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OSPITAL NUMBER 8
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CAPTAIN WILLIAM H. H. TURVILLE, (MC), USN
The Story Of The
U. 5. Naval Mobile Hospital
Number §
By
Captain William H. H. Turville
MEDICAL CORPS, USN
ROBERT W. KELLY PUBLISHING CORP.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
AUGUST 12, 1942
U.S.N. Mobile Hospital Unit
No. 8 — commissioned at the
U.S.N. Medical Supply De-
pot, Brooklyn, New York, and
assigned to the Pacific Fleet.
SEPTEMBER 10, 1942
Reported to Cincpac that
U.S.N. Mobile Hospital No.
8 was in materiel readiness.
SEPTEMBER 15, 1942
U.S.N. Mobile Hospital No.
8 ordered to San Diego, Cal-
ifornia, area to be held in
readiness. _
SEPTEMBER 15 —
OCTOBER 10, 1942
Materiel and equipment
loaded and transported to
the West coast by freight
train.
OCTOBER 10, 1942
Personnel left by troop train
for San Pedro, California.
OCTOBER 15, 1942
Personnel: arrived San Pedro
by troop train — reported
to Commander Amphibious
Force. Officers and enlisted
personnel quarters at N.O.B.
San Pedro and Receiving Bar-
racks, Terminal Island.
NOVEMBER 1, 1942
All materiel and equipment
arrived at San Pedro—stored
at the U.S.N. Supply Depot,
San: Pedro.
NOVEMBER 1, 1942 —
FESRUARY 15, 1943
Officers and enlisted person-
nel sent for periods of in-
struction at U. S. Naval Hos-
pital, San Diego—uU. S. Naval
Hospital, Long Beach.
Officers and enlisted person-
nel assigned duty at:
Receiving Barracks, Ter-
minal Island
Long Beach Hospital
Long Beach Dispensary
Naval Air Station, San
Pedro
Naval Operating Base,
San Pedro
Officers and enlisted person-
nel:
Physical drill
Gymnasium classes
Military drill
Swimming instruction
Various athletic games
Classes, lectures and
demonstrations
Officers and enlisted person-
nel instructed in use of rifle
and automatic weapons
FEBRUARY 15, 1943
Received orders to proceed
to South Pacific.
FEBRUARY 20 —
MARCH 9, 1943
Personnel and equipment left
for South Pacific.
MARCH 28, 1943
All personnel and equipment
arrived at Espiritu Santos
awaiting further fransfer to
Guadalcanal.
APRIL 4, 1943
17 officers and 18 enlisted
men arrived at Guadalcanal,
permanent location of U.S.N.
Mobile Hospital No. 8.
P HEF ACE
HEN the U. S. Naval Mobile Hospital No. 8
We: placed in commission on August !2, 1942
it was proposed that a record of the unit be kept,
and, that after the war was over, to publish said
record in book torm for the personnel of the hos-
pital. This record was kept up to date until May
17, 1944, when | was detached from the hospital.
From that date on very little data has been
recorded so that the latter part of the record of
the activities of the hospital are incomplete.
Although the fascinating intricacies of the de-
tailed work are still somewhat fresh in our memories,
they will fade into a dim but colorful picture of
many men at work with a definite goal in mind. This
brief summary, together with the representative
photographs, will recall to each thoughtful reader
many unique stories which will be stimulated by even
a casual perusal by the men intimately associated
with MOB. 8. The descriptions and antidotes of us
as individuals will evolve in different parts of the
world because all men delight in looking back at
their former stations in their own peculiar way.
| wish to thank Lieutenant Homer E. Smith, (MC},
USNR, Lieutenant Frederick H. G. Schelter, (DJL,
USNR, and Chief Pharmacist's Mate Mildred P.
McCrary, V-10, USNR, for their valuable assistance
in the preparation of the material for this book.
WM. H. H. TURVILLE
APRIL 5, 1943
Selected present hospital site.
46th U.S.N. Construction
Battalion assigned to assist
in constructing hospital.
APRIL 6 —
MAY 1, 1943
Hospital roads constructed.
126,000 gallon water storage
tank constructed. Mess Hall
started. Cleaned up camp
site.
MAY 1, 1943
Erected stockade on camp
site. Received orders expard-
ing hospital to 1000 beds.
MAY 4, 1943
100 enlisted men and 3 offi-
cers arrived. Set up camp.
MAY 9, 1943
Terrific rain storm — camp
flooded.
MAY 10, 1943
First armored hut erected.
MAY 14, 1943
Water piped from Tenaru
River — 126,000 gallon water
tank completed.
MAY 16, 1943
3! enlisted men and 5 offi-
cers arrived. Second armored
hut started.
MAY 19, 1943
Foundation laid for first
Medical Supply Facility build-
ing, 40'x100.
A Jap plane shot down —
sketch found on the pilot
showed Turville Drive listed
as fighter strip.
MAY 21, 1943
Started erection of 6800 cu.
ft. reefer. Foundation laid
for second Medical Supply
Facility Building.
Put up hospital sign at junc-
tion of Henderson Road and
Turville Drive.
JUNE 1, 1943
Took over Acorn Red One
Hospital as Koli Point Branch
of U.S.N. Mobile Hospital
No. 8.
JUNE 4, 1943
All original officers and en-
listed personnel had arrived.
Ship with material and equip-
ment arrived.
JUNE 5 —
JUNE 9, 1943
Unloading materiel and
equipment for hospital.
JUNE 11, 1943
Concrete deck laid for Main-
tenance, Commissary, and
Galley buildings.
JUNE 12, 1943
Started construction of the
Administration Building and
Clinical Group “A”.
JUNE 14, 1943
Personnel and materiel for
Medical Supply Facility re-
ported.
JUNE 17, 1943
Laid foundation for Power
House, refrigerators and
scullery.
JUNE 21, 1943
X-ray Building, A-7 and A-8
started.
JUNE 22, 1943
A-|| and A-12. Operating
suite. A-13. 3400 cu. ft.
reefer. Foundation for laun-
dry.
JUNE 24, 1943
Started bakery. Ice machine.
Ice cream machine.
JUNE 28, 1943
Reported Medical Supply Fa-
cility ready to function.
JUNE 30, 1943
First U.S.O. show.
JULY 5, 1943
Moved into Administration
Building.
JULY 9, 1943
Received orders increasing
hospital to 1750 beds. 1500
main hospital and 259 at Koli
Point. Put up hospital sign at
Koli Point Branch.
JULY 12, 1943
Captain E. A. M. Gendreau,
(MC), U.S.N. Fleet Surgeon,
U. S. Pacific Fleet, visited the
hospital.
JULY 16, 1943
During an air raid, the roofs
_ of the buildings were sprayed
with falling shrapnel from the
anti-aircraft guns.
JULY 18, 1943
First oranges since we arrived
on Guadalcanal.
JULY 20, 1943
Galley and mess halls opened.
JULY 21, 1943
First ice cream.
AUGUST 7, 1943
Hospital opened for patients
(400) — raised colors and
Red Cross flag. First (2)
patients admitted at 0915.
AUGUST 9, 1943
First operation performed in
hospital.
AUGUST 11, 1943
Materiel and equipment for
expansion of hospital started
to arrive.
SEPTEMBER 1, 1943.
Dental Department opened.
SEPTEMBER 3, 1943
Captain Terry reported.
SEPTEMBER 4, 1943
Captain Goss detached.
SEPTEMBER 15, 1943
Opened N.P. building (D-20).
SEPTEMBER 16, 1943
Started first 20'x100' build-
ing of “Task Force" type.
Completed porch on A-18
and D-20.
SEPTEMBER 17, 1943
Mrs. Roosevelt visited the
hospital — stayed in D-! over
night. 1830 air raid. Mrs.
Roosevelt went to bomb-
proof shelter in ‘'A" group.
SEPTEMBER 18, 1943
Senator Meade, New York,
inspected hospital. Officers
moved into permanent quar-
ters in ''D" area.
BEUILCATEU TO
HE officers and enlisted men of the Staff of the
Hus N. Mobile Hospital No, 8, and the Naval
Medical Supply Facility, Guadalcanal, B.S. 1., who
pertormed outstanding service beyond the call of
duty in the construction and operation of these two
large medical facilities in an extremely tropical
climate. From the day on which the first contingent
arrived on Guadalcanal, they met seemingly un-
surmountable problems of hewing a hospital site out
of the jungle; constructing and operating a hospital
and a Medical Supply Facility in the face of enemy
air opposition; setting up and maintaining a huge
malarial control program; enduring the hardships of
tropical weather on disease; caring for thousands
ot patients who received treatment at that hospital;
and, supplying all Naval and Marine Activities in
the forward area with medical supplies.
SEPTEMBER 21, 1943
A Jap plane shot down over-
head — landed about 500
yards from western boundary
of hospital reservation. One
motor landed on the water
supply pipe, severing it —
hospital without water ‘supply
for 18 hours. Fortunately
the 126,000 gallon tank and
the (2) 15,000 gallon tanks
were ample to tide us over
the emergency.
SEPTEMBER 24, 1943
Started the Welfare Building.
SEPTEMBER 28, 1943
Started first 250' ward, D-19.
SEPTEMBER 29, 1943
First entertainment in Movie
Hall
OCTOBER 5, 1943
Started Operating Room in
Group "'C".
OCTOBER 8, 1943
Started wards in Group 'C".
OCTOBER 15, 1943
Memorial plaque Camp
Gendreau erected.
OCTOBER 20, 1943
Boone-Corbet: Auditorium
dedicated.
NOVEMBER 1, 1943
Wards in Group ''C" com-
pleted. Patients put in C-I
and C-2.
NOVEMBER 2, 1943
Started other wards in ‘"'D"
group.
NOVEMBER 14, 1943
46th U.S.N. Construction Bat-
talion left.
NOVEMBER 20, 1943
27th U.S.N. Construction Bat
talion started work on hospi-
tal. Laundry expansion, new
mess hall, bakery, scuilery and
6000 cu. ft. reefer.
NOVEMBER 27, 1943
Admiral Chambers inspected
hospital. Ammunition dump
at Hell's Point exploded.
DECEMBER 1, 1943
All wards in "“C" group in
operation.
DECEMBER 11, 1943
All wards in “D" group in
operation.
DECEMBER 23, 1943
Officers quarters, D-5 and
D-6, completed. D-7,_ sick
officers quarters, bag room
completed.
DECEMBER 24, 1943
Officers Club opened.
DECEMBER 28, 1943
Enlisted men's recreation hall
completed. 27th U.S.N. Con-
struction Battalion left. All
wards in "A", "C'', and "'D"
groups plus Barracks 3 and 4
in operation for patients.
FEBRUARY 1, 1944
Construction begun on
Nurses Quarters.
FEBRUARY 10, 1944
A group of four U.S.O. en-
tertainers, Ray Milland, Rosita
Marino, Frances Faye and
Mary Elliot, arrived to stay
at the hospital while they
entertained the island organi-
zations.
FEBRUARY 15, 1944
Clinical Group "G" started.
FEBRUARY 20, 1944
Red Cross group arrived from
New Caledonia to entertain
various camps on island.
Stayed at MOB 8.
FEBRUARY 26, 1944
MOB 8 orchestra played in
Auditorium.
MARCH 1, 1944
Stateside evacuations begun.
MARCH 25, 1944
50 nurses arrived.
APRIL 1, 1944
Convalescent sick officers
camp established.
APRIL 28, 1944
Admiral Chambers inspected
hospital.
MAY 1, 1944
Group ''G" completed. Red
Cross Building and additional
quarters for nurses com-
pleted.
MAY 17, 1944
Captain Wm. H. H. Turville,
(MC), U.S.N., Commanding
Officer, detached. Relieved
by Captain J. S. Terry, (MC),
U.S.N.
JUNE 9, 1944
Name of hospital changed to
U.S.N. Fleet Hospital No.
108.
JULY 1, 1944
Koli Point Branch closed.
JULY 23, 1945
Hospital decommissioned.
XVI.
LUNTENTS
FORMATIVE ERA
FIRST STOP — SAN PEDRO
WE SHOVE OFF
WE ARRIVE AT GUADALCANAL
THE UNLOADING OF THE S.S. JEAN LYKES
BUILDING THE HOSPITAL
THE HOSPITAL OPENS
BUILDING OF THE HOSPITAL CONTINUES
THE KOLI POINT BRANCH
CONVALESCENT SICK OFFICERS CAMP
THE U.S. NAVAL MEDICAL SUPPLY FACILITY, GUADALCANAL, B. S. |.
MALARIA CONTROL
AIR RAIDS
THE ARRIVAL OF THE NURSES
ENTERTAINMENT AT MOB 8
MOB 8 AS A HOSPITAL
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U. S. N. MOBILE HOSPITAL NO.
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
1940
L HAPTER |
‘FORMATIVE ERA’
HE U. S. N. Mobile Hospitals played a very important part in the medical ac-
h poh ot World War Il in the Pacitic Area. These hospitals are notable because
of the rapidity in which they were constructed in the forward areas of the Pacific
war theatre; the excellent medical facilities made available so near the front lines;
and the large number of cases admitted to these hospitals.
Mobile Hospitals were a new and novel idea of the Medical Department of the
United States Navy. In 1940, U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. | was set up in Guan-
tanamo Bay, Cuba, and functioned for Naval and Marine Corps Units in that area
during maneuvers and during the rapid expansion of Guantanamo Bay Naval facilities,
prior to our entrance in World War Il. This hospital was a small and crude affair
compared to some of the later Mobile Hospitals. Being a new and novel idea in
Naval Medicine, many problems were solved as a result of this experiment with a
hospital of this type. In 1941 this hospital was moved to Bermuda.
U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 2 was under construction in Hawaii and nearing
completion when the Japs struck Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This hospital
rendered valuable assistance in the care of the casualties of that disaster.
U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 3 was the first mobile hospital unit to leave the
United States after our entry into World War Il. It was set up in Samoa in 1942
and in 1944 was moved to Guam.
Other Mobile Hospitals were established as needed with U. S. N. Mobile Hos-
pital No. 4 and U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 6 being set up in New Zealand; U. S. N.
15
Mobile Hospital No. 5 and U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 7 were set up in New
Caledonia; U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 was set up in Guadalcanal; U. S. N.
Mobile Hospital No. 9 set up in Australia; and, U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 10 set
up in the Russell Islands.
There were eighteen or more of these mobile hospital units organized. Some
were set up and functioning and others were waiting to be set up in th Pacific Area
when the war ended.
Having a somewhat lengthy name, it was only natural that these hospitals be-
came designated and eventually called by the personnel as ''MOB''— thus — U.S.N.
Mobile Hospital No. 8 was almost universally called, by the personnel speaking of
this hospital, "MOB 8".
In June 1944, the use of the name, Mobile Hospital, was discontinued and these
hospitals were renamed U. S. N. Fleet Hospitals. Their number designations were
changed to start with the number one hundred and one. Thus, U. S. N. Mobile
Hospital No. 8 became U. S. N. Fleet Hospital No. 108.
As a unit of the U. S. N. Mobile Hospital plan, MOB 8 adequately fulfilled
the purpose for which it was intended, and as such was indeed a credit to U. S.
Naval Medicine. Approximately 46,000 patients were admitted to this hospital during
the two years that it was in commission on Guadalcanal.
In the early part of June 1942, the wheels were set into motion to form U. S. N.
Mobile Hospital No. 8 as a medical unit of the U. S. Fleet, to serve outside the
continental limits of the United States. The enlisted men began to receive orders to
report to the U. S. N. Medical Supply Depot, Brooklyn, New York, either as drafts
or individually. During the early part of July 1942 the officers received orders,
“When directed by the Commandant ...............600000cee in July 1942, you will
regard yourself detached from duty at the .........0..ceee. , and from such
other duty as may have been assigned; you will proceed to New York, N. Y.,
16
and not later than July 14, 1942, report to the Commandant, Third Naval Dis-
trict, tor duty in connection with the establishment of the Naval Mobile Hos-
pital, No. 8 at the Naval Medical Supply Depot, Brooklyn, N. Y., for duty with
that activity when established, and for duty outside the continental limits of the
United States." |
The officers and men continued to report individually or in small groups, and
on July 17, 1942, Captain Wm. H. H. Turville, (MC), U.S. N., reported at the U. S.N.
Medical Depot, Brooklyn, New York, to assume command of the proposed hospital
unit. From that day hence, the unit gradually became organized to function as a
Naval Mobile Hospital unit. Captain O. R. Goss, (MC}, U. S. N., reported as the
Executive Officer on July 28, 1942.
During the early days of the organization, the officers and men had, of educa-
tional and practical necessity, many duties far afield from medicine and surgery. The
officers assentlaled each morning at the Naval Medical Supply Depot to read the
monographs printed about the previous mobile hospitals to acquaint themselves with
the purpose, background, physical setup, construction and functional aspects of such
medical units.
The officers and men spent many hours studying the Inventory of Medical and
Surgical Supplies so as to fully acquaint themselves with the material at hand. Any
deficiencies or personal preferences in the medical or surgical equipment were taken
up with the commanding officer for his opinion and disposition.
Once the physical component of the medical and surgical aspects of the unit
had been learned, the duties of the medical officers became primarily educational
in nature. The education was along both practical and scientific lines. The practical
aspect of the training being in the physical setup of the new medical and surgical
functions of the hospital; namely, the loading, unloading, construction, assembling,
and operation of the material at hand.
Personnel were sent to the factories that manufactured some of the more com-
17
plicated machinery to get a practical knowledge of how it was made, how to assemble
and operate it. Such training was particularly important for such items as laundry
equipment, galley equipment, building construction, and our water puritication system.
The United States Steel Company, which manufactured the pre-fabricated build-
ings of the hospital, gave valuable instruction in the form of lectures, motion pictures,
and conferences, to the officers and men attached to the unit.
While these projects were being digested, others of the personnel worked on
the plans for the future hospital. This was a detailed and arduous task because of
the uncertainty as to where the hospital was to be located and what technical geo-
graphical problems might arise as a result of the location. With this in mind, the
group worked out plans for the hospital on a sliding-scale fashion to take care of,
in so far as possible, any eventuality that might arise at the time of construction.
A course in Tropical Diseases was given to the medical officers three afternoons
a week at the Medical School of Cornell University. This course consisted of both
didactic and practical work in the tropical diseases which the medical officers might
be called upon to diagnose and treat in the near future. The course was sound and
concentrated, eliminating the so-called "'frills and fancies'' of the subject.
The medical and dental officers had daily conferences on medical, surgical and
dental problems, each officer giving at least one talk on some specitic medical, surgi-
cal or dental problem. The purpose of this was to acquaint the medical and dental
officers with their professional qualifications, and to inspire contidence in their fellow
officers.
The enlisted men were quartered in the Receiving Barracks, Flushing Avenue,
Brooklyn, New York, and were assigned to duties as the need arose. One group
was on duty at the Pier in Edgewater, New Jersey, checking and storing the equip-
ment as it arrived, a second group was on duty at the Naval Medical Supply Depot
18
helping with the sorting, packing, and distribution of various medical supplies. Other
groups were distributed throughout the various activities in the area.
In order to form a closer union among the officers during this formative period,
many of them lived at the Master Hotel, Riverside Drive, New York City, and as a
result of the close association, morale was at the highest point and many close
friendships were formed.
