICATIQUS 
(Incoming and out- 
going messages.) 
HARBOR DEFENSE 
(Medical preparatioi 
for gas attacks.) Q£ *0 
THSfeMISSION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT* HAS BEEN TO REHDER MEDICAL CARE TO THE CIVILIANS SO THAT: 
1) PRINC OF INTERNATIONAL LAE WOULD BE MET. 
2) CONTAGION 4iD INFICTION WOULD BE CONTROLLED SO THAT CIVILIANS SHOULD NOT THEREBY CONSTITUTE A THREAT TO 
OUR OWN PERSONNEL. 
3) CIVILIAN HEALTH WOULD BE SUCK THAT THEY COULD BE USED AS LABORERS, CLERKS, ARTIFICERS, DOMESTIC AND 
HOSPITAL AIDS. 
* (IN ACCESSORY MISSION HAS BEEN THE MEDICAL CARE OF OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL CREW.) 
(Source: Cumulative history report oi the Medical Officer in Command, U.S.N. Military Government Hospital #202*) 
A s sume doby .First 
June 
Discontinued 
5 March 
MAIN DISPENSARY 
"MILITARY PERSONNEL*1 
PUBLIC 
WORKS 
(Relieved by Navy 
Captain, 13 June.) 
ORGANIZATION 
I DENTAL 
! DEPARTMENT 
Hr) cn 
m ca 
& "d 
*Tj 
s tv 
c3 (-<J 
trJ 
INSIALIATION AID 
RELCCATION OF HEADS 
LEGAL 
DEPUTY MILITARY GOVERIttlENT 
OFFICER. Army C olone 1. 
LEPROSARIUM 
TRANSPOR- 
TATION 
ARMY ISLAND COMMAND. A.P.O. #244. 
. (Cha.ng.ed__to. .Navy 4-3-245- Command... 15-fiay-0 
DAILY SPRAY- 
ING OF HEADS 
AGRICULTURE 
CHARAN KANOA 
CLINIC 
MOSQUITO 
CONTROL 
PUBLIC SAFETY] 
INTELLIGENCE I 
SANITATION 
ISLAND MEDICAL OFFICER 
Army Colonel. 
RODENT 
CONTROL 
EDUCATION 
WELFARE 
DENTAL 
DEPARTMENT., 
DRAINAGE 
SUPERVISION 
JAPANESE 
DISPENSARY 
gs 
gs 
M O 
O K 
yj m 
o 
Hrj cn 
1-3 
Supervision assumed 
by Jap Area Command- 
er (5 August). 
JAPANESE: 
ORPHANAGE 
(Changed to Navy 
15 May.) 
BURIAL OF 
DEAD 
PUBLIC 
HEALTIL 0 -R -G -A-N-I -Z -A -T -I-0-N 
The basic organization of Base Hospital jj 2 since its in- 
ception lias been that of a standard Naval Hospital, 
The hospital’s position in the Naval chain of command has 
varied according to its location. While at its first location (Efate), 
its command chain was as follows: 
GOf.ISOPAC 
C OMSERVRON 
THIRD IS LAI© COr.IMAND 
Cl© - Efftte 
BASE HOSP. #2 
(Source: Cumulative historical report.) dihen .it [moved to Noumea, its command chain was as follows: 
COMSOPAC 
COMSERRON 
COM NAVAL BASE - NOUMEA 
BASE HOSPITAL #2 
When the hospital moved to Subic Bay, it was transferred to the 
# ■ 
jurisdiction of the Seventh Fleet and its command chain was as follows: 
COM SEVENTH FLEET 
COMSERRON 7 
COM NAVAL OPERATIVE BASE - MANILA-SUBIC 
COM NAVAL BASE - SUBIC 
BASE HOSPITAL #2 
(Source: Cumulative historical report.) When ComPhilSeaFron took over this area from Com. Seventh 
Fleet, the hospital chain of command was changed to its present one: 
COMPHILSEAFRON 
CN01 - * I.IA Nil A - SUBIC 
! CNB - SUBIC 
BASS HOSP. #2 
(Source: Cumulative historical report.) Vr .<*y^t 
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPERVISION 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Annual sanitary report from Twelfth Fleet for 1944. 
Annual sanitary report from Commander, Amphibious Bases, United 
Kingdom for 1944. 
Cumulative history report from Administrative command, Amphibious 
Forces, U. S. Pacific Fleet. 
Cumulative history report from Commander Cruisers, Destroyers, Des- 
troyer Escorts, Administrative Center, Pacific Fleet. 
Cumulative history report from Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet. 
Cumulative history report from U. S. Naval Forces, Germany. 
Cumulative history report from Submarine Operational Training Group, 
Cumulative history report from Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet 
Marine Force. 
Cumulative history report from Marine Aircraft Group Eleven, Fourth 
Marine Aircraft Wing. 
Cumulative history report from Marine Aircraft Group Twenty-one, Fourth 
Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force. 
Cumulative history report from Marine Aircraft Group Thirty-one. 
Cumulative history report from Transient Center, Fleet Marine Force, 
Pacific. 
Cumulative history report from Air Transport Squadron Ten. 
Cumulative history report from Air Transport Squadron Eleven. 
Cumulative history report from Air Transport Squadron Twelve. 
Manual of the Medical Department United States Navy (Washington, 1945). 
"Training Guide for Amphibious Medicine," Force Surgeons News Let- 
ter No. 4-44. nA History of the United States Naval Bases in the United Kingdom.11 
Annual sanitary report from the Force Surgeon, Amphibious Force, 
Pacific Fleet, for 1942. 
Annual sanitary report from the Seventh Fleet fbr 1944. 
Annual sanitary report from Seventh Amphibious Force for 1943. 
Annual sanitary report from Seventh Amphibious Force for 1944. 
Annual sanitary report from Service Force, Seventh Fleet, for 1943. 
/ 
Annual sanitary report from Service Force, Seventh Fleet, for 1944. 
Annual sanitary report from Service Force Subordinate Command, Seventh 
Fleet, for 1943* 
Annual sanitary report from the Fleet Medical Officer, Eighth Fleet, 
for 1944. 
Annual sanitary report from Amphibious Force, Eighth Fleet, for 1944* 
Cumulative history report from Air Transport Evacuation Squadron One. 
Cumulative history report from U. S. Naval Operating Base, Saipan, 
M. I. 
Cumulative history report, U. S. Naval Operating Base, Subic Bay. 
Cumulative history report, U. S. Naval Operating Base, Okinawa. 
Cumulative history report from Staff Medical and Sanitation Officer, 
Headquarters, Island Command, Peleliu. 
Historical data supplement to annual sanitary report from Service 
Force, Seventh. Fleet, for 1944. 
Historical data supplement to annual sanitary report from Service 
Force, Pacific Fleet, for 1945. 
Historical data supplement to annual sanitary report from Force Medi- 
cal Officer, U. S. Naval Forces, Northwestern African Waters, for 
1943. 
Historical data supplement to annual sanitary report from Marine Air- 
craft, South Pacific, Fleet Marine Force, for 1943. 
Historical data supplement to annual sanitary report from Headquarters 
and Service Squadrons, Ma.rine Aircraft Group Twelve, First Marine Air- 
craft Wing, Fleet Marine Force, for 1944. CHAPTER XIV 
I'M) I CAL INSTALLATIONS IN THE PACIFIC 
Section 1. Introduction 
This chapter contains three sections which describe the 
organization and operation of shore-based facilities of the Navy 
Medical Department during the Pacific war. Section 2, and section 
3 arc about Navy hospitals that operated in the Pacific. Section 4 
is devoted to Navy Medical Department shore facilities, other than 
hospitals, which cared for the sick and injured. 
The first part (section 2) of the account of Navy hospitals 
in the Pacific describes the group of hospitals located in the 
vicinity of Pearl Harbor. This group included hospitals of different 
types; because of their singular role in the Pacific war and because 
their services were determined more by their geographical location 
than their type, they were treated together as a special topic. 
Section 3 is primarily a treatment of Navy hospitals according to 
type. In this section, mobile, fleet, base, and special augmented 
hospitals are subjects for discussion. The story of the establishment 
and operation of the mobile, fleet, and base hospitals is told 
chronologically; that is, year by year. The last part of section 3 
is a brief account of the experimental use of special augmented 
hospitals at Okinawa. The last subdivision of this chapter, section 
4, tells the story of Navy dispensaries in the Pacific v;ar. The 
many and varied shore-based Medical Department facilities for caring for the sick end injured ere discussed in relation to the higher 
levels of command under which they operated and in relation to the 
types of Navy or Marine Corps activities or organizations which they 
served primarily* Section Pearl Harbor Hospitals, 19l;2-l9U5 
When the War engulfed Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, 
there was only one naval hospital in operation.'*’ On the scene, 
however, was Mobile Hospital Number 2, which quickly improvised 
facilities and supplies and treated casualties from the attack. 
During the first year of the War, the Mobile Hospital and the U. S. 
Naval Hospital in the Navy Yard at Pearl Harbor bore the brunt of 
hospitalization not only for the Pearl Harbor area but also for the 
entire Central Pacific. 
A permanent hospital of modern design, under construction 
at Aioa Heights, tos not ready to receive patients until 12 Novem- 
ber 19U2. when the Aioa Heights hospital v/as opened, it afforded 
great relief to the overstrained resources of the Navy Yard hospi- 
tal and the Mobile Hospital. A1though the hospital at Aioa Heights 
was planned as a replacement for the one at the Navy Yard, which 
was too crowded and too dangerously close to military installations, 
the great needs of war required that the hospital in the Navy Yard 
continue in operation indefinitely. Throughout 19U2 and 19h3, 
therefore, the hospital in the Navy Yard continued to receive and 
treat patients. Not until 21 March 19UU* were the equipment, staff, 
1. No attempt is made to cite the sources of all statements made in 
this chapter. The reports used, comparatively small in number, 
are listed in the bibliography. Consultation of this biblio- 
graphy nail make most of the sources of information fairly 
obvious. and sa&sste aft***0 Navy Yard hospital transplanted to the new 
OtCtASSlFfCAliCu BOARD 
location at Moanaloa. 
The Mobile Hospital continued to operate throughout 19^2. 
Decommissioned in 19U3, the equipment and supplies became the pro- 
perty of the U. S. Naval Hospital at Aiea Heights, while the build- 
ings were utilized by Base Hospital Number 8, another temporary, 
transportable facility that was commissioned 1 November 19U3. 
Throughout the War, therefore, there were at all times at 
least two separate and distinct hospital units in the Pearl Harbor 
area, and during most of the War there were three: 
From the outbreak of war until 12 November 19U2: (1) 
the U. S. Naval Hospital in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard; 
(2) Mobile Hospital Number 2. 
From 12 November 19U2, until 1 November 19A3: {!-} 
the U. S. Naval Hospital in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard; 
(2) Mobile Hospital Number 2; (3) U. S. Naval Hospital, 
Aiea Heights. 
From 1 November 19b3} until 21 March 1914m (1) 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Navy Yard; (2) U. S. Naval Hospital, 
Aiea Heights; (3) Base Hospital Number 8. 
From 21 March 19l4w until the close of the War: 
(1) U. S. Naval Hospital, Moanaloa; (2) U. S. Naval 
Hospital, Aiea Heights; (3) Base Hospital Number 8. 
The hospital at Aiea Heights was the only permanent hospi- 
tal in the group of Pearl Harbor hospitals. The hospital at the 
Navy Yard was housed in permanent buildings until it moved to 
Moanaloa, where it occupied prefabricated buildings similar to 
those used by transportable base hospitals. Mobile Base Hospital Kynbprs2 Number 8, of course, used prefabricated, 
transportable buildings and were, therefore, even less stationary than 
the temporary, wooden structures erected at many of the nev/- hospitals 
in the United States, 
Hospital Units, 191*2-191*3 
In 19U2 the main hospital facility was the old U. S. Naval 
Hospital in the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. There was a great increase 
in the number of patients treated in the hospital, but there was 
not a great expansion in ward buildings and other physical facili- 
ties to take care of the load. Plans called for maintenance of the 
status quo at the Navy Yard hospital, since a much larger and more 
modern hospital was under construction at hiea Heights, The in- 
creased number of patients at the Navy Yard hospital, therefore, 
could be cared for only by moving the beds closer together, by 
placing them on the porticoes, and by using tents for ambulatory 
patients. 
During the first year of the War, the patients coming to 
the Pearl Harbor hospitals were divided between the Navy Yard 
hospital and the Mobile Hospital on the basis of their origin; 
that is, the Navy Yard hospital took care of patients from the 
shore installations in the Pearl Harbor area, while the Mobile 
Hospital took patients from ships of the fleet that docked at Pearl. 
From 12 November 19i|2, until 18 ihigust 19U3., the naval 
hospitals at the Navy Yard and at Aiea Heights were administered 41 Mw * iJII (• uT^p!*\U 
jointly by the sane nodical officer in command. These two hospitals, 
while under the same command in 19U3—from 1 January to 31 August— 
had an average duty personnel strength of 37 officers, 700 enlisted 
men, and 111 nurses. During the same eight months of 19h3} the 
2 
patients in the Wo hospitals numbered 7,137. 
During the last third of 19h3 (1 September 19U3-31 Decem- 
ber 19l*3) the hospital in the Navy Yard, with a staff which averaged 
about hi officers, 331 enlisted men, and Sh nurses, treated approxi- 
mately 2,2o9 patients. During the same period (last third of 19U3) 
the now hospital at Aiea Heights had a staff which averaged 60 
officers, 593 enlisted men, and 76 nurses, while the number of 
patients totaled 6,226. Thus, during the last third of the new 
hospital at Aiea Heights served more than twice as many patients as 
3 
the older hospital in the Navy Yard. 
Base Hospital Number 8, which was commissioned on 1 Novem- 
ber 19li3, did not receive patients regularly during The 
average strength of the duty personnel during the period from the 
commissioning date until the close of the year was 22 officers, 20U 
enlisted men of the Hospital Corps, and 84 enlisted men of other 
ratings. There were no nurses on the staff of Base Hospital 
Number 8. A total of 71 patients, of which 11 v-rere enlisted men 
2. Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, 
for 19U3. 
3. Ibid. from the staff, ire re admitted to the hospital in 19^3. 
Hospital Units, 19U3—19U5 
In 19U4 the number of patients cared for by the hospital 
at Aica Heights swelled: 38,203 enlisted men, 3,U22 officers, and 
96 nurses were admitted during the year. The staff during the year, 
of course, had a similar expansion. The average strength of the 
staff during the year was 111 officers, lj.l4.26 enlisted men, and 2514- 
nurses. The Pearl Harbor hospital—at the ITavy Yard until 21 march 
when the staff and patients were transferred to Moanaloa— continued 
to expand its bed capacity, but not nearly so rapidly as did the 
Aiea Heights hospital. The Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-iioanaloa) 
hospital treated 9*908 patients; the average strength of duty person- 
nel for the year was k9 officers, 68l enlisted men, and 108 nurses. 
The third hospital unit, Base Hospital Number 8, treated considerably 
fewer patients than the Aica Heights hospital but somewhat more than 
the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-lloanaloa) hospital* Base Hospital 
Number 8 treated 11,125 patients and had an average of 5U officers, 
582 enlisted men, and 67 nurses on the staff. 
Battle Casualties 
Except for patients who had been injured in the Pearl 
Harbor attack, battle casualties received during 19U2 did not 
k* Annual Sanitary Report from Base Hospital Number 8 for 1943. 
5, Annual Sanitary Reports. constitute a large part of the patient load in the Navy Yard hospi- 
tal and Ilobile Hospital Number 2. In 19b3, following the landings 
and campaigns in the Solomons and the Gilberts, battle casualties 
began to arrive at Pearl Harbor in considerable numbers. On 21 
July 19h3} 2ij.8 patients—the first group of casualties from the 
Southwest Pacific—arrived at the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard) hospital. 
In December 19h3, 89 survivors of the USS LISCOiiBE BAY and Ul8 
casualties from the battle of Tarawa were received by the Pearl 
Harbor (Navy Yard) hospital. Alien the year closed, the hospital at 
Aiea Heights had 1,709 patients, many of whom were from the invasion 
of the Gilbert Islands; 1,35>8 had been admitted from Tarawa.^ 
A large portion of the casualties at Pearl Harbor in 19^3 
were malaria cases. Sixty-four patients suffering from malaria were 
treated in the Navy Yard hospital in 19U3; 6l had the benign tertian 
form. These patients had acquired the disease in an endemic area of 
the Southwest Pacific. There were 18 cases of filariasis admitted 
to the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard) hospital in 19U3. All were marines 
A 7 
who had served in an endemic area of the Southwest Pacific. 
In 19b3, the hospital at Aiea Heights underwent a tremendous 
6. Cumulative History Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, 
Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary Reports from U. S. 
Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, and TJ. S. Naval Hospital, mica 
Heights, for 19b3 and 19 UU. 
7. Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, 
for 19^3. grbiHh^F Tncrnunbcr' of newly constructed wards, fortunately, was 
increased at the sane tine that casualties in large numbers arrived 
fro..i the Solomons, the Gilberts, and the marshalls. The drafts of 
incoming patients, numbering in the hundreds for each drafy, were 
g 
usually admitted within a few days. 
In 19UU the number of casualties received at the Pearl 
Harbor hospitals increased further. The Aioa Heights hospital ad- 
mitted 5,256 men from Saipan and 2, 8I48 from Guam and Tinian. Between 
25 June 19l±U, September a total of 7,667 patients, of 
whom 2,255 were transported to Pearl Harbor by air, were admitted to 
the Aiea Heights hospital. The greatest number of patients admitted 
on any one day was 1,169 on 3 July 19UU* The Pearl Harbor (Navy 
Yard-Moanaloa) hospital also received numerous casualties from the 
Marianas campaign. The first casualties from Saipan were 2k 
stretcher cases who arrived by air on 25 June 19UU. On 11 July, 
112 casualties who had been wounded on D-day at Saipan were admitted 
to the Pearl Harbor (Moanaloa) hospital. The next day, the Pearl 
Harbor (Moanaloa) hospital admitted from the USS TERROR and USS 
.FREMONT 5U casualties, most of whom suffered from nervous disofders. 
The greatest influx of casualties from accidental causes occurred on 
21 May 19UU, when several ships loaded with ammunition exploded 
in the harbor. Medical officers and ambulances were sent immediately 
8. Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. 
Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 19^3. to the scene and transported patients back to the hospitals at Aiea 
9 : 
Heights and Moanaloa. 
In 1944, 145 patients with malaria, an increase of more 
than 100 percent over the previous year, were treated at the Pearl 
Harbor (Ivloanaloa) hospital. All of these cases came from theaters 
of v/ar in which the disease was endemic. The admissions to the hospital 
for filariasis numbered 79, or four times as many as the previous year. 
A}.1 the men who had this disease were from the Marine Corps or from 
10 
the Hospital Corps attached to Marine Corps units in the combat areas. 
During 1944 acne became a serious medical problem in the 
combat areas. Infactions, pain, and skin irritation on the back, 
shoulders, chest, and inner sides of the legs increased with sweating, 
lack of facilities to care for the skin and clothing, and poor diet. 
In some cases severe infection took on the proportions of pyodermia, 
and in many cases it was impossible for the infected men to carry packs 
on their backs because of the severe pain. In the Pearl Harbor 
hospitals these cases cleared moderately; some of the severe cases, 
11 
hovjever, had to be evacuated to the mainland for further disposition. 
In June and August of 1944, about 100 Japanese-Korean 
prisoners were received at the Pearl Harbor (Moanaloa) hospital. These 
9. Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval 
Hospital, Aiea Heights, and U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, for 
1944. 
10. Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, 
for 1944. 
11. Ibid. 
8 men were emaciated, dehydrated, and dirty, and a majority were 
infected with intestinal parasites. Their injuries were mostly 
multiple gunshot wounds of extremities with infected compound fractures. 
Intravenous injection of fluids, cleaning of the wounds, and application 
12 
of casts produced results described as "amazing.” 
With the removal of the battle area thousands of miles 
from Pearl Harbor, fever casualties were being admitted to the Aiea 
Heights hospital at the close of 1944. Nevertheless, the total number 
of patients continued to increase because of the reduced activity of the 
Pearl Harbor (Moanoloa) hospital and the increase of personnel in the 
Hawaiian Islands. The greatest hospital load at Aiea Heights in 1944 
13 
was on 27 December, when 5,168 were listed on the census. 
Diseases 
There were no majoryepidemics ip the Pearl Harbor area, in 
1942. In the winter of 1942-1943, respiratory infections, especially 
the atypical variety of bronchopneumonia, accounted for a considerable 
number of admissions. During the summer of 1943, there was an epidemic of 
V 
dengue fever among the civilian population, but the number of cases among 
naval personnel admitted to the Navy Yard hospital remained small. 
Fungus infection of the skin was encountered frequently in 1943 and 
1944. Because of the warm, damp climate in the Pearl Harbor area, the 
12. Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. 
Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, for 1944. 
13. Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. 
Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 1944. 
9 presence of cpidermophytid, and the lack of personal care of the skin 
of the feet, the incidence of fungus infection of the feet was high 
among the Navy and Marine Corps personnel. The Pearl Harbor (Moanaloa) 
hospital admitted 258 cases of fungus infection in 1944. A major out- 
break of food poisoning that occurred in 1943 at the Submarine Base, 
Pearl Harbor, was responsible for 451 admissions at Aiea Heights. In 
March 1944, Base Hospital Number 8 received a group of approximately 
14 
100 cases of bacillary dysentery from the personnel of a signle ship. 
Hospital Personnel 
In 1942 and 1943 the number of medical officers in the Navy Yard, 
Aiea Heights, and mobile hospitals was sufficiently large to care for 
» 
any emergency that might arise, although several categories of specialists, 
i.e., psychiatrists and dermatologists, were needed at Aiea Heights. 
In 1944, medical officer personnel at the Pearl Harbor hospitals were 
sufficient except in the department of medicine. Aiea Heights, in 1944, 
had difficulty in maintaining the number of surgeons authorized because 
of the practice of filling emergency vacancies in the fleet and shore 
establishments. Twenty-two interns were added to the Aiea Heights staff 
in 1944, but they provided little relief, since they had to be supervised 
15 
carefully by the senior officers of the hospital. 
Nurses served at both the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard and Aiea 
14. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
15. Ibid. 
10 Heights)hospitals, but not at Mobile Hospital Number 2 or Base Hospital 
Number 8. Throughout the War, the complement of nurses was 
satisfactory. By 1943 the hospitals were receiving many nurses who 
16 
were inexperienced and untrained in Navy routine. 
In the first two years of the War there was some difficulty 
in maintaining a sufficient number of hospital corpsmen. During 
the first five months of 1942, the number of corpsmen at the Pearl 
Harbor (Navy yard) hospital was inadequate; but after the gradual 
filling of an increased complement authorized May 1942, there were 
enough corpsmen to care for the maximum capacity of patients. Mobile 
Hospital Number 2 would have had a sufficiently large complement in 
1942 if the men had been better trained and more experienced. In 1944 
the Pearl Harbor hospital was overstaffed for a short period; but 
after the transfer to the new location at Moanaloa, the excess was 
eliminated. At Aiea Heights, where the number of corpsmen was too 
small during the early months of 1943, the gradual filling of an increased 
allowance authorized in-November and the assignment of men with 
artificer and commissary ratings to the hospital resulted in a suffient 
number of corpsmen to care for the maximum number of patients. The need 
for more corpsmen in the at Aiea Heights was partially met also 
by attaching a construction battalion maintenance unit to the hospital. 
By assigning men from this unit to details such as commissary, grounds, 
16. Ibid, transportation, and maintenance, many corpsmcn were relieved for duty 
17 
on the wards. 
Civilian workers were employed at the Pearl Harbor and 
Aiea Heights hospitals. Civilians were assigned to jobs in 
administration, laundry, transportation, maintenance, commissary, and 
nurses' quarters. In 1942 the authorized civilian complement of the 
two hospitals was 261 employees of various ratings. Of the number 
authorized, there were only 167 persons actually on the pay roll. 
Throughout the war, the actual number of civilian employees continued 
to fall short of the authorized complement. In 1944, the Aiea Heights 
hospital was able to employ and retain only about 50 percent of the 
authorized complement. Shortages of workers for the commissary and 
shortages of skilled workers for maintenance were the most troublesome. 
The failure to fill these civilian jobs necessitated the practice, 
admittedly an undesirable one, of using hospital corpsmcn for jobs 
such as care of the grounds, shop work, scullery duties, and other work 
„ Is 
for which they were not trained. 
The U. S. Naval Hospitals at Pearl Harbor furnished medical 
officers and hospital corpsmen for outlying islands and bases, filled 
emergency vacancies at sea, and provided a larger number of hospital 
corpsmen for ships and stations in the Pacific area. These transfers 
17. Ibid, 
1&. Ibid. 
12 caused a fairly la£go turnover of medical officer and corpsman 
19 
personnel and created temporary shortages. 
Supplies 
Throughout the war, the hospitals in the Pearl Harbor 
area were well supplied with medicines, drugs, and hospital 
supplies. During the first year of the %.r9 there was no appreciable 
deterioration in the quality of supplies, and delivery was fairly 
prompt. In 1942, orders were usually in Pearl Harbor six wocks after 
the date of requisitions sent to San Francisco for filling; but in 
1943, and later, as the demands for shipping of vital war materials 
to the combat areas multiplied, the delivery of items requisitioned 
from the mainland was somewhat slower, Delays were anticipated, 
> 
however, and increasingly large quantities were requisitioned to allov. 
20 
for slow deliveries. 
In 1942 and 1943 essential drugs normally purchased 
in the open market by naval hospitals could still be obtained fairly 
easily from local dealers, although difficulties in procuring such 
items from the mainland were encountered, the hospitals had to continue 
to make purchases of a few open-market items from dealers on the 
21 
mainland. 
Transportation 
Each year of the War, as the number of patients received 
19. Ibid. 
20. Ibid, 
21. Ibid. 
13 and evacuated increased, the number of ambulances and other trans- 
portation vehicles had to be augmented. Both the limousine and field 
type ambulances were used by the hospitals. On smooth surfaced 
roads, the limousine type of ambulance was superior in performance 
and economy to the field type ambulance; but the field type ambulance 
22 
7/as much more useful over rough terrain. 
In case of a sudden need for transportation of large 
numbers of casualties, the hospital had access to a motor pool which 
was located in the transportation department of the Navy Yard. This 
pool, together with other types of transportation belonging to the 
hospitals, assured the hospitals ample transportation facilities to 
take care of any emergency that might arise. In 1943, the Navy Yard 
hospital, when large numbers of patients were received or evacuated, 
occasionally had to request transportation from the Navy Yard for 
ambulatory patients. Base Hospital Number 8 had an ambulance boat which 
made regular daily trips to ships moored in the harbor, in order to 
pick up patients for hospitalization or consultation. Emergency 
trips were made by the launch upon request of the district medical 
23 
officer. 
At Aiea Heights and the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Moanaloa) 
hospital civilian drivers were employed during the regular working hours 
22. Ibid. 
23. Ibid. 
14 while hospital corpsmen stood the night ambulance watches. At 
Mobile Hospital Number 2 and Base Hospital Number 8 hospital corpsmen 
24 
served as ambulance drivers at all times. 
Routine transportation of the sick and injured to 
and from the Aiea Heights hospital in 1942 and 1943 was supervised 
through the office of the officer of the day; but in 1944, the 
25 
transporation was placed under a Hospital Sorps officer. This 
transportation officer operated directly under the executive officer 
maintained constant liaison with the district medical officer. The 
revised arrangement enabled the hospital to work in much closer coopera- 
tion with the district medical officer when patients were received or 
, 26 
evacuated. 
Reception, Admission, and Evacuation of Patients 
Tho casualties that arrived in large numbers at Pearl 
Harbor in 1943 from tho Solomons, the Gilberts, and the Marshalls 
were usually admitted within a few days. Evacuation of patients to 
the Uni.ted States to make room for incoming patients was carried out 
smoothliy, although the personnel officer and his staff were, at times, 
given no more than twelve hours' notice, and despite tho frequent 
necessrity for using temporary facilities to take care of the sudden 
inf limes of casualties. Late in 1943, when a large number of casualties 
24. ,. 
25. ; Ibid. 
26. Ibid., 
15 wero°admitted sto the*‘Aiea Heights Hospital, all medical cases were moved in- 
tn 
temporary wards, some of which were not completely finished and 
equipped with double deck beds in order to accommodate the greatly- 
increased number of patients when large drafts of casualties 
arrived at Pearl Harbor, the staff had to work extra hours in 
order to accomplish the task of admitting the patients in a short 
time. Usually, shore leave and liberty had to be cancelled, however, 
27 
for no more than a day or two. 
In 1944, by the time that patients began to arrive by 
air and ship from Kwajalein and Eniwctok, a system of admissions was 
worked out which simplified distribution of incoming patients. The 
executive officer and chiefs of medicine and surgery examined the 
newly arrived patients and assigned them to the appropriate wards. 
The admission procedure was improved further when casualties from 
Saipan and Tinian began to arrive; every patient was tagged and a 
stub kept in the admission room, When the patient arrived on the 
ward, "the tag'was filled out and returned at once to the personnel 
28 
officer in order that an accurate record could be kept. 
In order to have space and beds for the large number of 
casual '‘"ties admitted to the Pearl Harbor hospitals, it became necessary 
27. Annual Sanitary Report and Historical Data Supplement to Annual 
Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 1943. 
28. Annual Sanitary Report and Historical Data Supplement from U. S. 
Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 1944. 
16 to evacuate to the continent patients who would require more than 
60 days' hospitalization. Such patients were evacuated after shrap- 
nel was removed, fractures reduced, or other emergency measures taken 
29 
and sufficient strength had returned to permit ocean travel. 
A rather high proportion of the casualties brought to 
Pearl Harbor, during the latter part of the war, came by air. Between 
1 March 1945 and 20 October 1945, 7,139 patients were brought to the 
Pearl Harbor (i.ioanaloa) hospital by air and 3,210 were evacuated from 
the same place during the same period. Patients evacuated by ship 
30 
during this period totaled 8,606. 
Internal Organization 
Each of the naval hospitals at Pearl Harbor followed the 
basic internal organization generally found in the U. 3. Haval hospitals. 
At the head of each U. S. naval hospital and of Mobile Hospital Number 
2 was a medical officer in command whose authority was analogous to 
the commanding officer of any other naval shore establishment. The 
second ranking officer of the hospitals was the executive officer who 
was directly above the two main branches of the hospital. 
Clinical - Professional Branch 
The two main branches of the hospitals were (l) the 
29. Ibid. 
30. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
17 administrative-clerical, and (2) the clinical-professional. The 
administrative branch was subdivided into offices, shops, and services 
which dealt with matters such as personnel, maintenance, commissary, 
disbursing, assignment and supervision of nurses, assignment and 
discipline of Hospital Corps personnel, ship's service, religious 
activities, welfare and recreation, and educational services. 
The clinical-professional branch was subdivided into 
two principlal departments under a chief of medicine and a chief of 
surgery. In addition to these basic departments, there were special 
departments for eye, ear, nose, and throat cases; X-ray; physiotherapy; 
laboratory, and dentistry. The extent to which special functions 
were organized into separate departments depended usually upon the 
size of the hospital. Generally, the larger hospitals had more 
separate departments for special functions. Urology, for example, 
constituted a separate department at Pearl Harbor and Aiea Heights, 
but was included in the department of surgery at Base Hospital 8. 
Other services organized into separate departments at the Aiea Heights 
and Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Moanaloa) hospitals were those of the chief 
nurse, allergy clinic, and out-patients. 
The grouping of patients in the wards and the arrangment 
of auxiliary facilities within any one of the departments were neither 
fixed nor standardized. Flexibility was both desirable and necessahy 
because of fluctuations in the various types of cases. In the medical 
18 departments there were usually special wards or sections designated for 
contagious, neuropsychiatric, acute medical, chronic medical, gastro- 
enterologic, dermatologic, syphilitic, general medical, cardiac, and 
respiratory cases, and for sick officers. Any given ward might have 
cases that included a combination of different types of cases. In 
emergencies and during epidemics, rearrangements were invariably 
necessary and the ward space for a disease might be expanded manifoldly 
temporarily. For example, an epidemic of mumps among fleet personnel 
in 1942 necessitated assignment of an entire ward to such cases. 
Throughout the War, the space for dermatological and neuropsychiatric 
cases was comparatively large; on the other hand, space for contagious 
31 
diseases was comparatively small. 
The department of medicine of the Pearl Harbor (Moanaloa) 
hospital expanded rapidly after May 1944. During the summer and fall 
of 1944? the admission rate reached about 200 cases per month, and the 
total number of patients at one point rose to a peak cf 300. In 
December 1944 the admission rate fell to about 150 per month. In 1944 
t£e medical department of the Moanaloa hospital treated about 5,000 
32 
cases and rendered 3,000 consultations for outpatients. 
At the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Moanoloa) hospital in 1944, 
the largest single subdivision of the medical department was the 
31. Ibid. 
32. Annual Sanitary Report for 1944. 
19 neuropsychiatric service. Many patients admitted to the wards of the 
hospital medical department had chronic complaints which, unverified 
by physical or laboratory examination, required psychiatric 
consultation and observation. For example, 582 medical patients were 
in the Pearl Harbor (Moanaloa) hospital on 20 November 1944; of these 
only 60 were bed patients and of this number only 27 were running any 
temperature. The great majority of cases treated at the hospitals 
were neuroses and milder types of disorders precipitated by combat or 
overseas operational conditions. Among these cases, a disproportionately 
high number were men who had been recently inducted into the service. 
A majority of the patients at the Pearl Harbor hospitals were unfit for 
duty in the Pacific area and were evacuated to the continental United 
33 
States. 
A great part of the work of the neuropsychiatric sections 
of the hospitals consisted of consultations for patients from shore 
stations and ships in the Hawaiian area. During the last four months 
of 1944 the number of consultations at the Pearl Harbor (Moanaloa) 
hospita.l averaged about 150 per month, or about the same number as 
were admitted for observation and care. Of all patients seen in 
consultation approximately two-thirds were from other wards of the* 
hospital and one-third from other activities. During the last quarter 
of 1944, about half of the patients referred to the Pearl Harbor 
33. Ibid. 
20 (Moanaloa) hospital from other activities for neuropsychiatric consulta- 
tion were found unfit for duty in the Pacific area and were 
evacuated without admission to the hospital. This policy of immediate 
evacuation reduced the number of patients actually on the wards by 
34 
probably one-half. 
A difficult problem for the neuropsychiatric section of the 
Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard) hospital were the patients who were referred 
to the section because of their having experienced convulsive or 
unconscious states. The health records of these patients frequently 
failed to contain descriptions of the attacks. At the hospital 
many of these patients failed to have another attack, and abnormal 
clinical and laboratory findings were absent. Correct diagnosis of 
such cases would have been facilitated if detailed accounts of the 
35 
attacks had been recorded in the health records. 
At the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Lloanaloa) hospital in 1944, 
another large section within the medical department was the one for 
acute and chronic medical cases. All types of respiratory diseases 
accounted for about 750 cases. Of these 210 were catarrhal fever, 
acute; 100 were pneumonia, primary atypical, etiology unknown; 30 
were pneumonia, broncho, and 7 pneumonia, lobar. Gastro-intestinal, 
gall bladder, and parasitic diseases occurred next most frequent ,y. 
Arthritis, acute and chronic cases (225) followed. Cardiac conditions (17) 
34. Ibid. 
35. Annual Sanitary Report from the U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl 
Harbor, for 1943. 
21 were relatively numerous. A large group of admissions for headache 
proved a perplexing problem; more than 1000 cases Y/ere seen in 
consultation at the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Moanaloa) hospital in 
1944. Patients v/ith dermatological diseases accounted for a large 
number of sick days because of the persistence and frequency of 
fungus infections and acne. In 1944, the’medical department of the 
36 
Moanaloa hospital treated or examined more than 10,000 persons. 
An allergy clinic for the Fourteenth Naval District was 
set up at the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Maanaloa) hospital on 11 December 
1944. This clinic attempted to ameliorate the condition of men who 
suffered from hay fever and asthma and undertook a thorough investigation 
of the etiology of these maladies. The allergy tests included 
intracutaneous injections of 20 inhalants, 40 foods, 16 airborne mold 
spore extracts, and at least 13 pollens. During the period 1 April 
1944 - 31 December 1944, there were 2,636 visits to the allergy 
37 
clinic. 
As the T.7ar progressed, the surgical departments of the 
hospitals expanded even more rapidly than the medical departments. 
At Aiea Heights, in 1943, the work of the surgical departments in- 
creased three fold. In January 1943, 97 major and 37 minor operations 
were performed. In December, 217 major and 336 minor proceduren were 
36. Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Poarl Harbor, 
for 1944. 
37. Ibid. 
■■■ ■ ■ ■ carried lout. *Ori 1 December 1943 there were 362 surgical patients in 
the hospital; by 13 December 1943, this number had increased to 
1,119. In 1944, the Aiea Heights hospital reported 3,498 major 
38 
operations and 2,971 minor operations. 
At Aiea Heights in 1944 the number of surgical patients 
declined after the successful conclusion of the Marianas campaign; 
but in December the total patient load became heavier because of 
the reduction of the number of patients admitted to other shore 
facilities in the Hawaiian area. On 26 December, the census of the 
39 
Aiea Heights hospital reached its peak for the year. 
The surgical departments, like the medical departments, 
wore subdivided into wards and sections according to types of cases. 
1 
General surgery, orthopedic and traumatic surgery, septic and rectal 
surgery, burns, neurosurgery, and urological surgery were at one 
time or another, the principal sections of the Aiea Heights and Navy 
Yard-Moanaloa hospitals. The EENT clinic of Base Hospital Number 8 
was also included in its surgical department. Auxiliary facilities 
such as operating rooms and centralized surgical dressing supply units 
were, of course, organized in the surgical departments. In 1943, 
care of burn cases at the Aiea Heights hospital was transferred from 
the medical to the surgical department. In the Navy yard hospital, 
in 1942, clean surgery was confined to two operating rooms. Dirty 
38. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
39. Annual Sanitary Report from U. S . Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, 
for 1944. 
23 surgery, including infected lesions and rectal and adjacent surgical 
40 
conditions, was confined to a ward apart from clean surgery. 
At the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Moanaloa) hospital there 
were six emergency battle dressing stations at strategic points 
about the hospital. Including main surgery, there were seven emergency 
dressing casualty stations in readiness for immediate use. At the 
Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Moanaloa) hospital in 1944 there was a ward 
equipped for handling burn cases and three lockers containing 
materials for the treatment of burns. A poison antidote locker was 
maintained in the septic surgery operating room at the Navy Yard 
41 
hospital. 
At the Aiea Heights hospital anesthesia was administered 
by a specialist who also supervised intravenous and shock therapy 
in the operating rooms and gas therapy in the wards. Spinal anesthesia 
was used most frequently at the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard) hospital 
in 1943. Occasionally nitrous oxide or cyclopropane were used. Local 
anesthesia and intravenous sodium pentothal were used successfully 
in superficial lesions and operations of short duration. At the 
Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Moanaloa) hospital, in 1944, spinal anesthesia, 
regional blocks, and intravenous anesthesia were the anesthetics of 
42 
choice. 
40. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
/ju Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, 
f or 1944. 
42. Annual Sanitary Reports from the U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl 
Harbor, for 1942, 1943, and 1944. The use of sulfonamides played an important part in 
saving many patients admitted with genceral peritonitis and other 
potentially infected operative procedures. A striking record with 
cases of cerebrospinal fever was achieved through the use of the 
sulfa drugs at Aiea Heights, Twenty-seven cases were treated, with 
43 
complete recovery of all cases. 
Penicillin was another valuable drug that served to 
reduce the mortality rate and the period of hospitalization per 
patient. It was first used in the Pearl Harbor hospitals in 1943. 
It was used in many compound fractures and in all serious infections. 
