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THE MEDICS’ WAR

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UNITED STATES ARMY IN THE

KOREAN WAR

THE MEDICS’ WAR

by Albert E. Cowdrey

CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY 

UNITED STATES ARMY 

WASHINGTON, D. C., 1990

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Cowdrey, Albert E.The medics’ war.(United States Army in the Korean War; 4th v.)"CHM pub 20–5"—T.p. verso,Bibliography: p.Includes index.1. Korean war, 1950–1953—Medical care-unitedStates. 2. United States. Army–Medical care—History.

I. Center of Military History. II.Title. III. Series.[DNLM: 1. Military Medicine—history—Korea. 2. MilitaryPersonnel—history—Korea.DS 921.3 C874m]DS918.U5246 [DS921.25] 951.9’042 s 86-25950

[951.9'042]

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UNI TEDSTATESARMYI NTHEKOREANWAR

David F. Trask, General Editor

Advisory Committee(As of 1 August 1985)

Charles P. RolandUniversity of Kentucky

Archer JonesNorth Dakota State University

Roger A. Beaumont Colonel Robert A. Doughty

Texas A&M University U.S. Military Academy

Jamie W. Moore

The Citadel

John H. Hatcher

OfIice of the Assistant Chief of

Staff for Information Management

Donald W. Smythe, S.J.

John Carroll University

Brig. Gen. Richard L. Reynard

U.S. Army War College

Cal. Louis D. E FrascheU.S. Army Command and General

Staff College

Maj. Gen. Edward J. Huycke

Deputy Surgeon General, U.S.A.

L. Eugene Hedberg

American Enterprise Institute

for Public Research

James O’Neill

National Archives and

Records Administration

Maj. Gen. Carl H. McNair, Jr.

U.S. Army Training and

Doctrine Command

U.S. Army Center of Military History

Brig. Gen. William A. Stofft, Chief of Military History

Chief Historian

Chief, Histories Division

Editor in Chief

David F. Trask

Lt. Col. Richard 0. Perry

John W. Elsberg

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. . . to Those Who Served

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ForewordThis is the fourth volume published by the U.S. Army Center of Military

History in its United States Army in the Korean War series. Once termed apolice action, the Korean War was fought by massed armies on a constrictedfield of operations. Its battles were as intense as those of any other war thiscentury.

The Medics’ War views this conflict from an uncommon angle. It documents

the efforts of American Army doctors, nurses, and enlisted medics to save life

and repair the damages wrought by wounds and disease. Though the charges of biological warfare made at the time are shown to have no foundation, thedisease-ridden environment of wartime Korea aided the side with the bestmedical care. The real MASH clearly emerges in this study, along with thevariety of technical innovations produced by the conflict that have advancedmedical science.

The perspective of The Medics’ War  is an enlightening one, showing that thecompassionate treatment of both United Nations and enemy wounded pre-served human values in the midst of bitter, unforgiving strife. Civilian andmilitary readers alike will gain from it a deeper understanding of the processes,

destructive and reconstructive, that together made up the human experience of the Korean War.

Washington, D.C.24 March 1986

WILLIAM A. STOFFTBrigadier General, USAChief of Military History

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The AuthorAlbert E. Cowdrey was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and received his

education from the schools of that city and from Tulane and Johns HopkinsUniversities. He served in the Army as an enlisted man during the years1957–59. After teaching at Tulane University and at Louisiana State University

in New Orleans he entered the government historical programs, working for theCorps of Engineers historical office and, since 1978, for the U.S. Army Center of Military History. His continuing interest in southern history brought him the

Herbert Feis Award of the American Historical Association, in 1984, for hisbook  This Land, This South. He has written widely on medical and militaryhistory, in American and British journals. The Medics War was written while hewas chief of the Medical History Branch at the Center of Military History.

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PrefaceThe medical history of war casts light not only upon the suffering of those

who tight but upon the dedication of those who save. Though the associationbetween slaying and saving is paradoxical, it exists and helps to shape the natureof modern warfare—and of modern medicine as well.