On August ||, 1942, the organization had progressed to a point where it could
be commissioned as a hospital unit. This was a happy day for the group, as they were
to be recognized as an organized part of the Medical Department of the United
States Navy. At 1300 that day, the personnel, with their wives and guests, assembled
at the Naval Medical Supply Depot for the commissioning exercises. The ceremony was
short but inspiring to all those present. It consisted of Captain K. C. Melhorn, (MC),
U.S.N., Medical Officer in Command of the Naval Medical Supply Depot, reading
the orders from the Navy Department placing the U.S.N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 in
commission and assigning it to the Pacific Fleet, atter which the Medical Officer in
Command of the U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 read his orders to assume command
of this hospital unit. Captain Melhorn then made very appropriate remarks to the
hospital unit following which a short address was given by the Medical Officer in
Command. The ceremony was completed by a prayer and benediction by the Naval
Chaplain.
AUUHESS BY
Captain Wm. H. H. Turville, (MC}, U. S. N.
at the Commissioning
of the
U. S. N. Naval Mobile Hospital
No. 8
at the
Medical Supply Depot
Brooklyn, New York
11 August 1942
“|! is indeed an honor and a privilege to have been selected as the Commanding
Officer of U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 8, and as Commanding Officer, | wel-
come you as shipmates.
Our officer personnel, with but four exceptions, is composed of Reserve Officers,
who have left their practices to devote their lives and services to the U. S. Navy.
Some | have known from previous duty with you, others of you were strangers to me
prior to my arrival in New York; however, each and everyone of you have shown that
you are willing and eager to work and are anxious to make Mobile Hospital No. 8 an
outstanding hospital.
Our crew has been assembled from various parts of the country — some regular
service men, some Fleet Naval Reservists, and many Reserve enlisted men from all
walks of life. On examining the questionnaire of the previous experience of the crew,
| found that we have many types and varieties of artificers and tradesmen that will be
of great value during the construction period of the hospital.
Today, the seed of a hospital has been planted — it must be transferred to
another shore before it starts to grow.
20
The materiel tor our hospital is being assembled and delivered to the shipping
pier, and in a short time we shall be ready to report our ‘readiness for orders to
proceed."
We will have some trying times ahead of us before we arrive at our destination,
and while we are constructing our hospital. You will be called upon to perform many
duties that are foreign to your usual vocation; however, | am confident that you
will carry out these duties with great success.
The amount of professional work may be small for some time; however, we
must be organized and ready to receive casualties even beyond our normal capacity.
This is the eighth Mobile Hospital to be formed at the Medical Supply Depot;
some of them have already performed duty in combat areas and have been a credit
to the Navy Medical Corps. | am sure that our unit also will be a credit to the Navy
Medical Corps, just as soon as we start functioning as a hospital.
We must keep mentally and physically fit to endure long hours of work, possibly
under distressing circumstances and perhaps unusual hardships so that we may accom-
blish the mission of our hospital.
This is an ‘‘all-out'’ war and while our part may appear small, we have a very
important mission to fill. Always remember the mission of the Medical Department
of the Navy: ''To keep as many men at as many guns as many days as possible.’
Let us pledge ourselves to willingly assume the responsibilities of our task and
the confidence placed in us, so that when we are put to the test we shall not be
found wanting.’
The hospital unit continued its headquarters at the Naval Medical Supply Depot
for another ten days until U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 7 moved out of the pier at
Edgewater. Then U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 moved in and established its
headquarters at that pier.
2 |
Soon after our arrival at the Pier the officers began an intensive course in calis-
thenics, indoor baseball and military drill. The second floor of the pier offered ample
space for such activities but frequently an officer drilling a small squad would find
the stacked crates and boxes a mental and physical hazard to his drill commands.
However, before too many days had passed, each officer was able to march a squad
or detail of men throughout the pier with perfect impunity — no small accomplish-
ment for a Reserve Medical Officer.
The materiel and equipment continued to pour in for the unit, the blue-printing
and planning continued apace, and additional officers reported for duty, namely, the
Civil Engineering Officer, the Paymaster and the Electrical Officer. With these re-
porting, our officer complement was completed. Watches were established to look
after the interests of the unit during the absence of the group and quarters were pro-
vided for the Officer of the Day, and an enlisted man as his assistant, on the top floor
of the building.
Finally, on September 10, 1942, the unit had progressed so that our personnel
and materiel were in such a status that the Commanding Officer reported to the Com-
mander in Chief, Pacitic Fleet, "U.S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 in materiel readiness."
From then on the days seemed to drag along as the personnel were all anxious to get
under way to meet the task ahead. Their anticipation was given additional impetus
on September 15, 1942 when orders were received ''to move personnel and materiel
to the West Coast, San Diego area, awaiting assignment outside the Continental
Limits of the United States."
The personnel of the unit was placed in ''condition of readiness'' to await further
transportation. During the following three weeks, while we were awaiting definite
travel orders, many interesting side features involved MOB 8. Reporters and photog-
raphers came trom the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin to obtain a story and pictures
of the unit which were published on September 23, |942.
The Commanding Officer gave two addresses, during this period, which were
broadcasted through the Office of War Information.
22
AUUHKESS BY
Captain Wm. H. H. Turville, (MC), U. S. N.
on the
‘'News From Home" Broadcast
under supervision of the
Office of War Information
September 18, 1942
W.. orders came detaching me from the Philadelphia Naval Hospital to organize
a new kind of medical unit, | knew | was in for one of the most difficult jobs
that | ever had to tackle. This type of advanced medical unit, designed to work on
the actual scene of fighting is something completely new to warfare and medicine.
This is the reason for such a unit. In the global war that we are now waging,
the fighting front may sometimes be thousands of miles from a permanent medical
base. Airplanes and other present day conditions have made the use of hospital ships
hazardous and at times impracticable. That is why the Navy decided on the forma-
tion of mobile naval hospitals like the one | command. A land based hospital unit
that may be established almost simultaneously with the landing of our men.
My job was to get together a group of the finest doctors | could find. Men
who are not only eminent in the medical profession but who are also ready and
willing to face danger, and are adaptable enough to learn new and strange trades.
| called for volunteers among the best medical men in the hospitals in my district.
The response was amazing. If | had accepted for service all who volunteered for
this arduous and dangerous assignment, | am afraid that several of our hospitals would
have been seriously disorganized. That is the sort of spirit that | found among our
medical men.
23
| was very fortunate in being able to obtain some of the best medical specialists
from the district for service in the mobile hospital unit. Several of our finest surgeons
and internists, a noted urologist, a prominent dermatologist, all outstanding in the
medical profession but completely ignorant of the trades they would have to learn.
Within a short time we were all working together in a huge warehouse on the
water tront, learning our trades. The surgeons were learning how to be plumbers
and electricians, the urologist was learning all about construction, how to put together
a prefabricated building, all girders and strips of metal like an erector set. Some of
the doctors were at factories, studying the workings of electric refrigerating equip-
ment, water purification plants and other necessary equipment. Each doctor was
assigned a specific job, he had to acquire a particular skill in that assignment so
that togther we could set up our own hospital on the scene of action.
You may take my word for it, these doctors became as proficient in their new
trades as they are in medicine. Now we are ready for action. We are a unit com-
posed of several hundred officers and men — doctors and medical specialists, who
are also construction superintendents, boss plumbers and electricians; enlisted men
and hospital corpsmen who are male nurses and naval artiticers. These officers and
men under the supervision of a civil engineer who is a member of our unit will be
able to put up our buildings in short order.
We carry with us all the materiel and equipment necessary to set up and operate
our seventy building units hospital — the steel for the prefabricated buildings, com-
plete plumbing unit, electrical equipment, refrigerators, beds and bedding, medical
instruments and supplies and operating room equipment, everything except food and
fuel.
When we arrive, right on the heels of the fighting men, whether on an Island
in the South Pacific, or on some far flung northern shore, we will be ready to take
care of all types of casualties in an incredibly short time. Within a tew weeks after
we have landed we expect at least part of our hospital to be functioning as a medical
24
unit. Until we do function as a hospital our doctors will be everything but doctors,
They will be plumbers, electricians and construction specialists.
After that we will become doctors again, caring for those who need care; hav-
ing set up all our equipment needed to give that care without having had to call
on outside help who are sorely needed in the actual fighting.
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CAPTAIN'S INSPECTION
RECEIVING STATION — TERMINAL ISLAND
San Pedro, California
26
LHAPTER ITI
‘FIRST STOP — SAN PEDRO”
T was a memorable day when an Erie Railroad barge floated alongside the pier
| to take the materiel and equipment to the terminal for loading on freight cars,
At last we felt as if we were practically under way; however, it took two weeks to
remove our 1400 tons of equipment from the warehouse at Edgewater Pier onto the
barges and freight cars.
Our departure trom New York was set for 1900 on October 9, 1942 but due
to a last minute revision in the train schedule, the time of leaving was postponed
twenty-four hours.
It was a noteworthy event when the unit, consisting of 33 officers and 254 en-
listed men, boarded the Ferry for Hoboken, New Jersey where a special troop train
lay in wait. The men had been subdivided into sections, each of which was super-
vised by an officer. When the Ferry Boat landed at its pier, the men disembarked
and joined their respective sections —the sections as such, each in its numerical
turn, boarded the train. The Red Cross were present to give us a send-off with coffee
and doughnuts and to wish us God-speed.
The current policies of the dimmed lights, absence of civilians in the station,
and drawn train curtains were all incongruous when compared to the morale of the
unit as it finally realized that before too long a period it would play an active part
in the battle front.
The journey in the troop train was tor the most part quite enjoyable. The men
had separate bunks in Pullman cars except for one group which was berthed in a new
27
type troop-sleeper car with 48 men per car. The officers were quartered two in a
compartment throughout the train.
The routine on the train varied little from day to day and was essentially as
follows:
(a) Early breakfast for the men at 0600
(b) Breakfast for the officers
(c) Muster for all hands
(d) Lunch for the men
(e) Lunch for the officers
(f} Evening meal for the men
(g) Evening meal for the officers
(h) Taps 2200
Some time during every morning and afternoon, when the train would stop tor
the purpose of taking on water or other reason, there was a twenty minute calis-
thenic period for all personnel.
One of the compartments on the train was set aside for use as a Sick Bay. Hos-
pital corpsmen were assigned details to administer to those who were sick. Sick call
was held in that compartment twice a day for all hands.
The trip as a whole was uneventtul. Except for a delay ot a tew hours, because
of a wrecked freight train ahead, connections were excellent. We changed from one
railroad line to another with never a hitch and on each system a ‘liaison’ official
accompanied the train to help deal with problems that might arise. Mailing of letters
28
and postcards or sending telegrams while enroute was allowed only by permission
of the Commanding Officer.
Such a long trip was a new thrill for most of the men, who were fascinated by
the expanse of the territory covered. The excellent accommodations, the tasty and
abundant food, and the new sights provided sufficient changes to keep the personnel
from being bored.
About 0100 on October 15, 1942 the train pulled into the station — Terminal
Island, San Pedro, California, and — at 0700 the unit disembarked from the train.
The first impressions of that morning were quite distinct and have been frequently
mentioned since that date. The morning fog was beginning to fade, armed guards
were walking their posts in the vicinity of the train, the sickening odor of fish oil was
heavy, and the eerie sounds of the fog horns at the mouth of the estuary indeed lett
their mental imprint.
The senior one-half of the officers moved to N.O.B. on Terminal Island for
quarters. The remaining officers were quartered in the living quarters of the former
Administrative Staff of the Terminal Island Prison.
The enlisted men were quartered in the large dormitory — like halls of the former
prison which had been converted into a Naval Receiving Station.
All personnel spent that day in organizing their new living quarters.
The Commanding Officer drove to San Diego, on the next day, to report the
arrival of MOB 8 to the Commander Amphibious Forces, U. S. Pacific Fleet.
The administrative functions of the hospital began to operate at once. The
Commanding Officer established an office, the pay master and the engineering officer
had a small office, while the clerical detail set up in the hallway.
29
Captain Turville returned to the Station, after his San Diego trip, and informed
the personnel that they would be at their new location for some time awaiting trans-
portation. With such information at hand, the planned activities were arranged for
ithe best interest of the group as a whole.
On October 20, 1942, Captain C. Broaddus, (MC), U.S.N. (Service Force Medical
Officer), addressed the officers informally on the subject of the Pacitic War.
The activities as planned were of two main types; namely, educational and physical
conditioning. Emphasis was put on the latter because of the future work at hand,
whereas the educational courses continued in the main from where we temporarily
ceased upon departing from New York.
The officers and men spent the morning and afternoons in the outdoor activities
— the weather permitting — of calisthenics, volley ball, badminton, ''touch" football,
basketball, swimming, tennis, soft ball and military drill.
There were four locations which accommodated these activities. The calisthenics,
volley ball, soft ball, and military drills were held on a large area of asphalt which
was enclosed within the prison walls. The area was soon nicknamed the "Grinder"
by the men, but the area lent itself well for the purpose.
A vacant tract of land near the sea, on the spit, made a second fine baseball
diamond, football field and volley ball court. While still another, though less hazardous,
football field covered with grass was located behind the houses quartering the officers.
N.O.B., Terminal Island, had a large new recreation area which included a swim-
ming pool, tennis courts, badminton courts, basketball and volley ball courts. This
facility, plus those previously mentioned, more than adequately fulfilled the recrea-
tional needs for the personnel of MOB 8.
30
The conditioning phase of the unit continued without interruption throughout
our stay in San Pedro except when personnel were assigned duties at the Dispensary
in Long Beach; at the Dispensary of, and at the Section Base in San Pedro. These
assignments were made to give the personnel additional medical education on prob-
lems of military medicine and to help the various activities when a shortage of medical
personnel existed.
The freight train, carrying the materiel for the unit, arrived November |, 1942,
The arrival of this equipment presented another large task, before it could be stored
in the Naval Supply Depot at San Pedro, for much of it had to be repaired and re-
crated to withstand the future rough handling it was to receive before it would arrive
at its ultimate destination. A party of enlisted men, supervised by a Chief Petty
Officer, worked on this detail until the materiel was loaded aboard ship in February
1943.
During the early part of November, the wives of the officers and men began
to take up residence in the surrounding area.
Additional activities were begun from time to time as the need and opportunity
arose. Classes were held for the corpsmen by various medical officers; instruction in
the use of automatic weapons was given for all hands; planning and blue printing
continued; additional materiel was acquired; special equipment was ordered; and
social functions were held for the officers and for the men. During January 1943
a joint party for the men and officers was held at Wilmington, Calfornia. It was a
gala affair and well attended.
In this period of preparation at these ‘winter quarters'', the members of MOB 8
were making —in so far as possible—-the most out of the time and situation at
hand, but all were anxious to be under way. There were numerous rumors, much an-
3|
ticipation, and the arrival of every letter or message to the Commanding Officer
spread like a prairie tire throughout the organization.
Incredible as it may appear, the actual arrival of the packet containing the
orders to proceed was neither expected nor immediately acknowledged and was
regarded as a subtle denouement.
32
LHAPTER II]
“WE SHOVE OFF’
ATE in the afternoon of February 15, 1943, after the activities for the day had
ceased, and most of the personnel had departed for their quarters, an officer
messenger arrived at the Commanding Officer's office with a sealed message. The
Commanding Officer, at the time, was holding a conference with several officers.
He signed for the message and temporarily put it aside. A few moments later he
casually opened the envelope and much to his surprise it contained the long awaited
travel orders — ''PROCEED TO CACTUS".
From then on, things began to happen at a rapid pace. The unit took on new
life and one and all packed in earnest this time. The officers and men packed what
gear they needed for the trip in duffle bags and suitcases and the more bulky luggage
was stored for transportation with the equipment.
All the personnel were fitted with field shoes, sun helmet, steel helmet, gas
mask, canteen, mess gear, head net, mosquito net and folding cot. In addition, the
enlisted personnel received two pair of khaki trousers and two khaki shirts.
The S. S. Jean Lykes began takin gthe materiel for building the hospital aboard
on February 20, 1943. Working twenty-four hours of the day, the loading of our
1400 tons of equipment was completed at the end of forty-eight hours, and finally,
on the morning of the third day, February 23, the S.S. Jean Lykes sailed with all
33
the equipment, six officers and six men. They were the first of the personnel to depart
and, as such, were the subject of great envy even though our turn was soon to come.
Ten men, including cooks, bakers and mess attendants, were sent to Oakland,
California on February 25, 1943 to put the galley and mess hall of the S. S. Elihu
Thompson in commission for the accommodation of future passengers.
February 27, 1943 marked the departure otf three officers and one hundred and
one men for Port Hueneme, California, where they boarded the S.S. Mathew Thorn-
ton and sailed at 1600 the same day. Eight officers and one hundred and twenty-eight
men lett on March |, 1943 by troop train for San Francisco to take passage on the
S.S. Elihu Thompson. The train arrived in Oakland, California, March 2, and the men
were quartered at the Receiving Station, Treasure Island, and the officers were bil-
leted in hotels in San Francisco. At 0800, March 3, these officers and men boarded
the S.S. Elihu Thompson and at 1000, March 4, they sailed for the South Pacific.
The Commanding Officer, with seventeen officers and eighteen men, remained
in San Pedro until March 9, 1943 when they departed for San Diego to board the
U.S.S. Rochambeau. They sailed the following day, the last of our group to leave
the states.
It was unfortunate that the personnel could not all be transported to the South
Pacitic on the same ship, but in those days shipping space, both for cargo and pass-
engers, was critical and personnel and materiel were put on any and all types of
ships in order to get same to the South Pacific.
The following is a brief account of the voyages of the ships that carried the
personnel of MOB 8 to Guadalcanal:
34
The S.S. JEAN LYKES sailed from San Pedro, California on February 23, 1943
with Commander M. Bodine, five other officers and six enlisted men. The ship arrived
in San Francisco harbor two days later and continued loading other materiel for the
South Pacific. Shortly after daybreak, March 3rd, the ship sailed for the South seas.
The voyage was uneventful throughout and on March 2|st the ship arrived at Espiritu
Santos where she remained at anchor until May 31, 1943.
While the Jean Lykes was at anchor in the bay, the paymaster, who was one of
the officers aboard, made several trips to the other ships carrying MOB 8 personne!
to hold pay day for them.
On May 31, 1943 the ship sailed in convoy to arrive at Guadalcanal on June
4, 1943.
The S.S. MATHEW THORNTON sailed from Port Hueneme, California, at
1600, February 27, 1943, with Lieutenant Commander D. W. Sherwood, two other
officers and one hundred and one enlisted personnel of our group. Also, among her
cargo were three months provisions for three hundred personnel, canteen supplies,
tents, wooden flooring for tents and folding cots.
The personnel of MOB 8 stood deck and gun watches in cooperation with the
Armed Guard crew of the ship and the men of Motor Torpedo Boat Base No. 8 who
were also on board.
The ship reached Espiritu Santos on March 27 and later continued on to Purvis
Bay at New Florida and Tulagi Island arriving there on May 3, 1943. The personnel,
provisions and equipment were then loaded aboard an L.C.T. which brought them
to Guadalcanal, arriving late in the night of May 3. They remained aboard the L.C.T.
35
in very crammed quarters during the night and the next morning disembarked at
Guadalcanal.
Lieutenant Commander R. France, eleven officers and one hundred and thirty-
eight men of MOB 8 sailed aboard the S.S. ELIHU THOMPSON on March 4, 1943.
