Show yank soldiers A healthy lot taller and heavier than their fathers of world war 1 I washington ten million soldiers of this war aggregate 98 miles taller than a similar number of their fathers would have totaled in world war I 1 they weigh more tons they are it is beginning to appear a healthier lot the height and weight figures come from adding up data in a report of the army service forces office of the surgeon general medical statistics division washington this report says that the 1943 inductees average 62 of an inch taller than recruits of 1917 average height present war 5 feet inches world war 1 I 5 feet inches in weight this wars inductees average pounds heavier the respective spec tive weights are 1507 6 against As to the 4 the nations 4 fall in a class between the present inductees and the 1917 recruits in both heights and weights the 4 are 29 of an inch shorter than their brothers of this war they are 62 of a pound lighter this 4 F height is about midway between the tops of the two wars but he is almost as heavy as the inductees and almost nine pounds over the 1917 boys this greater weight and height trend of the 4 probably is significant ant as an indicator that despite their rejection they are physically better than their opposites of world war 1 I military evidence is now accumulating that their brothers the inductees duc tees are really healthier than their fathers generation from several sources recently has come a statement that the better recovery from wounds in this war is due to better health of the men definite improvement maj gen paul R hawley chief surgeon european theater of operations made this statement in a formal release passed by censor in october this year the physical condition of the fighting men in this war shows a definite improvement over the physical condition of soldiers in the civil war and world war L I 1 this is due to a large extent to an improvement in nutrition of infants and in public health measures it is credited with having much to do with the ability of soldiers soldier s to recover from wounds but there are other reasons these other reasons include such things as improved surgery plasma and sulfas in the same theater of war col john gordon who was professor 0 of f preventive medicine at harvard writes preventive medicine has been a tremendous factor in cutting down illness and in building strong bodies which can better withstand wounds one of the most help helpful ful aspects in this work has been the vast amount of preventive medicine that has been practiced among and by our civilian population in the united states this building up of the health level in civilians has been reflected in the state of health of the men when the they Y came into the army |