Often the effort to forestall or to repair war’s damages by preventing diseaseand managing trauma has served to advance medical science. During the pastcentury, conquest of the ancient camp diseases has changed the definition of 

what is militarily possible. The kind of struggle fought on the Western Frontduring World War I would have been impossible in times past, when large

immobile bodies of troops would have spawned devastating epidemics. InWorld War II Americans, aided by further medical progress, were able to fightfor years in the most varied disease environments. In turn, that struggle intro-duced to the world a variety of innovations, including the mass production and

use of penicillin and DDT. During the same period, improvements in surgeryand the introduction of a systematic program to supply whole blood steadilyreduced the death rate among the wounded in military hospitals.

In the roster of wars that have contributed to medical progress, the Korean

conflict holds a place of importance. Major innovations included the MASH(mobile army surgical hospital); widespread use of the helicopter for medicalevacuation; improved forward vascular surgery; and advances in the handlingand treatment of neurosurgical injuries. Indeed, modern emergency medicine

would be hard to imagine without the pioneer work done on the Korean battle-fields. By their courage and skill American medics in Korea were able to saveand restore the lives of many soldiers and marines who otherwise would havesuccumbed to the fighting, the omnipresent diseases, and the harsh fieldconditions.

While researching and writing The Medics’ War,  I  benefited from the sup-

port and expertise of many people. The bibliographical essay gives credit to thewriters of earlier published works. My thanks are due especially to the archivistsand librarians of the Washington area, notably to Hannah M. Zeidlick, Charles

Ellsworth, Geraldine K. Judkins and Mary J. Sawyer of the U.S. Army Centerof Military History; to Norman M. Covert at Fort Detrick; to Dorothy Hanks atthe National Library of Medicine; and to Victoria S. Washington and Fred W.Pernell at the National Archives and Records Administration. Mr. Pernell, inparticular, deserves a campaign ribbon for his unwearied help to myself and

later to my editor.Fellow historians displayed their usual professional generosity, providing

perceptive comments on my efforts and constructive suggestions for improve-

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ContentsPROLOGUE: THE UNEXPECTED WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1. BETWEEN THE WARS . . . . . . .

The Great Unraveling . . . . . . .

The ASTPs . . . . . . . . . . .

The Drive To Professionalize . . .

Reorganizing the Department . . .

The Unification Drive . . . . . . .

The Personnel Problem Revisited . .

2. JAPAN AND KOREA AFTER V-J DAY .

Public Health and Welfare . . . . . .

Care of the Troops . . . . . . . . .

The Occupation ofKorea . . . . . .

American Policy and Korean Ills . . .

Americans in Korea . . . , . . . . ,

Japan Under the Later Occupation . .

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3. THE MEDICAL SERVICE IN RETREAT .

Medics in Retreat . . . . . . . , . .

The Pusan Perimeter . . . . . . . . .

The Other Side of the Line . . . . . . .

The Medical System Takes Form . . . .

Enter the Helicopter . . . . . . . . .

4. THE MEDICAL SERVICE IN THE ATTACK . .

A4edical Support for the Invasion . . . . . .

Medics in the Breakout . . . . . , . . . .

The Advance to the Yalu. , . . . . , . . .

The Forces of General Winter . . , . . . . .

“An Entirely New War” . . . . . 1 , . . .

The New Shape ofArmy A4edicine . . . . . .

5. BEHINDTHE LINES . . . . .

Sources ofSupply . . . . .

Getting Supplies to the Troops

Water, Blankets, and Litters .

Personnel . . . . . . . . .

Preventive Medicine . . , .

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145

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Chapter

Hospitalization and Evacuation ..............

The Blood Program ...................

The Growth of Psychiatric Support .............

Dental Care ......................

Professional Services ..................

6. FIELD AND BUNKER ...................

On the Battlefield ...................

The Third Horseman ..................

Into the Bunkers ....................

Life on the Line ....................

How Good Was the Field Medical Service? .........

7. STATIC WARFARE ............ .......

From Battle Line to Hospital ..............

Life on the Line ...................

Men in Armor ............. .......

Back to the Battle ........... .......

Germ Warfare ....................

The Opening Barrage .................

Charge and Countercharge ...............