The results in the treatment of head injuries were excellent; many 
patients with compound skull fractures were treated successfully. 
Penicillin proved valuable not only for battle casualties but also 
44 
for patients with syphilis and gonorrhea. 
The treatments given to casualties before they arrived at 
the hospitals undoubtedly contributed to the remarkable record of life- 
saving surgical operations. The treatment for shock by plasma and 
whole blood and the early use of the sulfa drugs were a great ad- 
vantage in preserving life during the period between initial first aid 
43. Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, 
for 1943 and Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary 
Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Aiea 1944. 
44. Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. 
Naval Hospital, Aioa Heights, 1944* and final surgical treatment given by the hospitals. The first-aid 
practice of leaving wounds open, spraying with sulfanilamide, and 
splinting for immobilization helped to reduce infection of war 
wounds , 
Each of the hospital at Pearl Harbor had a special 
department for eye, ear, nose, and throat cases. This department, 
from the standpoint of the number of patients and staff, was less 
important than the medical and surgical departments. It may be 
classed as one of the minor departments of the navrl hospitals at 
Pearl Harbor. 
Except for casualties, the largest proportion of the work 
of the EENT department of the Pearl Harbor (Navy yard-Moanaloa) 
hospital was surgical in nature. Chronic tonsillitis, deviation of 
the nasal septum, sinusitis, facial fractures, and lacerations were 
the most frequent diagnoses. Ocular injuries, foreign bodies 
in the eyes, iritis, and choreorctinitis were the most frequent eye 
disorders. A large part of the work of the EENT departments of the 
Pearl Harbor hospital consisted of consultations, treatments and re- 
fractions for men referred from the various units in the Hawaiian area. 
Among the casualties treated in the EENT department of the Pearl Harbor 
(Moanaloa) hospital were men with plastic and maxillo-facial surgery 
and damage to the ear as the result of the blast. Ocular injuries were 
45. Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. 
Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, for 1944. 
26 frequent among the casualties received in the EENT department of 
46 
the hospital in 1944. 
In 1944 the total number of admissions to the wards under 
the EENT department of the Aiea Heights was 2,846, and the 
average weekly turnover was 55 patients. The number of eye 
patients was 915; ear, nose, and throat cases numbered 1,931. 
The greatest number of beds assigned to the EENT department was 
301. The total number of operations carried out by the EENT 
staff at Aiea Heights in 1944 was 1,310. Punctures of the 
maxillary sinus with irrigation brought the computation to 2,746. 
General anesthesia was employed in five percent of these cases, 
while 95 percent of the operations were performed with local 
LI 
anesthetics. 
All of the hospitals at Pearl Harbor had separate de- 
partments for the laboratories. In addition to rendering services 
for hospital patients, these laboratories made various tests and 
examinations for ships of the fleet and local shore establishments. 
A large part of the work of the Aiea Heights laboratory department 
was for Ships and outlying stations. The work of the laboratories 
included all the routine procedures, such as hematology, urinalysis, 
serology, blood chemistry, stool examinations, and microscopic 
46. Annual Sanitary Reports from Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, for 
* 1942, 1943, and 1944* 
47. Annual Sanitary Report. 
27 examination of surgical and necropsy specimens. The laboratories 
at Aiea Heights and the Navy Yard were equipped to carry out 
some tests and render some services v/hich the mobile and base 
hospitals and other medical department facilities were not 
equipped to do. The laboratory at Aiea Heights had a blood and 
plasma bank, a morgue, a photographic laboratory, and an 
48 
animal house. Although the primary purpose of the hospital 
laboratories was to assist in the care of the sick and injured, 
the laboratories at the Navy Yard and Aiea Heights carried on 
experimental and research projects. At the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard) 
hospital in 1942, the laboratory cooperated with other departments 
l 
of the hospital in studies of lesions produced by submersion blast. 
The laboratories also rendered valuable aid to the epidemiological 
control program. At Aiea Heights in 1943 Epidemiological Unit 
Number 45 had special facilities in the laboratory department. 
Among the achievements of this epidemiological unit were (1) epidemio- 
i 
logical control of disease at Canton Island, (2) speedy control of 
the epidemic of food poisoning at the Pearl Harbor submarine base, 
and the combatting and prevention of disease at Tarawa where 
thousands of bodies, hosts of flies, and polluted water were 
49 
potential sources of epidemics. 
48. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
49. Annual Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl 
Harbor, for 1942; Historical Data Supplement to Annual 
Sanitary Report from U. S. Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 
1943. 
28 ‘ The floor space, lighting, ventilation, and equipment of 
the hospital laboratories were generally satisfactory throughout the 
War. The staffs of medical officers and corpsmen were usually 
maintained in sufficient strength, although some difficulty was 
experienced in keeping enough trained and experienced men. The 
problem of trained personnel was partially solved by courses of 
50 
instruction conducted at the Pearl Harbor hospitals. 
All the Pearl Harbor hospitals had special departments 
for X-ray. Radiographic and fluoroscopic examinations and therapeutic 
treatments of superficial pathological conditions constituted the 
main types of work done by the X-ray departments. Roentgenological 
studies were made not only for the hospitals but also for ships 
at Pearl Harbor. Most of the therapy work was superficial in 
character. The facilities and equipment of the hospital were 
excellent, and there were few times when the number of trained 
men was too small for proper service. Instruction in X-ray technique 
51 
was given at the Aiea Heights hospital. 
The physiotherapy departments of the hospitals at Pearl 
- 
Harbor assumed greater importance as the War progressed and the number 
of patients requiring rehabilitation increased. Exercise classes 
for rehabilitation of patients recovering from operations and those 
50. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
51. Ibid. 
29 who exercise were conducted by the physiotherapy 
department. Treatments, given upon written order of waid medical 
officers, were administered by physiotherapy technicians of the 
Hospital Corps under the supervision of the head of the department. 
Through a member of the physiotherapy department who made daily 
ward rounds in the orthopedic ward with the medical officers, the 
department kept in close contact with patients and received the 
52 
orders for treatment directly from the ward medical officers. 
To speed the rehabilitation of the wounded, programs of 
Industrial occupational therapy and physical training were begun 
at Aiea Heights in 1943. Under the industrial occupational therapy 
program men were assigned to various training tasks. This 
industrial occupational therapy proved a very valuable supplement 
to the manual training and small arts programs already in use. 
"Through Industrial Occupation Therapy," according to a report 
for 1943, "many men were returned to duty in a shorter space of 
time than hitherto possible, and others who might have been badly 
disabled v/ere enabled to continue either in the naval service on 
a limited duty status, or were returned to civilian life, physically 
53 
able to continue as self supporting citizens." 
Under the supervision of the welfare and recreation officer, 
52. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
53. Historical Data Supplement to Annual Sanitary Report from 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Aiea 1943. 
30 a program of physical training was offered to men who needed 
activity other than that provided by the industrial therapy 
program. The particular kind of activity needed by the individual 
patient, in both programs, was selected with the advice of the 
ward medical officer and sometimes after consultation with the 
orthopedic surgeon. In addition to the usual athletic facilities, 
this training program utilized bowling alleys, tennis courts, volley 
54 
ball courts, billiard tables, motion pictures, and a boxing arena. 
The Aica Heights hospital, from its inception, had a 
separate urological department. At the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard) 
hospital on 1 February 1942, the medical officer in command 
established a department of urology to replace the urological 
division of the surgical department. The mobile and base hospitals 
55 
had no separate urological departments. 
The urological departments also followed the policy of 
separating and segregating certain types of patients in certain 
areas of the wards. At the Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard) hospital in 
1943, one ward hospitalized surgical cases of urinary tract calculi; 
in the other ward were cases of chronic prostatitis, urethritis, 
stricture of the urethra, and gonocococcus infections. The urological 
ward at the Aiea Heights hospital in 1943 consisted of two sections, 
54. Ibid. 
55. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
31 oneCfor venereal cases and the other for the medical and surgical 
56 
cases of a urological nature. 
In 1943 the Aeia Heights urological department treated 
casualties from the combat areas. Gunshot wounds of every organ 
of the urogenital tract, those of the kidney and bladder pre- 
dominating, were treated. These patients were rendered fit for 
duty from a urological standpoint, although it was necessary to 
57 
evacuate a few because of associated injury to major nerve trunks. 
During the last five months of 1943 the use of peni- 
cillin in the treatment of urogenital infections was introduced 
at the Pearl Harbor hospitals. The new drug accomplished remark- 
able results in curing venereal diseases. At the Aiea Heights 
hospital 300 gonococcal infections were treated with this drug and 
cures were effected in almost 100 percent of the cases. Penicillin 
therapy resulted in a radical reduction in the average number 
of hospital days per venereal patient. The period of hospitali- 
zation required for the average venercally infected patient was 
reduced from almost a month to less than a week. At the Pearl 
Harbor (Navy Yard) hospital in 1943, 160,000 units were given to 
most patients without any failures; of twelve patients 
56. Ibid. 
57. Annual Sanitary Report. 
32 who were given only 50,000 units, only one failure was recorded. 
Urethral discharges usually disappeared within twenty-four hours 
after the completion of penicillin treatments. A thorough test, 
which included prostate massages, urethral sounds, posterior 
instillations, smears, and three negative cultures, was given to 
58 
each patient to determine whether or not the cure was complete. 
Each of the hospitals at Pearl Harbor had dental depart- 
ments. The dental departments at Aica Heights was divided into 
two parts, one for operative surgery and the other for prosthetics. 
The arrangements for dental surgery at the Aiea Heights hospital 
were made in preparation for a possible influx of casualties with 
maxiilc-facial injuries. Viith the exception of emergency cases, 
all patients were treated upon appointment. The dental de- 
partments of the hospitals wore exceptionally well equipped and 
59 
staffed throughout the War. 
The medical officer in command of the Aica Heights hospital 
had charge of burials of all men who died in the naval hospitals 
at Pearl Harbor. All bodies were sent to commercial undertakers for 
embalming, preparation, and encasing before they were delivered to 
the Aiea Heights hospital. Arrangements for funeral services were 
made by the Aiea Heights hospital. The remains of men whose resi- 
58. Annual Sanitary Reports from the lT. 3. Naval Hospital at Pearl 
Harbor (Navy Yard) and Aiea Heights, for 1943. 
59. Annual Sanitary Reports. 
33 dence was in the'Hawaiian Islands were buried in the Navy plots 
in the Oahu cemetery; all others were buried at the Halawa 
Cemtery. The district chaplain cooperated with the Aiea Heights 
60 
hospital in conducting proper religious services for the dead. 
Administrative - Clerical Branch 
The clinical-professional branch of' the Navy hospitals in 
the Pearl Harbor area was the part of the hospitals most directly 
and intimately engaged in caring for the sick and injured. This 
branch of the hospital, however, required the support of the 
administrative-clerical branch. Such departments as personnel, 
maintenance, commissary, disbursing, laundry, shipfs service, 
religious services, and educational services were important and 
indispensable parts of the Pearl Harbor hospital. The assigning of 
personnel of the staff, provision of necessary supplies and equipment, 
feeding of thousands of men of the hospital staff and patients, 
quartering an ever-increasing staff, provision of recreation for 
both staff and patients, and assiting and counseling men with 
problems of a private nature were major problems for the naval 
61 
hospitals at Pearl Harbor throughout the War. 
From the standpoint of types of cases and kinds of Navy 
units served, the hospitals at Pearl Harbor constituted a class 
6°. Ibid. 
6l. Ibid. intermediate between the base hospitals of the South Pacific and 
/ 
the U. S. naval hospitals of the continental United States. Like 
base, mobile, and fleet hospitals, many of their patients were 
battle casualties who had received no previous hospital treatment. 
Like the continental hospitals, many of their patients were the 
sick and injured from shore stations and ships in port. Virtually 
every kind of disease and injury encountered in the Pacific war was 
treated in the Pearl Harbor hospitals. Each of the principal types 
of hospital units, i.c., mobile, fleet, base, and U. S. naval 
hospital, was represented at Pearl Harbor. Virtually every problem 
of medical and surgical practice and Navy hospital administration 
was faced by the staffs of the Pearl Harbor hospitals. In brief 
the group of Navy hospitals at Pearl Harbor may be characterized as 
a blending of tho features of continental and base hospitals. No 
small group of hospitals, within such a limited area, was more 
representative of Navy hospitals during the War than those at 
Pearl Harbor. 
35 Section 3 Fleet, Mobile, Base, and 
Special Augmented Hospitals in the Pacific 
In the first year of the War, Navy hospitals were estab- 
lished and put into operation in the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, 
62 
New Zealand, New Caledonia, and the New Hebrides. Except in the 
Hawaiian and New Hebrides Islands, all the hospitals carried the 
designation "Mobile Hospital." The hospital established at Efate, 
New Hebrides, was designated Base Hospital Number 2. 
Until mid-1944, the two main types of Navy hospitals in 
the South Pacific Area were the mobile and base hospitals. The 
differences between these two types of hospitals were not great. 
The chief differences were usually in size, location, and relation- 
ship to the chain of command. The hospitals designated "Mobile" 
were generally larger than "Base” hospitals, were located in rear 
areas further removed from the scene of combat operations, and were 
under the command of a medical officer whose immediate superior 
was the commander of the fleet to which he was attached. Base 
hospitals were under the command of a medical officer who was 
directly under the commanding officer of the naval base upon which 
the hospital was located. Base hospitals were attached to an 
officially commissioned naval base. Mobile hospitals were , 
not necessarily attached to a base, could be independent commands, 
62. The account of mobile and bade hospitals in the Pacific in 1942 
given here is based primarily upon annual sanitary reports. 
See bibiliography. 
36 and frequently were not geographically contiguous to a naval base. 
The medical officer in charge of Base Hospital Number 2, at Efate, 
New Hebrides, also served as base medical officer, with jurisdiction 
over all Navy Medical Department activities on the island. 
The supplies, equipment, and building materials of the 
mobile hospitals were procured and assembled by the Medical Supply 
Depot in Brooklyn. Mobile hospitals were usually commissioned at 
the Brooklyn Supply Depot. The medical officer in command and his 
executive officer were appointed before the time of commissioning, 
and the entire staffs—doctors, dentists, and hospital corpsmen— 
generally assembled at the place of commissioning. 
From the time of commissioning until the materials 
and equipment of the hospitals were packed for shipping, the staffs 
of the mobile hospitals underwent a period of training and indoctri- 
nation in the administrative, construction, and medical problems 
associated with Navy mobile and base hospitals. Lectures, special 
courses in tropical medicine and other medical and sanitation sub- 
jects, and instruction for hospital corpsmen in technical specialties 
were provided. Efforts were made to familiarize all members of the 
staffs with the equipment of the hospital and with the special 
markings of identification which were placed on the packages and 
crates that contained the materiel of the hospital. 
The building materials, equipment, and supplies of the 
37 mobile hospitals were transported from New York by ship. The 
staffs generally proceeded to the West Coast, where another 
training period ensued until the personnel were embarked for trans- 
portation to the South Pacific. 
Upon reaching their destination at one of the island 
locations in the South Pacific, the staffs of the hospitals 
immediately set up temporary quarters in tents or buildings already 
erected. When ships with the materiel of the hospital arrived in 
the port, hospital corpsmen, under the direction of medical officers 
and construction battalion officers, began the job of unloading, 
sorting, and constructing the hospital. During the first year 
of the War, most of the physical work of construction was actually 
done by men of the Hospital Corps who had no special training for 
such work. During the period of construction, only members of the 
staff and emergency cases were cared for by the hospital. 
From the time of commissioning of mobile- hospitals 
until the time they admitted their first patients a period of several 
months generally elapsed. For Mobile Hospital Number 5, located at 
Noumea,New Caledonia, almost six months elapsed between the date of 
commissioning and regular admission of patients; for Mobile Hospital 
Number 6, located at Wellington, New Zealand, less than two 
months were required between commissioning and operation. 
The buildings of the mobile and base hospitals were 
predominantly steel, prefabricated structures. The buildings of jBasc Hospital Number 2. at Efate, New Hebrides, were of the 
Quonset hut type, the Iceland hut type, and sheds of wood and 
metal. The floor space of the Quonset typo hut was 16 by 36 feet; 
the Iceland hut was 24 by 36 feet, and the sheds were of various 
sizes. These huts were used as single units or in groups of two 
or three placed end to end. At Base Hospital Number 2, at the 
end of 1942, there were 138 huts of the Quonset type, 49 huts of 
the Iceland typo, and 6 sheds. At Mobile Hospital Number 3, 
American Samoa, the buildings in general 7/ere of the Quonset typo; 
storehouses, medical supply storehouses, and recreation buildings 
were larger. Mobile Hospital Number 4, at Auckland, New Zealand, 
had a total of 98 buildings on the hospital compound, 44 of v/hich 
were of prefabricated steel transported from the United States and 
erected by hospital personnel. The remainder of the buildings at 
Mobile Number 4 were of frame construction. Mobile Hospital Number 
5, Noumea, Not/ Caledonia, had 55 prefabricated steel panel buildings 
and 3 temporary wooden buildings. Mobile Hospital Number 6, near 
Wellington, New Zealand, did not use the metal, prefabricated 
buildings originally assigned to it. All buildings at Mobile Number 
6, except three prefabricated steel buildings, were constructed of 
local timber with asbestos roofing. 
Base Hospital Number 2, at Efate, New Hebrides, experienced 
difficulties in obtaining and maintaining sufficient medical supplies. 
39 Shortages of'Aquinine"sand atabrine, critically needed for both 
63 
chemoprophylaxis and therapy, "presented insuperable difficulties." 
Some 4,800 five-grain tablets of quinine dihydrochloridc were 
purchased from a local insurance company and an additional supply 
of 96,000 five-grain tablets arrived a month later by air from a 
nearby base. The estimated need per month for the hospital unit 
along was 36,000 tablets for chemoprophylaxis and 20,000 for therapy. 
There was apparently some confusion as to the correct 
procedures for requisitioning and accounting for supplies at Base 
Hospital Number 2. According to the annual sanitary report for 
1942, the allotment status of the hospital was unknown; instructions 
in regard to accounting procedures had not been received; the 
hospital was without information as to how to obtain items not listed 
in the Supply Catalogue, and there was uncertainty about what 
course to follow when certain items requisitioned were omitted 
from shipments because they were not available at the depot or 
storehouse. 
Other hospitals reported fewer supply difficulties. 
Mobile Hospital Number 5, at Noumea, New Caledonia,, reported that 
* _ 11 ...uj.j „ uiium- 
supplies had been "ample, of excellent quality, and in good 
64 
condition on arrival." Mobile Hospital Number 3, American Samoa, 
reported that supplies "on the whole have been found to be adequate 
63. Annual sanitary report from Base Hospital Number 2 for 1942. 
64. Annual sanitary report from Mobile Hospital Number 5 for 1942. 
40 65 
in quantity and excellent in quality." 
The amount of furniture, linens, blankets, litters, 
wheel stretchers, and similar equipment in the commissioning outfit 
generally proved sufficient for the standard bed capacity of the 
hospitals. However, when the actual census exceeded the bed capacity, 
as frequently occurred at Base Hospital Number 2, additional 
items had to be obtained from local sources. Some deterioration 
of metal furniture as a result of climatic conditions was reported 
by Mobile Hospital Number 3, American Samoa. This hospital also 
reported that kerosene refrigerators were more suitable than 
electric ones in the area of its location. 
The composition and size of the hospital staffs at the 
mobile and base hospitals varied. The number of medical officers 
ranged between approximately 40 and 54, the number of hospital 
corpsmen between 235 and 500, the number of dentists from 1 to 4, 
and the number of Hospital Corps officers from 1 to 5. There were, 
also usually about 80 enlisted men with non-medical ratings. There 
were no civilian employees for these hospitals, and until the 
very close of the year, none of the hospitals had Navy nurses. 
The authorized complements of the mobile and base 
hospitals were generally considered sufficient for the authorized 
65. Annual Sanitary report from Mobile Hospital Number 3 for 1942. 
41 bed capacity, and, in general, the authorized complements were 
filled successfully. Mobile Hospital Number 5, however, which 
supplied medical officer replacements to the fleet and shore 
stations of the South Pacific area, at times had insufficient 
medical officers available. 
Base Hospital Number 2, Efatc, New Hebrides, the first 
Navy Medical Department hospital established in the Southwest Pacific, 
treated a total of 3,020 patients between 20 September and 31 December 
1942. Mobile Hospital Number 3, in American Samoa, treated 1,385 
patients in 1942; Mobile Hospital Number 5, at Noumea, New Caledonia, 
treated 1,138 patients in 1942. 
Mobile Hospital Number 3 was the only one of the group 
established in the Pacific in 1942 which did not receive a large 
number of battle casualties. This hospital was primarily engaged 
in caring for Navy and Marine Corps personnel stationed in 
American Samoa as well as caring for the island natives. 
Base Hospital Number 2, at Efate, New Hebrides, received 
battle casualties by airplanes from the combat area throughout the 
Guadalcanal campaign. Mobile Hospital Number 6 (Wellington, N.Z.) 
received 159 casualties from the Solomons on 8 September. Mobile 
Hospital Number 5 (Noumea, New Caledonia) received its first draft 
of battle casualties from Guadalcanal on 19 November 1942. 
42 Casualties from the fighting front at Guadalcanal.were 
received at Base Hospital Number 2 after an average elapsed time of 
about 36 hours. A small number of patients received at Base 
Hospital Number 2 were transported by ships from the field hospital 
at Base "Cactus" to Vila, New Hebrides. Most of the patients, 
however, were brought by air to an airfield six miles from the hospital. 
A Quonset hut for the reception of patients was placed near the 
landing strip of the airfield. A medical officer and hospital 
corpsman supervised the transfer of the patients from the airplanes 
to ambulances for further transportation to Base Hospital Humber 2. 
All casualties were divided into four classes: 
Class A—convalescent expectancy of less than 90 days. 
Class B--psychoncuroses, war neuroses, and situational 
neuroses. 
Class C—convalescent expectancy of over 90 days. 
Class D—permanently disabled for further duty in the 
South Pacific Area. 
Patients classified A were permitted to return to duty upon 
recovery. Patients classified B, C, or D v/erc transferred to the 
hospital ship USS SOLACE or the hospital transport USS TRYON for dis- 
position. Class D patients were evacuated to the United States by 
means of hospital ships, hospital transports, and certain other 
specified transports. 
Mobile, Hospital Number 6, near Wellington, New Zealand, 
' ' * 
received battle casualties who had been transported by ship. Many 
43 patients were brought to New Zealand by the hospital ship SOLACE. 
All patients transferred from the SOLACE to Mobile Hospital Number 6 
were classified and tagged by the doctors aboard the ship. Before 
the patients left the ship, officers from the mobile hospital 
assigned them to their wards. Patients were transported from 
Yfellington by means of specially built hospital trains. After 
arrival at the hospital, they wcr<~ unloaded at the hospital siding 
and moved in ambulances to the various wards. Small groups and 
individual patients were transported from ships in the Wellington 
harbor by ambulances provided by the hospital. Patients brought to 
the hospital from Marine Corps camps in the Wellington area came by 
trucks or other vehicles provided by the camps. 
Sick and injured were transported to Hospital 
Number 3 (American Samoa) by plane, ship, and automobile. Transporta- 
tion of patients from Mobile Hospital Number 3 was by hospital 
ambulances. All trips made by the ambulances out of the hospital 
area were logged with the name of the driver, number of the ambulance, 
time of departure, destination, and time of return. Upon departure, 
the driver received a numbered pass which he turned into the office 
of the medical officer of the day when he returned. 
Three or four field type ambulances were included in the 
original commissioning outfit. The ambulances provided were rough 
riding and some complaints were voiced against their use in the 
44 transportation of seriously ill patients. Base Hospital Number 2 
exchanged three of its ambulances for three of another make with the 
local Array medical organization. The four ambulances were not 
enough when patients in large numbers had to be transported, and 
additional ambulances located on the island had to be utilized. 
The internal organization of the mobile and base hospitals 
established in the South Pacific in 1942 was similar to that of the 
continental hospitals. The two principal subdivisions under the 
medical officer in command and the executive officer wore the pro- 
fessional and administrative branches. Under the professional branch 
the two chief divisions were the medical department and the surgical 
department. In addition to these basic departments there were 
several special departments. The laboratory, eye-ear-nose-and-throat 
service, ncuropsychiatric service, and dental service were special 
departments at Base Hospital Number 2. Mobile Hospital Number 3 at 
American Samoa had special departments for laboratory, eye-ear-nose- 
and-throat cases, dental cases, out-patients, post office, and ship’s 
service. The special departments at 1 obile Hospital Number 5 were 
eye-ear-nose-and-throat, X-ray, dental, anesthesia, and urology. 
The medical departments were generally only slightly 
smaller than the surgical departments. The total bed capacity of 
the medical department of Mobile Hospital Number 2 was 187 beds, while 
the total bed capacity of the surgical department was 219. At Base Hospital Number 2, the percentage of admissions assigned to the medi- 
cal department fluctuated between 40 and 50. These percentages 
were influenced at any particular time largely by the varying influx 
of patients with malaria or wounds acquired in combat. For example, 
during December 1942, of the 717 admissions for all causes, 
211, or 29.8 percent were admitted for malaria. 
In 1943 Navy hospital facilities in the South Pacific 
11 mu iihmikihii wwiiwiwniriininiiiwii»riMiiiii»mfiiwor«wiiiiii«Miiriini(Mii*>»Bnii—WW 
66 
multiplied at a rapid rate. Nine Navy hospitals in all were put 
into operation in the South Pacific area. Four of the nine were of 
the mobile class; the remainder were base hospitals. These additional 
hospitals were located in the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, New Zealand, 
Australia, the Solomon Islands, and New Guinea. The two now hospitals 
added in New Caledonia were base hospitals and were located at 
Espiritu Santo. The additional hospital established in New Caledonia 
was of the mobile type and was, like Mobile Hospital Number 5, set up 
at Noumea. In New Zealand, a second Mobile Hospital--Number 6—was 
located at Auckland. In Australia, Mobile Hospital Number 9 was 
established at Brisbane and Base Hospital Number 10 at Sydney. In 
the Solomons, Mobile Hospital Number 8 was established at Guadal- 
canal, and Base Hospital Number 7 at Tulagi. In New Guinea, Base 
Hospital Number 13 was put into operation at Milne Bay. Most of 
these hospitals began operating in the last half of the year. Only 
66. The account of mobile* and base hospitals in the Pacific in 1943 
given here is based primarily upon annual sanitary peports and 
historical data supplements to the annual sanitary reports, Sco 
bibliography. 
46 two of the hospitals--Mobile Hospital Number 7 at Noumea, 
New Caledonia, and Base Hospital Number 6 at Espiritu Santo—began 
operations in the first half of the year. In August, Base Hospital 
Number 7, Tulagi, Mobile Hospital Number 8 at Guadalcanal, and Base 
Hospital Number 3 at Espiritu Santo were established; in October, 
Mobile Hospital Number 9 at Brisbane and Mobile Hospital Number 6 at 
Auckland were established; in November, Base Hospital Number 10 was 
commissioned; and in December, Base Hospital Number 13 was estab- 
lished at Milne Bay, New Guinea. 
Throughout 1943 the character of the work done by the 
Navy hospitals in the South Pacific did not change, although the 
total load increased tremendously. Men with tropical diseases, especially 
malaria, and wounded men from the Solomons campaign constituted a 
large part of the patients admitted to the hospitals. The hospitals 
continued to servo to a groat extent as evacuation centers; this 
was especially true of base hospitals in the more advanced areas 
which evacuated patients to rear area hospitals. Men from all the 
American and allied services were received for treatment. 
The staffs of the five Navy hospitals wh-ich had boon put 
into operation in the South Pacific in 1942 v/crc expanded to take 
care of the greatly increased number of patients that streamed in from 
the Navy and Marine Corps battles and campaigns in 1943. Base Hospital 
Number 2, at Efate, New Hebrides, first of the base hospitals established 
47 and operated for*the reception and care of casualties in the 
Southern Pacific, increased its staff from 420 on 1 January 1943, 
to 537 on 1 January 1944. Mobile Hospital Number 3, in American 
Samoa, which had had an average strength of 23 officers and 255 
enlisted men in 1942, had in 1943 an average of 34 officers and 
301 enlisted men. Mobile Hospital Number 5, at Noumea, New 
Caledonia, increased its staff from an average strength of 33 officers 
and 235 enlisted men in 1942 to 45 officers, 465 enlisted men, and 
28 nurses in 1943. 
The new Navy hospitals established in the South Pacific 
in 1943 generally had from 40 to 50 officers, 400 to 500 enlisted 
men, and 0 to 40 nurses. Base Hospital Number 10 established 
at Sydney in November, however, had an average strength of 20 
officers, 192 enlisted men, and 19 nurses. 
Most of the hospitals which had boon erected in 1942 
treated between 10,000 and 15,000 patients in 1943. Mobile 
Hospital Number 3, in American Samoa, however, treated 6,979 patients. 
The various hospitals that began in 1943 varied a great deal in 
the total number of patients treated, according to size and time of 
inception. For example, Mobile Hospital Number 7 (a hospital of 
about 2,000-bed capacity by the close of the year), which received its 
first patients on 22 April treated 8,091 patients, while Base 
Hospital Number 10, which was commissioned 24 December treated a 
48 total of 536. Nevertheless, some of the hospitals established as 
late as August treated large numbers of patients. Mobile Hospital 
Number 8, at Guadalcanal and Base Hospital Number 3, at Espiritu 
Santo, both of which received their first patients in August, treated 
a total of 11,105 and 10,609 patients respectively. 
For most of the hospitals, the rate of admissions was 
highest during the period January-September, while the campaign 
in the Solomons was still in progress. After September, casualties 
from the forward area by-passed 3ase Hospital Number 2 at Efate, 
New Hebrides, for other hospitals farther south. Mobile Hospital 
Number 6, at Wellington, after the cessation of the Solomon Islands 
campaign, provided medical care for the First and Second Divisions 
while they were still stationed in the Wellington area and served 
as the major medical department hospital unit for the southern part 
of the North Island of New Zealand. 
Malaria continued in 1943 to be a paramount medical problem 
for the Navy hospitals of the South Pacific. Base Hospital Number 2, 
at Efate, New Hebrides, during 1943, admitted a total of 3,050 cases 
of malaria, of which 2,119 originated on naval bases other than the 
one upon which it was located. By March 1943, malaria was the "primary 
# 
problem” for Mobile Hospital Number 6 at Wellington; on 6 March, 870 
patients, or 76 percent of the total, had malaria. For the successor 
to Mobile Hospital Number 6 near Wellington—Base Hospital Number 4 — 
malaria continued to be the most pressing medical problem. Accounting 
49 for about 12 percent of all admissions to Mobile Hospital Number 8 
at Guadalcanal, malaria was one of the most common diseases treated. 
A second class of non-surgical cases that became a 
problem of increasing importance in 1943 were the psychoneuroses and 
nervous conditions precipitated by monotony, fatigue, and combat 
experiences. At mobile Hospital Number 8 (Guadalcanal), 2,208 
patients, or almost 22 percent of the total admissions, were 
admitted to the neuropsychiatric service. Base Hospital Number 3 
(Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides) admitted over 700 neuropsychiatric 
casualties and from 20 to 40 percent of the patients had 
neuropsychiatric or related diagnoses; only about 6 percent of the 
neuropsychiatric patients at Base Hospital Number 3 were psychotic 
(mentally deranged), mobile Hospital Number 3 (American Samoa) 
had a steadily rising number of neuropsychiatric cases during the 
year; most of these cases were from organizations which had not seen 
active combat but had been subjected to ipng and monotonous training 
duty in a tropical climate. 
Filariasis continued as a major problem for Mobile Hospital 
Number 3 in American Samoa. Up to 1 January 1944, this hospital 
evacuated to the United States a total of 2,904 cases with filarial 
involvement. Other mobile and base hospitals in the South Pacific 
also reported an increasing incidence of filariasis among both 
combatant and noncombatant units. Several annual sanitary reports 
noted that units from which large number of filarial cases originated 
50 i w —-— 
had been previously stationed in Samoa. 
In 1944 ten new Navy hospitals of the base and mobile 
67 
type were put in operation in the Pacific. Hospitals were 
established in the Solomons, New Guinea, Marianas, Admiralty 
Islands, Schouten Islands, Caroline Islands, and at San Francisco. 
Most of these hospitals were of the base type and were commissioned 
at locations which had only recently been liberated from enemy 
territory. The base hospitals generally originated from G-2 
components and developed into base hospitals after several months 
service as dispensaries. 
In mid-1944 the type of hospitals known from the 
beginning of the War as ’’Mobile Hospitals” were redesignated 
’’Fleet Hospitals”, and the newly commissioned hospitals other than 
the base hospitals were also designated ’’Fleet Hospitals.” 
In 1943 and 1944 there were no radical changes in the 
administrative organization, the building construction, the hospi- 
tal equipment, or clinical practice of the Navy hospitals in the 
67. The account of mobile and base hospitals in the Pacific in 
1944 given here is based primarily upon annual sanitary 
reports for 1944, historical data supplements to annual sani- 
tary reports for 1944, cumulative history reports, corres- 
pondence and reports in the personal files of the Surgeon 
General and the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. See biblio- 
graphy. 
51 Pacific. There were, however, numerous changes relating to 
developments and improvements along lines fairly well established 
as early as the first quarter of 1943. Equipment for speciali- 
zation of medical and surgical practice were added to most of the 
hospitals. The instructional programs for hospitals staffs 
became more systematic. In time, too, there were many additions 
to the recreational facilities, the absence of which were felt 
rather keenly by both patients and staff during the first year 
of the War by those hospitals not located near the New Zealand 
and Australian cities. 
The commencement of penicillin treatment in the latter 
part of 1943 was perhaps the most significant therapeutic develop- 
ment in the hospitals. The character of diseases and injuries 
in 1944 was marked by a decline in the number of patients with 
malaria and filariasis. Like the Hawaiian and continental hospitals, 
the mobile-fleet and base hospitals of the South Pacific placed 
increased emphasis on physical therapy and other programs that 
could serve to rehabilitate convalescent patients. 
Certain hospitals were designated to received particular 
kinds of cases. In November 1943, Mobile Hospital Number 6, 
Auckland, New Zealand, was designated as a special center for the 
treatment of patients suffering from combat fatigue, war neuroses, 
and mild mental disorders. When Mobile Number 6 was closed, Base 
Hospital Number 6 at Espiritu Santo was designated by Commander 
52 South Pacific as the special center for such ncuropsychiatric 
cases. In November 1943, an ophthalmic center for major 
ophthalmic surgery was established at Mobile Hospital Number 7, 
Noumea, New Caledonia. 
In 1942 and 1943 it was possible to transfer patients 
to the United States only from base and mobile hospitals in the 
rear areas. Such an arrangement was not the best for the economical 
use of hospitals beds and transportation; and a directive from 
the headquarters of the South Pacific Force, dated 24 January 1944, 
made it possible for any base or mobile hospital in the forward 
area to evacuate directly to the United States those patients who 
were permanently disabled or who would require more than 120 
days' treatment. The purpose of the directive was to prevent 
patients of these two categories from passing through four or five 
hospitals before they were eventually transferred to the United 
States. Such a policy ma.de more beds available in the forward area, 
and patients could be evacuated sooner because transportation was 
more abundant in the forward than in the rear areas. The direc- 
tive of 24 January 1944 also forbade the evacuation to New Zea- 
land of patients destined for the United States, because of the 
great difficulty of obtaining shipping from that island. 
From an administrative standpoint, one of tho important 
events of 1944 was the appointment by the Commander South Pacific 
Area and South Pacific Force of a special board to formulate plans for.jthe standardization of mobile hospital construction. 
This board submitted a comprehensive report on all aspects 
of these hospitals. Although most of the report was de- 
voted to the standardization of specifications of buildings 
and equipment, the board did not fail to comment on other 
features of the hospitals and to make recommendations accordingly. 
The seventeen-page report of this board is probably the best 
signlc source of information on the materiel and construction 
68 
problem of the mobile fleet hospitals. 
Some of the hospitals which had been established 
in the first year of the War and which were becoming more 
removed from the advancing areas of combat showed a declining 
proportion of battle casualties in 1944. As early as May of 
that year tentative plans were being made to reduce the number 
of hospital beds in the South Pacific Area from about 12,000 to 
4,000 beds by the first of January 1945. It was felt thah that 
most of the hospitals in the South Pacific would probably be 
needed in some other area and that it was advisable to begin 
knocking them down and making them ready for shipment when the 
need for them developed. A revised plan in June called for a 
reduction from the peak of over 15,000 beds reached- in.March to 
•Ground 9,000 by the-close of the year. 
68. A copy of this report is attached to the annual sanitary 
report for 1943 from Mobile Hospital No. 5. 
54 Some of the hospitals which had been set up in 
1942 and 1943 were dismantled in 1944 and packed for shipping 
to other locations in the Central and T.\'cstcrn Pacific. Mobile 
Hospital Number 3 in American Samoa, in accordance with an 
order of the Commander South Pacific Force, ceased to function 
as a hospital on 1 April 1944; packing of supplies and 
equipment and dismantling and crating of buildings was comp- 
leted on 29 April, on which date the largest part of the 
material had already been transferred to the Naval Station for 
storage while awaiting shipment. Base Hospital Number 4, 
Wellington, NewraZealond.by order of the CommandedSouifti- Pacific, 
ceased to function as a hospital on 1 April 1944, and the 
work of dismantling, packing, and crating was carried out in 
accordance with an approved movement plan. Mobile Hospital 
Number 4, at Auckland, Now Zealand, ceased to function on 1 July 
1944; patients who wore not ready for duty were transferred to 
other hospitals in the South Pacific area and the dismantling, 
packing, and crating was begun. Mobile Hospital Number 6 (Fleet 
Hospital 106), also at Auckland, New Zealand, began preparations for 
dismantling on 10 May 1944, when the hospital was placed in 
ordinary commision and ceased to function as a hospital. Base 
Hospital Number 2, at Efate, New Hebrides, which ceased to 
function on 1 August 1944, was shipped on 1 November to Noumea, 
New Caledonia, for staging. Base Hospital Number 11, at Munda, 
New Georgia, decommissioned 15 December 1944, was dismantled 
55 and forwarded in order to enlarge Base Hospital Number 17 at 
Hollandia, New Guinea. 
By the middle of October 1944, Fleet Hospitals 104 
and 106 had been moved to Noumea for rehabilitation and staging. 
Fleet Hospital 112, which had not yet been put into service in 
the Pacific and which had left the United States in May 1944, 
was staging in the Russolls. Base Hospital Number 2 had been 
dismantled and was scheduled to be brought from Efate to Noumea 
for staging as soon as shipping was available. Base Hospital 
Number 4 was being reconstituted at Espiritu Santo. Of the 
remaining hospitals functioning in the South Pacific, it was 
thought that at least four would be rolled up in early 1945. 
By January 1945, Navy hospitals in the South Pacific 
Area had already been sharply curtailed. Several mobile and 
base hospitals had been packed and shipped to centers where they 
awaited further disposition. At Noumea were concentrated Base 
Hospital Number 2 (formerly at Efate, New Hebrides), Fleet 
Hospital 104 (formerly at Auckland, New Zealand), and Fleet Hospital 
106 (formerly at Auckland, New Zealand). Base Hospital Number 4 (for- 
merly at Wellington, Now Zealand, was.at Espritu Santo, New Hebrides. The 
convalescent section of Fleet Hospital 107 at Noumea and Base 
Hospital Number 7 at Tulagi, Solomon Islands, were in the process of 
folding up and being packed for forward movement. Fleet Hospital 112, 
which had never been set up, was in the Russell Islands. 
56 The commanding officers of the inactive hospitals at Noumea were 
in frequent conference with a captain of the Medical Corps in 
planning for the shipment and installation of these hospitals 
in forward areas. 