Their quarters were located in hold No. 3. One corner was boarded up for the officers
and contained twelve bunks. A small outer room with a salt water shower, lavatory
and wash basin was located near by. The men were berthed in bunks four deep through-
out the greater portion of the hold. A small galley and storeroom were built on the
port side while a 20'x40' area was set up for messing the crew.
The medical officers held sick call daily and the men stood gun and lookout
watches, assisted in the cleanliness of the ship and worked in the galley. Mess at-
tendants were assigned to the main dining room of the ship.
By the end of the third day of southernly travel, the weather warmed up so that
the men could move topside and sleep in more comfortable circumstances. On March
27, atter an uneventtul trip, they sighted Espiritu Santos the first port of destination.
At Espiritu Santos they anchored and lived aboard. Arrangements were made
to get the men ashore on Aore Island for recreation and movies were shown each
night aboard ship.
Five officers and thirty-one men of this group were transferred to the U.S.S.
BRESTAGE on May | for the final leg of the trip to Guadalcanal, arriving May 4,
1943. The remaining officers and one hundred and seven men disembarked and moved
to the Receiving Station, Espiritu Santos, where they remained for one month.
On May 31, this group boarded the U.S.S. TRYON for passage to Guadalcanal
36
memes He oe tems 2 me re
U.S.S. CRESCENT CITY
arriving June 2. They disembarked in small boats, while the ship continued under way
at reduced speed, and were then taken by truck to the hospital camp site.
Seventeen officers, including the Medical Officer in Command and the Execu-
tive Officer, and eighteen enlisted men who had been left behind to close out the
activities of MOB 8 at Terminal Island, ealad from San Diego on the U.S.S. ROCHAM-
BEAU on March 10 and, after an uneventful voyage, arrived at Espiritu Santos on
March 28. The group was transferred to the U.S.S. CRESCENT CITY on April | and
sailed the next day. They arrived at Guadalcanal on April 4, 1943, the first of the
personnel to arrive at its ultimate destination.
37
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Top left: THE FIRST DAY IN CAMP—May 5, 1943. Top right: THE TEMPORARY GALLEY—May 4,
1943. Middle left: THE STOCKADE—This served as a storehouse for all types of supplies until the
General Mess halls were completed. Middle right: OFFICERS ROW ON MAY 15, 1943—Steward's
Mate BULLEN Announcing "Officers' Dinner Being Served.'' Bottom left: THE CREW’S MESS—The
tables were made out of oil drums with a piece of airplane landing strip for the top. May 15, 1943.
Bottom right: 126,000 GALLON WATER TANK—This was the first structure built. Started on April
29, 1943. The water was pumped into this tank from the Teneru River which was I!/2 miles to the west.
Oe ae es ae
‘WE ARRIVE AT GUADALCANAL’
T tirst contingent, consisting of the officers and men who sailed aboard the
U.S.S. Rochambeau, landed at Guadalcanal on April 4, 1943. They were divided
into three groups and quartered with some of the units already stationed on the island
—at N.O.B. Lunga, FABU 3 and CUB 2. Living conditions on Guadalcanal at that
time were very primitive and one was soon brought to realize that he was actually
in the combat area. Food consisted of practically all canned goods, dry powdered
eggs, tropical butter, dehydrated potatoes, onions, cabbage, etc., as well as Spam
in its “six delicious varieties''. The living quarters were even worse than the food
and consisted primarily of a pyramidal tent and folding cot with a mosquito bar.
The only floor was dirt or mud according to the condition of the terrain. No lights
were allowed at night and at dusk all hands climbed into their bunks and awaited
the inevitable air raid siren that warned us that the Jap planes were on their way
to the island. The morale of the personnel on Guadalcanal was not of the highest,
the chief topic of conversation being, while one was lying in his bunk at night, how
many more weeks or days one had to do before his tour of duty on the island was
over. At that time it was customary for personnel to spend only four months on
Guadalcanal before being transferred to a rear area. Sanitation left much to be
desired. Malaria, gastro-intestinal diseases and dysentery were strife, and four days
atter one group arrived on the island, three officers, including the Commanding
Officer, came down with bacillary dysentery. Such was the picture of Guadalcanal
when we arrived and it will be long remembered by all of us.
Lieutenant Commander D. O. Wissinger, (MC), U.S.N., who was the medical
officer on the staff of the Commander of the Naval Bases, Solomon Islands, had, prior
39
to our arrival, inspected available sites for U.S.N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 and had
tentatively selected three of the best sites. On April 5, the Commanding Officer,
accompanied by the Excutive Officer, Engineering Officer, Electrical Officer, Sani-
tation Officer and Assistant Plans Officer, inspected these three sites and selected
the site of the hospital. The site selected was located on the north coast of Guadal-
canal, one and one-half miles inland from the seashore, six miles to the east of Hen-
derson Field, eight miles to the west of Carney Field and ten miles to the west of
Koli Point. It was in a grove which consisted of coconut palms and oil nut palms and
comprised one hundred and forty acres. At the time of selection it was looked upon
without favor by most of the members of the inspecting party but the Commanding
Officer held out for, and selected, this site because of the possibilities that this oil
nut palm grove offered for camouflage and shade.
The 46th Naval Construction Battalion was assigned the task of helping us to
construct our hospital and plans for the hospital construction were started immediately.
Our first night on Guadalcanal was relatively quiet but, the next night we were
repaid for it, by a sneak attack of a Jap bomber plane which followed—in the night
patrol. Bombs were dropping very close by before we were able to scramble to our
fox holes. The next day we witnessed our first real sky battle from vantage points
both above and below the ground. Twenty six Jap planes were brought down against
the loss of six U. S. planes that day. During our first month on the island, nightly air
raids were a common occurrence and many hours were spent in the fox holes. The
group at FABU 3 was nearer Henderson Field and had many more exciting moments
than those quartered elsewhere. Our experiences during the air raids are covered
more fully in Chapter XIII.
Work was soon started on building roads into and about the camp site and
personnel were put to work cleaning up the area. Truck loads of decaying coconuts,
coconut fronds and general trash were hauled away or burned. The reed grass, which
was three to four feet high, was cut with machetes and drainage ditches were opened
40
=
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—
Top left: ARMORED HUT—The first building erected in Area ''A.'' It was used as a shelter during air
raids. Later, it was covered with four feet of earth. Top right: THE HOSPITAL SIGN—Erected at the
lunction of Turville Drive and Henderson Road. May 21, 1943. Middle right: May 27, 1943—Erecting
the Armored Hut in Area "C" Dr. Alter, Dr. Driscoll and Crew. Bottom left: May 27, 1943—Erecting
the 6800 cubic foot reefer in Area ''B" Dr. Weniger and his construction crew. Bottom right: GEN-
ERAL MESS HALLS UNDER CONSTRUCTION-—May 27, 1943.
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Top left: FIRST FOXHOLE IN CAMP—PARTIALLY COMPLETED—May 27, 1943. Top right: May 27,
1943—THE CAMP LAUNDRY. Bottom left: May 27, 1943—THE CAMP SHOWER. Bottom right:
COMMANDING OFFICER'S QUARTERS—May 27, [943.
| up. Construction was started on the main water storage tank on April 29. This tank,
built of redwood on a concrete base, had a capacity of 126,000 gallons and was used
as a storage tank for the water pumped through our four-inch water main from the
pumping station on the Teneru River.
The contingent that had been shipped out on the S.S. Mathew Thornton, and
trans-shipped aboard an L.C.T. in Tulagi, arrived on the 3rd of May. It was late at
42
night so they spent the night anchored off shore. The next morning they disembarked
and immediately proceeded to the hospital site and then began erection of our
temporary camp. Tents were put up and a temporary galley was in operation to serve
the evening meal. Work progressed rapidly, which was most fortunate, as late that
afternoon we had a tropical down-pour. Part of the group that had been quartered
at CUB 2 was moved into camp during the afternoon, and on May 6 more men moved
in from N.O.B. and FABU 3 to the camp site — and the rains continued.
The worst storm that had been recorded on Guadalcanal for over thirty years
occurred on May 9, resulting in several million dollars of damage to small boats and
other equipment of the Army and Navy and practically every camp was either flooded
or washed out. The rain started in mid-afternoon and continued throughout the night
and abated early the morning of the Oth. All hands, officers and enlisted men, had
to turn to with shovels to open up drainage ditches to save our camp from inundation.
Captains, Commanders, hospital apprentices and seamen second class worked side
by side with shovels and attired in either a pair of shorts or a bathing suit. At noon
time we stopped for a bite to eat and a ration of two bottles of beer was served
to all hands. Even though the beer had not been chilled, as we had no ice, | believe
it was enjoyed more than any beer that we had previously drank. This marked the
beginning of a period of three months when we all worked with unstinting effort to
build a hospital.
The building of our camp site, later called Camp Gendreau, and some of the
first hospital structures proceeded together. The first building was an armored
magazine hut in Clinical Group "'A'’ which was started on May |Oth. The large water
tank was finished on May 18 and a general mess hall was also completed that day.
There were ditches dug, logs cut out of the jungle and hauled out, bridges built, pipes
laid, trees cleaned and tent decks built. On May |6th, five officers and thirty one
enlisted men arrived from Espiritu Santos and they were a welcome addition to our
small group. It is unnecessary to say they were immediately put to work.
43
The second armored magazine hut, located in Clinical Group ''C"', was started
on May 18. Throughout all this period we were having frequent night air raids.
The Commanding Officer of U.S.N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 was also assigned
to command the Naval Medical Supply Facility on Guadalcanal, and construction
of that facility went along simultaneously with that of the hospital.
The first Medical Supply Facility Warehouse was started under construction on
May 19, a 40'x!00' Strand steel hut (Quonset hut). The personnel of the hospital
and Medical Supply Facility had their first baptism of concrete mixing and steel
construction amid the pounding of thumbs and sliding in the mud while building this
warehouse. This was the first of the six 40'x!00' quonset huts that comprised the Medi-
cal Supply Facility.
It was about this time that, on the body of the pilot of a Jap plane which had
been shot down, we found a map showing our broad main road into the hospital,
“Turville Drive", marked as a probable future fighter strip. This called for reinforce-
ment and construction of new, larger, and stronger fox holes and we wandered tar
afield cutting out large and strong coconut trees, some five hundred in number all
told, many of which were appropriated by other outfits before we could get them
hauled to our hospital site.
The hospital sign was raised at the junction of Turville Drive and Henderson Road,
Route No. 26, on May 21. The air raids continued and for all of us the light of the
beautiful tropical moon lost its romantic appeal, as we thought only of ‘washing
machine Charley" as the Jap bombers were called, when we saw a full moon.
June 3 brought the arrival of two officers and ninety men of the S.S. Elihu
Thompson group. They arrived on the U.S.S. Tryon from Espiritu Santos. The same
ship brought nine additional medical officers for duty with the hospital unit. The
arrival of such a large number of personnel put a strain on the living conditions in
camp. However, by using the newly completed quonset hut we were able to house
44
all our personnel adequately and they were quartered in the quonset hut until tents
could be erected for them. The officers moved into tents along "Officers Row’,
doubling up with other officers. The plan for billeting was, six men or three officers
to a tent.
During the afternoon of June 4, 1943, the S.S. Jean Lykes arrived bringing the
last of our officers and men with the 1400 tons of equipment for the hospital unit.
Also, on this date, three additional medical officers reported for duty.
: Top left: OFFICERS ROW—May 27, 1943. Top right: CONSTRUCTION OFFICERS—Brown, Oster-
haus, Sundt, Hennessey, Goss, Capt. Turville—May 27, 1943. Bottom left: A GROUP OF OFFICERS
IN CAMP—Front Row: Brown, Levin, C. Patterson, Fulcher, Hennessey, Lauser, Johnson. Back Row:
Sherwood, Smiley, Sudfin, Falk, Fletcher, Goss, Capt. Turville—May 27, 1943. Bottom right: May 27,
1943—TURVILLE DRIVE—From Henderson Road, looking toward the mountains.
Top left: May 27, 1943—THE SITE OF CLINICAL GROUP "C." Top right: PHARMACIST CLARY
and his COOKS AND BAKERS—May 27, 1943. Bottom Left: OFFICERS MESS TENT—June 1943.
Bottom right: THE CAMP—Showing the tents elevated above the ground and screened with cloth
screening. Officers shower in the foreground—June 1943.
A brief mention should be made at this time of our living facilities. For Guadal-
canal, they were even at that time, rather luxurious when compared to the other island
camps. In fact, officers and men used to ride out to the reservation just to see our
camp.
Our galley was a small 20'x!2' wooden shack covered by cloth mosquito netting
and housing the gasoline field ranges, crude tables and food containers. A lantern
46
was used for illumination when their work began early in the morning and when un-
forseen circumstances necessitated working during the night.
Behind the galley there was a pontoon barge section which afforded ample water
supply to the galley. Temporary tield sinks were erected to the rear of the galley to
take care of the pots and pans. The men washed their mess gear in large gasoline
drums filled with water and erected over an open fire to keep the water boiling.
Left: MOB 8 OFFICES—June 1943
Disbursing, Personnel, Sick Bay,
OOD Tent.
Bottom: This trailer unit was used to fill
the water tanks and Lyster bags about
the camp site, prior to the installation
of the water supply system—June 1943.
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:
Top left: UNLOADING HEAVY GEAR FROM A TRUCK—Unloading the trucks at the dumps brought
forth many ingenious devices. Here, a block and tackle, fastened up in a palm tree, is used to unload
a truck. Top right: UNLOADING MEDICAL SUPPLIES—Medical supplies were sent directly from the
beach to the Medical Supply Facility Warehouse. June 1943, Bottom left: "DUCKS" HAULING
LUMBER—The "'Ducks'' would load lumber out at the snip and haul it to the hospital site—June 1943.
Bottom right: UNLOADING BUILDING MATERIALS—Site of Clinical Group ‘‘A' June 7, 1943.
52
LHAPTER V
‘THE UNLOADING OF THE SS. JEAN LYKES’
OR five days and nights, beginning June 5, 1943, the special working crews for
the Army and Navy unloaded the S. S. Jean Lykes. Those were five hectic days
for the personnel as the officers and men worked almost entirely around the clock
in order to get the materiel unloaded onto the beach, transferred six miles to the
hospital and put in the proper dumps on the hospital site. We were indeed greatly
indebted to the Army Service Command, APO 709, for their cooperation in assist-
ing us with both men and vehicles, tor without them it would have been a well nigh
impossible task.
Two officers and three enlisted men remained aboard the Jean Lykes to expedite
and watch over the unloading of the 1400 tons of materiel from the ship onto small
tank lighters, L.C.T.'s, pontoon barges and almost anything else that would float.
Another group of officers were on the beach to locate the boats as they arrived
and direct the unloading of their cargoes onto the Army Service Command trucks.
An officer would then ride with each truck to insure its arrival at the hospital site.
Upon arriving at the hospital site, the truck was turned over to the custody of the
“officer dispatcher’' who directed it to the proper dump for its load. The "rider
officer’ then caught an empty outgoing truck to the beach to repeat the cycle.
The conditions on Guadalcanal at that time made it an absolute necessity that
an officer ride with and protect the materiel and equipment, not only on the trucks
but also on the small boats bringing the same from ship to shore, for such things as
lumber, sheets, pillows, chairs, etc. were an unheard of luxury for the area, and whiskey
and other alcoholic drinks were unobtainable. Even with an officer riding in a small
boat, on a dark night, transporting the hospital's whiskey, some of the whiskey dis-
appeared somewhere between the time the boat left the Jean Lykes and it reached
the beach less than a half mile away. Without an ‘officer rider’ as guard, equip-
ment just failed to arrive at its designated destination. The unloading of the equip-
ment at the hospital site was an era that will long be remembered by those who
participated in it. This ordeal continued until late in the afternoon of June 9, when
the last of our materiel was unloaded from the Jean Lykes.
ae
For the week following the unloading, a tew truck loads of equipment, at a
time, were transported from a dump near the Army, Navy and Marine Corps
Cemetery. It was at this dump that all heavy equipment was unloaded at that time,
and stored there because of the demand for truck to get other materiel to the hospital
site; and also because heavy transportation equipment was not available at the moment
for such items as 7500 pound laundry machines, 5000 pound generators, boilers, etc.
However, only a small portion of our equipment was placed in this dump during
the unloading days.
When a truck arrived at the hospital site, a traffic director gave instructions as
to just where to proceed with the load on the truck. There were many different dumps
on the hospital site and each contained a specific class of equipment. The contents
of the boxes and crates were determined as to class by the color scheme marking
on them. This system of markings facilitated the handling and segregation of the
equipment as the color mark made spot recognition very easy during the handling
and transferring of the materiel.
An officer was placed in charge of each dump and under him he had eight to
ten enlisted men. There was little distinction between the officers and men during
this period, either in dress or action. Everyone worked hard and contributed his ideas
as to how to use the man power to the best possible advantage. Such a condition
was certainly needed to get the most out of the man power at hand because the
equipment that was loaded onto the trucks by crane at the beach had its counter-
part in man power only, at the hospital site.
The planned basic arrangement for the unloading period was to have the crews
work in shifts of eight hours each at the separate dumps, but such a plan did not
materialize. The personnel worked eighteen to twenty hours per day unloading materiel
and equipment as it flowed in. They worked in rain, sunshine, mud and heat. The
illumination at night was obtained from battle lanterns held by the men. Nourish-
ment, during the late hours, was for the most part, obtained from eating the chocolate
"D" Ration of the Army, supplemented by coffee and sandwiches trom the galley.
As a matter of necessity, numerous ingenious schemes were devised as occasions
warranted them. Such had to be the case to get the materiel unloaded, and speed was
essential so as not to detain the trucks which were sorely needed on the beach, as,
at that time, other ships were being unloaded which contained supplies to be used
in the campaign at Rendova and Munda which was soon to follow. Such devices as
the tying of a line to a tree and the other end to the gear in the truck, then having
54
the truck drive out leaving the materiel behind. In other instances, someone would
borrow, or "procure'’ as we called it on Guadalcanal, a caterpillar tractor which had
been parked for the night, and this was used to pull the materiel from the truck or,
in some cases, to rearrange it after it had been unloaded — these were hectic days
to say the least!
Fortunately, air raids were at a minimum during those dark nights and there was
but little interruption of the work. However, on June 7, at 1030, we did have one
air raid but no enemy planes were sighted over the hospital reservation.
Finally, late in the afternoon of June 9, the Jean Lykes was completely unloaded
and sailed: however, the work at the camp continued at a feverish pace to unload
gear still coming up from the beach on the next day. The next two days were spent
inventorying all of the gear and segregating and rearranging that which was placed
in the wrong dumps, as well as receiving the remainder of equipment that had been
left at the dump near the Army, Navy and Marine Corps Cemetery.
CHAHT UF CULUR MAHKINGS
FUR SPUT RECOGNITION OF EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES
Administrative Equipment RED | Maintenance Equipment
Commissary Equipment GREEN] BLACK] Power & Light Equipment
re | Fire Fighting Equipment Refrigeration Equipment
BLACK Housing Equipment GREEN) Sanitation Equipment
ea Hospital & Nursing Equipment RED | Special Department Equipment
Laundry Equipment BLUE) YELLOW] = Transportation Equipment
ee Water Supply Equipment
55
Myles
on
°
. wee
1943.
built structure to be erected—June II,
1943. Bottom right: POURING CONCRETE FOR
GALLEY FOUNDATION—June 14, 1943.