8. MEDICAL SUPPORT BEHIND A STABLE FRONT ......

Organization of the Rear Areas ..............

ANewArmy.....................

Training .......................

Supply ........................

The Blood Program ...................

Preventive Medicine ..................

Dental Care ......................

Of Professional Interest .................

The Flow of the Wounded ................

9. DEFINITIVE CARE ....................

Evacuation: The First Leg ................

The Hospitals of Japan .................On the Wards ......... ..........

The WayHome ........ 1..

...........

Zone-ofInterior Hospitals ................

Selected Hospitals ...................

10. VICTIMS OF WAR ....................

U. N. Prisoners: The First Phase .............

Communist Prisoners: The First Phase ..........

The Riots and After ..................

Page

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200207

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Chapter Page

The Refugee Problem . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Korean Soldiers and Laborers . . . . . . . . 329

11. THE END OF THE FIGHTING.... . . 335

The Medical Picture ........ . . . . 335

On the Line ........... . . . . 340

Operation LITTLE SWITCH .... . . . . 345

Operation BIGSWITCH ...... . . . . 351

After the Battle .......... . . . . 355

Civil Assistance Revisited ...... . . . . 359

The Korean Experience ....... . . . . 362

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ................. 365

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................. 375

INDEX .......................... 379

Tables

No.

1. Medical Department Oflicer Strength, December 1947 . . . . . . 13

2. Distribution of Army Nurses, June 1948 . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3. Results of the Moral Suasion Campaign, June 1949 . . . . . . . 32

4. Board-Certified Regular Army Medical Oflicers, March 1950 . . . 34

5. Comparative Case Rates of Major Diseases During the Occupation . 41

6. Anticipated Deficit in Medical Officers, Eighth Army, 1949 . . . . 67

7. Medical Personnel in Japan, June 1950 . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

8. Nondivisional Medical Units in Korea, August 1950 . . . . . . . 99

9. Battle Casualty Data, April 195 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Charts

1. Medical Evacuation, September 1950 . . . . . . . . . . .

2. Organization of the Korean Civil Assistance Program, June 1952

3. Organization of the United Nations Civil Assistance Command,

Korea, November 1952 . . . . . . : . . . . . . . . .

4. Organization of the Medical Section, United States Army Forces,

Far East, December 1953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maps

1. The Enemy Advances, June-July 1950 ...... . . . 72

2. The Pusan Perimeter, August 1950 ........ . . . 80

151

326

326

336

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A’o. Page

3. The U.N. Advances, September-November 1950 ........

4. Land Lost and Regained, January-May 195 1 .. ... .

5. The Central Korean Battleground, September 195 l-July 1953 1 1 1

6. Japan and Korea .....................

7. The Pusan-Koje Area ....................

8. Refugee Movements, June 1950-July I95 1 ...........

9. Korea Redivided, July 1953 .................

110

169

212

265313

322

352

Illustrations

American Evacuees From Korea Arriving in Japan ......... 5Maj. Gen. Raymond W. Bliss ................. 17Draftees Undergoing Physicals ................. 31Brig. Gen. Crawford F. Sams .................. 37Brig. Gen. Guy B. Denit ................... 45

Sanitary Inspector Taking Water Samples ............ 46

Korean Civilians Welcoming U.S. Occupation Troops ....... 52Smallpox Ward in the Seoul Communicable Disease Hospital .... 55

American Nurse Instructing Korean Nurses ........... 57South Korean Casualties Awaiting Evacuation to the Rear ..... 71

Tagging an American Casualty at a Forward Aid Station ...... 73Ambulance Driver Covering the Red Cross With Mud ....... 76Unloading Wounded Soldiers at a Battalion Aid Station

Col. Chauncey E. Dove11 and the Eighth Army Medical Staff 1 1 1 1 1

78

8 1South Korean Casualties Receiving Medical Attention ....... 89

Surgeons at Work in Taegu .................. 9 1

Field Psychiatry ....................... 92Loading a Casualty on a Marine Corps Helicopter ......... 94Korean Civilian Hospital at Inchon ............... 1034th Field Hospital in Ascom City ................ 104A Medic in the Breakout