In mid-April Fleet Hospitals 105 (Noumea), 10S 
(Guadalcanal), 110 (the Russell Islands) and Base Hospital 
Number 3 (Espiritu Santb) were still in operation. Most of the 
hospitals vrere averaging about 300 patients, with the exception 
of Fleet Hospital 108, which had about 500, 200 of which were to 
be transferred to the United States, Closed and packed were Fleet 
Hospital 107 (Noumea) and Base Hospital Number 6 at Espiritu Santo. 
Base Hospital Number 7 at Tulagi, Solomon Islands*was ordered dccommis- 
sioned as of 15 April and was not to be reconstituted. On 23 April, Base 
Hospital Number 13 at Milne Bay, New Guinea, and Base Hospital Number 14 at 
Finshhafen, New Guinea* were rolled up and plans were being made to combine 
them for eventual service in the Philippines. The plans at this time 
called for cutting the remaining hospitals to 300-bcd capacity 
and eventually replacing them with dispensaries. On 26 May the 
list of hospitals earmarked for forward movement included Fleet 
Hospitals 105, 106, 110, 107, and 104, and Base Hospitals Numbers 
3 and 6. 
Only a small proportion of the Navy hospitals in the 
South Pacific were relocated in the more western and central parts of the Pacific before the War ended. On Guam, Fleet Hospital 
103 (formerly at American Samoa), was sot up and received its 
first patients, from Okinawa, on 1 April 1945. In the Philippines, 
in the Samar area, Fleet Hospital 109(dccommissioncd at Brisbane, 
Australia, 6 January 1945) was combined with Fleet Hospital 
114, which had as yet seen no service in the Pacific; this amalga- 
mated hospital, under the designation of Fleet Hospital1' 
received its first patients on 4 July 1945. Base Hospital Number 2 
(formerly at Efatc) was moved to Subic, P. I., but was not in 
operation when the War came to an end. Base Hospital Number 14 
(formerly at Finschhafcn, New Guinea) was moved to Cavite, P. I. 
Fleet Hospitals 104 and 112 did not reach Okinawa until after the 
Japanese surrender. Base Hospital Number 4 (which had ceased 
to operate at Wellington, New Zealand .on 1 April, 1944 and which had 
been reactivated on 22 February, 1945) and Base Hospital Number 6 
(which had been at Espiritu Santo from mid-1943 until February 
1945) arrived and were amalgamated but admitted no patients before 
the surrender. The staffs of Fleet Hospitals 104, 106, and 107 
were in Okinawa when the War ended. Fleet Hospital 106 (which 
had operated at Auckland, New Zealand-from October 1943 until the., sum- 
mer of.1944) arrived at Okinawa but was not built because of the 
cessation of the War. Fleet Hospital 10B (at Guadalcanal) was 
staging at the time of the Japanese surrender. 
Only a few hospitals were put into operation for the 
58 first time in 1945. Fleet Hospitals 111 and 115 were established 
in Guam, and Fleet Hospital 114 was erected in the Philippines. 
Fleet Hospital 116, commissioned at Lido Beach, N. Y., 2 June 1945, 
was in Okinawa when the War ended but had cared for no patients. 
The fleet (mobile) and base hospital successfully 
hospitalized thousands of patients during the Pacific war. From 
the standpoint of providing temporary hospitals in the forward and 
rear areas, their great worth was disputed in none of the annual 
sanitary reports, historical data reports, inspection reports, or 
in personal correspondence of the Surgeon General. However, these 
Navy hospitals never attained the degree of mobility desired for 
combat areas or areas proximate to combat areas. The deficiencies 
of the fleet and base hospitals for advanced and combat areas was 
concisely stated by the author of the annual sanitary report 
fro the Seventh Fleet for the year 1944; this report, dated 1 April 
1945, stated: 
Although Fleet and Base Hospitals as presently 
planned are excellent as to comfort for patients and working 
conditions for Medical Department personnel, they do possess 
the distinct disadvantage that they are bulky and require 
considerable shipping space to transport, and time and effort 
to establish; even more is necessary to dismantle, refit, and 
move forward. In a fast-moving type of warfare over vast 
distances as has typified operations in the Southwest Pacific, 
Naval Hospitals have not been capable of receiving casualties 
until the assault beaches have moved far ahead, often over 
1000 miles. With the consistent shortage of AH’S, APH’s and 
APA’s in the Seventh Fleet, it has been necessary to resort to 
hospitalizing Naval patients in Army hospitals in many areas. 
The latter are easily transported and quickly erected, and 
while they do not afford many of the refinements of the less 
58 re f i nemefi t syof1 rthe less mobile Naval Hospitals, are 
able to offer excellent early care to casualties at a 
time when the need is urgent. Canvas-housed, truly 
mobile hospitals are a paramount need in Amphibious 
warfare, both for Army and Navy support. 
In 1945, in the closing months of the War, atfOkinawa, 
a new type- of hospital was used for the first time. This was a 
type designated [’Special Augmented Hospital.” In its composition 
and function it was intermediate between the field hospital of the 
Marino Corps and the fleet and base hospitals v/hich had been used 
throughout the v/ar in the Pacific. These special augmented hospitals 
were designed to bring hospital services such as X-ray, surgery, 
dentistry, laboratory, and neuropsychiatry to the immediate vicinity 
of the combat area. 
Plans were made by the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery 
and the Navy Department for eight of these new hospitals. Four were 
to have a bed capacity of 200 each and four to have a bed capacity 
of 400 each. Of the number planned, five left the United States and 
went to Okinawa. 
Personnel for the special augmented hospitals began to 
assemble at San Bruno, California, in the late summer of 1944* In 
September, personnel assigned to these hospitalsrajra transferred to 
Shoemaker, California, for a comprehensive program of physical 
69. This account of the special augmented hospitals is based 
upon the cumulative history reports from units listed in the 
bibliography* 
59 conditioning training. Training which included 
hiking and camping expeditions under conditions that approximated 
these met with in the field of combat was conducted at the California 
base. The men lived in tents, ate out of mess kits, practiced field 
sanitation, and were instructed in infiltration tactics, use of the 
rifle, tent construction and maintenance, and chemical warfare. 
Special groups received instruction in tropical and Oriental disease 
at the Navy's special school for tropical diseases located at 
Treasure Island, California. General duty corpsmen were given 
refresher courses in the regular Hospital Corps subjects, and some men 
v/ere detailed to neighboring Navy hospitals for training in speciali- 
ties such as laboratory and X-ray. 
Special Augmented Hospital Number 6 was commissioned on 
7 March 1945? and three days later Special Augmented Hospitals Numbers 
3, 4? 8? and 7 were commissioned. Special Augmented Hospital Number 6, 
the first to sail, arrived at Okinawa on 4 May 1945? and received its 
first patients on 17 June 1945. This was the only special augmented 
hospital that actually received patients before the island was declared 
secure on 30 June 1945. The other hospitals, however, arrived at a 
time when there was still a necessity to maintain armed sentries to 
guard against snipers. Special Augmented Hospital Number 6 debarked 
at Okinawa on 4 May? and Special Augmented Hospitals Numbers 4, 8, 
and 7 on 14 July 1945. Of the five special augmented hospitals to 
arrive in Okinawa, only 3 and 6 actually received patients before the 
surrender of Japan. The others received their first patients in 
September, and continued to care for patients for several months. 
60 Special' augmented hospitals were organized to function 
as individual hospitals under separate commands, although the 
probability of combination was foreseen. Special Augmented 
Hospitals Numbers 6, 3* 7, S, and 4 were under the command of and 
directly responsible to the U. S. Naval Operating Base on Okinawa. 
The internal organization of the special augmented 
hospitals was subdivided according to the plan generally followed 
in Navy hospitals. At the top of the administrative hierarchy were 
the commanding officer, the executive officer, and the officer of 
the day. The two principal branches under the executive officer 
were the administrative and clinical. Under the administrative branch 
were sections, offices, and shops which included activities and 
services such as personnel and clerical procedure, property and 
accounting, commissary, pharmacy, maintenance and transportation, 
disbursing, chaplain, morale and welfare, education and training. The 
clinical branch was divided into the medical and surgical services. 
The surgical service comprised orthopedics, urology and dermatology, 
X-ray, eye-ear-nosc-and-throat, and dentistry; while the medical in- 
cluded contagious diseases, neuropsychiatry, clinical laboratory, 
and hygiene sanitation. The chiefs o" each service were the 
senior medical officer assigned to the services. All medical officers 
in charge of wards and special departments were under the supervision 
of the chiefs of the services. 
61 U. S. NAVAL 
SPECIAL AUGMENTED HOSPITAL NUMBER SIX COMBINED 
-600 Bed Capacity- 
Administrative and Clinical Organization 
Commanding 
Officer 
-Executive, 
Officer 
Administrative.- 
-Officer oft 
the Day 
.Clinical 
Personnel and 
Clerical Procedurp 
Property & 
Accounting 
Chief Master 
at Arms 
f 
Surgical 
Service 
Medical 
Service~ 
Commissary 
Pharmacy 
.Orthopedics 
Contagious 
Diseases 
Maintenance & — 
Transportation 
- Disbursing- 
Hospital' 
Corps 
Urology 
& Skin. 
Neuro- 
psychiatry 
Chaplain _ 
Clinical 
Laboratory 
Morale & 
Welfare 
_ .X-Ray 
. Education 
& Training 
Eye Ear I'Jose_ 
and Throat 
JHygicne & 
Sanitation 
Dental 
62 The hospital wards, living quarters for staffs, offices, 
storerooms, and most of the special departments were housed in tents. 
Operating rooms and X-ray were housed in Quonsct huts. The ward tents 
usually contained about 14 standard cots 'without mattresses. Lighting 
in the wards was provided by overhead electric lights and floor outlets. 
Construction of the special augmented hospitals in Okinawa was by 
construction battalions assisted by the hospital staffs. 
The patients cared for by the special augmented hospitals 
included the sick and injured from shore-based facilities in 
Okinawa, and casualties from ships at sea, from bombers, from 
sniper fire, and from accidents. At the height of their activity, 
these hospitals w,.re caring for between 200 and 300 patients daily. 
The peak load for Special Augmented Hospital Number 3 was reached on 
20 September, when the census stood at 462. The total number of Navy 
patients admitted to Special Augmented Hospital Number 8 between 8 
September 1945 and 5 January 1946 was 1,611. During the period 
1 July-15 December, 2,369 patients were admitted to Special Augmented 
Hospital Number 6. 
Many of tho patients from the special augmented hospitals 
were returned to duty. Of 2<,369 patients admitted to Special Augmented 
Hospital Number 6, only about 700 v/c-rc evacuated. Those who required 
prolonged or specialized treatment or lengthy convalescence were 
evacuated to fleet or base hospitals. Guam was the destination for 
a large proportion of the patients evacuated by the special augmented 
hospitals on Okinawa, Evacuees wore transported by both airplanes and 
63 ships. Special Augmented Hospital Number 8 evacuated 240 by air and 
483 by ship; the maximum weekly evacuation from this hospital was 95 
and the minimum 7, with an average weekly evacuation by air of 37. 
Rapid evacuations from the special augmented hospitals 
brought about a rather sharp reduction in the total number of 
patients enrolled in the hospitals and by the close of October the 
patient load had declined appreciably. On 25 October, Special 
Augmented Hospitals Numbers 3 and 6 were combined; on 9 December, 
admissions to this combined hospital were discontinued and the re- 
maining patients transferred to Fleet Hospital 106 and Special 
Augmented Hospital Number S. On 25 October, Special Augmented 
Hospital Number 8 absorbed the personnel and material of Special 
Augmented Hospital Number 7 which was decommissioned on the same 
day. On 30 November, Special Augment Hospital Number 4 was dis- 
established and all facilities, material, and remaining personnel, 
including patients, were transferred to Fleet Hospital 116. On 
25 January, Special Augmented Hospital Number 8 was decommissioned. 
Because of the termination of the War, the special 
augmented hospitals were not able to fulfill the mission for which 
they were primarily Planned to provide hospital 
facilities in proximity to combat areas, most of their patients 
wore actually received during the period immediately after the 
Japanese surrender. In general, the reports submitted by these 
hospitals were quite favorable as to their performance and utility. 
64 Of the conclusions expressed in the cumulative history reports from 
these units, that from Special Augmented Hospital Number 8 was most 
critical: 
Although the pxact place of this hospital in the 
medical facilities picture as a whole was never made 
clear, nevertheless, certain comments can be made. If 
it was intended that this hospital should be in operation 
to function during the active campaign for the island, 
then its equipment"and construction contained too much 
of a semi-permanent or permanent character so that it 
could not be erected quickly. On the other hand, if it 
was intended that this hospital should come into 
operation after the termination of hostilities, as was 
the case, then its construction was of too temporary a 
character to afford desired comfort and efficiency. 
Not knowing what the planned expectations for such 
a hospital were, it is difficult to judge its effectiveness. 
Frobably the most effective function of the hospital was 
the ability to keep beds available for the demand for 
admissions which was placed upon it5 however, because 
evacuations had to be made so frequently, prolonged 
treatment, elective surgery and complete diagnostic 
procedures had to be curtailed. Section 4 Naval Dispensaries in the Pacific 
During World War II 
Throughout the war in the Pacific, naval dispensaries served 
as integral components of medical planning. Varying from place to place 
in size, services and function, they provided a network of primary 
70 
medical care. As the scope of the American offensive was widened and 
new island bases came under naval authority, the need for increased dis- 
pensary facilities became apparent. The story of naval dispensaries in 
the Pacific Ocean during the war years has been one of considerable 
expansion. New types of dispensaries were established and sent out to 
Pacific bases, following shortly on the advances of combat troops. Rear 
area facilities were enlarged, and new dispensaries mushroomed with 
every new naval or Marine Corps unit that set up facilities on captured 
Pacific islands. 
From an administrative standpoint, Pacific dispensaries 
operated under four great echelons of command in the Pacific: (l) 
jfilspensaries attached to naval facilities at the Hawaiian Islands were 
71 
under the authority of the Fourteenth Naval District; (2) the majority 
70. The term dispensary, in the Navy Medical Department, has been a 
rather amorphous one, used as a result of custom rather than with 
any legal basis. As cited in Chapter XI, however, dispensaries were 
given a definition by Rear Admiral Agnew, (MC), USN, as medical 
facilities (other than naval hospitals) at all shore establishments 
which ’’provided for the immediate temporarycare of the sick and injured,” 
and which ’’are usually located in separate buildings or in suitable 
places in buildings.” 
71. Dispensaries at Alaska and in the Aleutians were under the command 
of the Seventeenth Naval District after its establishment in 1944* 
66 of the other Pacific island dispensaries were under the Commander Service 
Forces, in the Pacific Fleet organization; (3) dispensaries attached to 
naval air units in the Pacific, outside of the Fourteenth Naval District, 
operated under the Commander Naval Air Forces, Pacific Fleet; (4) 
a small number of dispensaries, attached to Fleet Marine Force shore 
.acilities, were under the authority of the Commander Amphibious Forces, 
Pacific. 
Within these four over-all commands, dispensaries nay perhaps 
most effectively be considered in relation to the activities they served. 
Dispensaries attached to various units at permanent naval establishments, 
as at Hawaii, had essentially similar structures. Advanced base 
dispensaries, following rapidly in the wake of the combat forces, were 
more mobile in nature. Naval and Marine aircraft activities maintained 
dispensaries which were primarily concerned with health problems of 
aviation personnel. Amphibious force dispensaries, on the other hand, 
were primarily interested in maintaining the health of land combat troops 
at amphibious transient, training and service centers. 
A distinction must be made at the outset between the over-all medical 
services rendered by Pacific dispensaries and medical service provided 
by combat medical battalions and medical companies during Pacific 
campaigns. With the exception of some advanced base air facilities and 
amphibious force dispensaries, the majority of the dispensaries in the 
Pacific rendered medical aid to naval units not in immediate combat. 
Even amphibious force dispensaries functioned largely behind the area 
67 of combat. Medical battalion and company aid stations went into 
combat with naval and Marine forces and provided a much more varied 
type of service than did dispensaries attached to Pacific commands. 
Size differed greatly in Pacific dispensaries. Some of the 
large advanced base units contained up to 600 beds, while other 
dispensaries contained fewer than 10. The functions of Pacific 
dispensaries also varied. Essentially, the basic purpose of all 
Pacific dispensaries was to provide medical care for all naval or 
Marine Corps personnel within the immediate command to which the 
dispensaries were attached. The dispensaries differed markedly in 
this from the naval hospitals - which extended their facilities to naval 
and Marine Corps personnel wherever they were attached. In practice, 
however, the extent of the services rendered by Pacific dispensaries 
depended upon their physical proximity to a naval hospital. V.Thcre- 
hospital facilities were close at hand, dispensary functions might be 
limited to out-patient treatment, diagnosis, emergency treatment or 
occasional hospitalization for short periods for minor ailments. 
In island areas where hospitals were at a distance, dispensary 
functions were extended to include many of the services customarily 
provided by naval hospitals. 
Fourteenth Naval District Dispensaries 
Many of the dispensaries under the administration of the 
Fourteenth Naval District can be more easily donsidered if treated in 
a separate section from other Pacific dispensaries. The Hawaiian 
68 area dispensary facilities were more closely related to stateside 
dispensaries than to naval dispensaries set up on the islands along 
the route to the Japanese mainland. In large part, on the outbreak 
of War, the pattern of dispensaries in Hawaii had already been 
established, and their problems were those of expanding and 
adapting already set up facilities, rather than establishing an 
entirely new program of medical care and dispensary installation. 
Further, the problem of care of naval and Marine Corps dependents 
did not exist west of Hawaii, but it was an actual part of 
dispensary care in Hawaii, as in the United States proper. 
A great variety of dispensaries, however, existed under 
72 
Fourteenth Naval District command during the War. Typing them 
72. As of May 1944 the following wore in operation: 
Pearl Harbor Area - OAHU Number of Beds 
Dispensary Receiving Station 14 
Dispensary Receiving Station, Aiea Heights 41 
Dispensary Marine Barracks 
(casualty station available but not in use) 30 
Dispensary Marine Garrison Forces, 14th ND 17 
Dispensary, Naval Air Station, Pearl Harbor 28 
(Ford Island, Additional Beds in Casualty 
Station) 10 
Dispensary Submarine Base 54 
Dispensary Navy Yard 0 
(Available but not in use, Casualty Station) 207 
Dispensary, Camp Catlin . 30 
Dispensary Cargo Handling Group 24 
Ship Repair Unit 16 
Naval Medical Supply Depot 0 
Dispensary Advance Base Reshipment Depot 7 
Dispensary Naval Air Station, Honolulu 6 
Dispensary Naval Ammunition Depot, Oahu 43 
Dispensary Section Base, Bishop’s Point 5 
Dispensary Camp Andrew 5 
69 offers sonc difficulty. In the majority of instances they existed 
to serve the personnel of the naval units to which they were immediately 
attached. Some specialization occurred in their functions, accord- 
ing to the type of naval establishment which they served. At the largo 
receiving station attached to the naval base, specialized problems 
associated with the mass checking of health of persons coming from 
and going to tropical areas engrossed dispensary personnel. Industrial 
problems, associated with the medical erre of persons engaged in 
the hazards of industrial work, received more attention at the 
Navy Yard dispensaries throughout the War than at the other Hawaiian 
dispensaries. Naval air station dispensaries were primarily 
interested in the maintenance of "flight health" of air personnel. 
The line of specialized dispensary care at Hawaii cannot be 
drawn too clearly, however. The average continental dispensary 
served only personnel of the unit to which it was attached. But 
in the Pacific, with the rapid influx cf now personnel throughout the 
War, many dispensaries treated naval and Marine Corps personnel from 
Dispensary Radio Stations, 14th ND 15 
Dispensary Rifle Range, Puuloa 20 
Dispensary Naval Air Station, Barber's 
Point 100 
Dispensary Marine Corps Air Station, Ewa 18 
Dispensary Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay 150 
Hawaii 
Dispensary Naval Air Station, Hilo 27 
Kauai 
Dispensary Naval Air Facility, Barking 
Sands 20 
Maui 
Dispensary Naval Air Station, Puunene 52 
Dispensary Naval Air Station, Kahului 24 
Johnston Island Dispensary Naval Air Station 51 
70 stations other than those to which the dispensaries were themselves 
attached. This was not in tho interests of presenting a smooth, 
administrative picture, but ./as geared to providing quick, necessary 
medical treatment and diagnosis to military personnel and their 
dependents in the immediate geographic location. All generalizations, 
therefore, concerning classifications and specialization of dis- 
pensary care in the Pacific, in relation to personnel handled, must 
be subject to this consideration. 
From an administrative standpoint, the U. S. Naval Receiving 
Station Dispensary^Navy, Number 128 (Pearl Harbor), offered a good 
opportunity for examination. This was commissioned on 19 August 1940 
as an activity of the Fourteenth Naval District and functioned 
under the direct cognizance of the commanding officer of the 
Receiving Station. Above this command were the Commandant Navy Yard, 
Pearl Harbor, Commandant Naval Base, Commandant Fourteenth Naval 
District and Chief of Naval Operations. The receiving station 
dispensary was itself the administrative command for five other 
i 
dispensaries in the area, one photofluorographio unit“and one 
73 
penicillin laboratory. 
The complement of the receiving station dispensary 
consisted of one captain, (MC), the senior nodical officer, one 
73. Cumulative Historical Report, Dispensary, U. S. Naval Receiving 
Station, Navy, No. 128, p. 1. 
71 commander, (MC), one lieutenant commander, (MC), two lieutenants 
6 TW 
(j g) MC), '* pharma cist, two chief pharma cist's mates, six pharma cis t' s 
mates first class, 10 pharmacist's mates second class, 21 pharmacist's 
mates third class and 7 hospital’apprentices first class. 
The primary function of the receiving station dispensary 
was to render medical attention and emergency hospitalization to 
personnel permenently and temporarily attached to the receiving 
station at Fcarl Harbor. Routine sick calls were held and periodic 
inspections made. With the increase in personnel handled by the 
receiving station, the dispensary saw corresponding expansion 
during the war years. The original two rooms of the dispensary were 
given up in March of 1942 in favor of new quarters in a former de- 
contamination building, and included a treatment room, large 
operating room, office space, consulation room, and two small medical 
storerooms. Frequent loans of personnel and equipment were made 
between the receiving station dispensary and the other smaller dis- 
, 74 
pensaries under its direction. 
Two of the dispensaries under the administration of the 
senior medical officer of the naval receiving station dispensary were 
the dispensaries at the naval receiving station barracks, Dispensary 
74* Ibid.. p. 3. These included Dispensary Area F, Dispensary 
Navy No. 10, Honolulu, SPU Dispensary, Wave Barracks Dispensary, 
Moanalua Ridge Dispensary. 
72 Area F. These were opened in January of 1943 and August 1944- 
respectively. Both dispensaries operated with the same medical per- 
sonnel. In July of 1943, the barracks medical complement in- 
cluded 6 medical officers and 38 enlisted personnel. On 1 July 
1944, the enlisted personnel had been increased to 49, while 
on 1 July 1945 there were 9 medical officers and 90 enlisted 
Hospital Corps personnel. 
The two dispensaries rendered medical care to an average 
complement of 15,000 men, the large majority of whom were transients 
en route or returning from naval stations in the Central or South 
75 
Pacific. In addition, the medical department of the receiving 
station barracks acted as an emergency station for Frupac, Jicpoa, 
naval supply depot and the Fire Fighting School personnel. 
The types of services rendered by the two barracks 
dispensaries were varied. Dispensary Number 1 provided medical 
care for the complement of the station, provided for transfers to 
naval hospitals, physical examinations, making duplicate health 
records for survivors from combat zones, annual physical examinations, 
physical examinations for promotions, inoculations, sanitary 
inspections, and radium plaque, in addition (during 1945 and 1946) 
to physical examinations on persons eligible for discharge under 
the point system. Barracks Dispensary Number 2 was designed 
75. Cumulative Historical Report of the Medical Department, 
U. S. Naval Receiving Barracks, Navy No. 10, p. 3. 
73 primarily to care for transient personnel. One of its main 
functions is the classification and reporting of all available 
Hospital Corps personnel to ComSerFor for assignment or transfer 
76 
to other medical department activities. 
Medical facilities include a well equipped X-ray 
department. Dispensary Number 1 contains a 39-bed ward, a 4“bed 
sick officers’ quarters, and a 3-bed isolation ward. Dispensary 
Number 2 maintains a 24-bed ward. 
Dispensaries associated with an industrial establishment 
1— _ « 
were best typified at the Navy yard in the Fourteenth Naval District. 
Again, however, specialization was only a part of the many services 
provided by the yard dispensaries. In 1941, the following classes 
of personnel received treatment by the medical department of the 
Navy yard: 
1. Civilian employees of the Navy yard 
2. Civilian employees of the District Public Works 
3. Naval personnel of the Navy yard 
4. Naval personnel of the District without 
other medical department facilities. 
5. Marine Garrison Forces 
6. Dependents of Navy yard and District service 
personnel 
7. Emergency treatment of all personnel* 
Caring for the seven classes of persons at the yard 
dispensaries were a main dispensary and medical department headquarters 
in Buildingd'Ntsnber 140 and 140-A, an Industrial Health Section 
76. Ibid, p. 4. 
74 (Organized in August 1941) and branch dispensaries at the Naval 
Radio Station, TJahiawa, and old Naval Station, Honolulu. To meet 
the increase in Civil Service employees and naval personnel, a main 
first-aid station was established in 1942 in Building 451-K, It 
was manned by two hospital corpsmen and a nurse and provided 24“ 
hour emergency treatment. 
By January of 1944, the activities of the Industrial 
Health Section had increased to a point where separate building 
facilities were necessary. Special laboratory equipment was 
% 
installed to facilitate the evaluation of health hazards, per- 
formance of chemical and clinical tests wherever necessary, and 
the making of industrial surveys. Both an industrial health officer 
and a medical officer were assigned to industrial medical duties, 
77 
and close liaison was established with the yard safety engineer. 
As in most of the Fourteenth Naval District medical 
activities, careful attention was paid at the Navy yard to the 
establishment of gas decontamination centers. Equipment was made 
ready, persons assigned, and bills of'instructions drawn up to 
prepare for a Japanese attack with any of the many varieties of 
gas warfare. Seven casualty dressing stations and gas decontamina- 
tion sections were spread throughout the yard and functioned under 
the administration of the yard medical officer as a part of the 
dispensary organization. 
77. Cumulative Historical Report of the Pearl Harbor Naval 
Ship yard, p, 3. Dispensary care for personnel of the fleet arriving in 
Hawaii was, for the greater part of the War, carried on by dispensaries 
in the Navy yard or at the receiving barracks. The administration 
of their care while at sea was a specialized problem, however, and 
in August 1944 an Administrative Center for Commander Cruisers, 
Destroyers, Destroyer Escorts, Pacific Fleet was established on 
Pearl City Peninsula, Oahu, with its own medical component and 
78 
dispensary. From this center, "Underway" medical officers were 
sent out by air to board destroyer escorts not carrying regularly 
assigned medical officers. Two medical officers and one dental 
officer, with a complement of 11 pharmacist's mates, operated 
the dispensary at the center. A complement of some 1,000 to 1,100 
men and officers v/as served in this manner. Cases needing hospitali- 
zation were transferred to one of the three naval hospitals on Oahu. 
Naval air stations and bases in the Hawaiian area and 
their dispensary facilities were under the command of the Commandant 
Naval Air Bases, Fourteenth Naval District and the Commandant 
Fourteenth Naval District throughout the War. The primary function 
of the air base, at Hawaii, ars at all naval shore stations, was the 
79 
support of the fleet. This was achieved in several ways. Air 
stations at Hawaii not only serviced Pacific Fleet air personnel 
78. Cumulative Historical Report, Commander Cruiser, Destroyer, 
Destroyer Escort, Administrative Center, Pacific Fleet, p. 1. 
79. Cumulative Historical Report for the Period of World War II, 
Naval Air Station, Kaneohe. 
76 and equipment, but also trained new personnel, and acted as funnels 
through which aviation personnel v/cre sent out to Pacific islands 
for mainland. Their dispensary facilities were thus geared to 
several tasks. 
The war history of Naval Air Station Navy Number 14 
(Barber's Point) offers a good example for a study of an jyj 
station dispensary in action during the Pacific war. Ground had 
been cleared for the Barber's Point station in October 1941, but 
the station was not commissioned until 15 April 1942. From this 
time on the account was one of increasing expansion until the end 
of hostilities. The complement changed from 256 officers and men 
to 11,300 officers and men. The purpose of the station was provided 
for specialized training of flyers, ordnancemen, radio and radar 
technicians, mechanics, and maintenance crews in addition to 
servicing fleet air units and repairing and modifying aircraft 
80 
from many of the large carriers. .. The dispensary facilities were 
adapted to medical care of the station personnel attached permanently 
and temporarily to the station. 
The dispensary at the Barber's Point Air Station was 
under the immediate command of the senior medical officer of the 
station, and was under the supervision of the Medical Officer, 
Commander Naval Air Bases, Pacific Fleet, and the District Medical 
Officer, Fourteenth Naval District. 
80. Cumulative Historical Report for the Period of World War II, 
Naval Air Station, Navy No. 14, p. 1. The station dispensary was opened August 1942, with a 
staff of 10 corpsmen and 1 medical officer. Eight double bunks, 
a dressing station, dental space and clerical office were provided. 
By April of 1943, the need for larger facilities had resulted in the 
commissioning of a new dispensary in a separate building with seven 
wings. The new quarters contained a 60-bed ward, receiving and 
laboratory rooms, surgical operating rooms, SOQ with 14 rooms, a 
7-unit dental department and administrative space. Additional Quonset 
hut wards were added in February 1944? giving a 159-bed total. 
Nurses and Hospital Corps WAVES were added to the staff in 1944 and 
1945. 
Special techniques were designed at the dispensary for 
the care of pilots and personnel injured in plane crashes. A crash 
emergency room, combining surgery, plaster room and surgical ward 
plaster room and surgical ward isolation room, was developed to 
provide treatment and nursing care with the minimum of movement 
for the patients. This resulted in the modt prompt and efficient 
81 
care possible for the frequent cases of crash victims on the field. 
In addition to treating an average of 85 bed-patients a day, the 
dispensary personnel furnished a medical officer of the day for 
the field and conducted regular and frequent checks on the health 
of personnel attached to the station. 
In tho over-all picture, dispensaries in the Hawaiian area, 
81. Ibid., p. 7 
78 aftcrsitho.v.7 .Pcce.Tber bombardment had passed into the backgs»o\md, 
functioned as rear line medical aids. They came in little contact 
with actual battle casualties. Wounded who were brought back to 
Hawaii for further medical treatment received care at the great 
Pearl Harbor hospitals, not at dispensaries. Their functions 
were largely routine in nature, and while they were expanded 
and were in some instances created to meet medical needs in the 
Hawaiian area, the conditions coped with in the main were those 
present at continental naval dispensaries. 
Advanced Base Dispensaries - Service Forces 
In contrast to the relatively permanent dispensaries 
that existed at Pearl Harbor during the War were the advanced base 
dispensaries which were set up on captured Pacific islands often 
even before the fighting had ceased. Frequently, they were part 
of specific service units that were sent out to the Pacific to 
service other naval and Marine Corps units in action. In other 
instances they were attached to island commands, and gave medical 
aid to garrison forces and to a variety of other personnel on the 
island, including natives. 
The advanced base dispensaries differed from rear echelon 
dispensaries in that the services performed were generally of a 
wider nature than those at Hawaii, Often there were no hospital 
facilities, except at a great distance, and in these cases the 
79 dispensaries rendered primary medical treatment and provided 
hospitalization for long periods. In addition, they coped 
with health and sanitation problems that were almost entirely 
absent at Pearl Harbor. In the Melanesian jungles, in the de- 
vastated areas of the Philippines, at Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa 
they were set up in a loosely linked chain over the Pacific. 
i"G” Components 
The advanced base dispensaries orginated in what were 
known as functional G components. These were actually field medical 
units, some mobile in character, and were known by such names as 
"Roses", "Lions" and "Cubs". One distinction in the types of G 
components sent out to the Pacific was in number of beds carried; 
but other G components were specialized units trained and equipped 
for a particular medical task. The following list defines the 
numbered G components and gives their cost of construction: 
G-2 600-Bed Dispensary $116,436.88 
G-4 200-Bed Dispensary 44,810.13 
G-5 100-Bed Dispensary 30,403.61 
G-6 100-Bed Dispensary (Mobile) 14,883.03 
G-7 50-Bed Dispensary 17,221.31 
G-8 25-Bed Dispensary 8,857.97 
G-9 10-Bed Dispensary 5,658.93 
G-10 10-Bed Dispensary (Mobile) 3,206.94 
G-11A First Air Sub-Dispensary 243.72 
G-13 Sub-Dispensary-Dental 2,142.82 
G-14 Sub-Dispensary-Dental(Mobile)l,641.94 
G-15 Sub-Dispensary-Dental 
Prosthetic Lab 5,469.98 
G-16 Sub-Dispensary-. Dental 
Prosthetic Lab.(Mobile) 2,837.38 
G-17 Malaria Control Component 581.73 
G-18 Epidemiology Component 1,754.41 
G-19 Malaria and Epidemic Control 
Component (l G-18 plus 
2 G-17's) 2,917.87 G-20 Optical Repair Component 
Base Type 10,996.80 
G-21 Optical Repair Component 
Mobile Type 2,636.00 
G-22 Rodent Control 379.35 82 
From this list it can be seen that some G components were 
not actually dispensaries. 
The G components were conceived in 1941, developed in the 
experimental stage largely in 1942, and were assembled and sent 
out to Pacific islands beginning in 1943. This development coincided 
with the change in emphasis in the Pacific from a war of American 
defense to a war of American offense. Most of the G components 
were embarked from Port Hucncme, California, although some, in the 
later years of the War, were prepared in the Hawaiian area. In 
many cases, after their arrival at a designated post, the dispen- 
saries were expanded to several times their original bed capacities, 
and in some instances developed into base hospitals. This frequently 
experienced rapid growth, often far in excess of original estimates 
and plans, coincided with the great influx of personnel at outlying 
bases in preparation for further campaigns. An examination of 
some of the types of G components that participated in the Pacific 
war will serve to clarify their status in the naval medical network. 
The Advanced Base Naval Dispensar y 
One of the naval facilities which utilized the G components 
82. Historical Sketch, United States Naval Supply Depot,Brooklyn, 
dated 10 Nov. 1945. 
81 was the advanced base naval base dispensary. The setting up 
of service facilities in the form of naval bases and naval 
operating bases followed rapidly upon the wake of successful 
invasions in large island areas. Saipan in the Marianas 
Islands, developed into Naval Base, Navy Number 3245. The 
original medical personnel who were to become the naval base 
medical department landed eleven days after the invasion day 
on a beach north of Charan Xanoa. This medical group, part 
of GROPAC 8 (Group Pacific 8), was supplemented a few days 
later by a second medical echelon, and both set up a dispensary 
while the Japanese resistance was still in progress. Their 
work supplemented that of the amphibious force medical units 
which operated directly with the troops. In addition, they 
started a program of sanitation. 
Gropac 8 was commissioned as a naval base three 
months later on 1 October 1944, with an average strength of 
1,950 men which by 1 January 1945 was expected to reach 12,000. 
To provide medical care for those men, the G components wore 
sent in, one (a G-6 unit dompletc with personnel) arriving 
10 November and the other (a G-4 unit, minus personnel) arriving 
1 January. Utilizing the medical facilities, three dispensaries 
were set up at the Saipan naval base. The main dispensary, 
located in the naval housing area, served an average of 250 
82  dayv®,0nc of the two remaining dispensaries served 
750 colored troops, on sick call only, while the other operated 
directly at the port dock for Merchant Marine and small craft 
personnel. By April 1945, the naval base main dispensary had 
been moved to a new area and operated a 200-bed capacity 
(500 by 1 r-y). It served not only the naval base activities 
(Naval Supply Depot, AATC, CG Maintenance Unit, and Small 
Boat Repair), but also all island naval and Marine Corps 
83 
activities and ships in the harbor. In some respects the 
functioning of the Gropac medical units during the early phase 
of their arrival left something to be desired. Medical supply 
was a very real problem. Supplies sent with the Gropac units 
were inadequate and were early exhausted. For the most part 
supplies had to be secured from the Army General Hospital 148 
on Saipan, and liaison with this body was most efficient. 
At another naval operating base, Okinawa, seven G-10 
components were utilized to provide dispensary service for the 
garrison forces and operated to 21 June 1945 when their mission 
was completed. Seabee personnel who arrived shortly after 
the combat phase was over carried with them their own medical 
components. The original G-10 components were replaced through- 
out succeeding months by the following medical units: 
Component Assignment 
G-8 No. 16 Naval Supply Depot, Tcngan 
83. Cumulative Historical Report, Navy Base No. 3245 Dispensary 
(Saipan Naval Operating Base), p, 2. G-8 No. 29 Ship Repair Base, Baton Ko (East Side) 
G-8 No. 36 Naval Base, Buckner Bay, Baton Ko 
(West Side) 
G-8 No. 37 Naval Receiving Station, Kuba Saki 
G-9 No. 4 Landing Craft Unit, Katchin Hanto 
G-9 No. 10 Naval Base, Naha 
G-9 No. 17 Naval Facilities, Bisha Gawa 
G-9 No. 23 Naval Base, Chimu Wan 
G-9 No. 39 Naval Ammunition Depot, Chimu Wan 
The Okinawa G components were not required to treat 
campaign wounded except in the very early hours of their arrival. 
The Special Augmented Hospitals, making their first entrance into 
Pacific warfare in this campaign, took on much of the medical 
and surgical burden of campaign casualties. 
At the Subic Bay Naval Base, established in May 1945, 
the orignal dispensary facility was a G-6 component with 100 
beds. This dispensary struggled with the difficulties that 
maryadvanced base dispensaries in tropical island regions recently 
under combat were forced to meet. Low priority assigned to 
construction for medical facilities was one of the chief causes 
84 
of trouble. The result was the carrying cn of "a large 
volume of medical work in a filthy, practically impassable 
morass during the rainy season, while at the same time an 
85 
elaborate officers’ club was built and operating." 
The most effective part of the dispensary work was a 
84. Cumulative Historical Report Medical Activities U. S. Naval 
Base, Subic Bay, P. I., p. 23. 
85. Ibid. 
84 program of preventive medicine and malaria control. No 
epidemic disease of any kind broke out, and malaria cases were 
kept to a surprising minimum in a region in which malaria was 
endemic. The new naval base dispensary was put into operation 
on 28 August 1945. Personnel of newly arrived G components 
were pooled and distributed about the base area according to 
the local needs. Thus by the close of the War, the Subic Bay 
base was just able to sot up good medical order. 
A good story of the career of a G-4 component is scon 
in the unit sent to Tacloban, Leyte, in the Philippines. Ten 
officers and 40 enlisted men herded by a captain, (MC), were 
embarked with the supplies for a G-4 dispensary in March of 
1945 from Treasure Island, California. It arrived in the Leyte- 
Samar area 10 April, and was followed by its second echelon 
arriving 31 May, and consisting of 2 officers and 133 enlisted 
men. The site for the dispensary (selected before the arrival 
of the G-4) was located near the Naval Shore Facilities at 
Tacloban, Leyte. Again, a low priority was assigned to the 
construction, and work was not begun until the end of June. 
The facilities were completed on 1 September 1945, and Included 
14 buildings of Quonset hut structure. 
The administration of the unit was designated by the 
C.N.O.B., Leyte Gulf, as a separate command. The staff function smoothly, and morale, once the unit was set up, tended to be 
86 
high. The facilities included administration offices, 
first-aid and sick call room, EENT clinic, pharmacy, laboratory, 
morgue, storerooms, X-ray room, operating rooms, urology room, 
surgical, medical, and dermatology wards, and SOQ. 
Medical Department inspecting parties which visited 
the facility on several occasions commented favorably on the 
87 
"establishment and functioning of the activity." 
