| Show Air Evacuation of Wounded Takes Its Ifs Place With Sulfa Drugs and Blood Plasma as One of Modern Military Medicines Medicine's Greatest Life Life- Saving Life Saving Plans By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ATSON V Released by Western Newspaper Union H HE E WAS one of the doughboys who jumped down from a landing barge to the sandy shore of Normandy on D A chattering machine gun in aGerman aGerman a aGerman German pillbox that hadn't yet been silenced sprayed lead across his path and he slumped to the ground There was a cry of Medic Medic and a mo trio- moment moment ment later skilled hands were binding up his gaping wounds The next morning four planes unarmed C swooped down near the field hospital where he lay Land mines were exploding yards away when the first i I I I two ships landed Out from these planes sprang sprang two flight nurses Marjean Brown of Columbus Ohio and Suella Bernard of Waynesville Ohio All right soldier youre you're going to take a little ittle trip with us smiled one of them Within two hours they had gathered gathered gath gath- gathered ered up not only this GI Joe but dozens of other desperately wounded wound wound- ed loaded them into the planes which were soon winging their way back to England Two weeks in an American army hospital there and then hen on June 29 a huge Air Tr Transport Transport Trans Trans- ns- ns port Command plane settled down on n an airfield on Long Island N. N Y It t was just 19 hours since it had left the he British Isles A days day's rest in a hospital near New York York then then aboard a plane again And today this GI Joe is convalescing convalescing con con- convalescing in an army hospital out in inthe inthe the he Colorado near enough to o his home so that Dad and Mom Momand Momand Momand and Sis can come to see him get we well veil Its It's several thousand miles from rom the place where his blood dyed he the the sands of the French coast to this place where both his body and mind are being healed of the wounds of war var but this cycle of life near-death near then hen l life e again is encompassed within with with- in the time span of less than four weeks The reason for this can be summed up in two words air No wonder that Maj Gen David N. N Grant air surgeon for the army air forces was able to declare declare de de- de- de clare dare recently that the army's system tern tem em of air evacuation of its wounded takes akes its place with sulfa drugs and blood lood plasma as one of the three greatest saving life-saving m measures of modern military medicine Because of air evacuation men are alive today who would have perished perished per- per shed in the jungles of Makin island or on the Anzio beachhead and personnel of the air transport commands command's commands command's com corn mands mand's ferrying division who have participated in the air evacuation of f more than war wounded have lave no hesitancy in indorsing the theair theair theair air surgeons surgeon's statement Its It's a part of the army's policy of handling wounded soldiers through a progressive system of unit hospitalization hospitalization hospi- hospi which has been developed to o a high degree under the direction direction tion of Maj Gen Norman T. T Kirk surgeon general of the army Because Because Because Be Be- cause of line front-line treatment given American soldiers more than 97 percent per percent percent cent of the wounded brought from battlefields to evacuation hospitals have been saved Once the wounded have been treated treat treat- ed d they must be sent to hospitals far from Tom the scene of battle battIe where they can an rest and recover and of course the he quickest way to get them there is by Dy airplane Part of these wounded have lave been flown from foreign theaters theaters thea- thea ers of war to their homeland and thousands of them have been flown from hospitals on the coast to hospitals hospitals hospitals hos hos- near their homes where they can convalesce and benefit in spirit I from visits of family and friends for it is a basic army policy to get its wounded soldiers as close to home as possible for the convalescent cent period In a recent report on the handling of men wounded during the invasion of France Maj Gen Paul R. R Hawley Hawley Haw- Haw I ley chief surgeon of the European theater of war stated There has not been the slightest hitch in the j hain of evacuation As a result of the he speed with which these wounded wound wound- ed were evacuated from Normandy the condition of the casualties on arrival in the United Kingdom has been surprisingly fine To that comm comment com corn m ment nt might be added the fact that approximately sick and wounded wound wound- ed have hav been returned to this country country coun coun- try aboard Air Transport command planes part of them over regularly scheduled transport services operated ed by the ferrying division of ATC S S'S S 'S 4 A S S U GOING HOME HOME HOME-A A soldier is carried aboard a plane operated by the ferrying division of Air Transport command and in a few minutes will be flying ing to a hospital in the vicinity of his home Flight surgeons inside the aircraft supervise the job Many hops are as long as miles Only one pa patient tient among those evacuated by the Air Transport command command com corn mand has been lost as the result of air travel Cooperation Does Docs It Close cooperation between the several organizations of the army I makes possible successful air evacuation evacuation evacuation of the war wounded The combat air forces outside the United States Stites the foreign wings of Air Transport command and various air commands in in the United States notably notably no no- notably tably the First Trooper Carrier command command com corn mand have done experimental work on the problem In 1943 a total of sick and wounded patients were evacuated by American military military mili mili- tary aircraft throughout the world ATC carrying all aU those returned to tn this country Here is the way evacuation from the combat areas is accomplished Suppose the scene is Anzio beach beach- head Medical corpsmen have toiled across the swept bullet area given givena a guy named Jim emergency attention attention attention atten atten- tion then inched back