56
CTS
eee VW ; = = ne eet |
ts A) a | a eae
Top right: BUILDING THE FOUNDATION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING—June 14, 1943.
Bottom left: ERECTNG THE SIDE PANELS—June 14,
Top left: MAINTENANCE BUILDING—First panel
LHAPTERH Vi
‘BUILDING THE HOSPITAL”
N June || we started to build the hospital, that is the first echelon, which was
[] to house five hundred and fifty patients and the utilities for that size hospital
out of equipment which had arrived on the Jean Lykes. It will be difficult to give
an accurate picture of the entire enterprise during that period because so much
was going on at the same time. The officers and men, in conjunction with some mem-
bers of the 46th and 63rd Seabees, literally swarmed all over the compound doing
their work. Some of the more typical and essential teatures of the period of con-
struction are given in the following paragraphs, but many items will be overlooked.
To give an over-all picture of our organization at that time, brief mention of
the functioning plan will be given. Seamen stood guard duty day and night on a
regular watch schedule, and during the day time, when off watch, they also worked
with the construction crews digging ditches and fox-holes or building bridges across
our drainage ditches. The artificer group did more skilled jobs as befell their ratings,
while the cooks and other galley personnel attended to their domain. The engineer
force was headed by the Civil Engineer Officer, assisted by our tuture Superintendent
of Nurses, and was staffed by competent previously instructed members of the hos-
pital corps. The Pay Office and Personnel Office functioned with depleted staffs and
the remaining enlisted personnel, comprising some two hundred and fifty, were
divided into groups of ten, each of which was supervised by an officer. A group
of thirteen officers, who were not detailed with crews made up a separate work
party and they functioned in the same manner and capacity as the enlisted men —
in other words, they became common ordinary laborers.
Each morning at 0700 all hands in the group work details mustered on Goss
Road to receive the orders for the day. They presented quite a spectacle. There was
a multiplicity in the variety of clothes they wore. All were truly dressed for the
hard physical labor which they did willingly and efficiently. The following list of work
details were assigned each morning:
|. Building crews
2. Material distribution crew
3. Quarters building crew
4, Ditch digging
Bf
5. Concrete mixing crew
6. Pipe laying
7. Malaria control
8. Medical Supply Facility crew
9. Commissary storehouse and procuring crew
10. Garbage and waste disposal crew
[1. Property clean-up crew
12. Post-hole digging crew
13. Tool room crew
l4. Road, ditch and culvert crew
[5. Dump unloading crew
[6. Log detail
On some occasions one crew would handle more than one detail and in other
cases several crews would be assigned to a single detail depending upon the situa-
tion. The Seabees were distributed throughout the crews to insure having a skilled
workman on each detail. The construction carried on by each crew was usually done
under the direction of a Chief or Warrant Officer of the Seabee group. These Sea-
bees, who were commanded by Lieutenant Hennessey, deserve the highest praise.
They worked day in and day out from early in the morning until late at night with
as much zeal and enthusiasm to complete and put the hospital in operation as did
our own officers and enlisted personnel.
The standard routine for seven days a week, during this construction period,
was as follows:
0530 Reveille
0600 Chow
0640 First call
0700 Muster and assignment of details
1130 Cease work
1200 Chow
1300 Turn to
1630 Cease work
1700 Chow
2100 Lights out
2200 Taps
The first three permanent structures for the hospital had been erected along with
our camp. These were the water reservoir started on April 29, the No. | armored
magazine hut located in Clinical Group "A" and used as a protection during air raids,
begun on May 10, and the first quonset hut of the Medical Supply Facility (E-!} started
on May 19. This building was later converted into our movie hall.
58
Top left: ERECTING THE FRAMEWORK FOR COMMISSARY STOREHOUSE—June 13. Top right:
REFRIGERATION BUILDING AND GALLEY—June 18, 1943. Bottom left: CLINICAL GROUP "A"
UNDER CONSTRUCTION—Administration Building and Pay Office in background. Bottom right:
WARD A-20—June 1943.
Vim@an
fe “7 cay
és
; 4 5 | 7
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4) a da
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1 er
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Top left: POWER HOUSE IN GROUP "B" under construction—June 1943. Top right: CLINICAL
GROUP "A" from Schofield Drive—June 1943. Bottom: LAYING OUT WARD A-23—June 1943.
The cement foundation for quonset hut No. 2 (E-2} was laid on May 21. This
building was one of the warehouses of the Medical Supply Facility. Erection of the
6800 cubic foot ''reefer'’ was started on that day, also the hospital sign with its
Donald Duck insignia, which had been designed by Walt Disney expressly for MOB 8.
was raised at the junction of Henderson Road and Turville Drive.
The construction of the hospital ‘per se'’ may be said to have begun on June
11, 1943 for, on that date, the concrete was laid for the decks of the maintenance,
commissary and galley buildings. These were the Tirst of the ‘panel built" buildings
to be erected. The next day, the Administration Building, Pay Office and some of
the ward buildings in Clinical Group ''A'' were started, the first of these being A-17
and A-18 which were to become part of the Sick Officers Quarters.
60
The personnel and medical supplies for the Medical Supply Facility arrived on
June I4 and were housed in quonset huts No. | and No. 2 which had been previously
prepared for them.
Work on the hospital ceased for several hours during the afternoon of June 16,
due to one of the largest air raids during the period MOB 8 was on the island. Forty
tive Zeros and thirty bombers of the ''Sun of Heaven" were shot down. A great deal
of the action took place directly over the hospital site at 1400 and gave the per-
sonnel a grand-stand view of the fight.
The foundations for the power house, the refrigeration building to house the
3400 cubic foot ''walk-in'' icebox and the scullery were laid on June 17, and on this
day the pipe line and pumping station for our water supply were completed and the
first water from the Teneru River flowed into our large storage tank.
The construction of the X-ray building, A-10, medical receiving ward, A-7, and
the surgical receiving ward, A-8 were started on June 2!. On the following day,
buildings A-! | and A-12 were started, to be followed on the succeeding day by the
surgical operating suite. On this same day also was laid the cement foundation for
the laundry and the ice cream making machinery was put up in place in the retriger-
ation building. The bakery was started on the following day and the ice machine was
hoisted into place on June 26.
About this time of the construction era, the automatic post-hole driller and the
mechanical ditch digging machine were loaned to the hospital by an Army Signal
Corps unit. This was a day of joy for many crews, as they were to be relieved of
the back-breaking ordeal of digging. The automatic post-hole digger was popularly
known as ‘‘dig-it Johnnie’ due to the fact that when the automatic post-hole digger
was in proper position to dig a hole, the ‘enlisted man in charge of the machine
would call out to the man at the throttle ‘'dig-it Johnnie’. These two machines saved
many thousands of man-hours of labor and were instrumental in the early opening
date of the hospital. Prior to the use of this machine, all post holes and trenches for
water and sewer pipes had to be dug by hand. Whereas it took an average of two
hours to dig a post hole by hand, the automatic post-hole digger did the complete
operation in less than two minutes. Lieutenant Heyl was in charge of the ditch dig-
ging crew and he became an expert in the art of the ditch, post-hole and trench
digging. He was popularly known as ‘Three Shovel Pete'’ due to the fact that he
carried three shovels with him at all times while on this job.
Forty nine of the new men of the second echelon of the hospital arrived to help
6]
with the construction at this time. Fortunately these men were of the artificer group
and they filled in many gaps in the building crews.
By June 28, the first two quonset huts, E-| and E-2 were finished and well stocked
with medical supplies ready for issue. The Medical Supply Facility was reported to
to the Force Medical Officer as ''ready to serve the Medical Department of the
South Pacific'', both ashore and afloat.
During this construction era, as the buildings were going up, the electrical power
lines were being put in place, plumbing Tixtures set, sewerage and water services were
being installed, drainage ditches increased in size and number, and errors in grade
were eliminated. All in all, in spite of the pseudo helter skelter external appearance,
the building program was a closely organized activity and its results were beginning
to show.
The general mess halls, as well as the galley, were opened for use on July 20
and to celebrate the occasion we had our first ice cream the following day. This was
indeed an event, as it marked the first time that we had had ice cream since arriving
on the island. From then on, the food gradually became better and better to approxi-
mate that of the pre-war ''old country’.
The building continued apace, everyone was well inured to the tropical life by
this time and the prospect of the hospital's opening on August 7, the first anniversary
of the landing of the Marines on Guadalcanal, spurred everyone on to their utmost.
These next few weeks were busy ones for all hands.
Orders were received on July 9, to increase the hospital to 1750 beds; with
1500 at the main hospital, and 250 beds at the Koli Point Branch, "Little MOB 8".
On the same day, orders were received to transfer fifty hospital corpsmen north for
duty for the impending Munda and Rendova campaign. The former order was greeted
with enthusiasm, while the latter was accepted with mixed emotions as some of the
original group, who were looking forward to the opening and operation of the hos-
pital, were being separated from us. However, from time to time, many of them
dropped in to see us and several of them went through the hospital as patients at
a later day. Two of that group — Jessie Wilson Boone, HAI/c, USNR, and Carl
Elver Cornett, HAI/c, USN —were killed in action on July 18, 1943.
One enlisted man of the 46th Seabees will always remain prominently in the
memory of those attached to the hospital at that time. He was popularly known as
"Tiny'' Jameson. He weighed between 260 and 275 pounds. A mammoth of a man,
pleasing in personality, exceptionally attentive to duty and with the strength and
62
Top left: "CAT" PULLING A GENERATOR INTO POSITION. Top right: CONCRETE MIXING GANG
—Dr. Falkner. Bottom left: CAPTAIN TURVILLE and DR. DRISCOLL. Bottom right: DR. KANE—
This officer was in charge of the Concrete Mixing Crew.
63
courage of four normal men. ''Tiny'’ was always given the job to set up tight, balky,
pipe and plumbing fixtures as he could get several turns more than the combined
efforts of three or four men on a large wrench. He also devised a ‘Guadalcanal
modification of the Mayo instrument table'’ for use in the operating rooms which
was used with success for several months until the regular tables arrived from the
United States.
On July 12, we received fifty additional corpsmen to restock our depleted ranks.
These men had been awaiting transportation in Noumea and were part of the second
echelon of our hospital.
During this period of the construction of the hospital, the men, on several oc-
casions, were harassed by Japs who had hidden in the hills and would sneak into
camp to steal food. Evidence of their presence was found at this hospital and in the
nearby jungle and this created nervous tension among the staff. The presence of
these Japs made necessary the doubling of the guard as this raiding for food con-
tinued. The sentries became ''trigger-conscious" and many nights, fired at what they
believed were Japs trying to enter the grounds, because at a nearby Seabee unit
other Japs were killed while trying to enter a mess hall. Unmistakable evidence of Japs
being in the serving station of the general mess galley was presented by foot prints
of the mitted type shoe the Japs wore.
In spite of changes in personnel, the building program continued and on August
7, the Commanding Officer reported to the Commander of the South Pacific Forces,
that the hospital was ready to receive up to four hundred patients.
64
COMMANDER FULCHER
Famous about camp for his
“Rube Goldberg" contraptions
Top left: SEAMEN GUARD—July 1943. Top right: PERSONNEL OFFICE FORCE—July 1943.
Middle left: PAY DEPARTMENT FORCE—July 1943. Middle right: C.P.O.'s—July 1943. Bottom left:
COMMISSARY FORCE—August 1943. Bottom right: STEWARD'S MATES—August 1943.
"EvSl ‘ZL 4nBnyw—syqDdl44O *wojjog ‘syuaijed
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CHAPTER VII
“THE HOSPITAL OPENS”
[ was with a feeling of pride and elation that the officers and men of Mobile
Hospital No. 8, together with the personnel of the 46th and 63rd C. B. Battalions,
gathered in front of the Administration Building on the morning of August 7, 1943 for
the short ceremony commemorating the opening of our hospital. The day was perfect in
its setting and the officers and men were mustered on the three sides in front of the
porch of the Administration Building presenting a never to be forgotten picture as
the colors were hoisted to the top of the flag pole. All the enlisted personnel, with
the exception of the seamen guard on watch, were in "dress whites'’ with necker-
chiets and the officers wore khaki with black ties. It was the first time since we had
arrived on Guadalcanal that we were so-called ''dressed up''. The seamen guard, as
usual, wore khaki. The ceremony was brief and consisted of the hoisting of the colors
promptly at eight o'clock in the morning, followed by the hoisting of the Red Cross
flag on the Administration Building. Then the Commanding Officer addressed the
personnel ot MOB 8 and the attending Seabees, and finally benediction was said by
the chaplain.
Immediately atter the ceremony was over those officers and enlisted personnel
who were not assigned to the wards, and other facilities that were put in operation,
removed their dress clothes and returned to their daily tasks as laborers, as this was
only the beginning of our hospital and much remained to be done. Shortly after nine
o'clock, the first two patients were admitted and the close of the day of August 7
found U.S.N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 at last functioning in the manner and for the
purpose it was intended — the care of the sick and wounded from the front lines of
fighting.
67
’ j 4\.0) hee
Wr FAK ‘\ A\8 :
ie wi
OPENING OF HOSPITAL—August 7, !943.
AUUKRESS BY THE MEUICAL UFFICER
IN CUMMAND AT FLAG RAISING CEREMONY
Al U. 5. NAVAL MUBILE HOSPITAL
NUMBER EIGHT UN AUGUST 7, 1943
N the IIth of August, 1942, Mobile Hospital No. Eight came into existence as
[] a unit of the U. S. Fleet assigned to the Pacific Fleet. Between the period of
August |! and September I0, 1942, we were assembled at New York, officers and
men were undergoing instruction in the manner of erection of our present facilities.
There we assembled supplies, equipment and materiel.
On the [0th of September last year, | reported to the Commander in Chiet,
U. S. Pacific Fleet, that we were in materiel readiness, and ready for orders. On the
2\|st of September we received orders to proceed to San Diego and report Com-
mander Amphibious Forces for duty. Between September 2! and October 8 our
material and equipment, to the extent of 67 frieght cars, got underway for San Pedro,
California. We left New York on the |0th of October as a troop unit on a troop train.
natoaar TT Ree
BS Sf ar
~ am Oe & } Ay PRt ae \ ij ni a — ;
ab rere e- ‘es a unl “I att
\ r
We arrived in San Pedro the morning of October |5th and | reported for duty
to Commander Amphibious Forces, U. S. Pacific Fleet. Then we had a rather long,
tiresome period of four months at San Pedro. However, all was not lost at that time.
We accomplished a great deal. Officers and men, as you remember, were assigned
to the San Diego Hospital, Long Beach Hospital, and Long Beach Dispensary, tor
instruction and observation especially of the cases that were returning from this
area. We also underwent a rather strenuous, | belive for most of us, course in physical
improvement. We had many drills and classes. We assembled considerable more
materiel while in San Pedro, for without such additions we would have been without
some of the essential construction materials that have gone into our hospital.
At last, on the [5th day of February, in the afternoon, after having received
many radios, thinking that we were going to leave, and then only turning out to be
talse alarms, an officer messenger came into my office. Several of the officers were
in the ottice with me, and the officer messenger handed me a dispatch. Well, the
group of us were talking and | threw the dispatch on the desk and paid no attention
to it. About 15 minutes later it dawned upon me that it might be something important.
| opened the dispatch and it read, — "proceed to CACTUS"!
Well, none of us knew what "CACTUS" was, or anything about it. | made a
mad scramble for the code book of names and much to my surprise, CACTUS’
meant — "GUADALCANAL"! Most of the officers were still out in the hall. We
called them in and there was really a whoop when they knew where they were going.
Then things began to happen. On the 23rd of February, 6 officers and 6 men, plus
1,400 tons of equipment, left San Pedro on the JEAN LYKES — the first out. On the
28th of February, 2 officers and 103 men left on the MATHEW THORNTON from
Port Heuneme. March 3rd, the third group — 8 officers and 127 men lett San Fran-
cisco. That lett a few of us remaining back to hold the sack. The rear guard pulled
out on the 9th of March, from San Diego, We made the trip on the ROCHAMBEAU.
On the 28th of March, the ROCHAMBEAU arrived in Espiritu, and much to our
surprise, and also to our great happiness, all of you were down there. Then began
the scramble to get you up here. The last down were the first up. The last group
of us leaving the States arrived here on the 4th of April and | reported to the Com-
mander, Solomon Island Bases.
Officers and men, | want to tell you that all those who arrived with me will long
remember life at Lunga, FABU 3 and CUB 2 in those days. It was depressing. We
thought we had come down to an island of veritable hell.
On the 5th of April we came out and looked at our site. Three different sites
had been picked out for our hospital and two had been turned down by the Army
Command, but, fortunately, this was not one of them. Then we were informed the
46th SeaBees would help in the construction of our hospital. From then on things
began to hum. The 46th SeaBees began building our roads, started the erection of
two mess halls, got our water supply in, and started the erection of two armored huts
that we have today. Still no men or material showed up over the horizon. Then on
the 4th day of May the first group came in — 2 officers, 100 men from the MATHEW
THORNTON — and we pitched camp on our present site.
69
During the month of May, more groups gradually came in so by the 4th of
June, all officers and men of the original group, and a large percentage of the new
personnel, had arrived on the station. On the 2Ist of May, the SeaBees raised our
hospital sign on the corner of Henderson Road. June Ist we had. added to our hospital
what was the Acorn Red One Hospital at Koli Point. We named it the "'Koli Point
Branch" of our hospital.
On the 4th of June, the JEAN LYKES arrived with our materiel and equipment.
On the 5th of June we started unloading, and then, as you remember and recall,
we had five hectic days — day and night — to get that maze unloaded and get it
out here, so that we could start construction.
On the | Ith of June, concrete was poured for the maintenance building and
commissary storeroom. On the 12th, the first post holes were dug and erection of
the Administration Building was started. From then on, buildings sprang up over night,
so that by the middle of July this place was pretty well covered with metal buldings.
On the 20th of July we moved into our present mess halls and galley facilities. Some
of us, | know, will long remember with a great deal of pleasure when we burned down
that old faithful galley that stood on our camp site, thanking the powers that be,
that we never got in trouble because of it. The poor thing did us nobly, but she was
overworked.
Then, on the 2!st of July, we had a great surprise —- —the first ice cream. The
first ice cream at this hospital, and for some of us, it was the first ice cream for
many months.
Now, today, on the 7th of August, the first anniversary of the landing of
Marines on Guadalcanal, we, too, are starting to contribute our share towards the
proper prosecution of this war. We have erected on this island of mud and dust, a
veritable paradise. So much so, that there are a great many of us who hate to leave
the confines of our reservation for other parts of the island. It is a pleasure when
we get back.
To the members of the 46th SeaBees, Lieutenant Hennessey, his officer assistants
and enlisted personnel, | wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the
manner in which you have pertormed your duty in aiding, helping and directing the
construction of our hospital. Your work has been well beyond the usual call of duty
and | can sincerely say that without you this hospital would not be what it is today.
It would probably be the same as some of the other establishments — a shamble
of 70 small units. But with your guidance we have been able to construct a hospital,
| think, that is without parallel in the South Pacific — either Army or Navy.
To the enlisted men of the 63rd SeaBees, who have in the past few weeks joined
us, | sincerely thank you for your aiding us in the construction of our hospital. Your
performance otf duty has been inspiring. The manner in which you men, which could
be considered as routine work for you, have pitched in and helped us, is greatly
appreciated. It has been wondertul.