Construction Battalion Dispensaries 
An important part of the Service Forces Pacific were 
the Scabec units which were brought directly into combat areas, 
frequently while fighting was in progress. The conditions 
under which they worked in hot, tropical climates, the types of 
heavy construction labor which they performed, and the greater 
age of the average Scabee resell ted in medical problems for 
Seabee dispensary care. 
Scabee units were attached to many types of administrative 
authority throughout the War, and as they were mobile in nature, 
the operational chain of command was frequently changed as they 
progressed from base to base. USNCB 95* when at Apamama in 1943* 
was attached to ACORN 16, and reported through the senior medical 
86, Report on the Establishment of G-4 Component No. 6 at Tacloban, 
Leyte, P. I., p. 3. 
87, Ibid., p, 4. 
86 officer of that unit. When Number 95 moved to the Marshalls it 
reported through the island commander, and the island medical 
88 
officer. From a basic administrative standpoint, however, 
dispensaries attached to Scabce units were under the Commander 
Service Forces, Pacific Fleet. 
Size of the construction battalions varied somewhat, 
but the average complement was about 1,100 men and officers. 
The average medical unit consisted of 2 to 3 medical officers, 
89 
1 or 2 dental officers and 7 to 12 hospital corpsmen. 
Especial emphasis v/as placed upon prevention of 
venereal disease, insect borne diseases, food infections and 
occupational injuries. Medical officers made weekly sanitation 
inspections of all work projects, in cooperation with safety 
engineers. Mosquito control squads were sent out fron the 
dispensaries to reduce the possibilities of malaria infections. 
Serious casualties or cases requiring long hospitalization or 
surgical care were transferred to mobile hospitals or large G 
components in adjacent areas. Frequent observations were made 
by reporting medical officers regarding the relatively good ability 
of men of an older age group to adapt themselves '• 
88. Historical Supplement to the Annual Sanitary Report, USN 
Construction Battalion No. 95, 1944, p. 10* 
89. These figures are only approximate, and are taken from a 
compilation of historical data reports of C B battalion in 
the Pacific, on file at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. 
87 90 
to the rigorous conditions of work and climate. Dengue, malaria, 
skin infections, tropical ulcers and intestinal disease accompanied 
most of the Seabee battalions in the tropics. Occasionally 
medical disabilities afflicting older men occurred, and such 
cases were transferred to naval hospitals and sent back to 
rear areas. 
Advanced Base Dispensaries - Air Forces 
Dispensaries operating with naval air units in the 
Pacific were intended to assume an organization native to the 
type of activity they served. Actually, as in other advanced 
bases, they served many other naval units and personnel in their 
vicinity. 
One of the advanced base units serving naval and 
Marine air facilities was the CASU (Carrier Aircraft Service 
Unit). This was a relatively mobile unit utilized in advanced 
air bases. To care for the health of the men in a CASU, each 
unit carried its own medical and dispensary facilities. The 
extent of the dispensary facilities and activities varied. CASU 
11 at Espiritu Santo*. arriving in the mud and rain of a March 
storm, set up service in a pyramid tent, one box serving as a 
treatment table. The medical officer assigned to the unit had 
90. Historical Data Supplement to the Annual Sanitary Report, 
U. S. Naval Construction Battalion 37, 1943, p. 14* 
88 been invalided and detached before the CASU was landed. In 
his absence, the dental officer and six corpsmen carried on 
the duties of the dispensary until the beginning of April 
when two naval medical officers reported. The dispensary, flooded 
by rain, inundated by malaria cases which had to be treated 
in their tents, and bombed by the Japanese "Washing Machine 
Charlies", as the noisy enemy planes were called, carried on 
valiantly giving medical treatment to the CASU's complement of 588 
men and officers. Serious cases were sent to Army hospitals 
91 
and later to the naval mobile hospital on Espiritu. CASU’s 
tended to be near the lines of combat more than other advanced 
base units. Their personnel were landed, and began servicing 
rough new air strips almost during the campaign, while Japanese 
bombers made air strips their especial interest. 
‘ Some forward areas to which CASU’s were sent were free 
from enemy attack or bombing. In such cases it was much easier 
for dispensaries attached to these units to perform their 
medical duties. CASU 30, arriving at Majuro Atoll in the Marshalls 
in February 1944, was able to set up its facilities quickly and 
"92 
was never bombed by the enemy. During flight operations a 
medical officer, corpsman and ambulance, from the dispensary, 
91. Annual Sanitary Report of CASU No. 11, 1943. 
92. Historical Data to Annual Sanitary Report, CASU 30, 1944. 
89 stood by on the air strip to give medical aid to flight personnel 
if necessary. In addition, daily sick call was held; patients 
averaged from 10 to 15 percent of the total complement (642 
persons). The most common complaint was fungus infection of 
the feet, hands and ears. This complaint accounted for about 
50 percent of all visits. 
A second type of dispensary facility serving air 
units was the ACORN dispensary. ACORN*4? were a more permanent 
type of unit serving naval air facilities at advanced bases, 
and tended to be larger in number and medical staff than 
the CASU’s. They utilized the G components for their physical 
setup, and in practice gave a much wider type of medical service 
than did the CASH1 Si 
ACORN 24 was landed at Los Negros in the Admiralty 
Islands in April 1944, and by 15 May had established a 160-bed 
dispensary. Their patient load came mainly from Navy air 
activities on Los Negros and from adjoining Marine and Army 
93 
camps. This is illustrative of the diversified nature of 
patients served by advanced base dispensaries, even when they 
were as specialized as were ACORN dispensaries. ACORN 24 dis- 
pensary was filled to capacity from the time of its opening, as 
it was the main naval medical facility in the immediate area until 
93. Historical Summary for the Decommissioning and Quarterly 
Sanitary Report, 1945, ACORN 24, p. 6. 
90 Base Hospital Number 15 was commissioned on Manus, in July 1944* 
Medical cases included the ever-present fungus infection, 
and also 21 casws of tsutsugamushi disease which were treated in 
an isolation ward. In addition, battle casualties from the 
invasion of Peleliu in September of 1944 were received at the 
dispensary, chiefly for screening to determine whether further 
evacuation was necessary. As many as 190 patients were un- 
loaded at the dispensary within a fifteen minute period. The 
wounded from the Philippine invasions also were treated and 
hospitalized at the ACORN dispensary later in 1944 and during 
1945. From March of 1945 the work of the dispensary decreased, 
as the air squadrons served by the ACORN were detached. A 
separate medical facility for transients had also been set up 
at the Transient Camp, Momote Air Field, and in September 1945, 
ACORN 24 was decommissioned. 
The operation of another of these naval air medical 
facilities can be seen in the report of ACORN 13 at Bougainville. 
This facility’s primary mission was to keep Torokina Air Strip 
and its personnel in efficient operating condition. A 100-bed 
dispensary was operated at ACORN 13 by 6 medical officers and 
54 corpsmen. This number, however, was reduced early in 1944 
tc three medical officers and 44 corpsmen. A lieutenant commander, 
who was also a EENT specialist, acted as flight surgeon and kept a careful check on flight personnel at the air strip. Medical care 
was available at the ACORN dispensary to approximately 1,500 
personnel, including Navy, Army, Marine, and New Zealand mili- 
tary personnel, and native work parties. In addition, an 
important aspect of the ACORN medical department's work was the 
maintenance of proper sanitation in the a£ea. Other problems 
also plagued ACORN 13 personnel. Japanese bombing raids were 
frequent (averaging two a night) in the beginning of 1944, but 
tapered off after February. During the months of enemy attack 
first-aid stations and evacuating units were manned by ACORN 
13 dispensary personnel. 
Part of the medical program conducted by the ACORN 13 
dispensary was the performance .of "complete physical and 
psychoncurotic examinations with appropriate treatment" on 
94 
officers and enlisted personnel attached to the ACORN. Persons 
found unfit for duty were transferred to a fleet hospital for 
further treatment and disposition. Tetanus toxoid, typhoid and 
smallpox vaccine were administered to all personnel, and vigorous 
campaigns against fungus and malaria infection carried out. A 
blood bunk was established and a list of potential donors drawn 
up. 
The majority of the ACORNfe were assembled at the ACORN 
Assembly Training Detachment, Port Hueneme, California. When 
94* Historical Data Supplement to the Annual Sanitary Report, 
USN ACORN 13, 1944, p. 15. 
92 they left the United States they came under administrative fleet 
air command. The senior medical officer of ACORN 48 at Mactan 
Island, in the Philippines, was under the following 
administrative chain: Commanding Officer, ACORN 48, Commander 
Naval Air Base, Mactan Island, P. I.; Commander Naval Air Base, 
Samar, P. I.j Commander Air Forces Seventh Fleet; Commander 
95 
Seventh Fleet; Navy Department Washington. Frequently ACORM'te 
were expanded into naval air bases, and in such cases dispensary 
facilities were correspondingly expanded. 
Dispensaries manned by naval personnel were also attached 
to Marine fleet air wings, groups and squadrons at advanced 
Pacific bases. Medical officers assigned to these units were 
chiefly concerned with maintaining the health of flight personnel. 
However, at bases where medical facilities were few, their 
activities included care of nearby ground based personnel, care 
of commercial air pilots, maintenance of a sanitation program, and 
care ‘of transcicnt personnel. From an administrative standpoint, 
the chain of responsibility ran from squadron medical officer to 
group medical officer and wing medical officer. Considerable 
independence of medical action in dispensaries attached to the 
96 
three groups was practiced, however, in the combat areas. 
In Marine Aircraft Group 31 for example, the 
95. Cumulative Historical Report for the Period of World War II, 
ACORN 48, p. 2. 
96. Historical Data Supplement to the Annual Sanitary Rer>nrt, 
Headquarters Squadron, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1943 Navy 
No. 156, p. 1. - a, _ average squadron medical department consisted of one flight surgeon 
or aviation medical examiner, and eight (later reduced to four) 
corpsmen. Each squadron had its own dispensary facility, and 
this was the larger Group Medical Department with its 
97 
dispensary facility. YJhilc at Roi Island, MA.G 31 in 
March 1944 put a 12-bed group dispensary into commission, complete 
with surgery, pharmacy, laboratory, dental office, ward, X-ray, 
EEST room, and clerical office. No hospital facility was located 
on Roi; the only other medical facility being a dispensary at 
the naval operating base. As a result, all forms of minor surgery 
(appendectomies, herniotomies, etc.) were performed at the MAG 
dispensary. Personnel requiring more treatment than permitted 
by the dispensary facilities were flown back to Pearl Harbor. 
Dispensary medical personnel attached to Marine fleet air 
units made every effort to supervise not only the physical condition 
of their pilots but also their general physical and emotional well- 
being. Pilot fatigue received especial attention. Their other 
medical problems were routine in tropical climates — skin disease 
(usually fungus), malaria, and intestinal diseases. 
Advanced Base Dispensaries - Amphibious Forces, 
Pacific Fleet 
The Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, was organized on 10 April 
97. Cumulative Historical Report of the Medical Department Marine 
Aircraft Group 31, 1 Feb. 1943 to 30 Aug. 1945, p. 5. 
94 1942, Commander Scouting Force Pacific Fleet assuming the command. 
The main story of the medical department of the amphibious forces 
is a part of the narrative history of amphibious corps units in 
combat in Pacific campaigns. This is the epic of the nodical 
companies and battalions who accompanied the fighting dividions 
into the jungles and on to the shores of volcanic islands. There 
were, however, naval dispensaries which operated under the 
amphibious force command units attached to Fleet Marine Force 
shore facilities, including transient centers, training centers 
and service centers. In addition, dispensaries serving island 
commands operating under comphibfcr were scattered throughout the 
Pacific. 
9S 
Transient center amphibious force dispensaries had the 
problem of checking health and caring for sickness among combat 
personnel moving to and from combat areas. Their work was similar 
to that of the Hawaiian Receiving Station Dispensary, except that in 
many instances it was complicated by the more onerous physical 
99 
conditions of advanced bases. Service center amphibious force 
98. The Amphibious Force was made up of Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet, 
(Marines and attached Army personnel); Transports, Amphibious Forces 
Fleet; Landing Craft School, Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet; 
and Amphibious Forces Pacific Fleet Communication School. At the end 
of the Vfer, Amphibious Forces Pacific consisted of some 3,400 ships 
and landing craft of which 2,850 units had medical personnel attached. 
The total medical, dental, and Hospital Corps personnel assigned was 
about 1,500 officers and 8,500 enlisted men. Total personnel of 
Amphibforpac was about 330,000. Cumulative Historical Report for 
World War II, Commander Administrative Command, Amphibious Forces, 
Pacific Fleet, p. 3. 
99. The purpose of transient centers dispensaries was defined as the 
95 dispensaries gave medical support to the service battalions which 
followed combat troops in the island campaigns. Amphibious force 
training centers were set up in Australia and large island areas. 
Their dispensaries provided medical care for men undergoing rigorous 
advanced physical training. Island command dispensaries under the 
amphibious forces furnished medical care to personnel attached to 
island commands. All of the amphibious forces were created by war 
needs, and their growth kept pace with the increase in military 
personnel assigned to Comphibforpac from 1942 until the end of 
hostilities. 
The size of an advanced base training center dispensary can 
be seen in the report on the Amphibious Training Center, Toorbul Point, 
Queensland, Australia. Its site was a low swampy point of land which 
projected into Moreton Bay, and offered numerous problems of sanitation. 
In this area, by 1943, a very small dispensary had been built up to a 
100 
35-bcd unit. Another amphibious force training center dispensary 
at Port Stephens, N.S.W., was established in February of 1943, and 
supported 50 beds. As the focus of the War changed, many training 
centers and their dispensaries were moved or decommissioned to meet 
maintenance of the health of their own commands, determining 
"that all men going into combat areas were physically fit and 
had been properly immunized," and determining "that all men 
returning from combat areas were physically qualifies for 
duty... limited or combat duty." Cumulative Historical Report 
World War II, Medical Department Transient Center, FMF, Pacific, 
n. p. 
100, Historical Data Supplement to the Annual Sanitary Report, 
Seventh Amphibious Force, 1943, p. 1. 
96 1 • 1 • ' r* 1 
amphibious forco^needs. 
The Service Battalion, Third Amphibious Corps, 
operated on Guadalcanal and Guam during 1944. It maintained 
a small dispensary, laboratory and%surgical room for minor 
surgical cases. Two medical officers and one dental officer 
operated its facilities with the assistance of 23 hospital 
101 
corpsmen. The complement of the organization to which the 
dispensary was attached varied from 1,800 to 2,200. Chief 
medical problems were skin disorders, ear.infections, catarrhal 
fever, malaria, dengue, minor orthopedic complaints, gastro- 
intestinal complaints, and minor surgical cases. The U. S. 
Naval Fleet Hospital Number 108 cared for patients whose needs 
required more treatment than the service battalion dispensary 
could render. The dispensary facilities were organized into 
a combat emergency battalion aid station from 1 June to 15 August 
1944? while the battalion participated in the invasion of 
Guam. The station, however, was actually only in operation for 
24 hours during this period, since most of the fighting was over 
by the time the battalion was landed. 
Naval dispensaries in the Pacific during the years of 
World War II were subject to a great process of growth and 
adaptation. The needs* resulting from a new type of island 
warfare, fostered the creation of the G component dispensaries. 
101. Historical Data Supplement to the Annual Sanitary Report, 
Headquarters and Service Battalion, Third Amphibious 
Corps in the Field, 1944, p. 13. 
97 The establish ment of new service and operational units brought 
about new systems of dispensary care. The problems of sanitation, 
supply, and health of personnel, to which the dispensaries 
were subjected by reason of climate and terrain, presented 
many difficulties to medical officers and Hospital Corps men. 
Adaptability became one of the primary considerations in 
setting up new dispensary units. Following August of 1945 
there occurred a period of decrease in activity of some advanced 
base dispensaries. Others, in the Fourteenth Naval District and 
at transient centers, received a great influx of activity as 
personnel v/ere funneled back to the United States. In per- 
forming their routine duties, meeting emergencies as they 
arose, and carrying out the policies of the Navy Medical Depart- 
ment, Pacific dispensaries performed a vital and necessary task 
throughout the War. 
98 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
SECTION 2 
Annual Sanitary Reports: 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, for 1941. 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard and Aiea 
Heights), for 1942. 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard), for 1943. 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard and Moanaloa), 
for 1944. 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 1943. 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 1944. 
U. S. Naval Mobile Hospital No. 2, Pearl Harbor, for 1942. 
U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 8, Pearl Harbcr, for 1943. 
U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 8, Pearl Harbcr, for 1944. 
Historical Data Supplements to Annual Sanitary Reports: 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbcr, for 1943. 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard and Moanaloa), 
for 1944. 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 1943. 
U. 8. Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, for 1944. 
Cumulative History Reports: 
U. 3. Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor (Navy Yard-Moanaloa). 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Aiea Heights, Pearl Harbcr. 
U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 8, Pearl Harbor. 
SECTION 3 
Annual Sanitary Reports: 
Mobile Hospital 3: 1942, 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 103: 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 4: 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 104: 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 5: 1942, 1943. 
Hospital 105: 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 6 (Wellington, N. Z.): 1943. 
Mobile Hospital 6 (Auckland, N. Z.): 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 106 (Auckland, N. Z.): 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 7: 1942, 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 107: 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 8: 1943. Fleet Hospital 108: 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 11: 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 111: 1944. 
Fleet Hospital 113: 1944. 
Base Hospital 2: 1942, 1944. 
Base Hospital 3: 1942, 1943, 1944. 
Base Hospital 4: 1943, 1944. 
Base Hospital 6: 1943, 1944. 
Base Hospital 7: 1944. 
Base Hospital 10: 1943, 1944. 
Base Hospital 11: 1943, 1944 
Base Hospital 13: 1944* 
Base Hospital 14: 1944. 
Base Hospital 15: 1944. 
Base Hospital 16: 1944. 
Base Hospital 17: 1944. 
Base Hospital 18: 1944. 
Base Hospital 19: 1944. 
Base Hospital 20: 1944. 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 1943, 1944. 
Service Force, Subordinate Command, Seventh Fleet, 1943 
Sevomth Fleet, 1944. 
Historical Data Supplements to the Annual Sanitary Reports: 
Mobile Hospital 3: 1943. 
Mobile Hospital 4: 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 104: 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 5: 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 105: 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 6 (Wellington, N. Z.): 1943. 
Mobile Hospital 6 (Auckland, N. Z.), 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 106 (Auckland, N. Z.), 1944. 
Mobile Hospital 7: 1943. 
Mobile Hospital 8: 1943. 
Fleet Hospital 108: 1944. 
Fleet Hospital 111: 1944. 
Base Hospital 2: 1943, 1944. 
Base Hospital 3: 1943. 
Base Hospital 4*. 1943, 1944. 
Base Hospital 6: 1943, 1944. 
Base Hospital 11: 1943, 1944. 
Base Hospital 13: 1944. 
Base Hospital 20: 1944 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 1943, 1944, 1945. 
Cumulative Histon r.n.1 : 
Fleet Hospital 103. Fleet Hospital 105. 
Fleet Hospital 112. 
Fleet Hospital 114. 
Base Hospital 4. 
Base Hospital 6. 
Base Hospital 16. 
Base Hospital 17. 
Base Hospital 18. 
Base Hospital. 19. 
Base Hospital 20. 
Base Hospital 21. 
Special Augmented Hospital 3. 
Special Augmented Hospital 4. 
Special Augmented Hospital 6. 
Special Augmented Hospital 8. 
Inspection Reports in Files cf Bureau of Medicine and Surgery: 
Inspection Report of U. S. Fleet Hospital 105 made on 
18 December 1944. 
Inspection Report of U. S. Fleet Hospital No. 107. 
Inspector of Medical Department Activities, Pacific 
Ocean Area, tc Chief of the Bureau of Medicine 
and Surgery, 7 January 1945. 
Inspector of Medical Department Activities, Pacific 
Ocean Area, to the Chief of the Bureau of 
Medicine and Surgery, 10 January 1945. 
Inspector of Medical Department Activities, Pacific 
Ocean Area, tc the Chief of the Bureau of Medicine 
and Surgery, 2 February 1945. 
Inspector of Medical Department Activities, Pacific 
Ocean Area, to the Chief of the Bureau of 
Medicine and Surgery, 13 April 1945. 
Inspector of Medical Department Activities, Pacific 
Ocean Area, to the Chief of the Bureau of 
Medicine and Surgery, 16 June 1945. 
Correspondence and Reports in Files cf Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. 
Commander Seventh Fleet to Chief of the Bureau of 
Medicine and Surgery, IB July 1944, by direction 
of W. H. Michael. 
Commander Seventh Fleet to Chief of the Bureau of 
Medicine and Surgery, 22 February 1944. 
Fleet Dental Officer to Chief of the Bureau of Medicine 
and Surgery, 14 April 1944. Fleet Dermatologist to Fleet Medical Officer, 
24 March 1945. 
Hook, F. R. to W. J. C. Agncu, 6 January 1945. 
Hook, F. R. to T. C. Anderson, 13 January 1945. 
Laning, R. H. to R. T Mclntirc, 28 April 1945. 
Mimeographed letter from Commander Service Force 
Pacific Fleet to Commander South Pacific 
Force, 26 May 1945. Subject: South Pacific 
Area—Redeployment of Bases to Newly 
Assigned Missions. 
Owen, J. P. to W. J. C. Agnew, 23 Aoril 1945. 
Owen, J. P. to R. T Mclntire, 25.May 1945. 
Robbins, J. H. to W. J. C. Agnew, 19 April 1945. 
Walker, Albert T. to R. T Mclntire, 27 December 1944. 
Personal Files of Surgeon General: 
Letters from R. T Mclntirc to: 
T. C. Anderson, 25 April 1944, 23 May 1944, 
18 October 1944. 
J. H. Chambers, 23 June 1944, 12 July 1944. 
W. Chambers, 12 June 1944, 6 April 1944* 
R. R. Gasser, 28 December 1944. 
F. R. Hook, 28 Juno 1944, 30 August 1944, 
13 December 1944. 
A. A. Marsteller, 22 March 1944. 
H. R. Stark, 5 October 1944. 
Letters from T. C. Anderson to: 
R. T Mclntirc, 10 April 1944, 11 May 1944, 
24 March 1944, 1 April 1944, 24 August 1944. 
Letters from F. R. Hook to: 
R. T Mclntirc, 31 January 1944, 3 February 1944, 
25 March 1944, 3 May 1944, 17 October 1944. 
Letters from A. A. Marsteller to: 
R. T Mclntirc, 22 April 1944, 11 May 1944, 
14 December 1943, 27 July 1944 
Letter from W. L. Calhoun to: 
R. T Mclntire, 19 February 1944. Letters from W. Chambers to: 
R. T Mclntire, 27 June 1944, 29 June 1944, 
1 July 1944, 26 February 1944, 11 March 1944, 
1 April 1944, 15 February 1944. 
Letter from J. H. Chambers to: 
R. T Mclntire, 9 July 1944. 
Letter from W. H. MacWillinms to: 
R. T Mclntire, 15 July 1944. 
Memorandum from W. F. Kennedy to: 
R, T Mclntire, 20 May 1944. 
Report from Commander South Pacific Forces to All 
Navy and Marine Corps Activities, South Pacific, 
19 November 1943. 
Report from Commander South Pacific to All Navy and 
Marine Corps Activities, South Pacific, 24 January 
1944. 
SECTION 4 
Cumulative Historical Reports of U. S. Naval Activities For the 
Period of World War II, Historical Supplements to the Fourth Quarterly 
Sanitary Report, 1945. 
ACORN 13. 
ACORN 24. 
ACORN 48. 
Administrative Command, Amphibious Forces, U. S. Pacific 
Fleet. 
i 
Amphibious Operating Base, Waipio. 
Atoll Command, Navy # 3237, Eniwetok. 
Commander Service Administration Headquarters Dispensary, 
Comnandor Service Forces, Pacifio Fleet. 
Construction Battalion y 121, Saipan. 
Cruiser-Destroyer-Destroyer Escort Center, Pacific 
Fleet, Pearl Harbor. 
Eleventh Service Battalion, Service Command, FMF Pacific. 
Fleet Training Center, Oahu. 
G-4 Component # 6, Tacloban, Leyte, P. I. 
Marine Aircraft Group 11, FMF, Pacific. 
Marine Aircraft Group 21, Fourth Marine Aircraft 
Wing, FMF, Pacific. Marine Aircraft Group 31, FMF, Pacific. 
Marine Aircraft Station, Ewa, Oahu. 
Marine Aircraft Wing # 4, FMF, Pacific. 
Medical Department Transient Center, FRF,Pacific. 
Naval Air Base Kobler, Saipan. 
Naval Air Base, Marpi, Saipan. 
Naval Air Base, Navy # 3149. 
Naval Air Base, Navy # 3245. 
Naval Air Station, Kodiak, Alaska. 
Naval Air Station, Navy # 14, Honolulu. 
Naval Air Station Navy # 28, Kaneohe Bay. 
Naval Barracks, Naval Operating Base, Guam, M. I. 
Naval Base, Navy # 3150, Iwo Jima. 
Naval Base, Navy // 3245, Saipan. 
Naval Base, Subic Bay. 
Naval Headquarters, Island Command, Guam. 
Naval Operating Base, Dutch Harbor, Alaska. 
Naval Operating Base # 926. 
Naval Operating Base # Saipan, M. I. 
Naval Operating Base # 3256. 
Naval Radio Stations, Navy # 41, Oahu. 
Naval Receiving Barracks, Navy § 10, Pearl Harbor* 
Naval Receiving Station, Guam. 
Naval Receiving Station, Navy # 128, Pearl Harbor. 
Naval Shipyard, Pearl Harbor 
Naval Supply Depot, Guam. 
Office of the Staff Medical and Sanitation Officer, 
Island Command, Pelcliu. 
Wave Barracks, Navy # 128, Pearl Harbor. 
Historical Data Supplements to Annual Sanitary Reports of U. S, 
Naval Activities. 
ACORN 7, 1943. 
ACORN 7, 1944. ACORN 8, 1943. 
ACORN 12, 1944. 
ACORN 13, 1944. 
ACORN 19, 1944. 
ACORN (red) Tv/o Button, 1942. 
Amphibious Training Center, Queensland, Australia. 
Carrier iiircraft Service Unit # 8, 1943. 
Carrier Aircraft Service Unit # 11, 1943. 
Carrier Aircraft Service Unit # 14, 1943. 
Carrier Aircraft Service Unit # 30, 1944. 
Carrier Aircraft Service Unit # 39, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 14, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 24, 1943. 
Construction Battalion # 35, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 37, 1943. 
Construction Battalion # 42, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 63, 1943. 
Construction Battalion # 71, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 73, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 80, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 88, 1943. 
Construction Battalion # 95, 1944. 
Construction Battalion #111, 1945. 
Construction Battalion # 116, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 119, 1944. 
Construction Battalion # 125, 1944. 
Fleet Air Wing # 4, 1944. 
Fleet Air Wing # 17, Headquarter's Squadron, Navy # 420, 
1943. 
Force Surgeon, Amphibious Force, U. S. Pacific Fleet, 
1942. 
Headquarters and Service Battalion, Third Amphibious 
Corps in the Field 1944. Headquarters and Service Squadron, Marine Aircraft 
Group 12, FM£ Pacific, 1944. 
Headquarters Squadron, Second Marine Aircraft Wing, 
FMF, Pacific, 1943. 
Island Command, G-6 Hospital, Navy # 3247, 1944. 
Marine Corps Unit # 1285, Tutuila, 1943. 
Naval Air Station, Barber’s Point, T. H., 1943. 
Naval Air Station, Maui, T. H., 1943. 
Naval Base, Ondonga, New Georgia Island, 1943. 
Naval Hospital Facility, Navy # 143, 1943. 
Old Naval Station Dispensary, Honolulu, 1944. 
Seventh Amphibious Force, 1943. 
Seventh Fleet, 1944. 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 1943. 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 1944. 
Third Separate Medical Company, Eighth Defense 
Battalion, FMF, Pacific, 1943. 
Western Carolines Sub Area, 1944. 
Miscellaneous Sources: 
Historical Sketch, U. S. Naval Supply Depot, Brooklyn, 
N. Y., 10 November 1945. 
Historical Summary for the Decommissioning and Quarterly 
Sanitary Report, ACORN 24, 1945. 
Letter from Commander Seventh Fleet to the Chief of the 
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, "Medical Department 
Activities of the Seventh Fleet", 20 February 1944. 
Report of the Establishment of G-4 Component Number 6, 
Tacloban, Leyte, P, I. 
Report of Inspection of Medical Department Activities in 
the South Pacific Area, 10 January 1944. CHAPTER -XV; 
MEDICAL INSTALLATIONS IN THE ATLANTIC AREA 
Section 1 Introduction 
American medical installations in the Atlantic were 
largely confined to the Western Hemisphere and to Western Hemisphere 
defense when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941. There were medical 
facilities in the West Indies, the Canal Zone, a few of the bases 
which had been leased from Great Britain and even a small 
dispensary as far removed from our mainland as Iceland. 
When war broke out in Europe our immediate defense 
problem was to strengthen our ramparts stretching from Iceland 
as far south as Trinidad. The U. S. Naval Mobile Base Hospital 
Number 1 had been established at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 30 October 
1940. Medical units were provided at the naval radio stations at 
Cape Mala, Summit and Balboa in the Canal Zone. Dispensaries were 
caring for the sick and injured at the baval stations in Guantanamo 
Bay, Cuba, and at the naval operating bases in Balboa, Canal Zone, 
and Bermuda by 1941. United States naval medical treatment was 
being administered at various Fleet Marine Force detachments in 
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, as early as 1939, and at Guantanamo Bay, 
Cuba, as early as 1940; and by 1941 establishments had been set up 
to provide this care to Marino Brigade detachments in Iceland; 
1 Bermuda; Portland Bight, Jamaica, British West Indies; Antigua, 
Leeward Islands; St. Lucia Windward Islands; Georgetown, British 
Guiana; and Roosevelt Roads, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. The ninety- 
nine year lease which we acquired to many of those outlying posts had 
developed our defense obligations. United States naval bases at 
Coco Solo, Canal Zone, and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, also section 
bases at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Cristobal, Canal Zone, had small 
% 
medical establishments. Similarly, facilities had been provided to 
administer medical care to naval personnel attached to the naval 
ammunition depot at Balboa and the naval net depot at St. Thomas, 
Virgin Islands, as well as the naval air stations at San Juan, 
Bermuda; Guantanamo Bay; Trinidad, British West Indies; and Coco Solo. 
Th«- expanded development of the Atlantic medical installa- 
tions forged ahead with the establishment of advanced bases which 
immediately followed the United States' entrance into the war 
against Nazi Germany. The United States Naval Base Hospital Number 1 
was commissioned at Londonderry, northern Ireland, February 1942,to 
service naval personnel of the naval base, the medical supply store- 
house and the naval radio station at Londonderry. This was a very 
valuable asset to the personnel of American troop and cargo carriers 
en route to the Allied powers. 
The first combat contact of this country with the enemy 
in the War was the naval bombardment of the shore installations and 
coastal fortifications in Casablanca, Oran and Algiers followed by 
2 the amphibious landings which brought naval personnel into the 
area, particularly into Morocco. The Navy Medical Department, 
following carefully drawn blueprints, immediately assumed its 
responsibility. The first patients for first-aid treatment were 
received in a camel barn. The first battalion aid stations were 
enlarged into medical units that later evolved into dispensaries. 
As our forces landed and moved inland into North Africa, the medical 
pattern was crystallized. Major dispensary units gradually developed 
at Oran, Port Lyautey, Arsew, and Bizerte, and the dispensary at 
Casablanca expanded into a hospital, U. S. Naval Base Hospital Number 
5 - its increase in size resulting from the growing importance of 
Casablanca as a port of entry for American service personnel and as 
an evacuation center. Lesser dispensaries were established at 
Fedala, Safi and Agadir in French Morocco, and naval station sick 
bays of varying sizes were set up at Mers-el-Kebir, Algiers, 
Nemours, Beni Saf, Mostaganem, Tenes, Cherchell and Dellys in Algeria. 
By siammer of 1943 it was obvious that a naval hospital of sufficient 
size was needed to treat and hold all naval personnel in the northwest 
African theater who were in need of proper medical and surgical care. 
This installation was essential to care for the personnel of the 
units of the U. S. Eighth Fleet based in the northwest African waters 
and to supervise the expanding medical activity within the actual 
theater of operations. Necessary steps were taken and U. S. Naval 
Base Hospital Number 9 went into operation in Oran in November 
1943 with a possible bed capacity of 300. 
3 With the close of the Tunisian campaign all the 
amphibious training bases in Algeria except the one at Arzew weie 
decommissioned and new bases were established in the Bizerte-Tunis- 
Ferryville area. The medical components to support the invasion of 
Sicily constituted a 50-bed unit destined for Palermo and smaller 
units for lesser ports of the south coast of the island. These 
satellite units were completely set up and in September 1943 all 
U. S. Navy activities in Sicily were consolidated at Palermo, the 
Naval Operating Base, where a nominal dispensary of 160 beds, 
functioning as a hospital, provided hospitalization for all naval 
personnel stationed in Sicily. This important installation was, 
later in 1944* supported by 25-bed dispensary units at Calvi, Basia 
and Ajaccio in Corsica and at Madallena Island in Sardinia. 
As American forces advanced northward from the Italian 
boot it became necessary to provide a major dispensary at Naples, 
the largest and most important one in Italy, with a lesser facility 
at Salerno and a small dispensary at Rome serving as a rear medical 
station in the area. The most important installation in southern 
France, also located in the northwest African theater of operations, 
was the dispensary unit at Marseilles which was established after 
the Normandy invasion. Geographically, but not chronologically, it 
fits into the Mediterranean portion of the story of Atlantic medical 
installations. 
As the year of 1944 opened,!preparations for the Normandy 
invasion were well under way. Bases and sub-bases had been estab- lished at various ports including those at Londonderry, northern 
Ireland, and Roseneath, Scotland. There were two hospitals in the 
United Kingdom: U. S. Naval Base Hospital Number 1 at Londonderry 
Naval Operating Base and the U. S. Naval Base Hospital Number 12 
located at Netley Hants, England. The latter, the only naval base 
hospital in England, was established primarily for the treatment of 
was casualties during the invasion. The largest dispensary in the 
United Kingdom, outside of England proper, was the 200-bed dis- 
pensary at Base Two, Roseneath, Scotland. There was a much smaller 
one at the radion station at Londonderry. 
In preparation for the amphibious operations in the in- 
vasion of Normandy, medical facilities were completed at the base 
ports on the southern and south-western coasts of England with the 
Headquarters Dispensary of the Co mander, Twelfth Fleet, located 
in London. The port naval bases and sub-bases became the centers of 
the principal naval medical facilities in the United Kingdom. These 
were Plymouth, Saltash, Appledoro, Falmouth, Fowey, Salcombe, Dart- 
mouth, Teignmouth, Penarth and Milford Haven, St. Mawes, Poole, 
Portland-Weymouth, Southampton, Deptford, Exeter, and Calstock. They 
v/ere the more important installations in England which had been 
completed or strengthened by additional beds prior to D-day. 
After the invasion, small dispensaries were set up on 
the French beaches - more specifically, the naval advanced bases 
at Omaha and Utah Beaches. With the strengthening of our positions 
along the French coast and the movement inland of our forces, 
5 dispensaries were established at Cherbourg and Le Havre and later 
in Paris. Lesser medical units were interspersed in the surrounding 
area. Almost on the heels of the Allied crossing of the Rhine, medical 
department activities were established in Germany with 50-bed dispensary 
units at Frankfort and Berlin. A few were located at sites where 
excellent accommodations of German military establishments were 
available as at Bremen and Bremerhaven. 
Western Hemisphere defense had laid the groundwork for 
the medical installations in this hemisphere. The major ones indi- 
cated at the outset were strengthened or expanded after the United 
States entered the world conflict. The medical installation at 
Reykjavik, Iceland, expanded into a hospital-dispensary. The U. S. 
Naval Mobile Base Hospital Number 1 had been dismantled and moved 
from Guantanamo to Bermuda 23 July 1941. The two naval hospitals 
in the Tenth Naval District, namely, the 200-bed naval hospital 
at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the 300-bed hospital at Trinidad 
in the British West Indies, with the two naval hospitals in the 
Canal Zone, a 350-bed activity in Balboa, and a 400-bed hospital at 
Coco Solo, were supported by many dispensaries and minor medical 
installations scattered throughout the Caribbean area. These 
installations furnished emergency medical treatment to survivors 
rescued from ships that were torpedoed in the Caribbean and South 
American waters. These numerous dispensary facilities, sick bay 
installations, and first-aid stations within the environs of the 
Tenth and Fifteenth Naval Districts provided medical care and treatment 
6 and hospitalized all naval personnel attached to fleet training 
crews or naval shore bases and installations in those districts. 
Section 2 Mediterranean: 
Northern Africa, Sicily and Southern France 
Medical Installations 
The original United States Navy units that landed in 
North Africa in November 1942 brought with them dispensary personnel 
and equipment sufficient to provide dispensary care only for their 
complements. It was originally intended that they serve only as 
dispensaries, not hospitals. These units were established in Port 
Lyautcy, Fedala, Casablanca and Safi in French Morocco and also in 
Nemours, Beni Saf, Oran, Arzew, Mostaganem, Tones and Cherchell 
in Algeria. A small dispensary was placed in operation for the 
attached personnel when a United States Navy Headquarters detachment 
v/as established in Algiers. 
Allied attacks at Fedala, Safi and Port Lyautcy and the 
bombing attacks of units of the French fleet in the harbor of Casa- 
blanca were followed by amphibious landings at Fedala and Safi on 
8 November 1942, Safi was taken early in the morning of the eighth; 
Fedala fell at noon of the sane day and Port Lyautcy was taken on 
10 November. The city of Casablanca surrendered to our land forces 
1 
around this same time after considerable resistance. 
1. U. S. Base Hospital No. 5, Historical Data, 8 Nov. 1942 to 
3 Jan. 1943. 
7 0®ClA.*Prior to tktfdlb actions the actual command of organizing 
the medical units engaging in the expedition against French Morocco 
had been entrusted to Capt. H. G. Sickel, (MC), USN, who was to 
work in cooperation with the United States Army and Captain Andrus, 
(MC), USN, of the Planning Division of the Bureau of Medicine and 
Surgery. Lt. Comdr. B. LaFavre, USN, was assigned to carry 
through the administrative organization of these medical units 
under the command of Captain Sickel. The work constituted pro- 
viding the medical set-up of three separate units for the four 
projected bases in French Morocco. 
Several weeks of concentrated effort culminated in the 
arrangement for and the delivery of the necessary supplies to the 
several ports of departure. These were classified according to 
the sequence of movement. The first echelon of the expedition set 
sail on 23 October 1942 from Norfolk, Virginia. The medical personnel 
for Port Lyautey expedition bases proceeded at a later date. 
Two days after the landing operation had started, 
10 November 1942, the first naval medical personnel, with Comdr. H. B. 
La Favre as the senior medical officer of the expedition, debarked at 
Fedala. The group constituted two other medical officers and eight 
corpsmen. A camel barn on the dock at Fedala was selected as tempo- 
rary barracks for naval personnel and a small sick bay was set up in an 
adjoining office. The preceding afternoon of 9 November Lt. Comdr. 
Maurice T. Bates, MC-V(S), USNR, accompanied by one corpsman, 
debarked at Safi and established a first-aid station in the port area. 
8 OffhaSnava'l ’'dispelsary at Safi in the Regie Tobacco 
Company operated until the close of the base section there, 25 August 
1943. The dispensary at Fedala went out of existence 10 September 
/ 
1943 when the section base was closed. The medical personnel and 
equipment of these two activities were consolidated in Casablanca and 
Port Lyautey. 
After the fall of Casablanca, Commander La a 
medical officer and five was ordered to proceed thence. 