with him to the beach where he receives more extended treatment At a nearby clearing station the flight surgeon classifies the patients He determines determines determines deter deter- mines that this soldier just arrived from the front has a serious head wound which requires immediate surgical attention When the transport transport transport trans trans- port plane flies in Jim is among the outgoing patients The medical air evacuation units transform the plane from its troop or carrying cargo-carrying mission and do it quickly lest Jest snipers or bombs disable disable dis dis- disable dis- dis able the aircraft Litter equipment is installed in three or four tiers and as many as 24 patients are loaded Two men carry each litter to the plane two more place it in position inside and a third man inside inside inside in in- side fastens it in place In an emergency emergency emergency emer emer- gency the flight nurse in the plane must use untrained personnel for this work and occasionally she takes the place of a loader I When the me plane takes off the flight I nurse is in medical charge Only in extreme emergencies does the flight surgeon accompany her A surgeon checks when possible during during dur dur- ing the refueling stops Otherwise the flight nurse and a surgical technician technician technician tech tech- an enlisted man with noncommissioned noncommissioned noncommissioned non non- commissioned officers' officers rating handle the patients The plane is equipped with an ambulance chest which isa isa is isa a small trunk containing bandages medicine for the relief of pain equipment for administering intravenous intravenous intra intra- venous medication and blood plasma plasma plas plas- ma ma also is on the plane H I in zu me tile LIe air me the flight nurse is is I in complete charge aided by a trained staff sergeant Aloft she handles any emergency and nd does anything a doctor would have to do except operate Already the men borne aloft from Anzio were feeling better Removed from the din of battle battIe their shock condition im im- im- im proved Jim for example mustered I I sufficient interest in life to ask where he was going Six hours hours' after he left Anzio he was in a base hospital hospital hospital hos hos- pital in North Africa undergoing a delicate brain operation The evacuation chain does not end at the base hospital overseas Efficiency Efficiency Ef Ef- Ef- Ef and medical factors suggest that the men be kept moving rearward rearward rear rear- rearward ward until they are as close to home as possible Part of the wounded of course come home by ship Pa Pa- for the trans trans- trans ocean cean flights are selected by flight surgeons Four Kinds of Patients Patients' Patients general fitness for air travel is the deciding factor and they are grouped into four medical categories 1 Mental l patients requiring requiring requiring re re- quiring security accommodations en route 2 Hospital litter patients who must remain in bed services rendered by other individuals 3 i Ambulance patients requiring medical medical medical medi medi- I cal care en route from other individuals individuals individuals 4 Troop class patients needing needing needing need need- ing little medical c care re en route who can take care of themselves even in emergencies Air evacuation increases enormously enormously enormously enor enor- once the patients have reached coastal receiving hospitals in the United States either by aircraft aircraft air air- aircraft craft or by surface shipping The same system of screening is employed employed employed em em- at the coastal receiving hospitals hospitals hos hos- hospitals that was described previously as prevailing overseas Urgency of the patients' patients conditions together with their susceptibility to air transportation transportation transportation trans trans- are primary Sergt Walter WaIter A. A Smith of Springfield Springfield Spring Spring- field Mass can testify that the army anny doesn't stint on its resources when one of its wounded needs special special special cial attention On May 9 1944 he was wounded in action in Italy He reached the United States June 14 in ina a convoy and entered Baker General hospital at W. W Va An examination by the staff there revealed revealed revealed re re- re- re that immediate surgical at at- was necessary Ashford General General Gen Gen- General eral hospital at White Sulphur Springs W. W Va had the specialist for the type of operation required Two mornings later a ferrying division di division division di- di vision plane was at Hagerstown Md when Sergeant Smith arrived by ambulance He was placed aboard with a full fulI crew making certain certain tam tain that the solitary patient received received received re re- re- re every attention By noon that day the sergeant was on the operating table at Ashford General hospital receiving the best surgical care that the army has I I Patients moved Ordinarily ferrying division planes engaged in air evacuation are completely completely com corn utilized with all space pied Vi Within thin the continental United States the evacuation by air of the army's war wounded is the responsibility responsibility responsibility of the ferrying division of the theAir theAir theAir Air Transport command Since this responsibility was assumed more than patients have been moved without injury to any of the personnel personnel personnel per per- involved The air evacuation of sick and wounded personnel of the armed forces was pioneered by the medical medical medical medi medi- cal services with the and itcan it itcan itcan can be considered as one of the greatest saving life measures in modern military medicine Col Andres G. G Oliver surgeon of the ferrying division comments Its rapid and comfortable delivery of the patient to a hospital where he or she will get the best and most specialized specialized specialized treatment or to another closer to his home where his convalescence convalescence convalescence con con- will be shorter and far more pleasant has become a great morale factor among our returning I heroes Thus justice is being served when the aircraft so terrible an instrument I I ment of death and destruction can be converted to such humanitarian functions as air evacuation I I |