To members of Mobile Hospital No. Eight, officers and men, | am proud to
have had the honor to command such a group. You have have come down to this
island from all walks of lite and have done everything from ditch-digging, metal
70
Lo84
sagittnae inn aREE F
OPENING OF HOSPITAL—August 7, 1943.
(construction, plumbing and what have you. Anything in the line of heavy labor
you have done willingly and without resentment. Some of the officers, in the manner
of performance of their duty, have been outstanding. The same applies to a great
many of the enlisted men. | know it has been a hectic, tiresome time for you all —
backaches, headaches and sore muscles. You have performed a miracle on this
island, converting mud and dust into a paradise.
We are now ready to take patients. But we have a long way to go. Orders have
been received to increase this hospital to 1,750 beds, and in a short time, as a matter
of fact, in the next few days, our second echelon will begin to pour in — 2,975 tons
ot materiel and equipment. So we still have a great deal of work to do.
However, | sincerely trust, in fact, | know, that you will give your all, with the
same zeal and enthusiasm that you have in the past and that we will have here a
great hospital. In the words of praise of the Navy ... Officers and Men... ''Well
done."
COMMANDING OFFICER ADDRESSING THE STAFF ON OPENING OF HOSPITAL—
August 7, !943.
ue a
CAPTAIN TURVILLE AND THE CONSTRUCTION OFFICERS, Lt. D. F. HENNESSEY, (CEC), U.S.N.R.
and LT. (ig) H. SUNDT, (CEC), U.S.N.R.
LHAPTER VIII
“BUILDING OF THE HOSPITAL CONTINUES"
Ww" the hospital opened for patients on August 7, 1943, seventeen ward build-
ings were put in operation in Clinical Group "A", fourteen of which were for
enlisted personnel and the remaining three for Sick Officers Quarters. These wards
were by no means complete, as the utility buildings, between the wards, in many in-
stances had not been started; however, by September Ist, all the utility buildings
were finished and a communicable disease cubicle was also built between Wards
A-20 and A-22, completing the clinical facilities of Group "A".
The tirst of the 300 tons of materiel and equipment for the expansion of our
hospital facilities arrived on Guadalcanal, August ||. This materiel and equipment
was designed to increase our facilities to a 1000 bed capacity, but we went ahead
with plans to increase the facilities to a minimum of 1500 beds at the main hospital.
The Dental Department, housed in D-!3, was completed and ready to serve pa-
tients on the Ist of September. The arrangements of the Dental Department Build-
ing, as to floor plans, offices, waiting rooms, laboratories and other working details,
were designed by Lieutenant A. S. Turville, (DC), U.S.N., and were outstanding in
their completeness and adequacy.
The model of efficiency presented in the interior of our "'lock-ward'' for Neuro-
Psychiatric patients (D-20) can well be attributed to the joint efforts of Commander
H. Fulcher, (MC), U.S.N.R., and Lieutenant F. Weniger, (MC), U.S.N.R.
The first echelon of the hospital was built of USS Panel-Built pre-fabricated
buildings. They were made of steel, erected in 4-foot panels, designed to be 20-teet
wide and could be made any length desired, had a gable roof, a ceiling 9-feet above
73
the deck level and were provided with a ceiling insulation, a material called Ferro-
Therm. The interior consisted of Upson-board wall panels and a wooden deck. The
floor structure was supported on steel |-beam fittings approximately two feet above
the ground level. These buildings were used to construct the clinical facilities in
Group ‘'A", the Administration Building, Pay Office, Laboratory, Medical Store
Houses, Dental Department, Bag Room, four sets of officers quarters and the metal
service buildings in Group ''B", in all, about 36% of our total construction.
About 54% of the hospital construction was of the T.C.|. Task-Force type of
buildings. These were the buildings supplied to us for expansion purposes. They were
pretabricated also, arriving in 20-inch panels and had to be fabricated into 1!0-foot
sections prior to erection on the site, and were used for Clinical Group ''C", all of
Clinical Group "'D", with the exception of D-20, three sets of officers quarters (4-5,
D-6 and D-7}, Clinical Group "'G"', the nurses quarters (Group ''H'"'), the recreation
buildings such as the Officers Club, the enlisted men's recreation hall, the Chief Petty
Officers Recreation Hall, the Chaplain's Building, one big room and the quarters for
enlisted personnel of the Medical Supply Facility. These buildings were also designed
to be built 20-feet wide, had a gable roof with no ceiling and about 8-foot, 3-inches
head room above the deck, with a !/5-inch plywood deck two to three feet above
ground level supported on a steel sub-structure of steel footings. This type of struc-
ture, although not so finished a product and not as durable as the panel-built build-
ings, was designed for use in all later mobile hospitals, because of the small cubeage
and lighter weight, as compared to the panel-built structures. Cubeage and tonnage
was a very vital factor in shipping in the South Pacitic during 1943 and 1944.
The individual wards in Clinical Group "A" varied in length from 72 feet to
120 feet and each utility building, consisting of four rooms each— head and wash-
room, diet kitchen, linen room and doctor's office — was placed between and served
two wards. The ward buildings in Clinical Group "'C"', ''D'", and ''G'"' were each of
the task-force type and were designed 250 feet long, the center 50 feet of which
housed the diet kitchen, the head and washroom, a linen room, doctor's office and
74
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Top Left: RECEIVING WARD. Top Right: CLINICAL GROUP "A" FROM SCHOFIELD ROAD.
Center: SENTRY POST AT THE HOSPITAL ENTRANCE ON TURVILLE DRIVE, Lower Left: ADMIN-
ISTRATION BUILDING, POST OFFICE TO THE LEFT. Lower Right: SICK OFFICERS QUARTERS,
CLINICAL GROUP “A”.
Left: A-8 SURGICAL RECEIVING WARD. Right: A-5 MEDICAL WARD.
two quiet rooms. Each ward had a capacity of 72 patient beds, single deck, and 140
patient beds using double deck bunks.
An area was set aside at the northeast end of Camp Gendreau for assembling
sheds, where the fabricated |0-foot units ot the task-force type buildings were con-
structed and from there transported on trucks to the actual building site.
Of the balance of the hospital buildings, about 10% were typical wood frame
and screen construction using galvanized screen ends and sides. Four such buildings,
20-feet by |00-feet were erected for convalescent wards, each ward housing sixty
patients, using double deck bunks. It is of interest to note that the decks and parts
of the roofs of these structures were made of salvage lumber from the crates that
had protected the hospital beds and mattresses during their transportation to the
island.
Commander F. Fletcher, (MC}, U.S.N.R., was sent to New Zealand in September,
1943, and was instrumental in securing many sorely needed items for the hospital
through the reverse lend-lease with the New Zealand government.
We obtained many thousands of dollars worth of material and equipment con-
sisting of flush toilets, heat-pack hot water heaters, showers, plumbing fixtures, tools,
16
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Top: A-||—One of the Orthopedic Wards.
Top: ONE OF THE TWO OPERATING ROOMS IN
THE SURGICAL SUITE OF CLINICAL GROUP "A."
Center: WORK ROOM OF SURGICAL SUITE—
CLINICAL GROUP "A." Bottom: SURGICAL OPER-
ATING SUITE IN CLINICAL GROUP "A''—August
1943.
machinery, sewer pipe, water pipe, furniture for nurses quarters, etc., which helped
to make our hospital facilities the outstanding structures that they were.
In the planning of the hospital, and its various tacilities, credit must be given to
Lieutenant H. Sundt, (CEC), U.S.N.R.; Chief Pharmacist D. M. Brown, U.S.N:R.; and,
Pharmacist J. Clary, U.S.N.R., as they were of great assistance to the Commanding
Officer in the planning and designing of the hospital facilities.
Reference to the Chronological History of the hospital will show when the various
buildings, and groups of buildings, were started and completed. The building pro-
gram, for the main hospital, was not completed until early in May 1944, a short time
before Captain Wm. H. H. Turville, (MC), U.S.N. was detached.
Upon completion of the building program, for administrative purposes, the re-
servation was divided into ten. areas.
AREA A’
Twenty-five buildings comprised this group, twenty-two of which were of the
panel-built type, two of frame and screen construction, one task-force type of con-
struction and one armored magazine hut which was used as a bomb-proof shelter
for patients in this area.
A-| The administrative offices were housed in this building which was 20'x48'
and had an 8' porch on either side. The rear porch was screened and partitioned to
provide an addition to the Record Office space within the building and also a
bed room for the Senior Officer of the Day. The interior was partitioned to provide
offices for the Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Officer of the Day and space
for the Personnel and Record Offices. Abutting this building, and to the rear, was a
task-force type of building 20'x50' (A-3) which was divided into a major portion for
the Record Office and the balance as office space for the Chief Nurse.
A-2 housed the Disbursing Office and Post-Office, was a 48' panel-built structure
ro
to which an 8' porch was added at each end to facilitate traffic through pay line and
to the Post-Office.
A-4, A-5 and A-6 were |16' wards, panel-built buildings, connected by 20'x24'
utility buildings which were partitioned to provide four rooms — medical officer's
offices, linen room, diet kitchen and head and washroom. A-4 and A-5 were surgical
wards of thirty-four and forty beds respectively. A-6 was partitioned to provide
offices and examination rooms for E.E.N.T., and E.E.N.T. operating room, optical re-
pair shop, and a twenty-six bed ward tor patients on this service.
A-7 and A-8 were ninety-six foot panel-built wards connected by a 20'x24' utility
building. A-8 was partitioned at one end to provide an office and treatment rooms
for outpatients, the remaining portion providing a twenty-three bed ward. A-7 was
a thirty-three bed ward. Both wards were receiving wards.
A-9 was a 48' panel-built building partitioned to provide a dark room, two
x-ray rooms and a combination viewing room and office.
Left: ISOLATION WARD IN CLINICAL GROUP "A"—Six cubicles of two beds each. Right: WASH-
ROOM FOR AMBULATORY PATIENTS—Clinical Group "A."
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Top left: WARD A-I4 HOSPITAL CORPSMEN—October 1943. Top right: OPERATING ROOM
CREW—Clinical Group '"'A''—October 1943. Bottom teft: X-RAY DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL—
October 1943. Bottom right: HOSPITAL CORPSMEN—WARD A-8—October 1943.
CAPTAIN J. S. TERRY, (MC}, U.S.N.
Captain Terry was the Executive Officer
of MOB 8 from September 3, 1943 until
he relieved me as Commanding Officer
on May I7, 1944.
An outstanding medical officer and a
devoted friend — to him is due much of
the credit for successtul operation of
MOB 8.
Wm. H. H. TURVILLE
Captain, (MC), U.S.N.
A-|0 was a 36’ panel-built building partitioned to provide offices for Chiefs of
Surgery, Medicine, and Nursing, medical library and a bedroom for surgical watch
officer.
A-|| was a 120' panel-built building partitioned to provide a 24'x20' space for
the plaster room and supplies at one end. The thirty-three bed ward was used for
orthopedic cases.
A-|2 was a 96' ward building, panel-built, of thirty-three bed capacity used for
orthopedic cases. There was a direct connection between this ward and a utility
building.
A-13 was a ''T'' shaped building, panel-built, with concrete deck, partitioned to
provide two |6'xI9' operating rooms, one 8'xI0' scrub room, two 6'x!0' dressing
rooms, and a 20'x24' sterilizing work room.
A-14 and A-15 were 96' wards, panel-built, connected by a 20'x24' utility build-
ing. A-|4 had a thirty-four bed capacity and was used for Urology, Neurosurgery
and Maxillo-facial cases. A-15 had a concrete decked, screened |2-foot wide porch
the entire length of one side. Twenty-four feet of one end of the building had been
partitioned to provide showers, tubs, and treatment of burn cases. The ward had a
capacity of forty-three beds for burn cases.
A-16 was a 96' ward building, panel-built, with a thirty-three bed capacity and
was used for infected surgical cases. There was no direct connection for this ward
with any utility building.
A-|7 and A-|8 were 96' ward buildings, panel-built, connected by a 20'x24'
utility building. A-17 contained twenty-eight beds for sick officer surgical cases. A-!8
was a twenty-eight bed ward for sick officer medical cases.
A-!9 was a 48' building, panel-built, partitioned to provide rooms for four senior
sick ofticers and a Central Supply Room.
82
le eS ne
Top left: OFFICERS MESS HALL—This was later enlarged to accommodate 150 officers when the
nurses arrived. Top right: ONE OF THE GENERAL MESS HALLS. Center left: SERVICE GROUP
"B''—From left to right: Ice-making machine, butcher shop, 3400 cubic foot reefer, galley, bakery, and
commissary storeroom. Center right: A SIX-COMPARTMENT 6800 CUBIC FOOT REEFER—The Main
Hospital had 16,200 cubic feet of refrigeration space. Also—on each ward was a 7-foot electric
refrigerator. Bottom: GENERAL MESS GALLEY.
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Top: LAUNDRY CREW—November 1943. Bottom: THE HOSPITAL LAUNDRY,
A-20 and A-2! were 96' wards of thirty-six beds each, panel-built, connected by
a 20'x24' utility building. These wards were for medical cases.
A-22 and A-23 were 72' panel-built buildings with a bed capacity of fifty double
deck beds each and were used for convalescent medical cases. They were connected
by a utility building 20'x24' divided in the usual manner.
A-24 was an armored magazine hut 20'x48' and was used during air raids as a
patient shelter. In addition, four large foxholes were spaced in Area ''A"' for ambulant
patients’ use.
84
A-25 was a frame screened type building of 19-x40', partitioned to provide six
separate cubicles for the isolation of cases of communicable diseases.
A-26 was a building of wood and screen construction, 20'x40', with a concrete
deck and divided into a shower room and washrooms for ambulatory patients of
Clinical Group "A".
A system of elevated walks connected the buildings so that it was possible to
move a patient by cart or wheel chair from the receiving wards to the x-ray or
operating room, or to any of the other wards in Area ''A'', even in the rainy season,
without difficulty. Also provided for the ambulant patients’ use in this area were other
frame and screen buildings housing the toilets and urinals.
The bed capacity of Clinical Group "A" was 576 beds.
TRIANGLE
Adjacent to Area ''A"’, located in a triangle, bounded by Turville Drive, Goss
Road and Sherwood Road, was a group of four buildings, three of which were used
tor administrative facilities and one as the chaplain's building. One 20'x48' panel-
built building was partitioned to provide office space for the Sanitation Officer, Chief
Boatswain Mate, telephone switchboard, Engineering Officer and the Chief Master-
at-Arms. A 20'x50' task-force type building was partitioned to provide offices, store-
rooms for the chaplains and a library for patients’ use. A 10'x|5' wood and screen
building house the brig which provided three individual cells. The fourth building was
a 16'x40' quonset hut which provided office space and storeroom for the Marine
Liaison Officer. The remaining portion of the triangle was used as a parking area
for the eight hospital ambulances.
AREA "B"
A group of nineteen buildings in this area housed the utilities of the hospital.
Eight were of the panel-built type, one of the task-force type, five of the wood and
85
screen construction, and five were of varying types. B-| was a 48’ panel-built build-
ing partitioned to provide galley and mess rooms for ambulant sick officers and had
a seating capacity of fifty-six. B-2 was a 72’ panel-built building partitioned to pro-
vide galley and mess rooms for staff officers and had a seating capacity of 150.
B-3 was a self-contained refrigerator building of 6000 cubic feet capacity.
B-4 was a frame building constructed around a 6800 cubic foot refrigerator and
was connected to the cold storage building. At the south end of this building was
a scuttlebutt, and was probably the only one of its type, to provide ice cold water
on the island and personnel having business near this scuttlebutt always made ample
use of it.
B-5 was a panel-built 48' building which housed a 3400 cubic foot refrigerator
and the ice cream mixer and freezers. A 30' wood and screen building was
placed at one end of B-5 and was partitioned to provide space for meat cutting
and ice making. B-6 was a 72' panel-built building housing the galley. The space of
twelve feet between B-5 and B-6 had been enclosed with frame and screened struc-
ture to house the vegetable scullery.
B-7 was a 48' building, panel-built and housed the bakery. A space of twelve
feet between B-6 and B-7 had been enclosed by a frame and screen structure for
housing the garbage collection. B-8 was the commisary stores building, of panel-built
type, 48' in length and partitioned to provide space tor the Commissary Officer
and storage. A 50’ task-force type of building was placed parallel to and in-
board of B-8 as an additional commissary stores building. B-9 and B-10 were 88' wood
and screen buildings, used as mess halls for enlisted personnel, both staff and am-
bulant patients, with a seating capacity of 320. B-10 had 24’ partitioned off to pro-
vide for a Chiet Petty Officers’ mess hall with a seating capacity of 48.
The scullery was a wood and screen type building between B-6, B-9 and B-10.
B-12 was a 72' panel-built building housing the laundry. A 100-foot wood and screen
building was constructed parallel to B-12 on the outboard side and housed the
86
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Top: THE POWER PLANT IN GROUP "B''—Two 75 K.W. Diese! generators and two steam boilers.
Center: 126,000 GALLON WATER RESERVOIR and THE CHLORINATION AND FILTRATION PLANT
—The raw water pumped from the Teneru River, through a 4-inch water pipe, to the 126,000 gallon
reservoir, passed through the chlorinators and filters, and then was pumped to the four elevated
15,000 gallon water tanks. Bottom: INCINERATOR AND GARBAGE CAN STERILIZER.
:
4
Top left: ASSEMBLY CREW AT WORK—Sept. 1943. Top right: ASSEMBLY SHEDS—Sept. 1943.
Bottom left; ASSEMBLED PANELS FOR TASK-FORCE TYPE BUILDINGS. Bottom right: BUILDING
MATERIALS—This material was used for the construction of task-force type buildings. Camp Gendreau
is in the background.
expansion of the laundry and linen rooms. B-13 was a frame structure similar to B-12
but not screened and housed the boilers and generators. B-14 was a 48' panel-built
building housing the maintenance and carpenter shops. Adjoining B-14 was a frame
structure housing the automotive repair shop. Also in Area ''B'' were the frame struc-
tures housing the water purification equipment and garbage incinerator. A wood and
screen type building housed the garbage can cleaning, sterilizing and storage facilities.
88
AREA "'C"
The clinical group of this area comprised eight buildings. Seven were of the
task-force type and one was an armored magazine type used as a bomb shelter in
the event of air raids. C-1, C-2, C-6, C-7 and C-8 were 250-foot ward buildings
partitioned to provide a |00' ward on each side of a central utility and quiet room
section of 50 feet. The central section consisted of eight 7'x|0' rooms of which three
were used as quiet rooms, one as a washroom with urinal, one as a diet kitchen, one
as a linen room and one as a treatment and examination room. The washroom had
a concrete deck substituted for the plywood deck usually provided in this type of
building. In addition, C-1, which was used as a dermatology ward, had a concrete
deck in the treatment room. The bed capacities and type of cases for the ''C"’
clinical groups were as follows: C-!, 70 beds, Medical-Dermatology-Syphilology; C-2,
72 beds, General Medical; C-6, 71 beds, Neuro-Surgical and General Surgery; C-7,
71 beds, Neuro-psychiatric; and C-8, 72 beds, General Surgery; a total bed cap-
acity of 356 beds.
C-3 was a 20'x100' task-force type of building with an elevated concrete deck.