The first dispensary, converted from a large office and adjoining 
room, continued throughout 1943 to be the naval dispensary in this 
port area. The French Military Hospital agreed to care for any 
surgical emergencies in the early period, as our units had no surgical 
supplies—many materials had been lost in transit or sunk. The 
establishment of the unit at Casablanca as a permanent dispensary 
dates from 7 December 1942. At that time a former French physician's 
clinic had been secured. The building afforded space for 54 beds, and 
the medical and surgical units, complete with X-ray equipment, which 
were on hand permitted immediate functioning. This dispensary was 
honored by a visit from the Surgeon General, Vice Adn. Mclntire, 
January 1943. 
Gradually, the unit occupied neighboring villas result- 
ing in the attainment of space for 210 beds. As a consequence of its 
increased size and also as a result of the growing importance of 
Casablanca as a port of entry for both Army and Navy personnel as well 
as an evacuation center for casualties returned to the United States, 
9 this naval dispensary at Casablanca was designated as Naval Base 
Hospital Number 5 on 5 August 1943. The hospital was under the command 
of Captain La Favre, (MC), USN. 
The distribution of medical supplies to United States 
Navy activities within the North African theatre was carried out 
expeditiously by Naval Medical Storehouse Number 9, established in 
Casablanca 5 May 1943. amphibious craft, too, could draw for current 
replacement in small amounts from this fairly well*-stocked storeroom. 
Naval Base Hospital Number 5 comprised four buildings 
built of fire resistant stucco construction. With one exception, 
namely, the surgical building to which former reference has been made, 
all these buildings were dwellings or villas leased by the Government. 
This surgical building had formerly been a small private hospital. 
In addition to the four main hospital buildings there were six Quonset 
huts erected in the yard at the rear of the buildings, four of which 
were used as quarters for hospital corpsmen. 
The sanitary reports for the hospital indicated that the 
facilities of the medical department v/ere generally adequate con- 
sidering the amount of work handled. Ordinarily, isolation of infectious 
and communicable diseases presented no problem. 
The hospital doctors complained frequently of the lack of 
essential drugs and materials needed for adequate modern therapy. Some 
10 items were never attained; others were brought in at irregular 
intervals and still others in insufficient amounts. The cooperation 
of the Army medical units in this respect was opportunely helpful. 
The Army’s supplying a largo quantity of penicillin at one time 
proved to be a real lifesaving boon. The Army hospital equipment 
and hospital rooms were an excellent supplement to the autopsy facilities 
at the hospital. 
Adequate standards were maintained for staff, enlisted 
personnel, equipment, instruments and accommodation for patients for the 
type of surgery performed at this activity with the exception of 
orthopedics where a qualified surgeon was needed and thoracic 
surgery which was destitute of the proper anesthesia equipment. 
The volume of work of the neuropsychiatry department was 
small. The greater number of patients who passed through this service 
were transferred to the United States for disposition on the ground 
that they were unfit for duty in this theatre of war. The rest were 
mental disease suspects, psychoneurotics or patients suffering from 
neurological disorders of various types. 
This hospital rendered dental treatment, both operative 
and prosthetic, to the hospital staff and patients, to the Naval Operating 
Base, Moroccan Sea Frontier, and to the American consulate. Emergency 
dental treatment was given to personnel of American and United Nation 
ships entering the port of Casablanca. 
11 Venereal diseases constituted almost 80 percent of the ad- 
missions to the urological service. Urologic diseases of non-venereal 
nature and dematological diseases were also handled by this department. 
By the end of 1943 a supply of penicillin was on hand for the treatment 
of sulfa-resistant gonorrhea. 
There were no epidemics among the Hospital Corps personnel. 
Hospital admissions were most numerous from the epidemic diseases: 
acute catarrhal fever, tonsillitis, acute jaundice and gonococcus in- 
fection. Malaria was not a problem in Casablanca either among base 
or hospital personnel. Gonococcus infections were high among naval 
personnel generally but low among the hospital personnel group. There 
were slight epidemics of diarrhea among the base personnel occasionally 
but they didn't extend to the hospital personnel. The excellent housing 
conditions at the hospital resulted in a low incidence of respiratory 
infections. 
The water supply was good but drinking water was chlorinated 
at either the source or somewhere along the supply route, because generally 
poor plumbing in the area and frequently broken conduits were always 
considered a potential source of contamination. 
During tho peak year (1943) of the history of this 
hospital, there were 21 officers and 104 enlisted personnel attached to 
the staff. By 1944 the officer personnel had been reduced to 15 and the 
enlisted men had been cut to 84. There were no members of the Navy Nurse 
Corps attached to this command. The rotation of duty for hospital corpsmon, 
12 in so far as possible, was to insure a complete training program for 
advancement in rating. This was an important contributory function 
to the high morale of the crew. 
In the fall of 1943 a naval air station was established at 
Agadir, French Morocco. The personnel to man it were brought from the 
United States and the equipment for this 25-bed dispensary 'was 
obtained in the theatre itself. 
The naval dispensary at Pert Lyautey took over a wing of a 
small civilian hospital anf functioned actually as a naval hospital 
on a small scale from the beginning. 
At a later date, 7 April 1944, the U. S. Naval Air Station 
Dispensary, Port Lyautey, French Morocco, was established as a U. S. 
naval air facility for seaplane activities under the administrative 
control of the U. S. Naval Air Station, Port Lyautey. This medical 
activity was concerned with the health of personnel on duty at the 
station, with two exceptions - the responsibility of the station for 
spraying the Pan-American World Airways Clipper on arrival and in de- 
parture and for instituting safety measures involving the dispatch of 
passengers at the terminal. 
Whenever necessary, the 93rd Army Station Hospital and later 
the 367th Array Station Hospital, U. S. Array, supplied the services of a 
medical officer. However, when both of those activities had been de- 
activated, the 125th Array Air Forces, North African Ferrying Division, 
Air Transport Command, maintained a 10-bed dispensary with three medical 
13 officers on duty, 
The control of malaria thru the use of DDT was one of the 
most effective parts of the medical program at this activity. Thru this 
and other measures the entire-program was a 100 percent protective agent 
2 
for naval personnel. 
There was a small dispensary at headquarters at Dakar, 
French West Africa. It was set up for a sick bay only. All patients 
who required hospitalization here were cared for by the Army. 
At the end of the Tunisian campaign all the amphibious 
training bases in Algeria except the Arzew base were do commissioned 
New bases were sot up in the Bizcrtc-Tunis Fcrryvillo area. The 
medical personnel and equipment from the decommissioned bases were used 
in various ways. Some were moved to Bizerte while others were consolidated 
in the remaining bases or used to strengthen and expand new activities. 
Early in the summer of 1943 it seemed to be apparent that a 
naval hospital of sufficient size was needed in the Oran area. Some 
activity was essential to keep a better check on Navy patients and 
their records at the Army's main pert of evacuation, also to prevent 
evacuation of Navy patients out of the theatre without the knowledge 
2. Historical .Supplement tc Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative Report for period of World War II of the medical installation 
at U. S. Naval Air Station, Port Lyautey, French Morocco, in files of 
Administrative History Section. 
14 of naval authorities. Permission to ship such a unit from the 
United States was obtained and a request was sent to CN0 for a 
200-bed hospital in Oran. Authorization for such a hospital was 
promptly granted. 
Hospital Unit (Glen 57) was assembled and transported to 
the North African theatre, disembarking at Oran cn 3 September 1943. 
A tentative site had been selected prior to the arrival of the unit 
and the projected bed capacity of the hospital had been increased 
from 200 to 500 beds. Two .construction battalions started the 
actual building of the hospital 15 September 1943, and on 19 November 
1943 the hospital was formally placed in commission bringing a 
500-bed Quonset hut U. S. Navy Base Hospital into operation in Oran. 
It was designated United States Naval Base Hospital Number 9. At 
the time of its commissioning the staff constituted 19 medical officers, 
4 Hospital Corps officers and 137 hospital ccrpsmen. 
This hospital was a completely integrated unit containing 
within the compound every facility to form a self-sustaining unit for 
the medical care of all U. S. personnel in this area and personnel 
from all allied ships of war and maritime services. The activities 
which it serviced were many and they were spread over a wide 
3 
geographical area. 
3. Historical Data of/lJ. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 9, Oran 
Algeria, for Calendar Year 1945, in files of Administrative 
History Section. This hospital served the following activities: 
U. S. Naval Detachments in Marseilles, France (Navy 3110); in 
Toulon, France (Navy 3205); in Naples, Italy (Navy 728); in 
Ajaccio, Corsica, and in Oran, Algeria. U. S. Naval Stations in 
15 The patient census increased steadily from the commissioning 
day and reached the peak on 31 January 1944 with a total of 428. 
The total fluctuated from this point varying daily but remaining 
slightly below the peak number. Numerous air and sea evacuations 
4 
resulted in sharp trends in the patient load. 
The hospital was almost ideally situated on the northeast 
slope of a ridge on Route Nationalc- Number Two, at Point Albin, 
almost six miles from Oran. Good communication to the port area 
was assured by means of the paved highway which the hospital grounds 
faced. 
The hospital buildings consisted of 107 prefabricated 
quonset type huts of throe different sizes. Sixty-four of these 
were large huts which were used as enlisted men's quarters, sick 
officers' quarters, staff officers' quarters and for bakery, galley, 
scullery, refrigeration, laundry and commissary stores housing. 
Arzew, Algeria (Navy 232); in Oran, Algeria (Navy 147) and in 
'Mors-el-Kebir( Navy 233); also, U. S. Supply Depot in Oran, Algeria, 
Navy (147); U. S. Naval Operating Base in Palermo, Sicily (Navy 157); 
Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 626, 567, 1040 Bizerte; 
AATB Salerno, Sicily; Tunisia 1005, Bizerte, Tunisia; AATB, Bizerte, 
Tunisia, 1st, 4th and 8th Beach Battalions; U. S. Naval Air 
Station, Fort Lyautey, French Morocco (Navy 124); 60th Station 
Hospital, Cagliari, Sardinia, 54th Station Hospital, Tunis, Tunisia, 
Western Town Command, AP0 789; and Forces Afloat - All Ships in the 
area of Allied Forces and Maritime Services. 
4. Historical Data of U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 9 Oran, Algeria, 
for Calendar Year, 1945, in files of Administrative History 
Section. In Feb,1944 there were 209 patients evacuated by sea 
to hospitals in the United States. The largest evacuation total 
in the history of the hospital occurred in Aug. 1944 when a 
total of 274 patients were evacuated, 135 by air and 139 by sea. 
16 These large huts' also'furnished administrative housing and medical 
overflow ward space, and two of them were set aside for Red Cross 
activities. The small huts wero used as medical and surgical 
wards, operating rooms and laboratories. Lighting and ventilation 
were satisfactory. Three isolation ward huts, subdivided into 
5 
cubicles, Y/ere provided for the care of communicable diseases. 
The average complement of medical officers on the service 
varied between three to five including the Chief of Medicine. They 
Y/ere assisted by 31 corpsmen who carried out the ward work. Navy 
nurses supplemented the staff from April 1944 to May 1945. The 
reports indicate that the service was adequately staffed at all 
6 
times. 
During the period from the commissioning date of the hos- 
pital to 1 September 1945 there were 2,793 admissions to the medical 
7 
service, and six deaths. 
Special studies were undertaken in the medical service and 
three papers were written by members of the staff and accepted for 
8 
publication in U. S. Medical Bulletin. 
5. Annual Sanitary Report cf the U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 9, Oran, 
Algeria, for Calendar Year 1943 in files of Administrative History 
Section, p# 3. 
6. Annual Sanitary Reports of the U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 9, 
Oran, Algeria, for the Calendar Years 1943, 1944, 1945 in the files 
of the Administrative History Section. 
7. The peak load of patients a/as 252 to the medical service, the 
patient load for Dec. 1944; the total number of admissions to the 
hospital this particular month was 579. 
8. Historical Data of U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 9, Oran, Algeria, 
for 1945 in files of Administrative History Section. Titles were 
17 The facilities' tlie" surgical department were established 
to accommodate approximately 250 surgical patients. In case of 
dire emergency, arrangements could be made to double that capacity. 
The peak load of the surgical service came in January 1945 when 
the highest daily census was 176. Hence the facilities of this 
service were never used to their full capacity. 
The surgical cases were the usual typo seen in the naval 
hospital. Battle casualties were at a minimum and almost all 
cases had been given previous definite therapy and had been 
evacuated to this activity for continuation cf treatment and then 
for disposition. The battle casualties brought to this hospital 
were from one of the American torpedoed vessels: the major injuries 
suffered were fractured vertebrae. 
During the period of this hospital's history the surgical 
service performed a total of 2,872 operations and the mortality rate 
9 
of a total of 10 deaths seems exceptionally low for a two year period. 
as follows: 
1. "Electrocardiographic Changes Due to Carbon Tetrachloride 
Poisoning," by Lt. Comdr. H. B. Conway, (MC), USNR, and F. 
Hoven, Phil 2/c, USNR. 
2. "Acute Infective Jaundice (Acute Hepatitis)," by Lt. Condr. 
H. B. Conway, (MC), USNR, and Lt. Comdr. J. F. Shaul, (MC), 
USNR. 
3. "Penicillin Therapy in Relapsing Fever," by Lt. Comdr. J. F. 
Shaul, (MC), USNR, and Lt. T. H. Safferstein, (MC), USNR. 
9. Historical Data of U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 9, Oran, Algeria, 
for 1945 in files of Administrative History Section, pp. 5-6. 
Resume of total cases of surgical Resume of deaths and causes 
service: thereof: 
18 The two rooms for major surgery and orthopedic surgery as well 
as the plaster room were well equipped. 
The laboratory of the hospital was well supplied and very 
well equipped for a mobile unit. The greatest difficulty which had 
to be overcome was the lack of thoroughly trained personnel. 
The majority of the corpsmen received their training at the hospital. 
The eye, ear, nose and throat service was housed in four 
Quonset huts. The equipment and supplies were considered most 
satisfactory for all clinical and surgical procedures. Base 
Optical Unit Number 7 began operating at the hospital on 4 November 
1944. It vras equipped to fill all routine eye prescriptions with 
the exception of high corrections. Excellent service was 
rendered by the unit at all times, but it did not have sufficient 
demand in any sense to use its maximum capacity of production at 
any time. 
Facilities available for treatment in the neuropsychiatric 
Total operations 2,782 
Major operations 384 
Minor operations 1,543 
Instrumental Examina- 
tions 292 
Casts applied 653 
Orthopedic Manipulations 8 
Plaster splints applied 44 
(a) Post operative peritonitis.... 
(b) Burn...60% body surface 
(c) Multiple injuries..ruptures 
of liver, diaphram and spleen 
(d) Gunshot wound of abdomen., 
died of severe hemorrhage from 
ruptured liver. 
(e) Other six cases were skull 
fractures, and died without 
surgery. 
19 service were meager. There was no hydrotherapy other than cold packs. 
The use of insulin, metrazal or electric shock was not permitted thus 
handicapping full treatment for specific conditions. The sanitary 
reports stated that two strong rooms were hardly sufficient to care 
for the disturbed patients. Moreover, the lack of shock therapy in- 
creased the hospital stay of the disturbed patients. During the 
peak load months there was only one neuropsychiatric specialist. 
The X-ray department functioned as an integral unit in a 
single Qucnset hut where various examinations were performed with 
adequate equipment and facilities. 
The dental department, organized and housed in two Quonset 
huts, was completely equipped ,/ith operating room, two complete 
general dentistry units, and a portable prosthetic laboratory unit. 
General dental treatment was administered to all personnel of the Navy, 
Marine Corps and Coast Guard on active duty. Prosthetic dental 
treatment was given to the afore-mentioned services in addition to 
the U. S. Army and service members of the United Nations in the area. 
The high standard of work performed was attested to in the following 
statement# "The quality of dental service rendered at Base Hospital 
Number 9 is by far above the average for an activity of this size 
10 
whether within or without the continental limits of the United States." 
10. Historical Data of the U. S. Naval Hospital No. 9 Oran, Algeria, 
for 1945 in files of Administrative History Section, p. 15. 
Case Statistics: Equipment and supplies were considered satisfactory and 
adequate for all clinical and surgical procedures in the urological 
service. 
The health of the hospital was good throughout its history. 
There were no outbreaks of communicable diseases or dysentery among the 
patients or staff personnel, although mild bacillary dysentery epidemics 
occurred at nearby activities necessitating hospitalization of a 
number of cases at one time. The diligent work of the sanitation 
officer and his staff, the location of the hospital away from densely 
populated centers keeping contacts with communicable diseases of the 
port area at a minimum, the modern sewerage system, thorough 
screening of all buildings and the fact that water for the hospital 
was pumped from a deep well and was constantly chlorinated were the 
most important contributory factors toward the control of communicable 
diseases. 
Epidemiology Unit Number 2? was assigned to the area in March 
1944 and undertook many investigations. The investigation of the 
water supply resulted in thorough chlorination of all water used. A 
Operative dentistry - total number of restorations.. 8,959; 
prophylaxis 2,705; 
Oral surgery - mandible and maxilla fractures 21; 
extractions 2,490 
Prosthodontia and Laboratory Procedures - dentures, 
full and partial.. 1,642 
21  the area revealed that 85 percent of the 
women engaged in prostitution were carriers of gonococci. 3L plan 
whereby these women could be put under treatment for five days was 
quite successful but had to be dropped when evidence of resentment 
in the civilian population was revealed. 
When several cases of bubonic plague occurred in Oran in 
January 1945, the epidemiologist of the Navy, by common consent, was 
made the control officer, responsible for all necessary control mea- 
sures. Epidemiology Unit Number 23 was responsible for enforcing 
regulations, whereby the entire port area v/as sprayed with DDT and all 
contacts among the civilian population were isolated at the civilian 
hospital. Malaria cases admitted to the hospital had contracted the 
disease elsewhere. Typhus fever never reached epidemic proportions 
and when an epidemic of typhoid fever occurred in Oran in September and 
October 1944 no cases developed among naval personnel either at this 
hospital or elsewhere at the base. The general hospital admission rate 
for venereal disease was high, although it was extremely low for the 
11 
hospital staff. 
The personnel of Base Hospital Number 9 at Oran varied 
slightly during the years cf its history. The medical officers varied 
from 17 to 22; the dental officers generally numbered 3; the Hospital 
11. Annual Sanitary Report for the Year 1944 of U. S. Naval Base 
Hospital No. 9 Oran, Algeria, in files of Administrative 
History Section, p. 5. 
22 Corps officers, 4> pharmacists, 1; Chaplain Corps officers, 1; 
Hospital Corps ratings from 250 to 256 and miscellaneous ratings 
from 62 to 75. During 1944 there were 17 Navy Nurse Corps officers, 
and, in addition, that sane year 3 Red Cross workers were assigned to 
the hospital for duty. The number of enlisted personnel on board was 
considered adequate, but it remained consistently below the 
authorized complement of 266 hospital corpsmen and 81 miscellaneous 
ratings. 
The patients and staff of the hospital were comfortably 
housed in well heated, screened and ventilated Qucnset hut units. 
All the facilities - galley, bake shop, scullery and laundry - were 
modcrnly equipped. The reports from the hospital indicated that the 
general hygienic considerations existent at this base hospital 
12 
"closely approach the ideal for this type of a naval activity.” 
There were no outbreaks of food poisoning in the entire history of 
the hospital. 
This hospital had well equipped facilities for athletics and 
recreation - a good ball diamond, basketball court, two tennis courts, 
badminton courts, horseshoe-pitching layouts, boxing and wrestling 
ring and ping-pong tables. Daily movies were available on the 
hospital compound. Two Red Cross huts were equipped for games, a 
12. Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 9, 
Oran, Algeria, for Calendar Year 1943 in files of Administrative 
History Section, p. 7. 
23 library and music. Ship's company dances were held at intervals. 
Trips were made to points of interest in the area. In the city of 
Oran the Red Cross maintained the huge Empire Club, and in season it 
kept a beach club open for servicemen. The variety of the recreation 
and occupational therapy programs was very popular with the patients 
and staff. The hospital commended the Red Cross workers for their 
fine contribution in promoting the morale and welfare of the patients 
13 
and staff of this hospital. 
United States Naval Base Hospital Number 9 at Oran remained 
a separate command as part of Commander U. S. Naval Forces, Northwest 
African Waters. It was an integral unit cf U. S. Naval Operating 
Base, Oran, Algeria, from its inception to 30 September 1945 when it 
was decommissioned. The accompanying chart, Enclosure C , succinctly 
explains the organization of the hospital. Graph A shows the command 
relationship of this hospital to the Staff Medical Officer of the 
13. Historical Data of U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 9, Oran, Algeria, 
for 1945, in files of Administrative History Section. 
In addition to routine and aid service the activities 
developed by the Red Cross workers included many types of handi- 
craft such as weaving, leather and metal work of all types; 
horse-racing, bingo and card parties; screening of Oran girls for 
beach parties and dances; special arrangements for holiday parties; 
birthday celebrations for bed patients; French classes, symphony 
programs, lecture programs, moving picture shows, etc. 
24 Naval Operating Base who was responsible to the authority of the 
Force Medical Officer of the Command, Naval Forces Northwest African 
Waters. Enclosure D shows the command relationship of the hospital 
to the U. S. Naval Detachment, Oran. These charts present a clearer 
representation of the administrative picture than a verbal description 
t 
could give. This hospital was one of the principal medical facilities 
under the control and administrative authority of the U. S. Eighth 
Fleet operating in the Mediterranean area. 
The IQ. S. Naval Dispensary, U. S. Naval Station, Oran, Algeria, 
was an important connecting link in the chain of medical facilities in 
the Northwest African theatre. This dispensary functioned as the 
only dispensary (other than the port dispensary available in this 
area to military and Merchant Marine personnel) except for an army 
dispensary at La Senia Airport, about six miles from Oran. Examina- 
tions were carried on and first-aid treatment rendered for civilian 
employees of the Army and Navy who had been injured while at work. 
The senior medical officer of this dispensary was also in command of 
the port dispensary. Many of the patients from the latter installation 
were brought to the U. S. Naval Dispensary, Oran, or to the U. S. Naval 
Base Hospital Number 9 for consultation and treatment. 
The over-oil purpose and function of this particular unit 
did not change much through the war years. This naval dispensary was 
directly under the commanding officer of the naval station. All health 
records of personnel attached to the U. S. Naval Station and the Naval 
25 Operating Base were kept at this dispensary. The patients who 
reported there were cither treated ambulatorily or, if the circum- 
stances warranted, were transferred to U. S. Naval Base Hospital 
Number 9, Oran. It was the function of the port surgeon, attached to the 
dispensary, to supervise the port dispensary and to make sanitary 
inspections in the port. This dispensary acted as liaison between 
ships afloat and U. S. Naval Base Hospital Number 9. Actually, this 
meant furnishing the major portion of transportation of personnel and 
gear to the hospital. The dispensary also served as a place of sick 
call for ships which carried no medical officers. The X-ray depart- 
ment and the laboratory were especially important in serving personnel 
of ships afloat, both for those ships having medical officers and 
those having no medical officer. The evacuation of the wounded has 
been largely accomplished through the pert dispensary with the aid of 
ambulances from this U. S. Naval Station Dispensary. 
Although endemic in the region, bacillary dysentery never 
appeared in epidemic form at any one time. Strict control of personnel 
and stringent measures, particularly proper elimination of the insect 
menace, apparently controlled bacillary dysentery at this station. 
On 18 January 1945 seven cases of plague were reported among 
the French civilians in Oran, but no cases were reported among naval 
or military personnel. The spread of the disease was successfully 
controlled, as previously indicated in the discussion of the U. S. 
Naval Base Hospital Number 9, through stringent prophylaxis, intensive 
26 efforts to exterminate rats and the restriction of personnel to 
areas known to be free of plague. 
In a region where heat, flies, dirt and water supply create 
difficult problems, this unit attained a high standard of naval hygiene 
in living conditions. The venereal disease program instituted at this 
dispensary at Oran was effective in maintaining a low venereal rate 
among station personnel in a vicinity where there is a high civilian 
incidence of venereal disdase. 
The U. S. Naval Port Dispensary at Oran, Algeria, was also 
available to military and Merchant Marine personnel in the" area. It 
was under the command of the Commander, U. S. Naval Station, Oran, 
Algeria, and it was under the direction of the senior medical officer 
of the U. S. Naval Dispensary, Oran. This dispensary was responsible 
for inoculations in the port area, the inspection of ships in the Oran 
port, and the port of Mers-el-Kebir, Algeria. It was also responsible 
for the embarkation and debarkation of casualties who were U. S. 
military and naval personnel and military personnel of Allied nations, 
particularly French, and some prisoners of war, German and Italian. 
One medical officer attached to the U. S. Naval Station, Oran^acted 
as the medical officer for the port dispensary and as port surgeon. 
He supervised the port dispensary and made sanitary inspections in 
the port. This medical unit was decommissioned 15 July 1945. 
The U. S. Naval Station, Mers-el-Kebir, had a dispensary con- 
stituting a staff of 12 officers and 160 enlisted men. An assigned 
27 sanitation officer, who was one of the dispensary medical officers of 
U. S. Naval Dispensary, U. S. Naval Station, Oran, Algeria, made 
sanitary inspections of this installation in addition to his sick 
call duty twice a week at the station. 
The Advance Base Groups destined for Sicily arrived in the 
theatre in May 1943. These Advance Base Groups, collectively 
designated "SPAN,” originated 25 March 1943 at the Receiving Station, 
14 
NOB, Norfolk, Virginia. They were composed cf four dispensary units. 
All units that comprised 'SPAN-' sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, 10 May 
1943, on board the USS LYON, OBERON and FREDERICK LYKESj two weeks 
later the convoy arrived in Oran, Algeria. 
Quarters were established for SPAN organization in Gambetta 
section of Oran, Africa, in a tent camp which had formerly been occupied 
by U. S. Army personnel. Shortly after, a 25-bed dispensary was set up 
in a large tent in which a wooden deck had been installed. 
The history of the four separate units becomes a story of the 
gradual amalgamation of all into one compact organization. Unit I sent 
14. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for 
Period of World War II S. Naval Dispensary, NOB, Palermo, 
Sicily, in files of Administrative'lfis’Cory Section. Four dispensary 
units divided as follows: 
Unit I (DIZO) 200-bed dispensary cut to 50-bed capacity 
Unit II (GAVU) 50-bed dispensary cut to 25-bed capacity 
Unit III (HURA) 50-bed dispensary cut to 25-bed capacity 
Unit IV (ZACA) 50-bed dispensary cut to 25-bcd capacity 
These had been reduced after a preliminary period 
of organization. 
28 out an advance group which departed with an overland convoy and 
arrived in Bizcrtc, 20 July 1943, then headed for Palermo, arriving 
there three days later. In the meantime, Unit II had left Oran for 
Italy, landing at Gela, Sicily, where a small dispensary and sick bay 
was set up 11 July 1943. This unit merged with Unit IV at Lixata, 
Sicily, 18 August 1943. Unit III departed for Bizcrtc, joining 
Unit IV at this point and after a temporary location at Bizerte, 
departed for Lccata, Sicily, where the units disbanded 28 August 
1943 and both joined Unit I in Palermo, Sicily. Meanwhile, Unit II 
had merged with Unit IV, had undergone dispersement with Units III 
and IV, and had joined Unit I in Palermo. Hence, the original plan, 
whereby the 50-bcd emit had been destined to go to lesser ports on the 
south coast of the island, had been abandoned entirely. The satellite 
units were never set up completely, because all U. S. Navy activities 
» 
had been consolidated at Palermo as the Naval Operating Base. With the 
personnel and equipment which had been brought together through consoli- 
dation, a dispensary of 160 beds was established. 
The medical department, NOB, Palermo, Sicily, had been 
established 1 August 1943. However, since all four units had been 
combined to form a composite organization by 28 August 1943, the re- 
lative measure of the department permitted it to bo designated as a 
dispensary. The initial flexible organization of the units had permitted 
changes in the set up, and just as varying conditions had brought about 
amalgamation of the units, so this dispensary, through the ingenious 
methods it used in caring for casualties and the resourcefulness it 
29 developed in securing supplies and equipment, although never designated 
as such, actually functioned as a hospital. It provided hospitalization 
for all U. S. Navy personnel stationed in Sicily. As established, this 
hospital-functioning dispensary included the following: surgical and 
medical service, urology and venereal disease control, laboratory and 
15 
sanitation, X-ray and dental departments. 
At first this unit functioned in conjunction with the local Army 
hospital, but an adequate organization had been established by 6 July 
1944 when the Army hospital in the area was given up. After that time, 
all commitments in the area for Army, Navy, Merchant Marine and 
United Nations personnel for medical dental treatment were assumed by 
this activity. 
Sudden increases in patient load in the dispensary followed 
as a consequence of the Salerno and subsequent Anzio invasions when 
the casualties of enemy action were brought into the dispensary. At 
various times patients surviving individual ship actions were given 
emergency treatment. Twenty-two wounded were evacuated from the USS 
BUCK in October 1943; most of the survivors admitted suffered from 
immersion blast injuries. 
The enteric fever outbreak in August, September and October 
of 1944 was the most important incident in the epidemiological history 
15. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for 
World War II,US Naval Dispensary, 'NOB, Palermo, Sicily, in files of 
Administrative History Section, p. 6. 
30 of the dispensary. Typhoid and paratyphoid are endemic in Palermo with 
high seasonal incidence. From August through October a total of 33 
patients were admitted to the dispensary with a diagnosis of para- 
16 
typhoid A or B fever in addition to five typhoid cases. This enteric 
fever outbreak was investigated by Epidemiology Unit Number 23 which 
indicated that the outbreak could not be attributed to any one single 
17 
cause. 
Dysentery abruptly declined in frequency as soon as drinking 
had been limited to chlorinated water and all heads and galleys had been 
screened. Although the area was comparatively free of malaria, a 
malaria control unit was established under U. S. Army supervision. 
Possibly because of the color disparity, venereal disease con- 
trol was not a problem in Africa but a decidedly upward trend in the 
venereal disease rate was noted in Sicily shortly after the work in 
establishing the base had been completed. Additional prophylaxis 
stations were established and recreational facilities were improved, 
but despite intensive educational programs and control measures this 
16. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for World 
War II, US Naval Dispensary, HOB, Palermo, Sicily, in files of 
Administrative History Section5 the 33 patients included 30 naval 
personnel, 2 Army and 1 Italian POW. 
17. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for World 
War II, USNaval Dispensary, NOB, Palermo, Sicily. 
The inv stigation reported stated: "No single cause can be 
proven as 'ohe most important one in the outbreak. The seasonal 
distribution emphasizes the unimportance of flies as factors in 
this outbreak, but it also points toward the importance of the factor 
of contaminated water in the spread. During the warm months the dis- 
pensary laboratory found a much higher percentage of positive water 
samples than was found by us recently." 
31 was the least effective phase of the local medical program. 
Originally a composite of four medical units, this 
installation functioned as a naval dispensary, but as its functions 
expanded and hospitalization was extended to all Army, Merchant 
Marine and United Nations personnel in addition to U. S. Navy 
patients, it assumed the proportions of a small hospital. Locally 
but never officially it was given the designation. It was a 
component of the U. S. Eighth Fleet, Commander Naval Forces 
North African Waters. In relation to chain of command it was under 
the immediate administrative authority of the Commandant, Naval 
Operating Base, Palermo, Sicily, who operated under the command of 
the U. S. Eighth Fleet, which was directly under Cominch. Also, there 
was a smaller dispensary distinguished as port dispensary in the 
Palermo port area, similarly under the administration of Commandant, 
NOB, Palermo. 
During tho summer of 1943 it was necessary to provide 
dispensary facilities for the Salvage Unit at Dellys, Algeria, during 
the summer of 1943 and for the naval detachment, Naples, in October 1943. 
The Dellys unit obtained necessary equipment from the United States 
while equipment, material and personnel already in the theatre were 
used for Naples. Dispensary facilities were also set up at the AATB, 
Salerno, in May 1940,with the equipment and personnel from Arzew. 
A 10-bed dispensary unit was established at Ajaccio, Corsica, early 
in 1944 with personnel obtained from the United States. Three 25-bed 
32 dispensary units were founded for the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 
bases at Calvi and Bastia, Corsica and Maddalene Island, Sardinia, 
early in 1944. 
Medical Storehouse Number 9,which was the source of 
most bulk medical supplies and equipment for these activities in the 
Northwest African theatre, was moved out of Casablanca to Oran early 
In 1944 because of the reduced shipping in the former port. Its 
location In Oran expedited the distribution of naval medical supplies 
to the more active bases in and near the operation zones. 
One of the last of the medical installations to be set 
up in this area was the U. S. Naval Dispensary, Rome, commissioned 1 
January 1945. This dispensary was established by the commander of the 
Eighth Fleet to offer medical facilities to the personnel of our 
naval groups located in Rome. In addition, the U. S. Ambassador to 
Italy, his staff and the State Department, the American Army, and 
British service personnel with no other naval medical facilities 
available received care. 
This department was not faced with any outstanding 
medical or surgical cases, no battle casualties and no epidemics. 
In holding the position of a rear echelon this dispensary carried 
18 
on medical work of an almost routine nature. The most common dis- 
18. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report of 
U. S. Naval Dispensary, Rome, Cumulative Report for Period of 
World War II, in files of Administrative History Section. This 
medical department concerned itself with.. (l) Medical and minor 
33 order encountered was*!acute diarrhea, a condition which seemed to be 
almost universal among foreigners to Rome and occurred sporadically. 
The origin and cause of the disease could not be determined. The 
climate of Rome seemed to be conducive to upper respiratory in- 
fections in foreigners. Peculiarly enough, relief was obtained for 
persons having acute attacks of sinusitis by having the patient sleep 
in a v/arm, poorly ventilated room. Aside from the frequency of 
these conditions mentioned, the level of general health at this 
activity was high. 
The dispensary, Naval Detachment, Marseille, was a 
composite of two G-8 medical units, organized for advanced base 
groups originally designated as Navy 3605 and Navy 3110. It was a 
component of the U. S. Eighth Fleet, Commander Naval Forces 
Northwest African Waters and U. S. Naval Advanced Base Southern 
France. 
Naval advanced base groups were assigned to take 
Marseille in conjunction with U. S. Army and British and French 
navies. The operation was extremely flexible. By the middle of 
October the French Navy took over the port of Toulon and two weeks 
later the U. S. Naval Detachment, Toulon, moved out and merged with 
the U. S. Naval Detachment of Marseille. The two medical dispensaries 
surgical care of the patients described; (2) Maintenance of 
sanitation in all its aspects including venereal disease 
control; (3) Performance of indicated physical examinations; 
(4) Prophylaxis against epidemic and contagious diseases; 
(5) Establishment of liaison with 73rd (now 34th) U. S. Army 
Station Hospital, merged with all personnel, equipment and supplies. These two 
medical units operated as naval dispensaries in conjunction with 
U. S. Army hospitals. 
Shortly afterwards, these two units merged into one as 
tho|Naval Dispensary, Patients who were critically ill 
or injured were handled by the U. S. Army hospital facilities in 
this area. In the first weeks after the invasion of Southern 
France, this dispensary unit treated a number of blast casualties 
caused mainly by land mines. First aid was administered quickly and 
the casualties were evacuated cither to U. S. Army hospitals or the 
French Naval Hospital in Toulon. 
No serious epidemics occurred in Southern France. There 
was a mild initial outbreak of dysentery which was not infectious. 
The venereal rate of the city was extremely high. U. S. naval 
personnel cases responded 100 percent both clinically and serologically 
19 
to penicillin. 
The primary purpose of the Naval Dispensary, Marseille, 
in addition to treatment of sick and wounded, sanitation, and 
preventive medicine, was to correlate, evaluate, record, classify 
and direct all medical activities concerning naval personnel both 
stationary and transit in this area. The unit was decommissioned 
19. Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, Historical. 
Data, Dec. 1945, of U. S. Naval Detachment Dispensary, 
Marseille, France, in files of Administrative History Section, 
p. 6. 
35 15 October 1945. 
Medical supervision with the United States and British 
Army medical units was mutually coordinated throughout the period of 
Allied activities in the Mediterranean area. The policy of 
hospitalizing U. S. Army hospitals was started in 1943 and continued 
until April 1944. In fact, the coodination of U. S. Navy Medical Corps 
with that of the Allied services was promoted and carried out very 
successfully throughout the war period in this area. In the supply 
realm, the U. S. Army provided many medical supplies at places which 
Y/ere far removed from the naval medical storehouse on agreements of 
a universal logistic supply basis. The difference between medical 
supplies used by the Army and Navy is not great. 
The attached chart indicates the medical installations 
that were active in the Mediterranean Area as of 1 January 1945 under 
the command of the United States Eighth Fleet. Attention has been fixed 
on the more important of those installations in the foregoing detailed 
consideration. The medical installations in the Northwest African theatro 
v/ere specifically under the administrative command of Commander Task 
Force 125 of the United States Eighth Fleet which operated directly under 
the administrative supervision of Cominch. This is graphically 
represented in the accompanying chart showing the organization of this 
task force which is much clearer than any literal interpretation. 
36 MEDICAL DEPARTMENT FACILITIES IN OPERATION IN THE 
UNITED STATES EIGHTH FLEET 
AS OF 1 JANUARY 1945 
OFFICERS 
ENLISTED 
ACTIVITY BED 
MEDICAL DENTAL 
HOSPITAL 
NURSE 
HOSPITAL 
CAPACITY 
CORPS 
. CORPS 
CORPS 
CORPS 
CORPS 
ALGERIA-AFRICA 
ALGIERS - Port Sick Bay 4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
(SUSNO-Algiers) 
ARZEW - Dispensary, U. S. 
Naval Station 98 
2 
1 
1 
0 
24 
Dispensary, 
Salvage Forces (Base)8 
1 
0 
0 
0 
4 
ORAN - Base Hospital 
No. 9 ' 500 
19 
3 
5 
17 
255 
Diepeasery, U. S. 
Naval 44 
Dispensary, Rer 
3 
1 
2 
0 
57 
coiving Station. 0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
17 
Dispensary, Naval 
Supply Depot. 0 . 
1 
1 
0 
0 
18 
Medical Storehouse 
No. 9. 0 
0 
0 
2 
0 
20 
*Port Dispensary 0 
2 
0 
0 
0 
14 
♦Personnel attached to U. S. 
Naval 
Station. 
MERS-EL-KEBIR - Sick Bay, Naval 
Station 6 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 
FRANCE 
MARSEILLES - U. S. Naval De- 
tachment. 10 
1 
1 
0 
0 
6 
GOLFE JUAN - *PT Base 0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 
♦Personnel attached 
to PT 
BASE #12. 
FRENCH MOROCCO - AFRICA 
AGADIR - *Sick Bay, FAW- 
15 (Detachment 
No. 1) 68 
1 
0 
0 
0 
4 
♦Personnel attached to FAW-15. 
37 Alt'* 1 1 
CASABLANCA - , *Base Hospital1 
5. ‘ 96 
Barracks Dispen- 
sary, NOB 0 
6 
0 
2 . 3 
0 0 
0 
0 
63 
8 
*Capable of immediate 
expansi 
on to 200 beds. 
PORT LYAUTEY -(Dispensary ) 
Sick Bay(NAS)) 
130 
*9 
3 3 
0 
**68 
* Two .nodical officers and 1 
FAW-15. 
** 46 Hospital Corps personnel 
22 to FAW-15. 
'dental Officer are 
(enlisted’ attached 
attached to 
to NAS and 
TUNISIA-AFRICA 
BIZERTE - Dispensary, AATB 68 
5 
2 1 
3 
41 
SICILY 
PALERMO - Dispensary, NOB 
Sick Bay (Port 
Area) 155 
8 
3 2 
4 
77 
ITALY 
NAPLES - Dispensary, U. S. 
