This is part 5 of a multi-part series on Tec5 Joseph N. Korzeniowski, who served as a Surgical Technician with Company C, 46th Armored Medical Battalion. In this part, we look at his service during the Battle of the Bulge and his leave to Paris. Battle of the Bulge On December 19th, 1944 Company C, […]
Tec5 Joseph N. Korzeniowski – Part 5 Read More »
These famous photos show medics of the 4th Armored Division treating a wounded man on a sidewalk. They were taken on July 30th, 1944 in a street in the city of Coutances, France. After doing some more research, I found that an incredible amount of photos (as well as color film) were taken in the
A street in Coutances, France Read More »
Between June 1944 and VE-day some 175.000 GIs were admitted to a US Army medical installation in the ETO due to an infectious disease. Only 314 of these men died from these infectious diseases (0,02%). The total number of men admitted to a US Army medical installation for battle injuries in the ETO was 393,987.
Antibiotics use in the ETO during WW2 by the US ARMY. Read More »
The US Army in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) faced a tragic epidemic in the fall and winter of 1944/1945. Casualty numbers in this epidemic range from 46,000 – 71,000 soldiers (depending on whether only “pure” cold injury casualties are counted or casualties with other medical problems AND cold injury are counted). If we
Trench foot and Frostbite epidemic in the ETO Read More »
The medical concepts of shock and its main cause at the beginning of WW2 led the US Armed Forces to rely on the transfusion of blood plasma as the main therapy. For more information on this and the successful blood plasma program during the War, I invite you to read part 1 of this series.
SHOCK TREATMENT IN THE US ARMY DURING WW2. PART 2: WHOLE BLOOD. Read More »
Shock is a life-threatening condition caused by failure of blood circulation, causing inadequate oxygen delivery to the tissues and cells of the body. The effects of shock are initially reversible, but can rapidly become irreversible, resulting in multiorgan failure and death. There are several possible causes and we now recognize different types of shock: septic
Shock treatment in the US Army during WW2. Part 1: Shock and plasma. Read More »
This Morning Report describes one soldier suffering from “battle fatigue” and the efforts of the aid men to help him. But what is “battle fatigue” exactly? What were the symptoms and signs? And how was it treated? In this article, I will explore these questions and answer them first for the US Army in general
When a casualty’s injury warranted evacuation from the battalion aid station/casualty collecting point, and the treatment he had received had stabilized his situation enough for him to be transportable, he would enter the second echelon of the Chain of Evacuation. The second echelon was the responsibility of the medical battalion. Just as all the medical
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part 5: Medical Battalion. Read More »
First echelon evacuation meant getting the casualties away from the front line, as quickly as the tactical situation allowed, to a battalion aid station. Here, they would be seen by a doctor for the first time after being wounded. “Soon after dawn, we began to receive casualties, many of whom were severely wounded. The aid
Medical Evacuation and Treatment Series. Part 4: Battalion Aid Station. Read More »
In many of the photos and films taken in the European Theater of Operations, we find medical personnel and vehicles marked with Geneva Convention Red Crosses. The medics found that, generally, the Germans followed the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of personnel and equipment marked as non-combatants. For this, the Army had the brassards as
Geneva Convention Red Cross markings Read More »