This building was partitioned to provide two 20'x20' operating rooms, one 12’x!8'
work room, one 1|2'xI2' sterilizing room, one 6'x|2' sterile dressing room, one 8'x!0'
soiled linen room, two 7'x|2' staff dressing rooms, and two scrub sinks in recessed
spaces. C-4 was a 50-foot task-force type building partitioned to provide a shower,
wash and toilet rooms. All wards, and the operating suite, were connected by an
elevated wood walk permitting dry footing in wet weather and ready passage for
wheel carts and chairs.
AREA "D"
This group, comprising twenty-one buildings, included clinical facilities, officers
quarters, laboratory, dental, medical supply and bag room activities. The officers
area consisted of nine buildings, five of panel-built construction and four of the task-
89
| force type to which had been added screened porches 8' in width and running the
full length on each side.
D-! was a 48’ panel-built building partitioned to provide quarters for the Com-
manding Officer and six senior officers. The rooms were 8'x12'.
D-2 and D-3 were 60' panel-built buildings partitioned to provide 8'x!2' rooms
for twelve officers each.
D-4 was a 60' panel-built building partitioned to provide six |0'x20' rooms which
housed two officers each.
D-5, D-6 and D-7 were 60' task-force type of buildings partitioned into six
10'x20' rooms for two officers each.
Left: CLINICAL GROUP "'C''—There were five 250-foot wards, surgical operating suite, and a head,
shower and wash room building. These buildings were of the Task-Force type of structure. There was
also one armored hut in this group. Right: CLINICAL GROUP "'C''\—Showing the Surgical Suite and
Ward C-2. Hennessey Road in foreground.
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D-8 was a 60’ panel-built building with a concrete deck. This was partitioned
to provide toilet, wash, shower and trunk rooms.
D-9 was a 60' task-force type of building designed as the Officers Club.
D-!0 was a 72' panel-built building partitioned to provide a laboratory, an
office for the laboratory officer, and pharmacy.
D-I| and D-12 were 96’ panel-built buildings with concrete decks and were
used for a medical storehouse.
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Left: WARD C-}.
Above: WARD C-|
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Top left: SURGICAL SUITE in CLINICAL GROUP "'C." Top right: THE PASSAGEWAY IN SURGI-
CAL SUITE "'C." Bottom left: ONE OF THE TWO OPERATING ROOMS IN SURGICAL SUITE ''C."
Bottom right: CLINICAL GROUP "C''—Showing the elevated walk between the ward buildings and
the seats built around the palm trees.
D-13 was a 52' panel-built building partitioned to provide four dental offices,
a dental x-ray and dark room, dental laboratory, supply, waiting room and office
for the senior dental officer.
D-14 was a 100’ panel-built building and D-15 was a 100° task-force building,
both were arranged to care for patients baggage.
92
The clinical group in this area consisted of five wards.
D-16, D-17, D-18 and D-!9 were 250-foot task-force buildings arranged as those
of the ''C" area with two |00-foot wards, one on each side of a central utility section
of 50 feet.
D-18 had double screened entrances to add security in malaria control and pro-
vided 72 beds for malaria cases.
D-16 and D-I7 were of 72 bed capacity and were used for general medical cases.
D-19 was of 72 bed capacity and used for neuro-psychiatric cases.
D-20 was a 120’ panel-built building partitioned to provide four strongrooms
for disturbed patients, one wet-pack room, one diet kitchen, one toilet, shower and
utility room, and an office for the medical officer. In addition to the above, the
building had ward space for twenty-six neuro-psychiatric cases. A fenced exercise
yard was adjacent to this building to insure security of disturbed patients during
recreation periods. The yard contained a large foxhole for the use of these patients
during air raids. A 50' task-force type building was provided to house toilet, wasn
and shower facilities for the patients of Clinical Group ''D".
All ward buildings in the ''D' area were connected with elevated wooden walks
permitting dry tooting in wet weather and ready passage for wheel carts and chairs.
D-2| was an armored magazine type building provided as a bomb shelter for
the patients of this group.
The total permanent bed capacity of the ''D" clinical group was 328.
AREA "E"
This area was composed principally of Medical Supply Facility buildings; how-
ever, four buildings in the area were part of the hospital group. The enlisted men’s
73
recreation hall was a |20-foot task-force type of building with a concrete deck par-
titioned into spaces for the barber shop, ship's store, lounge and recreation room.
The Chief Petty Officer's Club was a 50-foot task-force building.
The Boone-Cornett Auditorium was a Strand Steel hut, 40'x!00', with a con-
crete deck. The interior had a built-in stage 12'x40'. The building had a seating
capacity of 600.
In addition, there was a |6'x40' quonset hut for the Red Cross activities, two
40'x100' quonset huts for the Medical Supply Facility and a 20'x!00' task-force type
of building for the enlisted personnel of the Medical Supply Facility.
AREA “F"
This area was composed of Medical Supply Facility buildings consisting of three
40'x!00' quonset huts and a 400 cubic foot reefer for Biologicals.
AREA 'G"
This area consisted of four 250-foot wards of the task-force type building, a
head, shower and washroom building, and a small power station. There were 280
hospital beds provided within these buildings. The buildings were similar in con-
struction to those of Clinical Group ''C'' and Clinical Group ‘D".
94
AREA "H"
There were eight task-force type buildings in this area, six of which were used
for quarters for the nurses, one 100’ building for toilet, shower, washroom, trunk, and
laundry rooms, and a 50' building for the nurses’ recreation hall.
Top left: COMMANDING OFFICER'S QUARTERS—Januery 1944. Top right: OFFICERS QUARTERS
FROM THE CORNER OF FULCHER AND HENNESSEY ROADS. Bottom left: SICK OFFICERS
QUARTERS IN AREA "'D." Bottom right: OFFICERS WASH ROOM BUILDING IN AREA "D."
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AREA "D" LOOKING UP TURVILLE DRIVE FROM SUNDT ROAD
CAMP GENDREAU
This camp was provided to house the enlisted personnel attached to the main
hospital and was comprised of twenty-nine 16x16 wood and screen bungalows,
twenty-five |6'x40' quonset huts, and one head, shower and washroom building. °
This was the site of our original camp.
In addition to the buildings of the above areas, there were also four 20'x!00'
wood and screen buildings built for convalescent patients. Each had a bed capacity
of sixty.
The total bed capacity of the hospital was 1780; however, by double-decking
some of the large wards, the bed capacity could be increased to 2500.
THE MORGUE
This building was located on Kervin Road, opposite C-! and C-2, and was of
the panel-built construction, 20'x36', with a concrete base.
96
WATER SUPPLY
The Teneru River, a permanent flowing stream, was the source of water supply.
Water was pumped from the river three-fourths of a mile to a 126,000 gallon tank
on the hospital grounds. The water from this large settling tank was chlorinated,
chemically adjusted for flocculation, filtered and pumped to four elevated 15,000
gallon tanks which were located in four sections of the grounds. The gravity tlow
Top left: THE PHARMACY AND CLINICAL LABORATORY—Area "D." Top right: MEDICAL
STOREHOUSES IN AREA "'D." Bottom left: DENTAL DEPARTMENT BUILDING—Area "'D." Bottom
right: THE BAG ROOMS—Area '"'D."
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Top: CLINICAL GROUP "D' CLINICAL GROUP "G'' PAR-
—Four 250-foot Ward Build- TIALLY COMPLETED — This
ings and one 1|20-foot Neuro- group consisted of four 250-
Psychiatric locked ward."' D-18 foot wards and a central head,
was the Malaria Ward. Canter: shower and wash room build-
D-20—THE "LOCKED WARD" ing, located on the south side
FOR N. P. PATIENTS. Bottom: of Fulcher Road.
from the elevated tanks was piped to all buildings of the hospital and to lavatory and
shower facilities in the staff living spaces.
For fire-fighting purposes, the water could be pumped directly from the 126,000
gallon tank to the distribution system under high pressure. The 126,000 gallons pro-
vided sufficient water for fire use until the pump at the river could be started to
insure an unlimited amount. Fire hose connections were located in all parts of the
grounds.
The purity of the water was assured by trained competent operation of the
three units of the purification equipment. The treated water system was protected
from raw water contamination by a broken connection which must be established
for fire use only, at which time the four elevated tanks were closed from the system.
Provision was made for the re-sterilization of the system following its use for fire-
tighting purposes.
The pump at the river was of 350 gallons per minute capacity. Each unit of
purification equipment had a capacity of 50 gallons per minute.
Left: DENTAL DEPARTMENT—November 1943. Right: BAG ROOM GANG—November 1943.
After our experience of September 21, 1943, when our 4-inch pipe line was
broken as a result of a Jap plane falling on it, and we were without a source of
water supply for eighteen hours, numerous attempts were made to drill artesian wells
fut were unsuccessful, brakish water being recovered in each instance.
TOILET FACILITIES
When the hospital was first erected, the chemical toilets which were provided
for this type of hospital, were converted into flush toilets and were satisfactory except
that, because of the lack of a gas trap, they had a tendency to create an odor;
however, these toilets were all replaced by flush toilets which were obtained by
reverse lend-lease from the New Zealand government.
The sewerage system was divided into two sections. Those facilities on the north
side of Turville Drive were connected by means of a sewer line, discharging into a
THE PARTIALLY COMPLETED SEPTIC TANK FOR THE SEWAGE SYSTEM ON THE SOUTH SIDE
OF TURVILLE DRIVE.
septic tank in the back of the incinerator. The facilities on the south side of Turville
Drive were connected by a sewer line which discharged into a septic tank behind
the morgue. Both septic tanks discharged their effluent into the Little Teneru River.
Left: LAYING FLOOR FOR NURSES WASHROOM AND SHOWER—Jan. 24, 1944. Right: CON-
STRUCTING A TASK-FORCE TYPE BUILDING (Nurses Quarters)—Panels were assembled and then
erected as whole sides of building.
POWER PLANT
All the buildings of the hospital and Medical Supply Facility were serviced with
electricity. The main power plant, a wood frame structure on a concrete base, B-13,
was located on France Road just north of the laundry buildings. In this building, were
located two 75 K.W. Diesel generators which supplied all of Camp Gendreau, Clinical
Group "A" except the X-ray Building, and all the buildings in Group "'B'. Also,
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Top: THE SECURITY BUILDING—The Command Post during an air raid was on
these steps. Bottom: THE BRIG—The personnel of the Command Post used the
space beneath the brig for snelter when the ‘'flak'’ fell on the hospital area.
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Top: CONVALESCENT PATIENTS WARDS Nos. 2, 3 and 4— No. ! was located in Camp Gendreau.
Bottom: THE MORGUE—THE LEAST USED BUILDING.
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there were two large steam boilers in this power plant which supplied steam and hot
water for the galley, bakery, laundry, sculleries and the garbage can sterilizing unit.
A second power plant was located on the west side of Kervin Road opposite
Clinical Group ''C"' and consisted of two 75 K.W. generators which was a source of
light and power for areas "C", "D", "E", "F", and "H".
A third power plant consisting of one 35 K.W. Diesel generator was located
in Area ''G'' and serviced the buildings in that area.
CAMP GENDREAU ON JANUARY 10, 1944
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Left: C.P.O. QUARTERS IN CAMP GENDREAU. Right: QUONSET HUTS FOR ENLISTED MEN'S
QUARTERS in CAMP GENDREAU—April 1944.
The X-ray Department had its own power plant which consisted of one 35 K.W.
generator which was located on the north side of Schofield Road in close proximity
to the X-ray Building.
BRIDGES
Due to the tact that along each side of the hospital roads there were !arge,
deep, and wide drainage ditches to keep the various areas well drained, it was ne-
cessary to build bridges across these ditches. They were all originally made of ma-
lhogany logs covered by 3'x8' planking. Due to the hot, damp, humid climate of
Guadalcanal, practically all of these bridges had to be replaced after six months
because of the logs and planking rotting. When the bridges were replaced, culvert
bridges were substituted using large gasoline drums from which the ends had been
removed and covering the same with rocks, coral and then gravel. The foxholes through-
out the hospital reservation were all condemned during February 1944, because of
the rotting ot the coconut logs forming their roofs, and they were filled in with dirt.
105
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Upper Left: CAPTAIN TURVILLE AND COMMANDER FLETCHER. Upper Center: CLINICAL
GROUP "C'"' FROM BODINE ROAD AND TURVILLE DRIVE. Upper Right: ROAD SIGNS. Center
Left: CUTTING DEAD FRONDS FROM OIL PALM TREES—A MOST DISAGREEABLE JOB. Center
Right: ROAD SIGNS. Lower Left: ROAD SIGN. Lower Right: COMMANDER FULCHER AND
GROUP OF SEAMEN REPAIRING A BRIDGE AFTER A STORM THAT OCCURRED ON
FEBRUARY 13, 1944.
Point
Bottom right:
Point Branch—October 1943.
Captain Schofield obliterating the Koli
OFFICERS QUARTERS—Koli Point Branch—October 1943.
on the sign as this picture was taken. Top right: CAPTAIN SCHOFIELD AND GROUP OF PERSONNEL
Top left: KOLI POINT BRANCH SIGN—October 1943,
at KOLI POINT BRANCH. Bottom left: OFFICERS—Koli
LHAPTER IX
“THE BULE PUINT BRANCH’
UF
U. 5. NAVAL MOBILE HOSPITAL NU. 8
RDERS were received from the Commander of the South Pacific Forces on May
[] 15, 1943 directing that the U. S. Naval Mobile Hospital No. 8 take over the
medical facilities of Red Acorn One at Koli Point as of June |, 1943. Red Acorn
One, an aviation repair unit, was to be moved further north at that time, and since
there were no other Naval medical facilities east of the Malinbu River it was ne-
cessary that this small hospital be retained in operation to service the Naval units
in that area.
The Koli Point Branch of the hospital, affectionately known as ''Little MOB 8",
was located one and one-half miles to the southeast of Carney Field, two miles
distant trom the boat landing at Koli Point, and twelve miles east of the main hospital.
The reservation consisted of about forty acres of relatively flat land bordering on
the Metapona River. The soil of the area varied from clay to sandy in character and
a system of ditches facilitated drainage of water trom the area during heavy rain-
fall. The area originally was covered with heavy jungle vegetation which had been
cleared, save for the larger trees, many of them mahognay trees, which furnished
shade and natural cover from air observation.
The physical facilities at the Koli Point Branch were crude in construction com-
pared to the main hospital, but they were well adapted to the use in the tropics and
consisted of quonset huts, Dallas huts and wood trame and screen buildings. There
were three quonset huts, 20'x50' each, which provided wards for sixteen beds each,
one quonset hut which was partitioned to provide facilities for ilicht examinations,
x-ray facilities, and emergency dressing room, and one which was partitioned into
two operating rooms, sterilizing and work rooms. There were sixteen of the wood
and screen type of buildings, 20 feet wide and 50 feet long, with concrete decks,
six of which were used as wards having a bed capacity of eighteen beds each, one
which was partitioned to provide space for pharmacy, storeroom and laboratory, one
served as sick officers quarters with a bed capacity of eight, four were used as officers
108
KOLI POINT BRANCH—The main road into the hospital—Administration Building in foreground and
wards in the background—January 10, !944.
KOLI POINT BRANCH—TYPICAL WARD—JANUARY 1944
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quarters, and one each for the Administration Office, Bag Room, Recreation Room
and Chiefs' Quarters. A ''T'' shaped building of wood and screen construction on
a concrete deck was partitioned into a galley, bakery, scullery, mess hall and officers
ward room.
The Dental Department was housed in one of the Dallas huts and the other
served as officers quarters. The enlisted personnel were billeted in screened pyramidal
tents with wooden decks and also in two quonset huts.
The toilet facilities were of the latrine type similar to those on the original camp
of the main hospital. Sewage was disposed of in the field type latrine, garbage con-
tainers were kept on a screen enclosed platform and disposed of daily by a special
hospital detail.
A 25 K.W. generator furnished light and power for the hospital facilities.
The water supply was obtained from the Metapona River, filtered and chlorin-
ated by a water purification plant maintained by the 515th Maintenance Battalion
and was piped to the various facilities of the hospital. This river was subject to rapid
fluctuation in height with heavy rainfall on the water shed. It reached the flood stage
in May !943 inundating the hospital with some damage to its buildings. Those build-
ings on low ground were severely damaged and had to be removed so that when
MOB 8 took over this facility, it was in a state of disrepair and considerable repair
Left: DENTAL DEPARTMENT—Koli Point Branch Oct. 1943. Right: OPERATING ROOM—Koli Point
Branch Oct. 1943.
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and replacement was necessary. In order to obviate the recurrence of further in-
undation, the river channel was later altered, which helped to eliminate the flood
stage previously reached.
When the Koli Point Branch was first taken over, the laundry was done by their
own laundry facilities; however, these were inadequate as to capacity and soon were
beyond repair, so that from November 1943 on, all laundry was done at the main
hospital.
Facilities were available for the accommodation of 250 patients, and in an emer-
gency, this could be raised to 350 by the use of double-deck bunks.
Lieutenant Commander Joseph Kerwin, (MC), U.S.N.R. was detailed as the
First Executive Officer. He was succeeded by Captain Fred S. Schofield, (MC), U.S.N.R.
in July 1943, who continued in that capacity until the Koli Point Branch was closed
on July |, 1944.
From June |, 1943 until the time that the main hospital opened on August 7,
1943, the Koli Point Branch functioned alone as U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 and
cared for approximately |,364 patients during said period. ''Little MOB 8" continued
to render valuable medical service to the personnel in the Koli Point area during the
entire time that it continued to function as a hospital.
Left: A WARD AT KOLI POINT BRANCH—OCT. 1943. Right: X-RAY DEPARTMENT AT KOLI POINT
BRANCH—Oct. 1943.
LHAPTERH xX
‘CONVALESCENT SICK OFFICERS CAMP"
N April 1944, order were received from Commander Naval Bases, Solomon Islands,
| to take over the facilities of the camp formerly occupied by Admiral Halsey, and
to operate the same as a convalescent sick officers camp. This camp was located
on the beach between the Teneru and Malinbu Rivers approximately two and one-
half miles distant from the main hospital reservation. It consisted of four 20'x50'
quonset huts for convalescent sick officers and the enlisted personnel were housed in
pyramidal screened tents with wooden decks. The water supply for. this camp was
obtained from the main hospital and was transported to the camp by a water tank
truck. The power and light were obtained from a 25 K.W. Diesel generator. Flush
toilet facilities were available for convalescent sick officers while latrine type toilets
were used by the staff enlisted personnel.
Two additional 20'x50' quonset huts were erected at the camp which increased
the facilities, so that fifty convalescent sick officers could be cared for at the camp.
Left: ENTRANCE TO THE CONVALESCENT SICK OFFICERS CAMP. Right: BEACH AT CON-
VALESCENT SICK OFFICERS CAMP—May 1944.
LHAPTER XI
“THE U. 5. NAVAL MEDICAL SUPPLY FACILITY,
GUAUALCANAL, Bol”
To Commanding Officer of the U.S.N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 received orders
from the Commander of the South Pacific Forces on May 10, 1943 to establish
and operate a Medical Supply Facility on Guadalcanal to serve all the Naval and
Marine Corps activities both ashore and afloat in the forward area of the South
Pacitic. Steps were taken immediately to obtain building materials, and plans were
executed for the erection of the buildings for this Supply Facility in Areas "'E" and
"F' of the hospital reservation. On May 19 the concrete foundation was laid for
the first 40'x100' quonset hut (E-!) of the Medical Supply Facility. The foundation
for E-2 was laid soon thereafter.