Naval Detachment 140 
5 
1 1 
4 
32 
LEGHORN - PT Base 
(MTBRON #22) 0 
1 
1 0 
0 
9 
ROME - Dispensary 
(SENALUSLO) 4 
1 
0 0 
0 
3 
SARDINIA 
MADDALENE ISLAND - PT Base 
#12 10 
1 
1 0 
0 
10 
TOTAL BED CAPACITY 1341 Section 3 United Kingdom Medical Installations 
Commander, Landing Craft and Bases, Europe, was commissioned 
1 September 1943 in Washington, D. C. This command established head- 
quarters in Falmouth, England, 30 October 1943 and from thence it 
moved to Plymouth, England, January 1944* The title of the command 
was changed to Commander, Amphibious Bases, United Kingdom, and a 
collateral title of Commander, Task Force 123, was added 24 September 
1944. The components of the command were basically the same through- 
out the war period, namely, all amphibious bases, U. S. Naval Base 
Number 2 and, from time to time, all U. S. naval amphibious ships and 
craft operating in and about the United Kingdom. 
The total personnel, ashore and afloat, served by this 
task force- fluctuated greatly, reaching a high point in June 1944 
20 
of approximately 22,000 ashore and 87,000 afloat. The amphibious 
operating bases and sub-bases of this command were located on the 
southern and southwestern coasts of England in the area reaching 
from Deptford on the Thames to Milford Haven on Bristol Channel with 
the exception of U. S. Naval Base Number 2, Roseneath, Scotland. 
The principal ones were situated on the English Channel between 
Portsmouth and Falmouth. They had been established in preparation 
20. Annual Sanitary Report of Commander Amphibious Bases, United 
Kingdom, for year ending 3 Dec. 1944 in files of Administrative 
History Section, p. 2. Total number of personnel ashore and afloat 
served by this task force numbered 14,363 ashore and 5,400 
afloat in Jan. 1944I 22,000 ashore and 87,000 afloat in June 1944; 
declined slightly during July and Aug. and on 31 Dec. 1944 there 
were 17,800 ashore and 17,400 afloat. 
38 for the Normandy invasion.^ 
Shore-based medical facilities, once established, functioned 
very well, according to the sanitary reports submitted by those 
facilities and the Twelfth Fleet sanitary report. Prior to the in- 
vasion of Normandy, all shore-based medical activities of the command 
increased their capacities, primarily by the addition of beds, in 
anticipation of casualties. 
The accompanying chart indicates the shore-based medical 
activities under this command. The various dispensaries which were 
established at or in the vicinity of naval amphibious bases and, for 
the most part, the bed capacities were proportional to the number of 
personnel in the various commands. The installations whose bed 
capacities were augmented to handle unexpected casualty numbers in- 
cluded those at Plymouth, Portland-Weymouth, Dartmouth and Milford 
Haven. The dispensaries a,t St. Mawes (22 beds-), Appledore (61 beds) 
and Toignmouth (50 bods),which had been set at temporary bases, were 
closed prior to D-day. The equipment of these facilities was sent 
to other places. 
Base Number 1 at Londonderry, Northern Ireland, contained 
the naval base hospital, q medical supply storehouse and a medical 
department at the U. S. N. Radio Station at Londonderry, Northern 
Ireland. The base itself consisted of four camps and a Navy yard, 
all within a radius of about five miles, on sloping ground which 
was easily drained. The main dispensary, or U. S. Naval Base Hos- 
pital Number 1 at Londonderry, was commissioned in February 1942. Shore-Based Medical Activities (Dispensaries) Established 
Under Commander, Amphibious Basos, United Kingdom 
Title and Location 
Number 
of Beds 
Maximum 
Capacity 
Commissioned 
.Decom-, 
missioned 
U. S. N. Base Number 2 
Roseneath, Scotland 
175 
325 
8-24-42 
(didn’t come under 
this command . — 
until Oct,1943) 
USNAATB 
Appledore, Devon 
25 
61 
7-29-43 
5-25-44 
USNAATSB 
3t. Mawes, Cornwall 
34 
34 
9-7-43 
5-20-44 
USNAAB 
Falmouth, Cornwall 
100 
220 
10-11-43 
USNAATSB 
Fowey, Cornwall 
50 
93 
10-25-43 
8-1-44 
USNAAB 
Plymouth, Devon 
327 
500 
11-6-43 
USNAATSB 
Salcombe, Devon 
50 
117 
11-25-43 
8-7-44 
(reopened on 
12-19-44 with 
.25 beds) 
USNAATSB 
Tiegnmouth, Devon 
50 
87 
12-1-43 4-28-44 
(never commissioned) (but in 
full opera- 
tion betwee] 
dates shown, 
USNAAB 
Dartmouth, Devon 
300 
356 
12-24-43 
USNAAB 
Milford Haven, Wales 
200 
800 
1-12-44 
10-16-44 
40 USNAAMSB 
Penarth, Wales 
50 
50 
1-12-44 
7-16-44 
USNASB 
Exeter, Devon 
25 
46 
2-3-44 
USNAAMB 
Deptford, London 
10 
10 
4-10-44 
8-31-44 
USNAAB 
Portland-Weymouth, Dor- 
SGt 
50 
123 
5-1-44 
USNAAB 
Poole, Dorset 
20 
24 
5-11-44 
8-6-44 
USNAAB 
Southampton, Hants 
1C 
10 
5-11-44 This hospital of 300 beds was capable of an additional 100-bed ex- 
pansion. Sub-dispensaries were maintained in all the camps comprising 
the base and a first-aid station was set up in the Navy yard. All 
the buildings, including the living quarters, were of the Quonset 
hut variety. A great many of the Allied services were cared for 
21 
at this hospital. An out-patient and consultation service was 
maintained for the Allied forces. 
There were no epidemics in the history of the hospital 
and only one outbreak of food poisoning during 1943. The water 
supply came from the city reservoirs. The facilities for the treat- 
ment of the sick were considered ample and were not taxed to capacity. 
The annual allowance for medical, surgical and dental supplies was 
sufficient. Hospital supplies were secured from Naval Medical 
Supply Storehouse Number 5, which v/as under the same command and 
21. Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Onerating Base at 
Londonderry, Northern Ireland, for year 1943, in files of 
Administrative History Section, p, 5. 
During 1943 this hospital cared for members of the following 
branches of the Allied services YJho had the following sick 
days: 
Royal Navy (British) 19,627 
Royal Air Force (British) 1,512 
Royal Marines (British) 106 • 
British Army 427 
Royal Canadian Navy 2,625 
Royal Canadian Air Force 315 
Royal Australian Air Force 5 
Royal New Zealand Navy 22 
Royal Indian Navy 35 
Royal Netherlands Navy 42 
Royal Norwegian Navy 184 
Royal Polish Navy 100 
Royal Greek Navy 22 
Greek Merchant Marine 7 
41 occupied buildings at the hospital. This was tho only source 
of naval medical supply in this theater until Medical Supply 
Storehouse Number 12 was established at Exeter. 
Base Hospital Number 1 was under the administrative 
direction of the Commander, U. 3. Naval Forces in 
under ComNavEu, collaterally under the supervision of the Bureau 
of Medicine and Surgery, 'Washington, D. C. It was decommissioned 
25 August 1944. 
The medical department at Uf S. N. Radio Station, 
Londonderry, commissioned 10 July 1944, maintained battle-dressing 
stations at Clooney Radio Receiving Station and Ross Downey 
Transmitting Station during the War. The main dressing station, 
located at Clooney Park Camp, consisted of a 10-bed dispensary. 
The station was never attacked by enemy aircraft or enemy per- 
sonnel. There was only one death in the history of the station - 
attributed to acute poisoning from methyl alcohol. There was no 
problem of supply. Surgical procedures at this station were referred 
to the 55th Field Hospital, U. S. Army, located at Langford Lodge, 
Londonderry. . • . - 
In the planning period for the Normandy invasion arrange- 
ments were made to establish a base hospital in the premises of the 
Royal Victoria Military Hospital at Netley Hants on Southampton Water, 
Two buildings of the "Royal Military Hospital" were turned over to 
the U. S. Navy and 1 March 1944 it was commissioned as U. S. Naval Base Hospital Number 12. This hospital had a bed capacity of 1,088 
and was capable of expansion to 1,500 by the use of certain bar- 
racks buildings. 
With the assistance of the 97th Construction Battalion, 
the hospital was completely organized and equipped and the personnel 
were specially trained by 15 May 1944 to receive casualties to the 
limit of the hospital's bed capacity. This hospital, established 
primarily for the treatment of war casualties during the invasion, 
admitted only American sick and wounded after D-day, except in 
emergency cases. However, 1,358 patients for British services had 
received treatment prior to D-day. It was the only naval base 
hospital in England. Various naval activities in England transferred 
cases to it for treatment and the sick and injured naval personnel 
evacuated from U. S. Army and British hospitals were also received 
by the hospital. 
During the seven months of the hospital's existence under 
naval command a total of 9,630 patients were admitted, of which 4,226 
22 
were war casualties. There were 18 deaths during this period - 
11 wrere the result of 'wounds incurred in action against the enemy. 
The mortality rate among all combat casualties received at the hos- 
pital vtfas ,26 of .1 percent. The first D-day casualties were received 
22. Neuropsychiatric cases are not included among the war casualties. 
43 at the #liospI'^lr 'on *9 June 1944, end in the following 3 months and 
26 days a total of 7,877 patients (including 4,226 war casualties) 
23 
were admitted. 
Generally, casualties arrived in large groups-by ambulance 
from hospital carriers and LST's. Between 200 and 300 combat 
casualties were admitted in the course of a few hours on several 
occasions. Daily admissions of from 100 to 200 were not uncommon. 
All hands were needed to take care of such large-scale admissions. 
All U. S. Navy patients requiring return to the United 
States from this area for further treatment or disposition yjctq 
evacuated through this hospital. Prior to its establishment these 
patients had been evacuated through U. S. Naval Base Number 2 at 
Roseneath, Scotland. Evacuations through the base hospital proved 
a nnuch more satisfactory arrangement because of its proximity to the 
sou-thern bases where there were fewer travel difficulties. After 
23. Annual Sanitary Report of Commander, Twelfth Fleet, for year 
ending Dec. 1944, in files of administrative History Section, 
p. 10. Significant statistics to note in reference to admissions 
subsequent to 1 June: On 5 June (day before D-day) there were 
481 patients in the hospital, consisting mostly of "briefed” 
patients and 188 U. S. Navy Coast Guard patients. On D-day all 
briefed patients (212) evacuated by hospital train and 56 non- 
briefed British patients were returned to duty. Subsequent 
monthly admissions were as follows: 
June - 2,107 - Included 1239 battle casualties 
(U. S. Navy-216; U. S. Army-1,009; 
others - 14) 
July - 1,740 - Included 34)38 battle casualties 
(U. S. Navy-77; U. S. Army-954; 
others - 7) 
44 Base Hospital Number 12 had been decommissioned, U. S. Naval Advanced 
Amphibious Base, Plymouth, Devon, and U. S. Naval Base Number 2 
were designated as evacuation centers for the southern and northern 
areas respectively. This arrangement of having two facilities, a 
northern and southern collecting center, to evacuate patients to the 
United States worked most satisfactorily. The U. S. Naval Base 
Hospital Number 12 was decommissioned on 30 September 1944. 
One of the base dispensaries in the United Kingdom was 
U. S. Naval Base Number 2, comprising 550 acres located on the 
eastern and southern part of Roseneath peninsula. With lakes on 
the east and west, the Clyde River on the south, and high hills 
beyond the lakes, this dispensary had the advantages of a scenic 
situation. There were 10 permanent buildings in use at the base. In 
addition, there were 489 temporary buildings used as living quarters 
in the various areas, the majority of which were the standard 
24 
Quonset type. 
August - 1,257 - Included 495 battle casualties 
(U. S. Navy-67; U. S. Army-427; 
others - l) 
September - 2,972 - Included 1,470 battle casualties 
(U. S. Navy-10; U. S. Army-1, 
427; others - 33) 
NOTE: See Appendix A for more complete information on 
monthly admissions. 
24*. Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Base Number 2, 
Roseneath, Scotland, for the year 1944, p. 6. Usually 16 men 
were housed in one of these standard Quonset huts which is 16 
fcdtby 9 feet, allowing 239.06 cubic feet of air space per man. 
45 No communicable disease occurred in any proportion 
approaching epidemic form, despite the fact that the rate of 
communicable disease in the city of Glasgow and nearby towns was 
high. Venereal diseases gave the medical personnel the greatest 
concern. Every available means of keeping the venereal disease 
rate as low as possible was used. The number of sick days caused 
by venereal diseases comprised more than one-third of all the sick 
days for all diseases. The rate per thousand for 1944 was almost 
25 
twice that of 1943. 
The high rate of venereal disease on this base was 
attributed in great measure to the failure of local authorities 
to pick up and treat the contacts. The great increase in 1944 over 
1943 was ascribed to the fact that most of the base personnel during 
1944 were either returning from or going into combat areas. 
The complement of 92 hospital corpsmen was insufficient 
for the size and widely spread units of that base. With the exception 
of one short period, the complement gaps were filled with transient 
Hospital Corps personnel, but the reports of this installation indi- 
25. Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Base Number 2, Rose- 
neath, Scotland, for the year 1944. The annual venereal disease 
rate on the base was 108.S per thousand for 1944. For gonorrhea 
the rate per thousand for 1943 was 42.6, while in 1944 it was 
93.19. The rate per thousand for syphilis was 13.04 and 14.08 
respectively for those two years. This rate is based on the 
average strength of men stationed at U. S. N. Base Number 2 and 
does not include cases from the Armed Guard and other personnel 
from ships. 
46 cated that transients were never as dependable or efficient as 
permanent Hospital Corps personnel. An intensive training program 
was continued throughout 1944 for hospital corpsmen at the stations. 
Classes were held five days a week and attendance was compulsory 
for all men from HA 2/c to PhM 3/c inclusive. 
The supply of water to the dispensary was inadequate at 
times because when water became lower than the 16 foot level in the 
storage tank it reached the level at which the pipe line passed over 
the hill on its way to the dispensary and thus gravity flow was 
interrupted. A ten day drought during 1944 caused an acute water 
shortage. 
The allowance of medical, surgical and dental supplies 
was adequate for most needs of the dispensary but some difficulty 
was met in obtaining a few particular drugs. Sulfathiazole and sulfa 
diazine used for the treatment of gonorrhea did not bring very 
satisfactory results - failures ran as high as 50 percent during 
some months. In late 1944 when supplies of penicillin became 
available immediately, results of better than 95 percent cures were 
achieved. 
The dispensary, U. S. Naval Base Number 2, Roseneath, 
Scotland, was, organized under the administrative authority of the 
Commander Amphibious Bases, United Kingdom, which looked to the 
highaer echelon of the Commander, U. S. Naval Forces in Europe, 
47 ComNavEu, Cominch and collaterally to the Bureau of Medicine and 
Surgery of the Navy Department in Washington. 
The U. S. Naval Dispensary, London, England, was 
established in a fashionable part of the city, IB Grosvenor 
Square, as part of the command of the United States Special Naval 
Observer. When Adm. H. R. Stark, USN, Commander, U. S. Naval Forces 
in Europe, established his headquarters in London on 23 March 1942, 
this dispensary became part of that command with the commanding 
officer assuming a dual role as senior medical officer of the dispen- 
sary and head of the medical section of U. S. Naval Forces in 
Europe. 
With the marked increase in naval personnel in the 
London area, the dispensary was moved to its present location, 
50 Upper Brook Street, on 15 February 1944. This building with 
its 29 rooms permitted the installation of 35 beds and provided 
space for the establishment of the specialities, eye-ear-nose-throat, 
surgery, urology, internal medicine and dentistry. 
A branch dispensary of 50 beds was established in two 
l 
Blackheath sections of London on 15 June 1944 to care for convales- 
cent and overflow patients from the main dispensary and to serve as 
a dressing station for bomb casualties. A month later it was 
closed on grounds that there was actually no need for the branch 
dispensary. 
48 The London dispensary v/as quite busy from January 1944 
to July 1945. In addition to the large number of naval personnel 
needing care, many American Embassy personnel, members of commissions 
from Washington, a few members of the British Army and Navy, and 
Dutch, Russian and Chinese navies were treated as out-patients. - No 
casualties were received from the continent and its few v/ar injury 
cases consisted of bomb casualties and casualties from armed guard 
crews of torpedoed or mined ships. The dispensary was responsible 
for the sick and injured of all armed guard personnel admitted to 
any British or U. S. Army hospital in the United Kingdom. Its work 
steadily declined after June 1945 with a definite curtailment of 
staff personnel. 
There were no epidemic diseases at this command; but 
despite an intensive educational campaign for prevention of venereal 
disease and the availability of many prophylactic stations scattered 
26 
throughout London, the venereal rate remained high. 
This dispensary was a part of the medical section of the 
U. 3. Naval Forces in Europe. It was designated as Headquarters Dis- 
pensary and for administrative purposes it was under the cognizance 
of the Commanding Officer, Headquarters Company, ComNavEu. The head 
of the medical section v/as the staff medical officer of the U. S. Naval 
Forces in Europe. The senior medical officer on duty in the dispensary 
was designated as Medical Officer in Charge. The various medical and 
26. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report 1945, 
for Headquarters Dispensary, U. S. Naval forces in Europe, (London 
49 dental officers representing the medical, dental and surgical 
specialties were directly under the medical officer in charge. 
The United States Naval Amphibious Supply Base, Exeter, 
Milli—■■>1)111111 r»—-**“*'<—""" - 
Devon, England, was commissioned 3 February 1944 as a 10-bed dis- 
pensary in Quonset huts. As necessity arose, it increased to a 
maximum of 54 beds with fully equipped medical facilities. This was 
typical of the smaller naval establishments in the United Kingdom. 
The United States Naval Amphibious Supply Base, Exeter, 
Devon, or Storehouse Number 12, was the central supply base for the 
U. S. Navy in European waters. It was under the administrative 
direction of ComNavEu, London, operating through Commander, Amphibious 
Forces, United Kingdom, Plymouth, Devon, England. The story of the 
operations of this naval medical storehouse from 15 April 1944 to 
September 1944 is the logistic report of the medical supply load 
for the Normandy invasion. After September 1944 it supplied medi- 
cal items to all U. S. naval activities in the European theater of 
operations as well as received medical supplies and equipment from 
decommissioned units in that theatre. 
During the five month period prior to D-day, the eventual 
number of' available beds in England for reception of casualties 
reached a total of 3,500. This had been accomplished through com- 
pleting rdditional medical facilities including Base Hospital Number 
England), in files of Administrative History Section, p, 4* 
The average venereal rate for the period Jan. - Aug. 1945 was 
77.2 per 1000 per year. 
50 dtc* sincATir 
12 at Netley and through providing additional beds at dispensaries 
already established. Plans were made for the evacuation of casualties 
during and after the initial assault. It was decided to use specially 
equipped LST's for the purpose. A survey of the resupply points was 
made and certain ones were designated for the reception of casualties. 
Most of the casualties carried by the LST's were disembarked at 
Southampton and Portland-Weymouth where patients were sorted - 
British patients into the British evacuation chain and American into 
the American chain. 
According to the logistic plan for the Normandy invasion, 
operation OVERLORD, it had been determined that the care of casualties 
occurring as the result of enemy contact during the invasion was an 
Army commitment. But, U. S. naval medical activities were to care for 
casualties resulting from loading accidents or near-shore attacks by 
the enemy. These installations were required to receive and transfer 
from the Army any naval casualties returned from the far shore and to 
receive any casualties who were in poor condition on arrival at . ' 
near-shore unloading points. It was further determined that the 
return of casualties from the far shore would be a Navy commitment 
and the LST's would be used for this purpose. One hundred and six LST's 
27 
were alloted for casualty handling. Alterations were made in the 
27. Annual Sanitary Report of Commander, Twelfth Fleet, for year 
ending 31 Dec. 1944—Comdr. L. G. Bell, who played an important 
part in the operation, reported that the medical personnel for 
these 106 LST's were distributed as follows; 
90 LST's 3 medical officers 20 hospital corpsmcn 
13 LST's ..2 medical officers......20 hospital corpsmen 
3 LST's ..1 medical officer ..20 hospital corpsmen 
51 vessels to make them more suitable for casualty handling. 
A training course for orientation and indoctrination in 
casualty handling for the inexperienced officers and men who came 
from the United States to perform this task was started in a school 
established 24 March 1944 at Fowey. In addition to basic amphibious 
indoctrination, an intensive coursd of 16 hours of chemical warfare 
lectures was given and, in conjunction with this training, a practical 
demonstration in casualty handling was held at Fowey. 
Considerable detailed planning was necessary to give ade- 
quate medical logistic support to LST's for the operation. Each of the 
106 LST's for the operation was equipped with necessary medical 
supplies and equipment to provide surgical and nursing care for an 
average lift of 200 casualties on each return voyage. Medical 
supply dumps had been established at Southampton, Portland-Weymouth 
and Brixham for replenishing medical materials. The excellent man- 
ner in which casualties were handled aboard LST's was born out in 
the testimony of Force Medical Officer of Force "U" in a memorandum 
28 
to Roar Admiral Moon. 
28. Annual Sanitary Report of Commander, Amphibious Bases, United 
Kingdom, for year ending 31 Dec. 1944? in files of Adminis- 
trative History Section. In memorandum to Rear Admiral Moon, 
USN, dated 20 June 1944? the Force Medical Officer of Force "U” 
stated: "LST's apparently functioned satisfactorily as casualty 
carriers.... The number of casualties treated and carried by the 
LST' s by individual ships and in the aggregate proved the basic 
soundness and value of fitting these ships for casualty handling.” 
52 ‘The LST’s were augmented in their mission by four 
British hospital ships operating in the American section and by 
air evacuation which began on D plus 4 days. Hospital ships handled 
large numbers of wounded but they did not prove as practicable in 
evacuating casualties from the beaches as LST's because of the 
difficulty in loading them. The APATs were not actually used for 
evacuation of casualties but they, as well as men-of-war ships, 
returned with a small number of casualties which had been picked 
up at sea. 
Small dispensaries were set up on the French beaches 
after the invasion. Naval advanced bases at Omaha and Utah Beaches 
were established on 12 July and as the ports became available 
larger facilities were established at Cherbourg on 15 July and At 
Le Havre later. Later, a dispensary was provided in Paris. 
A medical unit landed on Utah Beach on D plus 4, pro- 
ceeded overland with the Army and arrived at Cherbourg 26 June 
1944. On 4 July 1944 the senior medical officer proceeded overland 
to Cherbourg to inspect the first-aid stations which had been set up 
there. The site selected was two miles from headquarters' offices 
in Cherbourg, located at Equerdreville, a suburb of Cherbourg. The 
building, in the shape of a "T", was of modern reinforced concrete 
construction. A G-5 medical component unit later reduced 50 percent 
in personnel was set up here in November of 1944. This "T” building 
occupied by the dispensary was a former school building previously 
53 yc.1 ji r*' » ■ mrc 
occupied by the Germans for the same purpose. Much cleaning had to 
be done - the building was full of rubble and there were shell holes 
in the roof. On the fourth day the dispensary was sufficiently repaired 
to receive minor illnesses and injuries for bod care. 
The patient bed capacity was 44 but the main dispensary 
could be expanded fully to 100-bed capacity, using the main building 
for patients exclusively. At the peal: of its operation the staff 
constituted S medical officers, 30 pharmacist’s mates and 15 non- 
medical rates. The case load increased progressively until the first 
week in September 1944 after which it gradually dropped below 50. 
Surgical cases, including injuries due to enemy action, 
accidents from enemy explosives handled as souvenirs, acute appendi- 
citis, and a small number of surgical procedures, made up the majority 
29 
of patients. 
The dispensary was under the administrative direction of 
the Commander, U. 5. Naval Forces in France, in turn under the 
Commander, U. S. Naval Forces in Europe, which looked to the higher 
echelons of the Commander, Twelfth Fleet, and conjunctively to the 
Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. 
In addition to the main dispensary, the medical activity 
at U. S. Naval Advanced Base, Cherbourg, also included two subsidiary 
29. Report of Medical Activity of U. S. Naval Dispensary, U. S. Naval 
Advanced Base, Cherbourg, France, dated 15 Sept. 1944, in files 
of Administrative History Section, dispensaries - one at headquarters and one in the arsenal Navy 
barracks, and a medical officer who performed the duties of port 
medical officer. 
Small medical facilities were established in September at 
Naval Headquarters in Paris as well as at the Chateau de la Prunay, 
Louvecinnes, Seine-et-Oise, the residence of Commander, U. S. Naval 
Forces in Franco. The facilities at Omaha Beach were closed on 1 
November 1944 and at Utah Beach on 19 November 1944, the equipment 
in bach instance being returned to the medical storehouse. 
A 50-bed dispensary was commissioned at LeHarve on 
18 October 1944, and was served by U. S. Wavy personnel until 29 
Juno 1945. It was situated approximately two miles from the Navy 
Base Headquarters in a central location in relation to other Navy 
base installations. The dispensary occupied the buildings and 
grounds of a former French civilian maternity hospital which had 
suffered only slight bomb damage during the air raids that pre- 
ceded the capture of LeHavre by the Allied forces. 
Medical, surgical and dental care was provided by this 
dispensary to the personnel attached to the base, to nearby shore 
base activities and to ships and craft attached to the port of 
LeHavre. The main dispensary was closed 29 June 1945 with a re- 
duction of the medical personnel from a G-7 to a C—9 unit. Further 
reduction to a G-ll unit 15 August 1945 left four hospital corpsmen 
55 30 
at this activity. Any personnel attached to this base or to the 
U**S 5* Navy"ship'S~ operating in LeHavre which required further 
medical attention than that which could be rendered at the dis- 
pensary were taken to the 166th U. S. Army General Hospital. 
Base Number 2, Roseneath, Scotland, was selected as the 
grouping point for medical department personnel in planning to 
assemble personnel and equipment for proposed medical department 
activities in Germany. The original planning called for a staff 
medical office consisting of staff medical officer, one Hospital 
Corps officer, and two hospital corpsrnen to be established in 
Berlin. The ComNavForGer dispensary facilities were to consist 
of a 50-bed dispensary unit at Frankfort, Germany, and a similar 50-bed 
dispensary in Berlin.. However, the war progressed so rapidly and,termi- 
nated to quickly that considerable relocations of headquarters and 
realignment of command relationships took place and personnel require- 
ments were reduced. 
U. S. Naval Forces, France, was dissolved on 1 July and 
replaced by Naval Task Group, France, under ComNavForGer. The U. S. 
Group Control Council located its headquarters first in Hochst and 
later in Berlin. The administrative headquarters of ComNavForGer 
and Commanding General, U. S. Forces European Theater, were located 
in Frankfurt on the Main. As had been planned, Commander, U. S. Ports 
30. Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report of 1945 of the 
U. S. Naval Advanced Base, LeHavre, France, in files of Adminis- 
trative History Section. 
These four corpsmen cared for the base personnel since 15 Aug. 
1945, averaging 168 enlisted men and 23 officers. This did not 
include Coast Guard personnel attached on small ships in this 
port. 
56 and Bases, went into Bremen and Bremerhaven where excellent 
accommodations were found in German military establishments. 
The first echelon of the medical department at the U. S. 
Naval Advanced Base, consisting of 2 doctors and 15 corps- 
men.after a long trip moved into Bremen at the end of April 1945 
and immediately started to get the sick bay space in order. The 
unit had followed the armies closely. Having departed from Number 2 
Base, Roseneath, Scotland, on 1 April, they crossed the Rhine and 
arrived at Hengelo, Netherlands, 10 days later. The unit then moved 
on into Vcrdon, Germany, and 30 April 1945 it actually moved into 
Bremen, Germany, where four barracks buildings were selected for 
the sick bay. 
The chain of evacuation for patients was through U. S. 
Army hospitals after the establishment of the unit in Bremen. In 
the latter part of May 1945 the setting up of U. S. Army 24th 
Evacuation Hospital and later in June the 115th Evacuation Hospital 
provided nearby facilities which were comparable to a general hospital. 
The Navy Medical Department was given permission to use the 
laboratory of the Bremen City Hospital and its facilities for 
cultures, serology and all the usual specimen examinations. 
The water supply was a constant problem. The water from 
the city of Bremen, water mains was continuously contaminated. All 
water for drinking and culinary purposes was supplied in adequate 
amounts by tank trailers with chlorinated water. 
57 Dipthc-ria was found to be epidemic in this area. Several 
mild or moderately severe cases were treated within the command with 
no complications and no serious threat of an epidemic in naval 
personnel occurred. 
Venereal disease was a constant problem. Wide dissemination 
of infections in the female population, resulting as a consequence of 
free access to sex contacts in a conquered country, effected a high 
venereal disease rate. This was materially enhanced by men on 
31 
various types of detached duty over Europe reporting as transients. 
The weakest phase of the medical program on this base was 
the failure to establish a rapid certain evacuation of naval patients 
from the base. Considerable delays were encountered in evacuating 
patients to the United States through Army channels of evacuation. 
U. S. Naval Advanced Base, Bremen, was responsible to Task 
Group 124 or Commander, Naval Forces for Germany, which in turn was 
subordinate to Commander, Naval Forces in Europe. On 10 November 
1945*, U. S. Naval Advanced Base, Bremenjwas decommissioned and its 
functions assumed by Commander, U. S. Naval Advanced Base, Wescr River. 
The senior medical officer with his main party arrived at 
Bremerhaven, Germany, 13 May 1945, to prepare a dispensary for 
31. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for 
period of World War II of the U. S. Naval Advanced Base, Bremen, 
in files of Administrative History Section. 
58 use there at the earliest possible date. Five days later most medical 
departments were functioning smoothly with much enemy equipment which 
had been appropriated, including X-ray and physiotherapy apparatus. 
The activity was officially commissioned on 1 June 1945. 
The aggregate personnel on the staff included 6 medical 
officers and 35 corpsmen. Approximately 1,400 U. S. naval personnel 
had access to the medical facilities and treatment of this dispensary. 
There were no epidemics or outbreaks of food poisoning. 
Again, at this unit the venereal disease rate was high as a result 
32 
of the wide dissemination of infection in the female population. 
As of 1 December 1945 the dispensary at Bremerhaven continued 
to function as a 31-bed capacity unit staffed by 2 medical officers, 
1 dental officer and 12 hospital corpsmcn. Administratively, it was 
subordinate to the Commander, Naval Forces in Germany, which, as has 
been indicated previously, was responsible to Commander, Naval Forces, 
European Waters, operating directly under Cominch, 
At the headquarters, ComNavForGer in Frankfort on the Main, 
it had been intended to install a 10-bed dispensary with laboratory, 
X-ray, operating room and dental facilities. The personnel for this 
32. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for 
period of World War II of U. S. Naval Advanced Base, Bremerhaven, 
Germany, in files of Administrative History Section. 
59 unit toere transferred to Frankfort from Heathfield, England, by truck 
and ship via Exeter, Southampton and LeHavre. The headquarters was 
located in the Acameny Building, a former German induction center. 
The medical officer in charge divided his time between the head- 
quarters at Frankfort and the medical installations at Naval Technical 
Mission European Sub-base at Villa Lilly near Bad Schewalbach. He was 
assisted by a PhM l/c on duty at each of these places. 
In the Acameny Building the medical department was 
assigned rooms for a dental office, clerical office, dispensary 
for holding sick call and a laboratory. This was adequate in view 
of the early cessation of hostilities. Cases that required bed care 
were sent to either 2nd General Army Dispensary or the 97th General 
Hospital. Naval personnel requiring 120 days’ hospitalization wore 
evacuated to the United States through the Army chain of evacuation. 
The number of U. S. Navy personnel attached to the naval 
unit of the U. S. Group Control Council in Berlin was not sufficiently 
large to justify the establishment of a dispensary. A single hospital 
corpsman on independent duty in Berlin ministered to their health 
needs. 
The complement of naval personnel on the continent was so 
drastically curtailed during October and November 1945 that the Naval 
Technical Mission European Sub-base at Vella Lilly was decommissioned. 
On 1 December 1945 the dispensary at Paris was closed. The medical 
60 department personnel wore accordingly reduced throughout the 
European theatre. The dispensary at Bremen was turned over to the 
Army. Naval personnel who remained there were given medical attention 
by two hospital corpsmen at a one-room dispensary in the building 
housing the naval group. The functions of the U.S.N.A.B., Bremen, 
were actually assumed by the Commander of U. S. Naval Advanced Base, 
Weser River. The dispensary located at Bremerhavcn continued to 
function as a 31-bed unit. U. S. Ports and was decommissioned 
on 10 November and the remaining functions in that area were assumed 
33 
by Commander, U. S. Naval Advanced Base, Weser River. 
The most effective portion of the local medical program 
under the command of United States Naval Forces, Germany, was the 
high standard of medical care and health maintained among the 
personnel during the many locale changes. The least effective 
portion of the program was the control of venereal disease which 
seems to have been symptomatic of the medical installation programs 
in the European theatre. 
The control and supervision of Trans-Atlantic Operations 
were delegated by the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, to Command 
Task Force 4. The number of this task force and all units therein 
Section 4 Western Atlantic Medical Installations 
33. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report of the 
U. S. Naval Forces, Germany, for World War II, in files of 
Administrative History Section. 
61 was changed from 4' to 24 on 6 March 1942. The Naval Operating Base, 
OfcCtASSlFlCATlOH BOARD 
Iceland, was established as part of the command of Cominch, United 
States Atlantic Fleet on 6 November 1941. The Commandant, United 
States Operating Base, Iceland, exercised command over all U. S. naval 
shore activities, U. 3. naval local defense forces and U. S. naval 
district craft in Iceland plus additional forces and units designated 
by Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet. 
Camp Knox in the Reykjavik area, the headquarters of the 
Naval Operating Base, Iceland, was commissioned 16 May 1942 although 
half completed. A hut, under construction, served as a temporary sick 
bay with no bed space provided, but by July 1942 the medical department 
of Camp Knox was practically completed. The hospital-dispensary was 
composed of a group of 21 huts with 109-bed capacity housed in nine 
wards. In addition to the wards there were huts for X-ray, surgery, 
dental office, laboratory and pharmacy, dispensary, diet kitchen, 
isolation ward, recreation, and three storeroom huts. 
During the subsequent months of 3.942 it is interesting to 
note that only 25 percent of the admissions were of shore-based naval 
personnel in Iceland while approximately 75 percent of admissions were 
from ships oper ting in Iceland waters. The early sanitary reports 
commented on the very low percentage of venereal disease. No disease 
of epidemic proportions were indicated in these reports. The monthly 
sanitary report for July 1943, after experience of more than one year 
in Iceland, indicated that the incidence of disease was low; the diet 
62 was excellent, but the psychological effects of prolonged duty on 
personnel in Iceland were not favorable. There were many sub-clinical 
cases for psychosis and psychoneurosis. A tour of duty of one year 
was recommended. 
This hospital-dispensary was centrally located, well staffed 
and well equipped to meet all the needs imposed upon it by Navy 
personnel stationed in Iceland and by ships operating in Icelandic 
waters. Auxiliary dispensaries were established at "Tank Farm" 
and Falcon Comperea at Hoalford and at the Fleet Air Base in the 
Reykjavik area with adequate facilities to meet local needs. The 
medical supply for those units came directly from the Medical Supply 
Depot, Brooklyn, New York. 
The norale problem was the most difficult one in the 
medical program of the station. Welfare and recreation facilities 
were inadequate in the early life of the base, but even later when 
these facilities were excellent a certain degree of mental unrest and 
depression was apparent. 
These hospital-dispensary facilities were diminished and 
the number of medical and Hospital Corps personnel necessary to 
staff the hospital was markedly curtailed in correspondence with the 
diminution of the number of personnel on duty in this theatre and the 
gradually decreasing importance of their mission. By December 1945 
this medical activity had been reduced to a 16-bed dispensary 'with an 
63 authorized complement of 2 medical officers, 1 dental officer and 
10 hospital corpsmen. The dispensary is under the administration of 
the Commandant, United States Naval Operating Base, Iceland, which in 
turn was under the control of the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet, 
34 
part of the command of Cominch, 
An advanced detail of a Marine detachment arrived in Burmuda, 
February 1941. The detachment officially established in March eventu- 
ally had a sick bay adequate for the number of men in the camp. In the 
early part of 1941 the United States Naval Operating Base, Bermuda, 
became a reality. During the first years of the Naval Base's existence 
there was much confusion and duplication of effort, because there were 
many dispensaries at this base functioning under various commands. 
An effort was made to consolidate the medical facilities in May 1943. 
All dispensaries were to cease to exist as independent units and their 
personnel were to perform only under the Naval Air Station. The Naval 
Mobile Base Hospital Number 1 was decommissioned in October 1943 and 
the Construction Battalion Hospital ceased to function after January 1944. 
The Naval Air Station Dispensary, commissioned 29 May 1943, absorbed the 
medical activity of both of these facilities. There was further 
corisoTidatbn 15 January 1945 when the present Naval Air Station 
Dispensary became the Naval Operation Base Dispensary with branch 
dispensaries at the Naval Air Station, Anti-Aircraft Training Center, 
34. Historical Data to Quarterly Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval 
Operating Base, Camp Knox, Iceland, for the period of I;orId War II, 
in files of Administrative History Section. 
64 the Submarine Repair Facility - Ordnance Island and the Shore Patrol 
headquarters. All personnel and all medical department property 
accounts were transferred to the Naval Operating Base Dispensary. The 
senior medical officer at the dispensary was given the additional duty 
as the Base Medical Officer. The branch sick bays, with the exception 
of the Shore Patrol first-aid station, were all closed as eventually 
the need for them diminished. 
The functions of the Naval Operating Base dispensary have been 
to administer, to maintain and procure facilities for the care and 
treatment of the sick and injured and to operate the dispensary in 
accord with the requirements of the Navy Regulations and the Manual 
of the Medical Department. 
Prior to the commissioning of U. 3. Naval Operating Base 
dispensary, 29 May 1943, medical department facilities consisted of 
a sick bay at the Naval Air Station, a sick bay at the U. S. Naval 
Operating Base and a sick bay at Kinlcy Field on the eastern end of the 
island. As indicated, these activities were consolidated with the 
commissioning of the dispensary at the United States Naval Air Station, 
Bermuda. 
In the early phases of the War the dispensary furnished em- 
ergency medical treatment to survivors rescued from ships that were 
torpedoed' in the vicinity of Bermuda, and it also furnished hospitali- 
zation for prisoners of war that were rescued from a German 
65 submarine. Many members of Allied navies who were in Bermuda had 
36 
been hospitalized from time to time. During the training of the 
DD-DE shakedown task group, the dispensary furnished all newly 
commissioned vessels with emergency supplies and equipment. Hospitali- 
zation was furnished for personnel of all ships that were not adequately 
equipped or when a long period of hospitalization was necessary. There 
was an average of 100 patients on the sick list daily during 1944. 
35 
Mosquitoes have been a major problem at tMs base. A well 
supervised campaign for the eradication of the mosquito was launched 
early in 1942 and with the full cooperation of the Bermuda Health 
Authorities the mosquito control program was successful. There 
was considerable trouble with fungus infection at the base. An un- 
fortunate series of gastro-intestinal conditions in the summer of 1941 
was attributed directly to flies. Cooperation with the various health 
authorities in Bermuda was successful in keeping venereal disease at 
a minimum. The local supply of milk was a real problem from the 
35. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, Cumulative 
Report for period of World War II of Bermuda, British West Indies, 
in files of Administrative History Section. 
There were 18 admissions of German prisoners of war, totaling 375 
sick days. There were 101 admissions of the enlisted personnel of 
WA °$&§£:rI?a#tohrficte°rt#:W°lh9g2tgiSt days. 
36. Ibid., Members of the Allied Naval Services included 16 admissions 
of the French Navy with a total of 171 sick days and two admissions 
of French officers with a total of 15 sick days. 