Unloading Casualties From’s DUKW 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

105

107Enemy Soldier Receiving First Aid ............... 109

Corpsman Treating Daughter ofa North Korean Officer ...... 113The Effects of Frostbite ..................... 117

Hospital Train Evacuation From Pyongyang ........... 125Maj. Gen. Silas B. Hays .................... 134Winter Supplies ....................... 138Army Nurses of the 12 1 st Evacuation Hospital .......... 144Battalion Aidman Vaccinating South Korean Troops ........ 147

U.N. Patients in a Pusan Hospital Ward ............. 152Facilities at the 3d Station Hospital in Pusan ........... 153Loading Blood in a Helicopter Pod ............... 155

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Dental Prosthetic Section Making Dentures ...........

Medic Treating Wounded Chinese Soldier ............

Litterbearer Coming to the Aid of a Casualty ...........

Capt. Hubert D. Gaddis Piloting a Helicopter ...........

Norwegian MASH Surgeon Amputating an Arm ..........

Neurosurgical Team at the 12 1st Evacuation Hospital .......

Primitive Stretchers Used by Chinese Medics ...........

Bunker-Type Forward Aid Station ...............

Evacuation by Tank During the October 1951 Fighting .......

Road-Rail Bus .......................

Quartermaster Shower Point ..................

Maj. Gen. George E. Armstrong ................

Aidmen Helping Casualties of a Patrol Mission ..........

Forward Aid Station Near Old Baldy ..............

Evacuation by Litter Toboggan .................

Nurse at the Italian Red Cross Hospital .............

Artificial Kidney Machine ...................

Typical MASH Operating Room ................

Infantry Soldiers in Armored Vests ...............

Holding Ward in a Regimental Collecting Station .........

Armored Personnel Carrier Evacuation .............

Preparing a Casualty for Evacuation by Tramway .........

Communist Charge of Germ Warfare ..............

Maj. Gen. William E. Shambora ................

A Contingent of Medical Officers ................Medical Equipment Maintenance Technicians at Work .......

Checking the 6th Army Medical Depot Narcotics Supply ......

Medics Administering Blood Plasma ..............

Dusting for Mosquitoes ....................

Forward Dentistry ......................

Interior of a Jamesway Tent ..................

Military and Civilian Consultants ...............

Men at Work in a Surgical Research Team Laboratory .......

Litterbearers Carrying Casualties to a Hospital Train ........

Casualties on a Hospital Train Headed South ...........Caring for Casualties on Board the USS Co~soh~on ........

USS Repose at Inchon ....................

Air Force Flight Nurse Aiding Evacuee .............

Unloading an Ambulance Bus at Tokyo Army Hospital .......

Tokyo Army Hospital ....................

Osaka Army Hospital .....................

Joe DiMaggio and Lefty O’Doul ................

Fracture Ward at Tokyo Army Hospital .............

Turning a Paraplegic in a Stryker Frame .............

Page

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O f f - l oA T S  l a nt i c ki ro ra s. .

A m b u l au s e sn o u to r i pr mo s. .

C o m f o rf o m e  t r i p. . .

A m e r i ct r o ci c t i. . . .D u s t i nh i n ea p t i. . . .

M a j .e n .d g a rr s k iu m en d  u r ge nl i. .

O p e r a tn h i n ea t it h e  4 t hi eo s. .

M e d i cd m i nl o oo h i na tn  o j. .

R a i d i nr i s oo m pn o j. .

R e m o v io u n dO W sf t eh e  o j ei o. .

K o r e a ne f u ge a rh u n. . .

W a rr p h au f f er o ma l n. . .

C a r ef h ee e t  . . . .

M e d i c st h e7 t h  u r g io s pi t ta s. .

W a r d3 6t o k y or m yo s pn n e. . .

L e a v i nr e e di l l an n - 9 e l i. .

A n o t h eh a n gf l o t h. . . .

G r e e t iI T T LW I Te t ut a ci ra s. .

E n e m ya p t io i n go m e. . .

B I GW I T Ce t u rr r it r e ei l. .

R e p a t rr m y  o c t oh a rh e ix p. .

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