The personnel, consisting of three officers and fifty enlisted men, plus approxi-
mately 75 tons of medical supplies and equipment for the Medical Supply Facility
arrived on June 14.
On June 23 the facilities had advanced to such a stage that the Commanding
Officer reported to the Commander of the South Pacific Forces that the Medical
Supply Facility on Guadalcanal was ready to function.
As building materials were obtained, more warehouses were added to this facility,
so that by January 1944 the Medical Supply Facility consisted of six 40'x!00' quonset
huts which were used as warehouses, one 20'x!00' task-force type of building which
housed the personnel, and one 400 cubic foot reefer which was used for the preserva-
tion and sate-keeping of biologicals.
Lis
Left: POURING CONCRETE FOR FOUNDATION
of FIRST QUONSET HUT, E-I, MAY 19, 1943.
BELOW
Top left: PUTTING UP THE FRAME WORK OF
E-| by Dr. Williams and his crew—May 24, 1943.
Top right: MEDICAL SUPPLY FACILITY WARE-
HOUSE F-3 ON FALK ROAD, Sept. 1943. Bottom:
MEDICAL SUPPLY FACILITY—AREA '"'E'—JAN-
UARY i0. 1944.
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FACILITY PERSONNEL—
August 1944,
This Medical Supply Facility was the sole source of supply for many Naval med-
ical activities in the forward area, and was instrumental in keeping the amphibious
forces supplied with necessary medical supplies and equipment during the Rendova,
Munda and Bougainville campaigns. From the date of opening until August |, 1944,
this supply facility delivered medical supplies and equipment via air shipment, 277
tons; via surface shipment, 786 tons; and via local delivery, 683 tons; a total of
1746 tons. the total number of requisitions for medical supplies filled during this
period was 5,405.
The successful operation of this medical supply facility was in a great measure
due to the industry and efficiency of the Executive Officer, Lieutenant Charles R.
Harvey, (HC), U.S.N., and Chief Pharmacist Harry Offield, U.S.N.
[16
LHAPTER Xl
“MALARIA CONTROL
HROUGHOUT the entire time the hospital was on Guadalcanal, the problem of
‘Ksolads control was ever present. When the first of the hospital personnel arrived
on the island in April 1943, the morbidity rate for malaria among personnel stationed
on Guadalcanal was approximately 12 percent per month and the natives were 100
percent infected.
Control measures were inaugurated as soon as the hospital location was estab-
lished and one medical officer, who was the Sanitation Officer, and two percent ot
the enlisted personnel, were assigned as the Malaria Control Unit. The earliest
measures consisted of ditching to facilitate surface drainage from the hospital grounds
and the clearing of heavy grass and jungle growth from the area. All personnel were
placed on Atabrine suppressive therapy, ten days to two weeks prior to our arrival
on Guadalcanal, and that therapy continued until June 1944.
Head nets were issued to all of the personnel prior to their departure from
the United States, and upon their arrival on the island were put into use under proper
supervision until such time as screened quarters had been constructed . . . the per-
sonnel's tents were completed as rapidly as possible and a routine of spraying with
insecticide was established. No showers were permitted between the hours of !800
and 0700, and further, all personnel during those hours had to be properly clothed in
shirts with long sleeves, long trousers, and head nets or repellent during the time
that they were out of screened quarters.
The program ot malaria control was intensified as construction developed with
routine oiling of all standing water within a radius of three quarters of a mile from
the hospital grounds. Further ditching procedures were developed as the hospital
expanded. The effectiveness of the drainage, oiling, and other control procedures,
was checked by trapping mosquitoes during a one months period in July and August
of 1943. During the entire month of trapping, only ten anophelina mosquitoes were
found in the traps. Later, with the event of the rainy season and the possibility of
more intensive breeding, control measures were intensified. In spite of the Control
measures, the greatest instance of malaria cases occurred in October 1943, partly
as a result of the large number of cases in the hospital, affording a near reservoir of
infection for the mosquito possibilities in contact with the staff personnel, plus the
additional factor of laxity in taking suppressive therapy that developed among some
of the group who had been on Atabrine for a period of seven or more months and
‘also, that the cotton screening used on the quarters began to rot at this time thus
affording inadequate protection to the personnel. Measures were immediately es-
tablished to correct the above factor. All cotton screening was replaced by galvanized
wire screen.
| 17
Top: ONE OF THE MALARIA CON-
TROL PERSONNEL WITH A PACK
SPRAYER. Center: WHY GOOD DRAIN-
AGE WAS NECESSARY—An inundated
Army camp, close-by the hospital, after
a storm February 14, 1944. Bottom:
MAKING A BLOOD SMEAR FOR MA-
LARIAL PARASITES.
A malaria ward was established which was provided with double screened en-
trances. The following regulations were effected for the ward:
“All patients admitted to this ward were housed under properly placed bed nets
until three successive negative blood smears were obtained by the laboratory of the
hospital. A check was made by each watch to insure proper placement of the nets.
Patients with positive blood smears remained in the ward during the hours 1930
to 0630. If it was necessary for these patients to leave the ward to use the head
during this period, they were required to be clothed with shirt, trousers and socks.
In addition, they must apply repellent to wrists, neck and face prior to leaving the
ward.
Patients with three negative blood smears were permitted out until 2100 pro-
_ viding they were properly clothed in shirt (long sleeves), trousers, and socks. After
1930, repellent was to be applied prior to leaving the ward.
In event of "condition red" after 1930 until 0630 the Chiet Pharmacist's Mate
assigned to the foxhole, took sufficient repellent to the shelter for this ward so that
all hands present might use it."
The incidence of malaria dropped from November 1943 on, and it is of interest
to note that, although the nurses arrived on March 25, 1944, up until June |, 1944,
the last statistical report available, not one of them had been infected with malaria.
The malaria contro! of the hospital went along hand in hand with malaria control
throughout the island and by July 1944 the malarial rate among Naval personnel
on the island was less than 2 percent a year.
Most of the malaria cases admitted to the hospital atter November |, 1943 came
from the troops to the north of Guadalcanal and stationed on New Georgia, Vella
Lavella and Bougainville.
The statistics of the hospital of May |, 1944 showed that out of 21,684 admissions
to the hospital there were |,832 cases of malaria of which approximately 75 percent
were admitted prior to January |, 1944.
From the first of February 1944 until the first of June 1944 there were very few
cases of malaria among the personnel attached to the hospital.
The efficiency of the Malaria Control Program of the U.S.N. Mobile Hospital
No. 8, and its associated activities, was due, in great part, to the industry, resource-
fulness, and untiring efforts of Commander R. Fletcher, (MC), U.S.N.R., who was
the Sanitation and Security Officer.
119
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ARMORED HUT IN AREA "'C''—January 10, 1944
CHAPTER XIII
“ATR BHAIUS”
HE numerous air raids that we were subjected to during the first six months of
To stay on Guadalcanal did us no harm other than to interfere with our rest at
night. At times it was most fatiguing to work all day and then to be aroused several
times during the night because of "condition red.'' Many unprintable statements were
made about the Japs because of their nocturnal visits. From the time that we landed
on Guadalcanal until December 28, 1943, the day the last ‘‘condition red'' was
sounded, we were subjected to a total of 98 ‘condition reds’’, in thirty-seven of them,
Japanese planes were actually over the island and dropped bombs.
The officers and men presented a rather grotesque appearance during these
visits. Dress was an important teature of the event because great care had to be
taken to make oneself ''mosquito proof''. Socks were rolled over the ends of the
trousers, jackets or thick shirts were buttoned at the neck, leather gloves were worn,
and from the edges of steel helmets a mosquito net protruded to fall about one's
shoulders and chest. These precautions were necessary to combat the mosquito menace,
which was a serious one during the early months of our stay on the island.
The first week that we were in our camp we were without telephone service and
had to depend upon hearing the sirens of the neighboring Army and Navy units to
warn us that the ‘condition red'' existed. After we established telephone communi-
cation with the rest of the island and put up our own Klaxon horn, we felt much
relieved.
Condition red'' was sounded by three blasts of an eerie sounding Klaxon horn
which was fastened to a coconut tree close-by the duty officer's tent. This was fol-
lowed by a warning shouted by the duty officer through a megaphone ''the condi-
tion is red.'' Then the security watch would run through the camp streets shouting the
same warning. Immediately the warning shout would be taken up by all hands as they
were aroused so that within a few moments all personnel were awake and dressing tor
the occasion. The Klaxon horn was obtained from a discarded Jeep, which also, was
the source of a storage battery that furnished the electric power for its operation.
The ‘condition green"' was denoted by one long blast of the horn followed by
passing of the word ''the condition is green.''
Later, when our equipment had arrived on the Jean Lykes, we had a large
electrically operated siren and a public address system with eight large loud-speakers
[2]
scattered throughout the hospital reservation, so that no one could miss hearing
the siren. In most instances, there was neither confusion nor hurry at the sound of
the alarm. The officers and men hurriedly but quietly dressed and proceeded to the
foxholes scattered throughout the reservation. During the early days on the island,
intimate experiences with bombings were numerous due to the fact that our personnel
were stationed in small groups throughout the various activities near Henderson Field,
which was the target for most of the Japanese bombs. Many times during those nights
we would return to our tents following an air raid to find shrapnel holes through
them, both from enemy action and from defense anti-aircraft shrapnel.
The second night that some of us were on Guadalcanal, we had our baptism of
bombing when a Jap bomber sneaked in on the tail of the evening patrol. Bombs
were dropped close-by on Henderson Field without any warning. We fled to our
foxholes and heard ''the condition is red'' while digging into the dirt. Fortunately,
no damage was done. |
The tollowing day, April 7, we saw our first sky battle. It was a daylight raid
and very costly to the Japs as they lost twenty-six planes to our loss of seven, four
of the pilots were saved.
On May |9 a map was found, on the body of a Jap pilot who had been shot
down, depicting Turville Drive as a probable fighter strip. That stimulated the dig-
ging and construction of more and better foxholes.
During the afternoon of June 16 we had grandstand seats to the largest sky
battle over Guadalcanal during our stay on the Island. Forty-five Zeros and thirty
bombers were lost by the Japs that day. That raid was the last time the Japs came
over the island in large numbers. From then on, there were small groups of bombers
which struck the island during the periods that the moon was full and the terrain
was almost as visible as during the day. It was because of this, that we hated to
see the full tropical moon as it invariably meant that the Japs would disturb our
sleep at night.
About 2030 on July 16 we had an air raid and a bomb landed in an Army
camp close-by the hospital. Six Army personnel were killed and many injured. Several
of our medical officers were visiting the camp at the time and assisted in treating
the casualties.
At approximately 2100 on August 13, 1943, the U.S.S. John Penn was sunk by
a Jap bomber and the survivors were brought to the hospital. MOB 8 ambulances
were down on the beach at Lunga before we received a request to send assistance.
This was accomplished, due to the fact that the command post for the Commanding
Officer, the Executive Officer, and the Security Officer, was on the steps in front of
the telephone exchange. The telephone operator kept plugged in on the line to “‘con-
trol center'' and relayed to us all that transpired so that when ‘'control center’ re-
Fe:
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Top left: A HURRIED EXIT DURING AN AIR RAID. Top right: THE OFFICER OF THE DAYS
TENT—The air raid siren, a Klaxon horn, was located on a tree near this tent. The blowing of the
siren was a signal for a hasty retreat to the foxholes and armored huts. Center: THE FIRST FOX-
HOLE—COMPLETED MAY 20, 1946—Reading from left to right: Snider, Mulvaney, Cisco, Baptiste,
Rucki, Strumfels, Kulesa, Stites, Starr and Comdr. Fletcher. Bottom left: A JAP BOMBER WHICH
FELL NEAR THE HOSPITAL—Many metal wrist bands for watches, and other trinkets, were made
from the pieces of aluminum removed from this plane. Bottom right: OFFICERS CONSTRUCTING
A FOXHOLE—June 14, 1943—Nelson, Smiley, Heyl, Novak, Levin, A. Turville, Waldman and Green.
123
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Left: ARMORED HUT IN AREA "A'"'—Mrs. Roosevelt stayed here during an air raid which occurred
while she was visiting the hospital on September 17, 1943. Right: SECTION OF MAIN WATER LINE
Broken by a Jap Bomber crashing into it September 21, 1943.
ceived the word that the U.S.S. John Penn was sunk, we immediately dispatched alll
of our ambulances and medical officer assistance to Lunga to pick up survivors. While
sitting on these steps, during many raids, we saw many Japanese planes hit by our
night fighters and fall to the earth in a mass of flames. When the ''flak'’ began to
fall close to the hospital or when we heard that: peculiar whistle of a Jap bomb fall-
ing, we all dove under the deck of the brig which was close-by and served as our
air raid shelter.
The Command Post and supervising officers were under exposure to shrapnel and
strating as they made their rounds checking on foxholes, malaria control of patients
and staff, putting out fires, securing lights left burning, controlling the water supply,
dispatching ambulances, and handling the emergencies as they arose.
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt visited our hospital September 17, 1943, and, at 1830
that night we had "condition red'’ and she remained in the bomb-proof shelter in
Clinical Group "'A''. No planes were sighted over the hospital and ‘condition green"
was sounded in about twenty minutes.
The last raid of interest occurred on September 21, 1943, at 0030, when two
Japanese bombers were shot down by our fighter planes within three minutes of
AMBULANCE DRIVERS
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OFFICERS FOXHOLE IN CAMP GENDREAU—Corn growing on the top of the foxhole—Septemnber
each other. The first plane fell, landing about 300 yards from the northeastern edge
of the hospital reservation, and severed our 4-inch water pipe between the pumping
station on the Teneru River and our water storage tank. This caused us to be without
a water supply for eighteen hours while the pipe line was being repaired. Fortunately,
we had a reserve supply of 186,000 gallons of water.
When the hospital was opened the air raid problem ceased to be a simple one,
as new and greater responsibilities were ours, for the patients had to be attended
to during these times. A large armored magazine hut was situated in the center of
each clinical group. These shelters were designed to withstand any blast except a
direct hit and they provided protection for the more serious ambulatory cases and
to those bed cases that could be removed to these bomb-proof shelters. Large tox-
holes, covered with logs and three to four feet of earth, were dug alongside the hos-
pital wards and were used by the ambulatory patients.
In the wards, the seriously ill patients were lifted from their beds on their mat-
tresses and placed on the deck under the beds. Mattresses were placed over the
patients on the bed springs and one on edge of either side of the bed, in this man-
ner completely ‘'splinter proofing'' these patients. The doctors, and the men on duty
in the wards, remained with these patients, ready for any emergency, unmindftul of
their own safety.
Throughout all of these alerts and bombings, the work and the caring for the
patients went on. Even during the construction period, the officers and men were
formed into surgical teams and along with the hospital's ambulances were called on
to aid the Army in picking up men injured in air raids and aiding them in caring tor
patients in emergencies. When this hospital began receiving patients this same type
ot work continued even on a much larger scale. Ambulances were sent to Carney
and Henderson Fields and to the beaches and to units that were being bombed, even
while the raids were in progress, to pick up the wounded, and reiurn them to the
hospital where they were given surgical! and medical care as the raids progressed.
The Receiving Ward was rigged with blackout shutters to permit emergency opera-
tions to be pertormed on the patients as they arrived.
The men who drove the ambulances, during the period that we were subjected
to air raids, deserve special commendation by name:
KANTZ, Harry Issiah, 626 11 65, PhM I/c, V-6, USNR (Petty Officer in Charge]
HEINEN, James Daniel, 611 2522, PhM |/c, USNR
McMULLEN, Harry Donald, 342 20 48, PhM I/c, USN
LIPKIN, Morton David, 610 6957, PhM 2/c, V-6, USNR
RICHARDSON, Robert Bertram, 650 15 20, PhM 2/c, V-6, USNR
MUNIS, Joseph Edward, 563 7008, PhM 3/c, V-6, USNR
SAGE, Junior Lee, 655 3958, PhM 3/c, V-6, USNR
McCARTHY, Thomas Patrick, 606 1942, HA 1|/c, V-6, USNR
[26
LHAPTER XIV
‘THE ARRIVAL OF THE NURSES’
[]* the first of January 1944 orders were received from the Commander South
Pacitic Forces to make preparations, for receiving fifty nurses for duty at the
hospital commencing on or about March Ist.
Area ''H" of the hospital reservation had been set aside for the building of
‘nurses quarters and steps were immediately taken to start the erection of the ne-
cessary buildings and facilities. The buildings of nurses quarters were all of the task-
force type of construction and consisted of one recreation hall, one head, shower,
washroom and laundry building, and six buildings for nurses rooms. Two quarters had
screened porches running the entire length of both sides of the .building.
The nurses were quartered two to a room and all furniture was obtained trom
New Zealand through the reverse lend-lease plan.
The utilities building was a twenty foot wide and one hundred foot long construc-
tion divided by partitions into flush toilet facilities, wash room, shower room with
stall showers, a laundry with electric washing machines, electric mangles, electric
irons and drying room, and a storeroom for trunks and other baggage.
The reservation was completely fenced by an eight foot barbed wire fence and
screened with Army camouflaged screening.
The nurses ate in the officers mess hall, one portion of the mess hall being set
aside for their exclusive use.
127
Top left: THE NURSES' LUGGAGE ARRIVES ON THE BEACH—March 25, 1944. Top right: DE LUXE
TRANSPORTATION ON GUADALCANAL. Bottom: ARRIVAL OF NURSES—MARCH 25, 1944.
Top left: RECEIVING LINE AT NURSES RECEPTION—Officers Club—March 26, 1944. Top center:
NURSES QUARTERS IN AREA "H." Top right: NURSES ABOARD—A sure sign. Bottom: NURSES
ARRIVING—March 25, 1944.
Left: A GROUP OF THE NURSES, Right: OFFICERS MESS HALL
After many false reports, the Chief Nurse, Lt. (jg) A. Mabel Kreider, (NC), U.S.N..,
and forty-nine Navy nurses arrived on March 25.
It is needless to say that they were given an enthusiastic welcome by all hands
from the time they stepped ashore down at Lunga Beach, as many of the personnel
stationed on the island had not seen any of our women folks for many, many months.
A reception was held in the officers club on March 26 at which time all the nurses
were officially presented to the staff.
For the next few days the nurses spent their time washing and ironing as well
as straightening out their quarters as they had all been enroute from the United
States for over a period of a month. It was an amusing sight the following Monday,
riding around Area ''H"', to see the first ‘family wash'' on Guadalcanal hanging on
the wash lines of nurses quarters. By the middle of the ensuing week the nurses re-
ported on duty and from then on there was a definite improvement in the appearance
ot the wards as well as in the morale of the patients and staff of the hospital.
130
LHAPTER XV
‘ENTERTAINMENT AT MOB 8°
ECREATION and entertainment for the patients and staff personnel of the hos-
H pital on Guadalcanal was a serious problem as there were no such facilities on
the island. The result was that very few of the personnel lett the hospital reservation
other than for sight-seeing, bathing, fishing and visiting their friends in other camps.
The first organized entertainment at MOB 8 was held on June 30, 1943. An
U.S.O. Show consisting of three male entertainers was presented at dusk that eve-
ning, using the rear porch of the partially completed Administration Building as a
stage. Crates, boxes, boards, and a tew chairs on the ground accommodated the
audience. This show was a huge success for the tired officers and men. From then
on, at irregular intervals, we had other U.S.O. shows of a similar vein.