66 conception of the base, and the sole reliance on rain water for fresh 
water created the exercise of extreme vigilance to prevent the wasting 
of water. 
U. S. Naval mobile Base Hospital Number 1 was established 
__ „| ,wii I niwntirnMni ■Tim~fni«ilW»llllinTiilllBnrTlirr‘r,‘* fiiiiiiiiiMMBBWiMMMMM.11^ 
by order of the becretary of the Navy, dated 9 September 1940. This 
hospital was mobile to the extent that it was transported from New 
York and was readily established to receive a limited group of patients 
on the fifteenth day after arrival in Guantanamo Bay. In less than two 
months after its arrival, 30 October 1940, it had definitely become less 
mobile as more machinery was set up on concrete foundations and more 
buildings replaced the tents originally set up. 
By far the greatest number of patients of this hospital had 
come from the Fleet Marine Force. When this force was withdrawn from 
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the number of patients dared for by the hospital 
diminished rapidly. This experimental project, the first of its kind, 
was very successful. The lessons learned on the corals of Guantanamo 
later paid untold dividends in human lives on the atolls of'the Pacific. 
The dismatling orders were received June 1941 and immediately 
the work of dismantling the hospital buildings was started and completed 
IS July 1941. The few remaining patients on hand were transferred to 
37. The following is quoted from the order: "U. S. Naval Mobile 
Base Hospital Number One....will be established on 5 October 1940 
as a part of the organization of the U. S. Fleet and will be 
assigned to the command of Commander Atlantic Squadron.” 
67 the Naval Dispensary, Guantanamo Bay. The crated Hodgscfi prefabricated 
buildings were placed on board the USS DELTA for transfer to Bermuda. 
Altogether 381 truckloads of material were transported. 
The hospital arrived in Bermuda 23 July 1941 and on 28 August 
38 
it was formally opened and received its first patient. The 
training that the personnel had received in erecting the hospital in 
Guantanamo Bay was invaluable. They were experienced, acclimated and 
capable. The new construction achieved proved to be far superior to 
its predecessor in Guantanamo. It was located at Riddell’s Bay, 
Warwick Parrish, about six miles outside the city of Hamilton. The tents 
and prefabricated buildings had been set up and equipment installed 
again in Bermuda. 
At the peak of its activity there were 20 officers, 160 
rated corpsmen and 17 non-rated men attached to the hospital. There 
were 225 beds ready for use which could be increased to 500 on short 
notice by setting up tents. The ward beds, cabinets, linen and all 
equipment were of good quality and sufficient in quantity to care for 
a total of 300 patients. Early in 1942, steel frqme buildings replaced 
some of the prefabricated ones. 
This unit carried on its work effectively for a little more 
than two years on Bermuda soil. In this time it cared for patients at- 
38. Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Mobile Base Hospital No. 1 for 
the Calendar Year 1941? in files of Administrative History 
Section, p. 7. 
68 tached to the United States Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Mer- 
chant Marine, dependents of naval personnel, injured merchant men of the 
Allied Nations, the Royal Navy Ferry Command, and the sick and injured 
Civil Service or civil employees. 
Although Bermuda has a subtropical climate, it is remarkably 
free of infectious diseases of this group. There were no cases of 
malaria among the personnel, none of yellow fever or dengue in 1942, 
and food and water-borne diseases were entirely absent. Venereal in- 
fections were few and they were not a serious problem among personnel 
of the staff. 
This hospital was decommissioned by order of the Chief of 
Naval Operations dated 27 September 1943. The need for the Navy's 
first mobile unit no longer existed with the completion of the 
modern dispensary at the Naval Air Station and the Army Hospital at 
Fort Bell. Patients were transferred to either of these two facilities. 
Forty-one medical personnel and a good portion of the medical and surgical 
supplies and equipment were transferred to the new U. S. Naval Air 
Station dispensary. The hospital was officially demobilized on 30 
39 
October 1943. 
39. Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Mobile Hospital No. 1, 
Bermuda, for Calendar Year 1943? in files of Administrative History 
Section. The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery directed that ’’such 
supplies and equipment as may be required by the Naval Operating 
Base or by other Medical Department facilities in Bermuda be trans- 
ferred to those facilities for their use.” 
The Commandant of the Naval Operating Base directed that "all the 
steel buildings and all rolling stock be transferred to the 
Naval Operating Base, and all the supplies be turned ever tc the 
various activities desiring such material.” 
69 The medical installations in Bermuda were under the 
administrative supervision of the Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, 
which in turn was directly under the Chief of Naval Operations. 
ThetNaval Operating Base dispensary at Guantanamo Bay, 
Cuba, served as a hospital for both the base and fleet units in 
the area. Cases that required prolonged hospitalization were 
transferred to the U. S. Naval Hospital, Key West, Florida, for 
further treatment and disposition. All the base medical activities 
came under the direction of the Commander, Naval Operating Base, and 
the base medical officer who in turn came under the administrative 
supervision of the Commandant, Tenth Naval District and the district 
medical officer. The consolidation of all base medical activities 
under the base medical officer, effective as of September 1944, proved 
very effective in making a more efficient medical organization under 
a central control with a minimum waste of time, effort and manpower. 
This dispensary hospitalized survivors from sunken vessels 
during the early days of the war when submarine warfare was rife in the 
Caribbean area. The base itself was a most important staging area 
in the formation of convoys bound for both the European and Pacific 
theaters from the early days of the war to V-E day. The Medical De- 
partment contributed to the successful completion of these missions 
in rendering hospitalization, medical care and medical supplies to both 
naval and merchant vessels visiting this port. A small port dispensary, 
70 established early in 1942 to care for merchant seamen and crews of yard 
craft, was decommissioned in May 1945. During this period the patient 
load averaged 100 patients at the naval station dispensary, having 
reached a peak of 140 patients in January 1943. The patient load in- 
creased steadily after V-E day when the Atlantic and Guantanamo Bay 
area was made a training area. This was true until V-J Day, after 
40 
which, of course, a sharp decline was evident. 
Malaria ?/as not a major problem at this base as a result of 
the efficiency of the malarial control program and the limited rain- 
fall in this particular area. The incidence of venereal disease in the 
admissions to the sick list at this activity was effectively reduced 
through control measures from a venereal disease rate of 138 annual 
per thousand in 1941 to a drop of 58.72 in 1944. 
By order of the Secretary of the Navy, the U. S. Naval 
Hospital, San Juan, Puerto Rico, was commissioned 1 December 1943. 
The hospital has been in continuous operation since that time. After 
a reduction from the original number the operating staff included S 
medical officers in addition to the commanding and executive officers, 
9 nurses, 4 Hospital Corps officers and 84 enlisted personnel. 
Military personnel of the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and 
of the U. 3. Merchant Marine, and occasionally members of the naval 
service of allied forces, were hospitalized. The patient census 
40. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative for Period of World War II, of U. S. Naval Operating 
Base Dispensary, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, (dated Nov. 1945), in files 
of Administrative History Section. 
71 readhed the peak load of 210 by April 1944. However, this hospital 
census was appreciably reduced after April with 'the changing tide of 
events in the course of naval warfare in the Atlantic and in the 
European theatre of operations with consequent reduced naval activity 
in this area. By July 1945 the patient census had dropped to a daily 
average of 41. Most of the patients admitted in 1944 were from the 
San Juan area. There were other admissions from the Caribbean islands, 
particularly the Virgin Islands, Antigua, and Aruba, we well as Coast 
Guard personnel cases, afloat and ashore. In addition, there were 
frequent medical and surgical emergencies from ships in the port of 
41 
San Juan. 
More specifically, this hospital acted directly as a re- 
ceiving hospital for all patients in the area requiring hospitali- 
zation whose duty status included them within the plans and directives 
of the Commandant, Tenth Naval District. Patients who recovered 
from their infirmities were promptly returned to duty, while those 
whose conditions required protracted care and treatment were evacuated 
to the nearest naval hospital in the United States, via plane or ship 
transport as available. 
This activity was located in the country approximately seven 
milaes from the city proper. The long one-storied, partially hurricane 
41. JTistorical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, Cumu- 
lative Report for Period of World War II of U, S. Naval Hospital, 
San Juan, Puerto Rico, in files of Administrative History Section. 
72 OfcCLASSlHwAiivK 
proof buildings were built on a hill facing northwest. The artifically 
prepared ditch system which supplemented the natural drainage helped 
to prevent pooling of stagnant water. The nearest adjacent swamp- 
land was under mosquito control. There were two separate water 
supplies, one for the hospital and its buildings and the other for the 
wing quarters. Both were chlorinated and tested each week in the 
laboratory for potability. 
'During 1944 there were numerous diarrhea and dysentery 
cases. Although they never assumed epidemic proportions and no 
fatalities resulted, the admissions to the sick list were numerous. 
No further problems of this nature resulted when these cases were 
traced to one source of milk which was found to contain paratyphoid 
germs because of non-pasteurization. Malaria has not been of 
particular significance in this area due primarily to the anti- 
malarial cases of infectious jaundice, and venereal disease had a 
low incidence. The sanitary reports attributed this to a program of 
prostitute medical control, prophylaxis and immediate treatment. Other 
deviations of disease incidence at this unit were attributed to disease 
42 
indigenous to the tropics such as filariasis. 
The commanding officer of the hospital was under the 
overall command of the Commandant, Tenth Naval District, and directly 
under the district medical officer of the Tenth Naval District. For 
42. Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Hospital, San Juan, 
Puerto Rico, for the year ending Doc. 1944? in files of 
Administrative History Section, pp. 21-22, a ton-month pcriod'from September 1944 to July 1945 the commanding 
officer of the hospital v/as the district medical officer of the 
district. In a collateral sense the hospital was under the Bureau of 
Medicine and Surgery and the Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier, as 
v/ell as an independent command under the jurisdiction of the Commandant, 
Tenth Naval District; it in turn fell under the administrative control 
of the Chief of Naval Operations. 
A directive of the Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and 
Surgery of July 1945 authorized the availability of 100 beds for 
hospitalization of Veteran Bureau patients. These patients, ad- 
mitted through the authority of the Regional Direction, Veterans’ 
Administration, San Juan, Puerto Rico, presented ner/ problems to the 
hospital. The greatest of these problems Y/as the language difficulty, 
for approximately 65 percent of the veterans were puertoricans v/ho 
spoke only Spanish and understood no English. In the historical 
supplement to the fourth quarterly sanitary report the commanding 
officer recommended that this hospital be turned over to the veterans 
43 
for the hospitalization of Veteran- Bureau patients. 
The medical department at U. S. Naval Station, Roosevelt 
Roads, Puerto Rico, was established 12 December 1941. Two detach- 
inents arrived on that date - one Y/as stationed at Roosevelt Roads 
43. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, Cumu- 
lative Report for Period of World War II of U. S. Naval Hospital, 
San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was advocated on the basis that the 
small number of naval personnel in the area could be served ade- 
quately by the dispensary at the Naval Air Station. 
74 and the.other on Vieques Island, Vieques £ound, Phertc Rico. A 30-bed 
hospital was build gn Vieques Island, but later the hospital was moved to 
Roosevelt Roads and became a dispensary when the bulk of the activity 
was shifted to that station. 
This 32-bed dispensary at Roosevelt Roads was officially 
commissioned 1 October 1943 with a complement of 5 medical officers, 
1 dental officer and 35 hospital corpsmen, and later, an additional 
4 Navy nurses. During 1943? when submarine warfare was active in these 
waters, this medical activity was fully prepared to care for possible 
battle casualties or survivors. However, the medical activities were 
comparatively limited. The bulk of treatment and hospitalization 
was for naval and civilian personnel attached thereto. Patients who 
needed surgical or specialized medical care were transferred to the 
U. S. Naval Hospital, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The malaria control 
program, in an area 'which is endemic for malaria, was very 
44 
successful. 
The 32-bed dispensary was closed September 1944 and 
a 7-bed dispensary was opened in the barracks area with a reduced 
complement. This unit was under the commanding officer of the 
U. S. Naval Station at Roosevelt Roads who was under the jurisdiction 
of the Commandant, Tenth Naval District, functioning in turn under 
the administrative supervision of the Chief of Naval Operations and 
44. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative Report for Period of World War II for U. S. Naval 
Station, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, in files of Administrative 
History Section. 
75 in a subordinate connection to the Bureau of Medicine and 
Surgery and the Commander, Caribbean Sea Frontier. 
The medical department of the U. S. Naval Base, Corinto, 
Nicaragua, was commissioned on 20 January 1943. The staff at that 
——u—«— 
time constituted 2 medical officers, 1 Hospital Corps officer, and 
3 pharmacist's mates. The medical department was directly respon- 
sible to the district medical officer of the Fifteenth Naval District 
and the staff medical officer of the Naval Air Bases as of 1 January 
1945. At this time the station was changed to the command of the 
Commander Naval Air Bases. 
Many evacuation cases were cared for by this activity. 
A squadron plane or crash boat was immediately sent 'to the scene 
with a medical officer aboard to answer a call received by communi- 
cation from an allied ship at sea where an acutely sick or injured man 
was aboard. The venereal disease rate decreased very favorably among 
the personnel at this activity after a prophylaxis station was put , 
into use and the cooperation of the Nicaraquan authorities was secured 
in effective control measures. Two Hospital Corps officers brought the 
45 
malaria rate down to a minimum through their diligent work. 
The Coco Solo Naval Hospital Reservation consisting of a 
i mu i. hi 
land grant of 39.4 acres from the Panama Canal Zone was established 
45. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative Report for Period of VJorld War II of U. S. Naval 
Air Base, Corinto, Nicaragua, in files of Administrative History 
Section. 
76 46 
by Presidential Decree on 17 December 1941. Ground was broken for 
the hospital construction on 1 September 1941 and all building 
construction was completed 1 September 1943. The hospital was 
commissioned on 1 September 1942 by order of the Commandant, Fifteenth 
Naval District. Two months lat&r patients were admitted and 
subsequently the hospital has been in continuous operation. 
This hospital is an activity of the Naval Operating Base, 
Coco Solo, Canal Zone. The commanding officer is subordinate to the 
Commander, Naval Operating Base, Coco Solo, Canal Zone, for purposes 
of military administration. He is directly under the Commandant, 
Fifteenth Naval District, and in turn under the Chief of Naval 
Operations. The hospital is conjunctively, as in the case of the Naval 
Hospital at San Juan, Puerto Rico, under the administrative command of 
the higher echelon, the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. 
This hospital had a 357-bod setup which had a maximum 
possible expansion to 573 bods. The patient load on the medical 
service varied from 175 to 200. There were 3 medical officers on 
this service,2 intarnaand a psychiatrist. The laboratory and chief 
of medicine activities were combined. The surgical service had 4 
46. Sanitarr Report of the U. S. Naval Hospital, Coco Solo, Canal 
Zone, for the Calendar Year 1943 in files of Administrative 
History Section. The land grant was situated between the old 
Cativa Road and the present Trans-Isthmian Highway, a distance 
by road four miles from the Naval Station, Coco Solo, Canal 
Zone. The terrain is rolling in character and has a minimum 
elevation of 54 feet above sea level. 
77 medical the chief of surgery, orthopedic surgeon, 
eye, ear, nose and throat specialist and urologist, caring for a patient 
load of 160 to 175. During the w&* years the staff complement varied. 
There were on an average 11 medical officers, 1 dental officer, 4 to 
10 Hospital Corps officers, 16 to 19 nurses, 1 disbursing officer, and 
enlisted personnel varying from 162 to 179. 
In spite of the handicaps of weather and situation, this 
hospital had provided excellent medical care for over 3,000 patients 
a year since its commissioning. Patients who were received at the . 
hospital were referred from the dispensaries of various naval 
activities in the vicinity, and also from ships docking on the 
Atlantic side of the Canal. Many patients had been referred for 
special examinations or special treatments and were then handled 
as out-patients without admission to the hospital. 
After the dependents of naval personnel arrived in this 
area, a dependents' ward and out-patient service was authorized on 
14 June 1945. This ward afforded treatment for all medical or surgical 
conditions except chronic or infectious diseases. 
The number of hospital admissions was divided about 
equally between the medical and surgical services. No epidemic di- 
sease except malaria occurred at the hospital. Malaria was an ever- 
present menace and it occurred in numbers approaching an epidemic among 
members of the staff during the wet season of the year, especially 
78 47 
through September, October and November. Intensive measures were 
undertaken to eradicate the infedted anopheles originating in the 
Cativa district, one mile distant from the hospital, and strict 
malaria discipline was in effect at the hospital. 
The incidence of acute respiratory diseases was low. 
Gastro-enteritis was among the commonest medical disease treated. 
The number of gonorrhea infections dropped from 20 cases per month 
on the urological service to 2 or less after penicillin therapy 
48 
was instituted. 
The accompanying charts shew the administrative organization 
of the hospital, as of 1 September 1942, and the existing . 
organization as of 1 August 1945. 
The U. S. Naval Hospital, Balboa, Canal Zone, was 
commissioned on 15 August 1942. This activity functioned as a general 
hospital and a unit of the Naval Operating Base, Balboa, Canal Zone, in 
47. Supplement to the Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report of the U. S. 
Naval Hospital, Coco Solo, Canal Zone, for the Calendar Year of 
1945. In 1943, 15 cases of malaria were treated at the hospital; 
8 of these were members of the hospital staff. In 1944, 54 cases 
of malaria were admitted, and 11 of them were from the staff. In 
1945, 50 cases were admitted, 14 of them staff personnel. 
Approximately 10 percent of the cases are of the malignant tertian 
or mixed malignant and benign tertian types. 
48. Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Hospital, Coco Solo, Canal 
Zone, for the Calendar Year 1944, in files of Administrative 
History Section. 
79 the Fifteenth Naval District. This was a 350-bed hospital organization 
with a complement of 11 medical officers and 12 nurses. The 
hospital corpsmen complement varied between 118 and 131, and the 
number on board varied from 120 to 185. The daily patient census of 
this activity averaged about 200. From 15 August 1942 to 31 August 
1945 the number of patients admitted totalled 6,425, including 470 
49 
officers. 
This hospital was staffed and equipped to deal with every 
type of medical and surgical problem except brain operations and 
cases requiring roentgen therapy, which services were available at 
the naval hospital at Coco Solo, Canal Zone. Patients who needed 
protracted care were transferred to a naval hospital in the United 
States. Certain misfit cases, principally of a ncuropsychiatric 
nature, were received in larger percentage than usual since this 
hospital was the last U. S. naval hospital available for many of 
the ships going to the Pacific. 
In general, the clinical material differed little from t1 
found in a civilian hospital. No acute traumatic or mental case 
were treated, as Panama was not a combat theater. However, c 
induced conditions in the chronic stage formed perhaps 10 perceu 
of the hospital population. Fungus infection of the skin was very common 
49. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative Report for Period of World War II, of U. S. Naval 
Hospital, Balboa, Canal Zone, in files of Administrative 
History Section. 
80 but most cases yielded easily to treatment. No tropical diseases 
are considered endemic in Panama. The number of cases of malaria 
treated was relatively small; some of these treated represented 
relapses of malaria acquired in the Pacific. The incidence of 
venereal infection was low because of the rigid venereal control 
50 
exercised by#thc U. S. Army and the facilities for prophylaxis. 
The hospital also had a dependents1 service with available 
gynecologic, obstetric and pediatric services. 
The commanding officer of the hospital was subject to the 
Commander, Naval Hospital, Balboa, Canal Zone, who was under the 
administrative authority of Commandant, Fifteenth Naval District, 
who, in turn, was under the command of the higher echelon of the 
Chief of Naval Operations and collaterally under the supervision 
of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. 
The U. S. Naval Ammunition Depot sick bay at Balboa, Canal 
Zone, was organized as a part of the Naval Ammunition Depot which 
had been commissioned 8 September 1937. It functioned as a 3-bed 
unit of the Naval Operating Base, Balboa, Canal Zone, in the 
Fifteenth Naval District. The medical officer of this dispensary 
was attached to the Naval Operating Base dispensary. 
The U. S. Naval Dispensary, first known as part of the 
50. Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Hospital, Balboa, Canal Zone, 
for the Calendar Year 1944? in files of Administrative History 
Section. 
81 Section Base,^!;0.3. "and later as part of the U. S. Naval Station, 
Balboa, Canal Zone, was officially put into commission on or about 
September 1941. The medical department in the beginning was com- 
posed of two units, one in the Marine barracks and another in the 
administration. The present Naval Station Dispensary was commissioned 
in 1941 and the administration area dispensary became known as the 
Marine Dispensary which continued until September 1945. 
This U. S. Naval Station Dispensary at Balboa, which had 
been set up before our entrance into the War, played a very 
important role in providing medical care for increasing numbers of 
service personnel of the Navy, Marine, Coast Guard and Merchant 
Marine, as well as civilian Navy employees on the base. Although it 
did not actually fill the role of a combat unit, it was prepared to 
do so. This activity did play a significant part in the defense of 
the area by protecting the health of base personnel, particularly 
in the submission of malaria, by providing efficient medical 
attention and first aid to military personnel in transient status 
and by always being prepared to act as an emergency hospital in the 
51 
event of bombing or invasion. 
Shortly after the Naval Operating Base, Trinidad, had been 
opened, 24 March 1941, a small dispensary was established at the 
51. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative Report of the Period of World War II of U. S. Naval 
Operating Base Dispensary, Balboa, Canal Zone, in files of 
Administrative History Section. Only 12 cases of primary 
malarial infection were seen at the unit during the war years. 
82 Naval Operating Base Headquarters in Port of Spain, 12 miles 
from the site of the base. In this primitive setting in Trinidad, 
public health, hygiene and sanitation, and the care of the sick 
presented difficult problems. Malaria, gonorrhea, and syphilis had a 
high rate in the native population. Typhoid fever, bacterial and 
amoebic dysentery and filariasis were common. In October 1941 two 
temporary dispensaries were established for the Naval Air Station 
and the Marine detachments. In June 1942 when the Section Base was 
/ 
commissioned, a dispensary was provided for the west end of the base. 
This dispensary assumed the task of medical care for these crews, 
in addition to the regular work of the base. 
Finally, on 17 October 1942 a new 40-bed permanent Naval 
Air Station Dispensary was completed on 17 October 1942. It was 
a fine structure with well ventilated wards and offices, and wide 
corridors and porches. It began functioning as a temporary hospital 
for the base. On 9 August 1943, 160 patients were accommodated in this 
40-bed dispensary. Crowded shower rooms and heads were the worst 
violations of rules against overcrowding in this hospital. 
The various commands were widely distributed over this 
base. The Naval Operating Base Headquarters v/as at Port of Spain. 
The Naval Air Station was in the Carengo Bay area. There were the 
Escort Vessel Repair Base, the Naval Supply Depot, the Net Depot, 
the 30th Construction Battalion, the 80th and 83rd Construction Battalion, 
the Section Base with its scores of escort vessels and the Naval Air 
83 Auxiliary Field. The Naval Air Station Dispensary, the Section Base 
Dispensary and the naval hospital were the only medical units set 
up for the medical care, other than first aid, for the personnel on 
the stations. Each of these medical units had its own medical 
officers and hospital corpsmen. Small wards were equipped for each 
unit to care for the sick and injured on the station. Hospital cases 
were transferred to the naval hospital. The medical department of 
each of these commands functioned as a well equipped, efficient and 
independent unit within its own command. The normal routine 
functions of these medical units, dispersed as they were over the 
base, served for first-aid and dispensary service for the entire base. 
The dispensary at the Naval Air Station assumed the functions of the 
52 
naval hospital when it was decommissioned 23 August 1945. 
This hospital in Trinidad, the fourth of the hospitals 
located in the Caribbean area or the "outer ring of defenses of the 
Panama Canal," was designated the U. S. Naval Hospital at the U. 3. 
Naval Operating Base, Trinidad, British West Indies. This was the 
only one of the four erected on land in British colonial territory 
granted under the 99 year lease by the Anglo-American Leased Bases 
Agreement of 27 March 1941. 
The hospital was pi a lined as a 360-bed hospital and was 
52. History of the U. S. Naval Air Station Dispensary, Naval Operating 
Base, Trinidad, British West Indies, in Historical Supplement to 
Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, Cumulative Report for Period 
of World War II, dated Nov. 1945, in files of Administrative 
History Section. 
84 so designated. This number of patients could readily be accommodated 
without crowding. Plans were prepared to expand the bed capacity 
to 500, in case of necessity. The hospital was commissioned 12 
August 1943 and since this date the hospital has never been filled to 
capacity. The maximum number of patients in any one day was 300. 
The staff of tRis hospital constituted 15 medical officers, 
2 dental officers, 2 Hospital Corps officers, 1 chief pharmacist, 
2 pharmacists 8 nurses, 136 hospital corpsmen and 41 other naval 
personnel. It was not until several months after the commissioning 
that the hospital was finally completed. 
In the early stages of World War II, the possibility of an 
enemy attack on the defenses in this area was anticipated. This hos- 
pital would have been called upon to provide treatment for battle 
casualties in the southern Caribbean sector if such an attack had 
occurred. Since there were no major attacks, the mission of the hos- 
pital was resolved in furnishing routine care and treatment for the 
sick and injured of the Caribbean area. Patients were received 
from local naval authorities as we11 as from outlying naval bases and 
ships. Patients admitted to this hospital came from many different 
sources and included a wide variety of personnel, numbered around 
53 
3,000 not including those from ships which put in at Trinidad. 
53. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative Report for Period of World War II, for U.S.Naval 
Hospital, Naval Operating Base, Trinidad, British West Indies, 
in files of Administrative History Section. Patients admitted 
to the hospital included the personnel of the U. S. Army, Navy, 
Marine Corps and Coast Guard, members of the armed services of 
85 The health of the naval personnel at this base was 
excellent. During the main portion of the hospital’s history there 
was a total absence of the diseases common to tropical climates as 
malaria, dysentery, dengue fever, etc., in the hospital staff and only 
a few cases were admitted to the hospital. Malaria control for the 
hospital was handled by the base malaria control unit and was very 
effective except for minor breaks. Many of the patients‘treated for 
venereal disease had been exposed and infected in Brazil and other 
South American countries. Hence a great many had received treatment 
prior to admission. Venereal disease was not high at this activity. 
This hospital was disestablished and placed in a maintenance 
status on 23 August 1945. The functions of the hospital were taken 
over by the Naval Air Station Dispensary at the base. 
In January 1942 a naval medical officer was assigned to 
duty at the U. S. Naval Attache's office, Rio de Janeiro to make a 
sanitary survey of the proposed sites for naval air stations and 
naval observatories, along the coast of Brazil from the north to the 
south. Also, the medical officer provided medical services to naval 
personnel in Rio de Janeiro area. 
At the Naval Air Station at Belem, Brazil, there was an 18- 
bed dispensary with one medical officer. Mosquito control work was 
all the Allied Nations, American*Merchant Seamen, beneficiaries 
of the U. S. Employees’ Compensation Law, other Federal employees 
and certain other classified civilians. 
86 highly effective there. The first-hand accounts indicated that it was 
clean and adequate but lacked surgical equipment. This necessitated 
54 
the performance of all surgery by the Army. 
Because of the urgent need of dental treatment for the 
numbers of the Armed Guard crews v/hose ships visited this port, a 
dental officer was assigned to duty at this medical activity, June 
1945. 
With the expansion of the Naval Air Station at Natal, 
Brazil, a small dispensary was established at the naval air station. 
This dispensary of ten beds was adequate in view of the fact that 
there was an Army station hospital almost adjacent which cared for 
55 
all seriously ill patients. 
The medical activities of these units along the coast of 
Brazil v/ere of a wholly routine nature. There were no problems of 
epidemiology, tropical disease, or unusual cases. An appreciable 
amount of the medical officer's duties was that of liaison officer 
betY/een the medical departments of the U. S. Navy and those of the 
Brazilian Air Force and Brazilian Navy, in subjects relating to 
organizational planning and expansion of the Brazilian Air Force and 
the Brazilian Navy. These medical units were under the command of 
the U. S. Naval Operating Base, Navy 153, which had been established 
54- Rear Adiru Luther Sheldon, Jr., (I.1C), USN, to Chief of BuMed, 
Bulged A-EC of 29 Dec. 1943 L5-3/EE(124)* Report of Temporary 
Additional Duty. 
55. Ibid. 
87 as an integral part of the South Atlantic Fleet and Commander in Chief, 
Atlantic Fleet, in turn operating under the administrative supervision 
of Chief of Naval Operations and collaterally under the direction of 
the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT FACILITIES IN OPERATION IN THE 
TENTH NAVAL DISTRICT 
AS OF JANUARY 1945 
ACTIVITY BED MEDICAL 
♦ CAPACITY CORPS 
OFFICERS 
DENTAL HOSPITAL 
CORPS CORPS 
NURSE 
CORPS 
ENLISTED 
HOSPITAL 
CORPS 
BRITISH WEST INDIES 
Antigua (N.A.A.F.) 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
Great Exuma (N.A.A.F.) 
4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
Trinidad 
Hospital 
290 
9 
2 
5 
8 
93 
Naval Operating Base 
NAS Dispensary 
Repair Facility Disp. 
Civilian Emp. Disp. 
66 
0 
0 
8 
4 
2 
0 
45 
CUBA 
Guantanamo Bay 
Naval Station 
220 
9 
5 
2 
6 
58 
Naval Air Station 
16 
2 
1 
0 
0 
18 
Narine Corps Base 
8 
1 
1 
0 
0 
7 
A.A.T.C. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
Net Depot 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1* 
( 
* This 
man is also 
included in Naval 
Station 
complement as he 
at Net Depot) 
is only 
on temporary duty 
PUERTO RICO 
Roosevelt Roads (NavSta) 
7 
1 
0 
0 
0 
5 
San Juan 
Naval Hosoital 
200 
.9 
1 
4 
9 
71 
Naval Air Station 
39 
7 
6 
1 
0 
33 
Drydock & Repair Fac. 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 
F?rontier Base 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
4 
Stop, Badio Sta. (Carolina)0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
Gunnery Range 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
NAD, Sabana Seca 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
Aux. Radio Sta. (Martin 
Pena) 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0# 
First Aid Station 
0 
0 
(jf Hospital 
Facilities 
Sta.) 
0 GUI 
Corpsmen from Drydock & Repair 
hold sick call daily at Aux.Rad. 
t PUERTO RICO (Continued) 
Vieques Island (N.A.D. 
) 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
NETHERLANDS WEST INDIES 
Aruba 
0 
0 
0 
1 Ch.Phare 
0 
0 
Curacao (Naval Camp) 
25 
2 
1 
0 
0 
11 
(Hato Field - Hedron 
Det.) 
1 
0 
0 
0 
6 
VIRGIN ISLANDS 
St. Thomas 
Naval Station 
10 
1 
0 
0 
0 
6 
Sub. Base 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
(Hospital Qorpsmen from Naval Dispensa 
ry, 
Naval 
Sta 
tion; hold 
sick 
call daily at 
Submarine 
Base) 
90 MEDICAL DEPARTMENT FACILITIES IN OPERATION IN THE 
FIFTEENTH NAVAL DISTRICT 
AS OF 1 JANUARY 1945 
ACTIVITY 
BED 
OFFICERS 
ENLISTED 
CAPACITY 
MEDICAL 
CORPS 
DENTAL 
CORPS 
HOSPITAL 
CORPS 
NURSE 
CORPS 
HOSPI- 
TAL 
CORPS 
CANAL ZONE 
Balboa 
Naval Hospital 
Dispensary (Naval 
350 
11 
2 
4 
14 
153 
Station) 
Marine Sick Bay (Annex 
8 
3 
2 
1 
0 
22 
to Naval Station) 
Sick Bay, Naval Aramuni- 
14 
1 - 
0 
0 
0 
5 
tion Depot 
Dispensary (Hdqtrs., 
4 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 
15th Nav.Dist.) 
0 
3 
1 
0 
0 
16 
District Medical Office 
0 
1 
0 
2 
0 
4 
Coco Solo 
Naval Hospital 
Dispensary (Naval 
4^4 
11 
1 
4 
16 
167 
Station) 
Dispensary (Cristobal 
30 
5 
4 
0 
0 
43 
Annex to Nav. Station) 
Dispensary, Naval Air 
4 
2 
0 
0 
0 
8 
Station 
Farfan 
90 
4 
3 
1 
0 
45 
Sick Bay (Radio Station) 
5 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
Summit 
Siclf Bay (Radio Station) 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
Taboga Island 
Dispensary (Nav. Station) 
1 20 
1 
1 
0 
0 
6 
91 Outlying Bases. 15th Naval District 
Galapagos Island 
Dispensary (Naval Base) 15 11 0 0 11 
Puerto Castilla. Honduras_ 
Dispensary (Naval Base) 14 10 00 7 
Corinto, Nicaragua 
Dispensary (Naval Base) 16 10 10 8 
Baranquilla 
Dispensary (Naval Base) 4 00 00 1 
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT FACILITIES IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC AREA 
(THE FOLLOWING TO BE ESTABLISHED ACCORDING TO PLAN- 
NING DIVISION - AUGUST 1945) 
BRAZIL 
CARVELIAS NO. OF BEDS 
Dispensary 10 
MACEIQ 
Dispensary 11 
RECIFE 
Medical Supply Storehouse No. 10 0 
riq de Janeiro 
Dispensary (Naval Operating Facility) S 
SANTA CRUZ 
Dispensary 15 
Total 44 APPENDIX A 
93 Subj:xAnnual Sanitary Report, Year Ended 31 December, 1944. 
STATISTICAL MONTHLY REPORT OF ADMISSIONS 
Medical and Surgical Cases Treated at U.S. Naval Base Hospital No.12, 
Period: 1 March - 30 September. 1944. 
SERVICE 
March 
April 
May 
June 
July 
- Aug. 
Sept. 
TOTALS 
AMERICAN 
U. S. Navy 
116 
117 
266 
635 
607 
529 
596 
2,886 
U. S. Army 
13 
3 
3 
1,251 
1,094 
547 
2,274 
5,185 
U. S. Coast 
Guard 0 
0 
18 
18 
22 
55 
43 
156 
U. S. Merch, 
. Marine 2 
0 
1 
1 
3 
0 
3 
10 
BRITISH 
Royal Navy 
4 
2 
13 
13 
6 
3 
5 
46 
Royal Army 
435 
289 
236 
162 
6 
6 
12 
1,146 
Canadian 
0 
8 
18 
22 
0 
0 
8 
56 
FREE FRENCH 
0 
0 
0 
2 
1 
1 
30 
34 
PRISONERS OF 
WAR 2 
4 
1 
2 
0 
116 
0 
125 
CIVILIANS 
American 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
1 
2 
British 
0 
0 
1 
1 
1 
0 
0 
3 
TOTALS: 
572 
424 
558 
2,107 
1,740 
1,257 
2,972 
9,630 
Total number of U. S. Navy personnel evacuated 
. (including 80 by air) 1,055 
Total number of U. S. Army and Allies evacuated — 5,192 
TOTAL EVACUATED: 6,247 
94 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
MEDICAL INSTALLATIONS IN THE ATLANTIC AREA 
Manuscript Materials 
I. Sanitary Reports 
Annual Sanitary Report of Commander Amphibious Bases, United 
Kingdom, for Year Ending 3 December 1944. 
Annual Sanitary Report of the Commander, Twelfth Fleet, for Year 
Ending 31 December 1944. 
Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 5, 
Casablanca, for 1943. 
Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Base Hospital No. 5, 
Casablanca, for 1944. 
Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Base Hospital Number 9? 
Oran, Algeria, for Calendar Year 1943. 
Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Base Hospital Number 9, 
Oran, Algeria, for Calendar Year 1944. 
Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S„ Naval Base Hospital Number 9? 
Oran, Algeria, for Calendar Year 1945. 
Annual Sanitary Report of U. S. Naval Nobile Base Hospital Number 1, 
Bermuda, for Calendar Year 1941. 
Annual sanitary Report of U. S. Naval Nobile Hospital Number 1, 
Bermuda, for Calendar Year 1943. 
Annual Sanitary Report of U. S. Naval Hospital, Balboa, Canal 
Zone, for Calendar Year 1944. 
Annual Sanitary Report of U. S. Naval Hospital, Coco Solo, Canal 
Zone, for Calendar Year 1944. 
Annual Sanitary Report of U. S. Naval Hospital, San Juan, Puerto 
Rico, for Year Ending 1944. 
Annual Sanitary Report of U. S. Naval Operating Base Dispensary at 
Londonderryf Northern Ireland, for Year 1943. Annual Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval Dispensary at Base 
Number 2, Roseneath, Scotland, for Year 1944. 
General Sanitary Report of the United States Eighth Fleet for 
Calendar Year 1944. 
General Sanitary Report of the Amphibious Force, United 
States Eight Fleet, for 1944. 
II. Historical Data and Historical Supplement Printed Material 
Hospital Reports 
Historical Data of U. S. Base Hospital Number 5 at Casablanca, 
8 November 1942 to 3 January 1943. 
Historical Data of U. 3. Naval Base Hospital Number 9, Oran, 
Algeria, for Calendar Year 1945. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative for Period of World War II of U. S. Naval Hospital, 
Balboa, Canal Zone. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report of 
U. S. Naval Hospital, Coco Solo, Canal Zone, for Calendar Year 
1945. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative Report for Period of World War II of U. S. Naval 
Hospital, San Juan, Fuerto Rico. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative for Period of World War II of U. S. Naval Hospital, 
Naval Operating Base, Trinidad, British West Indies. 
Dispensary Reports 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative for Period of World Par II of U. S. Naval Operating 
Base Dispensary, Balboa, Canal Zone. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative Report for Period of 'lorId War II of U. S. Naval 
Operating Base Dispensary, Bermuda, British West Indies. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for 
Period of World War II of the U. S. Naval Dispensary at U. S. 
Naval Advanced Base, Bremen, Germany. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for 
Period of World war II of U. 3. Naval Dispensary at U. S. Naval 
Advanced Base, Bremerhaven, Germany. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative for Period of World War II of U. S. Naval Air Base, 
Corinto, Nicarauga. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report of 
the U. S. Naval Dispensary of U. S. Naval Forces Headquarters, 
Frankfort, Germany, for Period of World War II. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative for Period of World War II of U. S. Naval Dispensary 
at U. S. Naval Operating Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 
Historical Data to Quarterly Sanitary Report of the U. S. Naval 
Dispensary at U. S. Naval Operating Base, Camp Knox, Iceland, 
for Period of World War II. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report of 
1945 of the U. S. Naval Dispensary at U. S. Naval Advanced Base, 
Lc- Havre, France. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for 
1945 of the U. S. Naval Dispensary at Headquarters, U. S. 
Naval Forces in Europe, London, England. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Historical Data, December 1945 of U. S. Naval Detachment 
Dispensary, Marseilles, France. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report for 
Period of World War II of U. S. Naval Dispensary, Naval Operating 
Base, Palermo, Sicily. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Siimulatiypj fpr Period of World War II of the U. S. Naval 
Dispensary 'm u. s. Naval Air Station, Port Lyautey, French Morocco 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report of the 
U. S. Naval Dispensary, Rome, Italy, Cumulative Report of Period 
of World War II. 
Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report, 
Cumulative for period of World War II of the U. S. Naval Station, 
Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. Historical Supplement to Fourth Quarterly Sanitary Report 
of the U. S. Naval Dispensary at U. S. Naval Operating Base, 
‘Trinidad, British X'lcst Indies. 
III.,Letters - General Files 
Bulled L5-3/EF(l24)A-EC 29 December 1943, Report of Temporary 
Additional Duty of Rear Adra. Luther Sheldon, Jr.,(MC), USN, 
to Chief BuMed. 
IV. Reports* 
Reports of Medical Activity of U. S. Naval Dispensary, U. S. 
Naval Advanced Base, Cherbourg, France, dated 15 September 1944. 
The Annual Sanitary Reports and Historical Data and Supplement 
matter relative to medical installations indicated in the above 
bibliographical materials are contained in the files of the 
Administrative History Section, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. CHAPTER XVJ 
NAVAL MEDICAL SUPPLY - EXTRA-CONTINENTAL1 
Section 1 Plans for Overseas Storehouses 
To have the men r.t the fighting fronts protected by an ade- 
quate supply of nodical materials required an extensive supply network 
far from the continental United .States. Although the Materiel Division 
was located in Brooklyn, the Medical Supply Depot in Brooklyn, New York, 
was only one of the chain of depots and storehouses that carried medi- 
cal supplies around the world. The two great medical supply centers, 
NMSDj Brooklyn, and NMSD, Oakland, California, dispersed medical 
materiel to smaller depot's and storehouses in the Atlantic and Pacific, 
respectively."*" From these overseas depots and storehouses the chain 
was continued to ships, hospitals, dispensaries, and the actual fight- 
ing lines. 
Seven December 1941 found no extra-continental medical supply 
system in existence, except for the storehouse at Pearl Harbor. The 
Atlantic area had no facilities of any type. The great expansion in the 
11 months that followed saw the establishment of four Pacific and one 
Atlantic storehouses. Prompt plans had been drawn up for the establish- 
ment of overseas storehouses in the following locations: Atlantic-Iceland, 
1. Abbreviations NMSD and MISS will be used throughout this chapter 
for purposes of convenience. NMSD stands for Naval Medical Supply 
Depot; MASS, for Naval Medical Supply Storehouse. 
1 Londonderry, Argentia, Bermuda, Puerto Rico or Tinidad, Recife, and 
Balboa; Pacific—Kodiak, Mexico, South America, western Australia, east- 
ern Australia, New Zealand, and Samoa. 
The basic plan was that these storehouses would carry medical 
supplies adequate for 10,000 men for 30 days, and from these stores the 
stock of ships and other activities in the area could be replenished. 
The chain of supply was to function automatically with supplies being 
dispatched every 30 days from Brooklyn, where the accounting would be 
done. 
The Force Surgeon, South Pacific Fleet, who had a more im- 
mediate view of the needs in his area, made recommendations in terms 
of coordinating medical supplies for all South Pacific forces. He urged 
that the basic supply factor be changed to that of medical requirements 
of 50,000 men for 60 days. He also recommended the establishment of a 
storehouse at Auckland, New Zealand, and expansion of shipping facilities 
from the United States to Auckland. He further advocated automatic 
replenishment for the storehouse which was to provide supplies for ad- 
2 
vance bases and fill special requisitions for ships. 
Neither the original plans nor the suggestions of the Force Sur- 
geon, South Pacific Fleet, were rigidly followed, but were altered on 
the grounds of expediency. As American forces went abroad, as the pat- 
tern of the War shifted, as new combat plans were formulated, storehouses 
4 
and depots were established, moved, redesigns.ted, disestablished, and 
2. Force Surgeon, South Pacific Fleet, to Chief of Staff JJ57/HB(124-2|l)> 
13 July 1942. 
2 reestablished. However, NMSD, Brooklyn, end NMSD, Oakland, remained the 
terminal points for receiving, processing, and shipping requisitions to the 
Atlantic and Pacific storehouses, respectively. Much of the story of naval 
medical supply lay in the work of the extra-continental branches. 
Section 2 Pacific Area 
.The great ..distances, the major concentration of--naval night, 
and the difficult compaigns anticipated for that theater of war made it 
inevitable that the Pacific Area should have the larger number of medical 
supply units. A history of these storehouses follows: 
Number 
Location 
Commissioned 
Remarks 
1 
Noumea, Caledonia 
6/20/42 
Originally at Auckland, N.Z. 
Disestablished 8/13/45. 
2 
0kina.ua 
7/18/45 
Formerly Tutuila, Samoa. Decom- 
missioned 5/1/45. Reestablished. 
3 
A dak, Alaska 
7/29/42 
Formerly Kokiak, Alaska 
4 
Calizan, Samar 
S/18/42 
Originally Sydney, Australia 
then Milne Bay, Neu Guinea 
6 
Ha nu s, Adniralty 
Islands 
11/10/42 
Formerly at Freemantle, Australia 
Disestablished 12/7/45 
8 
Ba lb oa, Ca na 1 Z one 
2/2/43 
Redesignated as Medical Supply 
Depot, 4/17/43 
9 
Oran, Algeria 
3/24/43 
Formerly at Casablanca, French 
Moroco, decommissioned 9/30/45. 
10 
Recife, Brazil 
4/30/43 
Transferred to Brazilian Navy 
9/13/45. 
11 
Espiritu Santo, Nev; 
Hebrides 
6/3/43 
Disestablished 9-/18/45 Number 
Location 
Commissioned 
Remarks 
13 
Guam 
2/28/Z5 
Redesignated Medical Supply 
Depot 7/16/45 
14 
Shanghai 
8/2/45 
3 
For a better understanding of such facilities in terms of nec- 
essity, expansion, and adaptability, the work of a few of the Pacific 
storehouses Y/ill be examined in detail. 
The establishment of Medical Supply Storehouse Number 1 began 
with a dispatch from Commander South Pacific Force in which he requested 
that BuMed initiate action to establish in Now Zealand a modical store- 
house complete including stores and He advised that medical 
stores were not available locally except for emergency purchases of small 
quantities of limited numbers of items. On 22 June 1942 the Chief of 
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery ' recommended to BuPers a Hospital Corps 
complement for the storehouse and advised that it be supplied by ComSub- 
ComSerFor, U. S. Pacific On 7 July 1942 the Chief, BuMed in- 
formed the Medical Officer in Command, NMSD Brooklyn that the New 
Zealand Commander had indicated a need for a medical supply storehouse 
3. Planning Division, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Files. 
4. ComSoPacFor to OpNav 190415 NCR 8187 dated 20 June 1942. 
5. Memorandum - Chief BuMed to Allowances, BuPers Pl6-l/NB^420622) 
of 22 June 1942. 
4 to serve Medical Department activities, ashore and afloat, operating 
under that command. It was directed that 30 medical maintenance units 
be assembled and pabked as the initial outfit, followed by 10 units 
30 days for 6 shipments, and 5 units every 30 days thereafter. This pro- 
cedure was intended to provide one year!s stock six months after receipt 
of initial shipment and automatic replenishments every succeeding month. 
Cominch then gave its approval of South Pacific medical plans which in- 
cluded a medical supply storehouse providing ID,Q.00 square feet of covered 
storage space, and the shipment of necessary medical stores followed by 
automatic replenishments. NMSD Brooklyn reported on 31 July 1942 that 
the stores indicated in BuMed letter of 7 July 1942, had been assembled 
and shipped as directed. The letter also assumed that the activity 
7 
would be designated U. S. Naval Medical Storehouse Number 1. 0PNA.V 
officially designated the New Zealand storehouse as U. S. Naval Medical 
g 
Storehouse Number 1. 
The usefulness of any supply facility depended upon the nature 
of the military campaign, the number of men and activities served, trans- 
portation, and similar circumstances. The adaptation of storehouses to 
the military needs of the time was illustrated by the chronicle of MSS 
Number 3. The establishment of the storehouse was advocated by the com- 
manding officer, NOB Kodiak, on the plea that increased fleet activity 
9 
was about to augment the demand for emergency stores. The commandant 
of the Thirteenth Naval district stated that Kodiak v;as the logical dis- 
6. Chief', BuMed to MO in C, (420707) (SC) of 7 July 1942. 
7. MO in C, NMSD Brooklyn to Chief, Bullied L8-2(9922), 31 July 1942. 
S. OPNAV to ComSoPacFor - 1S2122 NCR 6635 dated 19 Aug. ' 1942. 
9. Commanding Officer NOB Kodiak to Commandant 13th ■- Naval District 
NA34/N-9/N6-40 of 2 July 1942. tributing point for emergency material in the Alaskan OPNAV 
authorized the establishment on 29 July 1942. In August 1943 the officer 
in charge forwarded a summary to the Medical gfficer in Command, NMSD 
Brooklyn. The perma.nent buildings were being occupied and 109 requisi- 
tions had been received in July 1943. Transportation was such a prob- 
lem that it appeared that best use of Kodiak would be as a reserve’ storehouse 
while the Dutch Harbor and Adak dispensaries could function as branch 
storehouses. In many cases a full month was required to get supplies 
to an activity only 300 miles from Kodiak. He asked a decision on the 
following possibilities: (l) the continuance and maintenance of suf- 
ficient stock for the entire area for the maximum six mohth supply (2) 
the continuance, but reduction of stock requirements to a degree suf- 
ficient only to supply Kodiak and the occasional ships that call at the 
post, or (3) the decommissioning of the storehouse and transfer of medical 
stock on hand to the dispensaries at Adak, Dutch Harbor, and Kodiak.^ 
The Medical Officer in Command, NMSD Brooklyn recommended to the Chief 
of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery that NMSS Number 3 maintain a 
reasonable varied stock of medical stores plus a reserve stock. Then it 
was suggested that NMSS Seattle be expanded to improve logistic support 
12 
for the Aleutians area. The Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Sur- 
gery replied to the Medical Officer in Command, NMSD Brooklyn that NMSS 
10. Commandant 13th Naval District to Chief Bulled, Second Endorsement 
in 9 (above) ND13/A1-1/G of 25 July 1942. 
11. Personal Letter - Officer in Command, NMSS Number 3, to Rear Admiral 
Melhorn. 
12. MO in C, NMSD Brooklyn to Chief, Bulled L8-2(96003) (99021) of 21 Aug. 
-j-943. Number 3 would not be decommissioned at the time and that such 
13 
a recommendation should come from the area commander. By 
August 1944» the Officer in Charge of NMSS Number 3 wrote to 
Admiral Melhorn showing the downward trend in items shipped or 
delivered during the fiscal year 1944* 
1st quarter — 1124 
2nd » -- 890 
3rd " — 270 
4th " — 99 
The average was about one requisition every third day. Major dispen- 
saries made more issues than the storehouse, while much of the ship- 
14 
ment to the Aleutians was easier from Seattle. The commandant 
of the new 17th Naval District advised a storehouse at Adak, since 
the main activities of the 17th Naval District, the Alaska Sea 
Frontier, Commander North pacific Force, and various task forces 
were concentrated there. Thus a medical supply storehouse at Adak 
15 
would be of real value as an issuing agency for ships. The 
transfer of NMSS Number 3 from Kodiak, Alaska, to Adak, Alaska, was 
16 
completed 2 May 1945* 
13* Chief, BuMed to NMSD Brooklyn Serial l678(SC) of 22 Sopt. 1943* 
14* 0 in C, NMSS #3 1° Adiru Melhorn - personal letter of 22 hug. 1944* 
15* Com 17 to CNO via BuMed ND17/A1-1 (M)Serial 0072, 20 Oct. 1944* 
16. Com 17 to CNO via BuMed ND17/A1-1(70) , Serial 00981 of 2 May 1945* It was virtually impossible for medical supply to re- 
main static as the battle scene shifted and as new areas 
created new problems in preventive medicine as well os in treat- 
ment. The men in the various Pacific areas made invaluable sug- 
gestions from their experiences. The Commander, South Pacific 
Area and South Pacific Force, wrote an analysis of medical supply 
in his area, offering a plan for an improved system in September 
He claimed that the problem was a pressing one which 
required immediate attention if a critical shortage of supplies 
and equipment for the care of the sick and wounded were to be 
avoided. A reservoir of stores had to be set up in a central 
place because of distance from the United States, the distance 
between bases, irregular shipping schedules from the United States, 
and the varying sizes of the activities as well as the fluctuating 
numbers of personnel. A continuous flow of medical stores from 
the United States to the reservoir and then to the consuming 
activities had to be provided, with consideration for such 
contingencies as: extraordinary demands, 'expansion in action, 
increase in personnel complements, and temporary supply for U. S« 
Army forces, New Zealand and other allied forces in emergencies, 
and task forces of the Pacific Fleet. The New Zealand medical 
storehouse was the logical reservoir except for Samoa. It was, 
therefore, requested that BuMed approve and implement the plan 
by immediate shipment to NI.-SS Number 1 of average annual require- 
8 ments less the amount already shipped, by similar'shipments to 
the Samoan Islands as soon as requirements were received, and by 
17 
monthly shipments to NMSD Number 1. BuMed approved the plan 
and forwarded it to Medical Officer in Charge, NMSD Brooklyn for 
18 
a c c omplis hment. 
Reports from the various fleets were useful to the 
continental supply depots and the Materiel Division in planning 
allowances* containers, distribution, etc.9for medical supplies 
and equipment as well as for information about the work of the 
storehouses and depots. The Service Force, Seventh Fleet, stated 
that early in 1943 difficulty was experienced in obtaining ade- 
quate medical supplies due primarily to shipping problems. The 
report then suggested that larger quantities of anti-malarials 
and sulfa drugs should be consigned to the area, and it commented 
upon the loss of brandy, whiskey, and alcohol because of broken 
19 
cases. 
The historical data of this same group explained how 
NMSS Number 4 was moved from Sydney, Australia, to Milne Bay, 
New Guinea. Every three weeks as a building was completed, a 
shipment was moved to the new location. The move was not too 
difficult, because a sub-unit v/hich could be expanded had already 
17. Commander South Pacific Area and South pacific Force L8-1, 
Serial 00104 of 28 Sept.1942. 
18. Second Endorsement, Chief BuMed to MO in C, NMSD Brooklyn, 
Serial 925 of 31 Oct. 1942* 
19* Annual Sanitary Report of the Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 
for the year 1943> P« 3* been set up. In September 1943* Naval Medical Supply Sub-storehouse 
Number 134* a sub-unit of NMSS Number 4> was established at the 
Naval Operating Base* Brisbane. Its chief function was emergency 
issue; by the close of the year, it was being moved to new and 
larger quarters. Upon the completion of the moving of NMSS Number 
4 to Milne Boy, most issues of supplies to island activities could 
be handled by this sub-unit. Time saved in supplying vessels in 
port for a short period hod justified inauguration of a sub-store- 
house. Another sub-unit of NMSS Number 4* planned for cairns 
Australia, was not completed in view of the rapidly changing 
20 
picture. The Fleet Marine Force of the First Marine Division 
remarked that medical, surgical, and dental supplies had been 
21 
sufficient in quality and quantity at all times during that year* 
The Seventh Amphibious Force commented that most of the 
landing ships and craft were deficient in combat medical supplies 
and anti-malarial supplies and equipment. Many landing craft re- 
ported without first-aid boxes, and so the standard medicine box 
22 
plus certain combat supplies and anti-malariols was furnished. 
20. Annex 1, Historical Data, Service Force Seventh Fleet, 1943* 
21. Annual Sanitary Report 1943» 1st MarDiv,.Fleet Marine Force, 
p. l6. 
22* In this connection the comments from the pharmacist’s mate 
aboard the USS LCI(L) 1066 in the cumulative report for the 
period of World Far II were illuminating} 
"In the States we were told to stock up before 
leaving. Upon trying to get supplies we were told that 
they were all in the forward area. At Pearl Harbor...the 
some old story presented itself. The supplies could be ob- 
tained in a forward area. This went on at each step, a day 
spent trying to get supplies and ending up with nothing." 
10 There had been no grave deficiencies in supplies, even though it 
had been necessary to requisition a large number of complete surgi- 
cal rolls. This force laid its supply problems to lack of shipping 
within the area for there was no shortage of supplies and equipment 
in medical storehouses in the Southwest Pacific. Delivery of 
supplies in time to meet a ship’s sailing date was often pre- 
vented, and so it was often necessary to obtain stores from Army 
depots at staging points. Since there were no floating store- 
houses carrying supplies for emergency issue in the Seventh Fleet, 
the Fleet surgeon and the Force surgeon obtained additional 
supplies for their flagships to be made available for issue in 
forward areas. The Service Force was then organizing standard 
loads of medical supplies that would be available in certain AK- 
23 
type ships• 
Copt. F. H« Hook stressed another vital point when he 
recommended that all penicillin for the area be sent to NMSS 
Number 11 for distribution to avoid immobilization of it in 
24 
hospitals that did not then need it. 
The medical department of the. Seventh Fleet reported., 
that medical stores were arriving in sufficient quantity after a 
previous shortage of atabrine, mosquito netting, surgical and 
23. .annual Sanitary Report of the Seventh Amphibious Force for 
the year 1944» P* 2. 
24* Letter to Vice Adm. R. T Me Intire, Jan. 1944* 
11 dental instruments, and sulfa drugs. In light of post issues, 
excessive amounts of glucose, saline, and blood plasma were on 
hand. Equipment furnished the medical functional units was on 
the whole excellent. However, the field autoclave was not 
satisfactory, for the pressure door frequently blew off; the portable 
dental set was obsolete, for such units mode no provision for using 
eleqtric power. Electric power was usually available from 
portable or other type generators wherever dental units were 
, 25 
used. 
Meanwhile reverse lend-lease was proving useful in 
such on emergency os the non-arrival of equipment for Mobile 
Hospital Number 6. On 3 March 1944, the medical officer in 
command of Base Hospital Number 4 reported that activity’s 
procurement of$6,897*76 worth of medical supplies from the 
26 
New Zealand Medical Service. 
25. Madicci Department l.cti vi ties, Seventh Fleet, h3“l(F-4"2/rlh), 
20 Feb. 1944, P* 4* 
26. 8 July 1942 the Secretary of the Navy hod issued instructions 
to forces afloat and abroad to arrange for receiving services, 
facilities, and equipment locally. 
The report of reverse lend-leose under cognizance of 
BuMed, cumulative through 38 June 1945 (Al6-4/Hx), displayed 
how these instructions had been found valuable: 
Australia New Zealand ; United Kingdom 
£942 - $19,721.68 1942 - 1942 - 
'1943 - 38.121.85 1943 - $143,976.01 1943 - $5,615.69 
1944 - 37,752.78 1944 - .67,320.19 1944 - 19,368.74 
1945 - 13,186.43 1945 - 104,625.37 1945 - 14,628.12 
prance India 
1?42 - 1942 - 
1943 - * 1943 - 
1944 - *2,831.54 1944 - 
1945 - 2,998.13 1945 - $13-92 An increasingly serious problem was the breakdown of 
electro-medical and dental equipment in forward areas. In 
order to hasten repairs and so shorten the time such equipment was 
not in service, the Surgeon General authorized an electro-medical 
and dental repair unit at NMSD Pearl Harbor in March 1944* In 
the first three months of its existence this unit had accomplished 
1,168 vital repairs. 
The Inspector of Medical Activities, Pacific area, stated 
that medical supplies in the whole Tarawa area were ample in all 
27 
respects at that time. 
Although it was generally encouraging, the November report 
of the Medical Inspector, Pacific areas, pointed out new difficulties* 
He mentioned that the requisitioning activity did not know for two 
or three months what items hod been deleted by the Island Command, 
the Commander Forward Areas, or the supply depot. He felt it 
would be of assistance, if the depot sent a copy of the requisition 
and the changes to the originating activity. Supplies for Tinian 
and Kwajalein were ordinarily satisfactory. A wrecked ship 
resulting in the loss of 5° to 65 percent of the stores, and 
inadequate storage space were Saipan’s problems. NMSS Number 13 
on Guam could begin issue of supplies within 20 days, for it 
27. Office of Inspector , Medical Deportment Activities, Pacific 
area, 21 Mar. 1944* 
13 had 30 block shipments on hand. There was only one building, how- 
ever, and four automatic shipments were yet to arrive. The 
block shipments should have included more boric acid, bismuth, 
codeine, and paregoric, and a bottle of mercury. Ulithi's store 
of biclogicals was dangerously low; only one block shipment had 
arrived and that 45 hays alter D-day. Majuro was also short of 
supplies as was Base Hospital Number 20 on Peleliu. The hospital's 
shortage was due to two errors: (1) prosthetic dental material' 
taken off the ship at Manus was allowed to deteriorate so that 
some of it had to be sent to NM3S Number 6 for salvage, and (2) 
needed laboratory equipment was landed on Saipan instead. The 
underlying difficulty was that base hospitals, unlike the fleet 
28 
hospitals, were not adequately provided with initial equipment. 
The Service Force, Pacific Fleet, implemented the 
program set up by the naval medical supply depots by operating its 
own medical supply facilities in the forward areas. The following 
stores1 issue and general stores' ships were set up to issue medical 
stores: the USS CASTOR, LUNA, GIANSAR, SHAULA, AZIMECH, ASCELLA, 
CHELAB, RUTILICUS, VOLANS, TALITHA, and /AXES. In the absence of 
stock or in case of depletion of stock on those ships, there were 
these additional sources of medical supplies: the USS SILICA, MARL, 
_ 29 
and LIGNITE, and the YF!s 738, 739, 740, 742, and 787. Commander 
28* Office of Inspector, Medical Department Activities, Pacific Area, 
to Vice Adm. Mclntire, 25 Nov. 1944* PP* 3* 5» 7* 18* 22, 23* 
29* The value of such a system to ships in the area may be seen from 
the brief statement incorporated in the cumulative report for the 
period of World War II, USS TETON (ACG14) Service Squadron Ten and his representative for the locality 
exercised control over this supply system and were empowered to 
screen and approve requisitions prior to issue. Items and 
amounts issued were governed by acuteness of need and the amount 
available for issue. Requisitioning ships were to be prepared 
30 
to carry their own supplies. 
The historical report for 1944 of the Service Force, 
Seventh Fleet, presented a picture of crises in supply. On 
30 June 1944* the Seventh Fleet was committed to the logistic 
support of approximately 100,000 men of the Third Fleet from 
27 August to 31 December 1944- To meet this assignment, NIvBS 
Number 6, Freemantle, Australia was ordered to Manus, Admiralty Is- 
lands, where it arrived 18 August. The stock was immediately reduced 
to a negligible amount by the demands of Third and Fifth Fleet units 
afloat which had apparently arrived in the pacific Ocean areas with- 
out even a minimum stock of medical supplies aboard. Despite the fact 
that protests were dispatched to the Commander Pacific Ocean areas, 
and to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgecry* ships continued to arrive 
\ 
"We did contact several supply ships, usually AKA's and 
procured some of the things we had run low on. In fact, 
from these supply thips we were able to build up to the 
required amount many items that we became critically low 
on," 
30• Pacific Fleet Medical News, vol. 1, N*. 3» Dec. 1944* quoted 
in U* 3. Navy Medical Supply News Letter, Issue 3~45> 1 Mar. 
15 expecting to requisition whole stocks from NMSS Number 6. It was 
estimated that the storehouse was supplying 200,000 men instead of 
the 100,000 originally considered. Demands on the storehouse did not 
materially lessen, and so the supply situation remained critical 
until the end of the year when increased supplies began to arrive. 
•Meanwhile on 6 October 1944* wrord was received that Hollandia was 
to be one of the major Seventh Fleet staging and resupply points 
for the Leyte operation. On 10 October, this command ordered a 
medical supply facility transferred from Finschhafen to Hollandia. 
The crisis there was relieved only by the excellent cooperation 
of the Sixth Army Service Supply which arranged the furnishing 
of medical supplies by Army medical supply depots. This plan was 
still operating at the end of the year, for naval facilities 
continued inadequate. It was felt that by the date of their 
31 
completion such facilities v;ould be unnecessary. 
The Seventh Fleet offered two suggestions for improving 
the supply situation: (1' that all ships leaving the continental 
United States or other bases, where stocks of medical supplies 
were ample, should be fully loaded with a complete stock (six 
months’ supply), and (2) there should be floating NMSS’s of at 
32 
least three barges of the YF-78? type. 
31. Service Force, Seventh Fleet 1944* Appendix A - Historical Data. 
32. Annual Sanitary Report of the Seventh Fleet for the year 1944* 
- 16 - The Service Forces, Seventh Fleet, blamed its supply 
problem on failure to request sufficient materials for the over- 
all personnel to be served. This condition was brought about by 
lack of timely information os to logistic supply of forces afloat, 
other than the Seventh Fleet. At the close of the year medical 
supplies on hand and on order were considered adequate. Optical 
units had been unable to meet the demand for spectacles by many 
who had never worn them before or who had only slight to moderate 
refractive errors. Medical components commonly had been attached 
to units in their formative stages and, since equipment and supplies 
had been assembled elsewhere, these personnel did no useful service 
33 
for long periods. 
The Inspector of medical department activities, Pacific 
Ocean area, stated on 10 January 1945* that there were no medical 
supply barges in the South Pacific. Medical supply replenishments 
were obtained from NMSS Number 1, NMSS Number 11, the medical 
supply facility at Guadalcanal, and the non-official medical store- 
house attached to the Naval Base, Tutuila. It was considered 
that the latter should be a regularly constituted storehouse for 
the supply facilities in the Samoan group, done by the five 
optical units located in the South Pacific, as well as other 
34 
Pacific been most valuable. 
33 • Annual Sanitary Report of the Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 
for the Year 1944* 
34. Report of Inspection of Medical Department Activities, Pacific 
Ocean Areas, 10 Jan. 1945* P* 3* 
17 Rear Admiral Melhorn reported to the Surgeon General 
referring to a letter from Capt. J. P. Wood that there were 
delays in shipment to the Southwest Pacific area. Captain Wood 
stated that no ships were available until June, and that shipment 
after shipment had been cancelled after the material had been 
prepared to meet datelines. The last medical stores shipped to 
the Southwest Pacific had cleared the port of San Francisco in 
35 
February. 
The extent of medical supply resources and facilities 
in the Pacific by September 1945 wss impressive. The chief 
source was the Medical Supply Depot, Guam, which was the 
central stocking point for biologicals and special vaccines, its 
annex at Saipan, and Medical Supply Storehouses Numbers 6, 4» and 
2 which was yet to be established. Supply barges, the USS SILICA, 
LIGNITE, and MARL, and YFrs 787, 7 739, 740, and 754 were 
moved to points of ship concentration as necessary. Certain 
AK and AKS vessels, the AIKE3, ASCELIA, AZIMECH, CAELUM, CHELEB, 
GIANSAR, LEQNIS, LESUTH, MATAR, FHOBAS, RUTILICUS, SHAULA, 
ALCYONE, MERCURY, CASTOR, CYBELE, ORATIA, HECUBA, HESPERIA, IALANA, 
KOCHAB, LIGURA, LUNA, TATITA, VOLANS, ALCHIBA, and carried 
a broad list of expendable medical and dental supplies. 
AO vessels of Commander Service Squadron 6 had ready packed loads 
35* Memorandum (Personal and Confidential) to Surgeon General 
from Rear A dm* It. C. Me 1 horn, 27 Apr. 1945* 
18 providing 60 days’ usage of expendable supplies for emergency issue 
to advanced task units. Separate requisitions were to be made 
for biologicals, precious metals for dental use, other dental 
items, remaining Medical Supply Catalog items, and all items not 
listed in the Catalog. Certain general suggestions were made to 
simplify the problem; (1) unusual requests should be justified, 
(2) requisitions should be discussed with the officer screening 
and filling them, (3) trips to A.K’s and barges should be coordi- 
nated with those of the supply officer, and (4) all ships should 
try to replenish their stock from the nearest medical supply 
3 6 
facility. 
The latest epitome of naval medical supply in the 
Pacific area was made in December 1945 with a view to permanent 
37 
postwar supply. 
Section 3 Atlantic Area 
In the Atlantic area, the fleet was concerned with 
convoy duty, anti-submarine patrol, transporting of troops, and 
support of invasions, much as was the case in the Pacific. These 
duties dictated the location of medical supply storehouses, but 
with the smaller area and greater concentration of forces, fewer 
facilities were necessary. The Atlantic storehouses were as 
36. "Pacific Medical Hews," vol. 1, No. 12, 19 Sept, as reported 
in U. S. Medical Supply News Letter of 10 Oct. 1945. Issue 
No. 10-45. 
37. Pacific Naval Supply Handbook, Dec. 1945. Commander Service 
Force, Pacific Fleet, pp, J 1-3- See appendix A. 
19 follows; 
TO.BS3 
LOCATION COMMISSIONED 
SHIPPING 
DESIGNATION 
REMARKS 
5 
Londonderry, North 
Ireland 10/21/42 
SPUR 
Decommissioned 
9/2/bb 
7 
Son Juan, 
Puerto Rico 2/2/43 
AB0Y7 
Disestablished 
9/30/45 
12 
Exeter, England 10/23/43 
JOWL 
38 
The Atlantic area provided one of the most dramatic 
supply stories of World. War II in the case of MSS Number 12, 
Exeter, England. Officially established 23 October 1943* with 
only 12 men as a working staff, it had received $0 to 60 percent 
39 
of its initial stock of medical supplies by 28 February 1944* 
Although its original purpose had been to furnish medical 
supplies for 60,000 men, it was rapidly reorganized to supply 
100,000. Its physical plant beginning with five buildings had 
been increased to 36 which provided 16,000 square feet of storage 
space. By November 1944 it was receiving 642 cases in the same 
40 
period. The greatest crisis of NM5S Number 12 was its pre- 
paration for D-day at Normandy nhich rncludedT-. (1) providing 
100 xirmy and Navy property exchange units for LST-type vessels; 
38. Plaining Division, M & S files, 
• Annual Sanitary Deport, 4toinmander Twelfth Fleet for year enging 
31 Dec, 1944» PP* 7-8. 
4O. I'TMSS #12, Historical Report, Nov. 1944* 
20 (2) redistributing medical stores from LST's having excessive 
quantities to the 103 LST's designated for casualty evacuation; 
(3) distributing 62,400 blankets to casualty carrying LST's; 
(4) distributing 62 officers' emergency surgical outfits; (5) 
providing temporary additions to commissioning allowances of ships; 
(6) replenishing commissioning allowances of the 103 casualty 
carrying LST's as well as of 5° other LST's; (7) making ship- 
ments to 10 accommodation ships, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, 
destroyer escorts, and other miscellaneous craft; (8) stocking 
and replenishing the resupply points for resupplying LST's at the 
end of each trip and (9) supplying and replenishing hospitals 
and dispensaries. In the six weeks before D-day, 28,55° cases 
of medical stores were shipped, h letter of commendation from 
41 
admiral Stark was received for this work. 
The Commander of Amphibious Bases, United Kingdom, 
complimented NIBS's Numbers 5 and 12 upon their handling of 
supplies. I.Iedical and surgical supplies and equipment were 
distributed to all ships, and arrangements were made for resupply 
of these items from medical supply dumps at turn-around points 
on the near shore. All supplies from the United States arrived 
in small shipments aboard AST's so that distribution was compli- 
cated. Although it would have been simpler to have all supplies 
2jl* NMSS -jr 12 Report, 15 Apr. 1944 to 1 Sept. 1944* 
21 sent to a central dump and thence reallocated, neither time 
nor shipping permitted this. One improvement suggested was 
the devising of a water tight container for alcohol being 
42 
shipped overseas. 
The ijuphibious Force, U. S. Eighth Fleet, suggested 
that since there was little difference between medical supplies 
used by the Army and the Navy, joint Army-Navy medical supply 
catalogs and equipment were entirely feasible. Most supplies 
and equipment for this Force came from NM3S Number 9» hut at one 
base a fairly well-stocked storeroom ?;as instituted from which 
amphibious craft could drain in small amounts for current re- 
placement. In preparation for military operations, blankets, 
metal pole litters, and plasma were obtained in quantity from 
medical supply depots. Although the quality of supplies 
was excellent, containers could have been improved. Two 
examples of the dangers of packaging in inadequate containers were 
the rapid deterioration of plaster of Paris in cellophane-covered 
cardboard containers, and the loss of boric acid pocked in one 
pound cardboard containers. These cardboard containers frequently 
43 
broke in transit. The Fleet medical officer of the Eighth Fleet 
stated that the transportation and flow of supplies had improved 
since 1943* The transfer of NMSS Number 9 from Casablanca to 
42. Annual Sanitary Report of Commander .Amphibious Bases, United 
Kingdom, year ending 3 Dec. 1944* PP* 7» 11 • 
43* General Sanitary Report of the Amphibious Force, U. S. 
Eighth Fleet, 1944* 
22 Oran was advantageous both for supplying activities and for 
44 
receiving supplies and equipment being decommissioned. 
Conclusion 
To meet the problem of supply overseas, it can be 
seen from the foregoing that the basic formal plan had to be 
modified with considerable improvisation. This resulted in 
much variation in local conditions, but it succeeded in a 
satisfactory manner. Thus the Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 
had set up Sub-storehouse Number 134 at NOB, Brisbane; the 
Fleet and Force surgeons of the Seventh amphibious Force had 
obtained additional supplies for issue in forward areas by 
their flagships; a medical supply facility was set up at 
Guadalcanal; and a non-official medical storehouse was operated 
at Tutuila. g further departure from set plans was the use 
of supply barges, YF's, hK's, and go's to carry replenishments 
ranging from ready packed loads of 60 days' usage of expendable 
supplies to broad lists of expendable medical and dental supplies. 
Lack of shipping space, rapid movement of forces, inadequate 
containers, and the arrival of ships lacking initial outfits 
in forward areas were the major problems. Constant changes and 
developments during the war years, such as the gutometic Stores 
Replenishment Catalog, the shifting of storehouse locations, and 
the creation of an electro-medical dental repair unit, were aimed 
at solving these problems. 
44« General Sanitary Report for calendar year 1944* Fleet Medical 
Officer, U. S. Eighth Fleet, pp. 4-5• APPENDIX A 
SECTION J 
MEDICAL SUPPLIES 
Pacific Naval Supply 
Handbook December 1945 
PART I. SYSTEM AND PROCEDURES. 
Requisitions and Sources of Supply: 
Ships submit requisitions for medical supplies to 
the nearest medical supply facility. Such a facility may 
beneithcr a minor medical supply point ashore or a mobile 
floating storeship (attached to a ServDiv) stocked with 
medical supply units. MSS’s (ashore) are located at 
Subic, Samar, Manus, Saipan, and New Caledonia. 
Shore bases make requests on the nearest Medical 
Supply Storehouse, or if nearer, on one of the two Medi- 
cal Supply Depots, NMSD, Guam or NMSD, Pearl. NMSD» 
Guam, serves all area and the MarGilsArea. 
Medical Storehouses (MSS's) secure their replenish- 
ment stocks of supplies from the NMSD at Guam. 
YF and IX barges submit their requisitions to NMSD 
Guam. 
All activities use NavMed Form 4 for requisitioning 
purposes. 
Screening: 
All screening is local in character, each medical 
supply activity reviewing requisitions it receives and 
determining without further reference whether or not 
such requisitions should be filled and in what amounts. 
Stock Control: 
Once each month all medical supply activities pre 
pore an Inventory Report showing stocks on hand, on 
order and issued. The original of this report goes to BuMed and ComServPac receives a copy. While no 
formal, specific control methods are predicated 
on this report, it serves ComServPac as a guide 
for general analysis of the medical supply situation 
in the Pacific, and as a basis for action necessary 
to adjust or increase stock in the area. 
Stock Levels: 
Medical Storehouses and NMSD's maintain stock levels, 
established by ComServPac on BuMed authority, of 6 months 
to 9 months supply. 
YF*s and IX's maintain sufficient stock to take care 
of 30,000 men for 30 days. 
Medical Supply Activities Currently Operating 
NMSD Guam 
NI.SD Pearl 
MSS No. 1, Subic 
MSS No. k* Samar 
MSS No. 6, Manus 
MSS No. 13, Saipan 
Supply Facility Fleet Hospital 105* New Caledonia 
USS SILICA (IX-151) 
USS M&RL (IX-160) 
USS LIGNITE (IX-162) 
YF 738 
YF 739 
YF 754 
YF 787 
YF 740 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
MEDICAL SUPPLY (Extra-Continental) 
I. BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY 
A. General Files 
Medical Officer in Charge, NMSD, Brooklyn, to Chief Bureau 
of Medicine and Surgery, JJ57/NB(124-41), 15 June 1942. 
Force Surgeon, South Pacific Fleet, to Chief of Staff, 
JJ57/EB(124-41), 13 July 1942. 
COMSOPACFOR to OPNAV, 190415 NCR 8187, dated 20 June 1942. 
Memorandum Chief, Bulled, to Allowances, BuPers, P116-1/NB 
(420622) (SC) dated 22 June 1942. 
Commanding Officer, FOB Kodiak to Commandant 13th Naval 
District, NA34/N-9/N6-40 of 2 July 1942. 
Commandant 13th Naval District to Chief, Bulled, Second 
Endorsement on NA34/N-9/N6-40, ND12/A1-1/G of 25 July 
1942. 
Personal letter 0 in C, NMSS No. 3 to Rear Adm. K. C. Mel- 
horn, 10 August 1943. 
Chief, Bulled to 110 in C, NMSD, Brooklyn, N9/NB(420707) (SC) 
of 7 July 1942. 
M0 in C, NMSD, Brooklyn, to Chief, Bulled, LS-2(9922) of 
31 July 1942. 
OPNAV to COMSOPACFOR, 182122 NCR 6625, dated 19 August 1942. 
MO in C, NMSD, Brooklyn, to Chief, Bulled, L8-2(96003) 
(99021) of 21 August 1943. 
Chief, Bulled to NMSD, Brooklyn, Serial No. 1678(SC) of 
22 September 1943. 
Personal letter from 0 in C, NMSS No. 3, to Rear Adm. 
K. C. Melhorn of 22 August 1944* Com 17 to CNO via Bulled, ND17/Al-l(i:l), Serial 0072 of 
20 October 1944. 
Com 17 to CNO via Bulled, ND17/Al-l(70), Serial 00981 of 
2 May 1945. 
Commander South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force, 
L8-1 Serial 00104 of 28 September 1942. 
Second Endorsement, Chief BuMed to M0 in C, MJS>D, Brooklyn, 
on L8-1 Serial 00104, Serial 925 of 31 October 1942. 
Memorandum (personal and confidential) to Surgeon General 
from Rear Adm. K. C. Ilelhorn, dated 27 April 1945. 
t 
Capt. N. H. Hook to Vice Adm. R. T Mclntire of 31 January 
1944. 
B. Historical Data and Annual Sanitary Reports 
Supply Depots and Storehouses: 
USNIISD, Brooklyn, and Materiel Division, cumulative, 
10 November 1943. 
NMSS No. 3 (Kodiak), 1944 
ItISS No. 7 (San Juan), 1944 
M.ISS No. 11 (Esniritu Santo), 1944 
MdSS No. 12 (Exeter), 1944 
NMSS. No. 13 (Guam), 1944 
M.1SS No. 10 (Recife), 1944 
MOSD, Balboa, 1944 
Fleets and Fleet Units: 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 1943 
Annex 1 - Historical Data - Service Force, 
Seventh Fleet, 1943 
First Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, 1943 
Seventh Amphibious Force, 1944, Appendix A - 
Historical Data. 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 1944. 
Seventh Fleet, 1944, Medical Department Activities, 
A3-1 (F-4-2) 
Service Force, Seventh Fleet, 1944, Appendix A 
Commander, Twelfth Fleet, 1944 
Commander, Amphibious Bases, United Kingdom, 1944 
Amphibious Force, Eighth Fleet, 1944 
Fleet Medical Officer, Eighth Fleet, 1944 
Cumulative Report for Period of World. War II, USS 
LCI(L) 1066, n. d. 
Cumulative Report for Period of World War II, USS 
TETON (AGC14), n. d. C. Special Reports 
Inspector, Medical Department Activities, Pacific Area, 
dated 21 March 1944• 
Inspector, Medical Department Activities, Pacific Area, 
dated 25 November 1944. 
Inspector, Medical Department Activities, Pacific Areas, 
dated 10 January 1945. Reverse Lend Lease under cognizance 
M & S, Cumulative, through 30 June 1945, A16-4/EG. 
D. Bulled Classified Files 
Planning Division: 
Listing of numbered storehouses and extra-continental 
supply depots 
Finance Division: 
Lend Lease Statistics 
S. Medical Department Publications 
U. S, Naval Medical Supply News Letter, 1943-1945. 
Pacific Naval Supply Handbook, Commander Service Force Pacific 
Fleet, Section J, Medical Supplies, December 1945.