In September 1943, a quonset hut, E-l, which had been used as a part of the
Medical Supply Facility, was taken over by the hospital and steps taken to convert
it into an auditorium. This 40'x!00' quonset hut, with the lower parts of both sides
elevated and screened, plus a four foot raised screen ventilator running the entire
length of the top of the building, was used as an auditorium with a seating capacity
close to 600. Built outside, and abutting the opposite end of the building, was the
fireproof motion picture booth. We were fortunate in having two 35mm projectors
and an |8'x22' screen to present our movies. Because of the large number of patients
and staff personnel, plus the fact that many officers and men from surrounding camps
came to our movies, it was necessary to have two motion picture shows every eve-
ning, and in addition we had traveling variety shows on an average of twice a week.
This building was named the Boone-Cornett Auditorium in honor of Jessie Wil-
son Boone, HA |/c, U.S.N.R. and Carl Elver Cornett, HA I/c, U.S.N. These hospital
corpsmen, member of the original MOB 8 group, were detached on July 9, 1943 and
ordered to the Naval Dispensary, Russell Islands, for duty. The L.S.T. on which they
were being transported was attacked and sunk by enemy planes. As a result of this
action, these two men were reported missing in action. The dedication plaque was
erected at the entrance to the auditorium.
The first MOB 8 orchestra, consisting of two guitars, a violin, a banjo, and a
clarinet, made its appearance on December 26, 1943 and was well received. This
group expanded until it became a well equipped fourteen piece orchestra. Ensign
131
THE DEDICATION PLAQUE IN FRONT OF THE
BOONE-CORNETT AUDITORIUM
-——n”
W. C. Minteer, (HC), U.S.N., the officer in charge of the optical repair unit, took a
keen, personal interest in the orchestra and developed it into the outstanding or-
chestra on the island.
The Officers Club, D-9, opened on December 24, 1943 and a Christmas Eve
reception was held for all hands. This club provided a spot for relaxation for all the
officers and their guests.
The Enlisted Men's Recreation Hall, E-5, was completed four days later and
proved to be a very popular spot with all the men. It provided a large recreation
room and library and writing room, a barber shop and a Ship's Store. The entire
length of the building, running parallel to Turville Drive, provided an excellent screened
porch where men could sit out during the evening hours for relaxation.
The Chief Petty Officers' Recreation Building, E-6, was located alongside of the
Enlisted Men's Club and was used to provide relaxation and recreation for both
patient and staff Chief Petty Officers.
Badminton, volley ball courts and baseball diamonds, plus all the necessary equip-
ment, were available to officers and men wishing to participate in athletic activities.
Top left: THEY "BATTLED" NIGHTLY AT CHINESE CHECKERS—Captain Terry, Commander
Fletcher and Captain Turville. Top right: A "BULL SESSION. Center: A FRIENDLY GAME IN THE
OFFICERS CLUB. Bottom left: DEEP MEDITATION. Bottom right: CLOSE HARMONY.
—-
Seer rrr rn nee eee SS ____as
C™~y ——— ee
= — —— ~ ——— ————
Top: RAY MILLAND—MARY ELLIOTT—FRANCES FAYE—CAPT. TURVILLE—ROSITA MORINO—
These girls were the first female entertainers to visit Guadalcanal. February 9, 1944. Bottom left: Right
side of the auditorium. Bottom right: Left side of the auditorium. Note: The one vacant seat belonged
to the photographer.
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Top: OFFICERS CLUB. Center: CHAPLAINS and RED CROSS BUILDING. Bottom: ENLISTED
MEN'S CLUB.
Left: RAY MILLAND DINING WITH THE ENLISTED PERSONNEL IN THE GENERAL MESS HALL.
Right: MARY ELLIOTT BEING ENTERTAINED IN THE GENERAL MESS HALL.
The first U.S.O. Show, featuring female entertainers, was held February |1, 1944
in the Boone-Cornett Auditorium. The group consisted of Ray Milland, Rosita Morino,
Mary Elliott and Frances Faye. They were enthusiastically received by all hands. This
troupe made their headquarters at the hospital while they entertained the other Army
and Navy groups on the island.
Catholic and Protestant chaplains held their services for the patients and staff
personnel regularly and were available at all times to men wishing their guidance and
consolation.
A unit of the American Red Cross was established and offered their numerous
services to patients and crew alike. At first, all of the Red Cross workers were males,
but after the nurses arrived, female Red Cross workers were assigned to the hos-
pital. They did an excellent job, and both patients and staff owe them a personal
tribute of gratitude, as they were the one source of welfare material for this hospital.
Left: ENSIGN MINTEER AND THE MOB 8 ORCHESTRA. Right: OPENING OF THE OFFICERS
CLUB.
SR Se Pa eT — > : it ~
Left: THE FOUR HARMONIZERS —
AN ARMY SHOW
Note untrimmed Christmas tree
December 23, !943.
Right: FIRST APPEARANCE OF MOB
8 ORCHESTRA—December 26, 1943.
Note trimmed Christmas tree.
Left: INTERIOR OF ENLISTED MEN'S RECREATION HALL—Ship's Store in background. Right:
PATIENTS BUYING SEA SHELLS FROM A NATIVE—Note the bleached hair of the native.
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LHAPTER XVI
‘MOB 8 AS A HOSPITAL’
B Y the nature of the time and place in which the U. S. Naval Mobile Hospital No.
8 came into being, it was destined to be an integral part of the forces which
swept the Japs from the Solomon Islands and nearby waters.
At the time this hospital received its first patients, Naval, Marine and Seabee
forces were putting the finishing touches to their grip on New Georgia, with its
strategic Munda Airtield. Smaller Naval hospitals scattered throughout the American-
held islands of the Solomons group were caring for patients trom this campaign and
related sea battles, but these small establishments — operated by CUB and ACORN
units, and supplemented by field hospitals of Marine combat outfits — obviously were
not of sufficient scope to handle the surgery and evacuation that battle necessitated.
U. S. Naval Mobile Hospital No. 8 as a complete hospital, with large facilities and
specialized medical officers, the nearest large hospital to the war zone, became the
focal point of Navy medicine in this area. By the time the amphibious forces pushed
on to Bougainville in November 1943, this hospital was ready to receive all the
casualties from ships, Naval shore stations, the battle field and from the hospital
facilities set up by the Marines — the Third Division set up on Bougainville, and the
subsidiary hospital opened by the First Marine Amphibious Corps on Vella Lavella.
Thus, because of its location on Guadalcanal, and its opening at a time when
the Solomons Campaign went into high gear, U. S. N. Mobile Hospital No. 8 be-
came the foundation of Naval Medical organization in this area as to both treat-
ment and to evacuation.
The geographical position made MOB 8 the terminal point in evacuation of
wounded and chronically ill men of all the Naval services. Ships, that could not be
risked in more dangerous waters further north, made Guadalcanal their port of call;
air transport from combat and semi-combat areas connected at Henderson Field,
a few miles from the hospital, with planes that made the great over water jump to
the security of the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and New Zealand.
In this manner, the evacuees were funneled naturally from Bougainville, Vella
Lavella, New Georgia, the Russell Islands and other points to Guadalcanal for final
treatment or further evacuation to the south and to the states. All such Naval evacuees
139
from ships, shore stations, Seabees and Marine posts, passed through MOB 8. This
work, on top of the routine hospital services provided on Guadalcanal for Naval
personnel, kept MOB 8 on its collective toes during the periods when battle was pro-
ducing a stream of wounded.
At first this hospital was at the mouth of the ‘slot’ receiving patients direct
from the battles. Later, when the tide of battle was set rolling and moved from the
Solomon Islands to points as far north as lwo Jima, MOB 8 became situated at the
mouth of the funnel and still continued to work long, hard, arduous hours caring for
patients from the amphibious landings made necessary by these campaigns.
The hospital was also called upon to furnish officers and men for temporary duty
with the Amphibious Forces for the assaults against New Georgia, Munda Airfield,
Vella Lavella, Choiseul, Kolambangara, Rendova, Bougainville, Treasure Islands, Green
Islands, Emiru, Guam, Tinian, and Paulau Islands. From these assaults, war casualties
were received in large numbers.
Prior to March |, 1944, all the evacuees from MOB 8 were sent either by plane
or ship to the rear area of the South Pacitic, The New Hebrides, New Caledonia
or New Zealand. Subsequent to that date, patients were evacuated directly to the
United States as well as to the rear area.
FIRST CASE FOR SURGICAL
OPERATION being wheeled
into the Operating Suite, Clin-
ical Group "A," on August 9,
1943.
Top Lett: FIRST SURGICAL OPERATION AT MOB 8—August 9, 1943. Comdr. M. Bodine, {MC},
S.N.R., Chief of Surgical Service, performed the operation. He was assisted by Lieut. J. Kane, (MC),
S.N.R., and Lieut. J. Bliss, (MC), U.S.N.R. Top right: COMDR. H FULCHER, (MC), U.S.N.R.,
PERATING, ASSISTED BY LIEUT. R. DRISCOLL. Bottom left: LT. COMDR. P. McMASTERS, (MC),
.N.R., ASSISTED BY LT. COMDR. E. PATTERSON, (MC}, U.S.N.R.. REMOVING A FOREIGN
BODY FROM THE KNEE JOINT. Bottom right: REMOVAL OF SHRAPNEL FROM THE FACE. Lieut.
H. SMITH, (MC}, U.S.N.R. and Lieut. F. ALTER, (MC), U.S.N.R., operating.
Many days through many emergencies the staff was called on to work continu-
ously around the clock in the care of wounded under these trying conditions. They
were called out nightly to do every possible kind of work, yet they carried on. This
was exceedingly trying on the officers and men due to excessive loss of sleep and
the tropical heat. Because of this hard work, extreme working conditions, and in spite
of rotation of personnel, eight officers and seventy one enlisted men were evacuated
trom the staff to the rear area because of operational tatigue, malaria, and various
chronic ailments indirectly caused by loss of sleep and overwork.
14]
Top: COMDR. D. GREENE, (MC}, U.S.N.R., OPERATING, ASSISTED BY LIEUT. J. BLISS, (MC),
U.S.N.R., and LIEUT. F. GALLAGHER, (MC), U-S.N.R. Bottom left: LT. COMDR. MENSOR drilling
through bone preparatory to insertion of pins in a fracture case. Bottom right: CAPTAIN J. M.
DEAVER, {MC}, U.S.N.R., using the dermatone while performing a skin graft on a burn case.
142
The Naval Medical Supply Facility did its part side by side with the hospital,
working night and day, furnishing tons of medical equipment and supplies for all
these amphibious assaults.
From the time the hospital opened until December 31, 1944, 39,076 patients
were admitted, of which 24,218 were evacuated, 14,365 were discharged to duty and
70 deaths occurred. The average daily patient load from August !943, when the
main hospital went into commission, until January |, 1945 was 1,009. The largest
number of patients evacuated by ship in one day occurred on January |, 1944 when
865 patients were evacuated to the rear area. The largest number of evacuations by
plane occurred on February 19, 1944, on which date 120 patients were evacuated.
On January 15, 1944, the daily census was |,614 patients which was the peak load
to that date. The next higher peak load was reached on the |7th of May when the
daily census was |,674.
The largest daily census occurred during October 1944 at which time 2,544
patients were on the sick list at the hospital.
Top: COMDR. H. FULCHER,
(MC}, U.S.N.R., ASSISTED BY
LT. COMDR. J. T. KANE,
(MC), U.S.N.R., REMOVING
A PIECE OF SHRAPNEL
FROM THE THIGH OF A
BATTLE CASUALTY. Bottom:
PREPARING A PATIENT FOR
SPINAL ANESTHESIA
On October Ist 1944 the Hospital was alerted to receive war wounded from
the Pallau Operation by ship and by plane. The hospital bed capacity was expanded
from 2300 beds to 3460 beds by addition of five wooden decked, cotton mesh screened
tents, each containing 30 double decked bunks. The Boone-Cornett Auditorium, the
enlisted men's recreation hall and the Chief Petty Officer's recreation hall were
prepared to receive 350 patients. The five wards in Area ''C"' and the four wards
in Area ''G'' were doubled bunked increasing the bed capacity in these two areas
by 510 beds making a total of increased bed capacity of 1160 beds and a grand
total of 3460 beds. Two additional galley ranges were installed in the galley, addi-
tional bread was obtained from the Army Bakery across adjacent to the hospital.
Three latrines were added in areas of the Auditorium, Recreation Halls and at the
hospital tent area.
On October 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, 196 patients per day were received at Carney
Field, by plane from the Admiralty Islands. The handling of these airborne patients
Top: EVACUATED PATIENTS ON THEIR
WAY TO THE SHIP. Bottom: AMBULA-
TORY PATIENTS BEING EVACUATED
TO THE SHIPS—The "lion cage’ had a
capacity of 150 men.
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Top: CLINICAL LABORATORY. Bottom left: A CORNER OF THE PROSTHETIC DENTAL LABORA-
TORY. Bottom right: CHEMISTRY TABLE IN THE CLINICAL LABORATORY.
from 10 planes was recorded by motion pictures and forwarded to the Bureau of
Medicine and Surgery. The U.S.S. Solace brought 505 war wounded patients. There
were no deaths in this group of war wounded patients, this hospital again making
a high record in professional care of war wounded. A mass evacuation by three ships
was carried out on October 6th reducing the census of the hospital to !600 patients.
The patient load was quite a strain on the staff and facilities of the hospital but
was compensated by saving the patients from being rehandled, as the two Fleet Hos-
pitals at the Russells and Tulagi would have evacuated these same patients to Fleet
Hospital No. 108 for re-evacuation to the States.
After January |, 1945, there was a gradual decrease in the activity of the
hospital and it was decommissioned as of July 23, 1945.
147
|
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Top left: COOKS AND BAKERS. Top center: HOSPITAL CORPSMEN ARRIVING—March 25, 1944.
Top right: THE SEAMEN GUARD. Center left: SEAMEN ARRIVING—March 25, 1944. Center right:
DENTAL DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL. Bottom left: CHECKING OUT A DUTY PARTY—Patients
were discharged to duty every day except Sunday. This truck averaged over 100 miles each day
returning discharged patients to their stations on Guadalcanal. Bottom right: HOSPITAL CORPS-
MEN DETAILED TO THE SURGICAL OPERATING ROOMS.
148
GROUPS OF HOSPITAL PERSONNEL
aes
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STATISTICS UF THE U. 5. N. MOBILE HOSPITAL No. 8
As UF MAY I, 1944
Total Number of Patients Admitted to Date... cccccccoocooooocccooeeceecees voce 21,684
Total Number of Patients Discharged to Duty to Date 20.0. 8,210
Total Number of Patients Evacuated to Date .....0.0.0....... ee ee eee 12,229
By Ship .cccccccsccssssssscssssseccceesessseseeesetnvenseseee 10,184
BY FIGS concise Rigs Gee RC ets 2,045
The Largest Number of Evacuations by Ship in any One Day: 1-7-44 000000000... 865
The Largest Number of Evacuations by Plane in any One Day: 2-19-44............ 120
The Peak Load of Patients in the Hospital Occurred 1-15-44.00000oc 1,614
Siumnbser ef Derartig Tey Die beisereccexetersecncesnswnienneaxoannsende-esmvionnnienamasncuvntanioss mamynmeesscteseusanes 50
Total Operations to Date. occccccccccccscseeee Nisincedhaieteesca san taeidincintiadcetbe sane titan cciecatisie ease telnet 2,234
Total Burn Cases to Date .........c ccc ccceccccssescccceccessnscececcsuseceeeeecstssavecevtstscssseesnes 228
Terie) rttpredl ig: Soames Te BaF eee ncesnrcnrnrr ons eentsinmnmrsmoumoriamianseenneuesmamaneauas 2,030
Total Malaria Cases to Date............ccccccccccececcecsesscceccensnsecececsasesecesseseestvsssvecsscesee. | 832
Total Filariasis Cases to Date... cccccccecceesesseeseeesecsevee, eicammnahisareteremmanas 2,29 |
Total Ni. P. Cases £6 Daten ccccccccccsncescccscessoteceniseveesnenssnonausnvcseseseensvveraveusvacawestees 3,228
Teckel Pcey Exccmrireters Te Dheectaes cen crexsecscanisenttentnes savin neyaevansiesinsenieieiterneaaions 11,713
Total Laboratory Examinations To Date.....cccscseseienscssrcescsetsnrvenccestavsserceransneene 76,414
Total Average Daily Patient Load:
seme: VES TRsoll Peat Bas a ceecicennnsntneserronessnierinynasnen ac yt ania ve OnNRReluletes 126
billy U4 (NT Perret BPR) ax esis cxnncos cess sansset ete errticee menace ewin ecennnn nee ol abaalpdean i 133
PUT TFS wher ceceorcceans onsen cacmermnnidian dire tatantmicneeene 384
ME: WIE sn cvisiec dines Prhinmcarsniin esa trend wnieenians meeneenns eansilip Nevsime tide tatan 667
October 1943 oooccccccccccccccccccccccecsseceececeevescseccececveveuseccesevtctseveveeevsvssecesertsseseece, 797
November 1943 ooocccccccccccccccccecccccccevecsesevevvvevvvesecesveevssevseeueeeveessavececeeeeececeece, 907
December 1943 oooocccccccccccccccssseseseeeeceeeceeecececeeeeees Ds cceersalasnapns tee emacteehitennins cotds |,070
BEG TPO ssi rrecsaearercancireomsnereiorcaiitireiniierinsnted Degree recast ton enultcradiaeniens | 097
FI I accent encaiinaiincnpcctiesemsanauneniananinticacisanaiaen tetaniaiaeretreicaimnsaemitszoreemtt | 022
March 1944 ciccccccccccccccccceccsessccsccscescsseesssceseceeceeecesecsenassaastvensenessesnessessevees — | 098
OO - diicwricnsstnscnsatrpicvricesaseichiinladtenienatectanteeteemipiamnstacebiemian ena ianbea cee 997
The Average Daily Admissions:
lies 948. Rall Protnt Brett) ecnnsisosenctanmsccnnapreurententeetestatetiuciocrmmnmcanansones ES
ty (GES TRG Pett BUD. nccnivcrnensnsnsiacrnameorennarsvurceadnomaiamninnsy aniianaenmlarsiie 20.5
Pie TF cenigoereecnenvetnnin Recrmninatsieinetervietensniesaaminiieteneeiennens 45.8
epee (FEE xcocccmesveensw ne icersinsdenuanndagsintinel Cnaranedten eeaeolacucnnmmrneninetinalga 57.2
cle ee ee a ee 63.3
Peery PPS cecedunncenensetcnendiepasionanteanann ‘aetuiaiareeed nie toe
RE RE reeset etic sega sviosa eranrenioncgnsetnen gene noun usin anni ts aetna 85.5
I CFS © sesirncscrsiedensnanienn op noreceennasnemecbnimemeasanseene 91.6
Pema yy (IAF oo. cas vey en scasvnnnny sesecnatans wer ent sea tescee es nine sine ware idisna tess 82.3
Pe 1 eceete reineertetins cen sien coisas snenigeainRmoniveia cnanccarcnia tea sucevancieabtininaabta we wen emebae 84.2
April 1944 oooccccccccccccccccsvessessessssssiseustesisvesussannsnsesnnegaceusespusnvesesessssesseses eevee 85.9
U.S.N. FLEET HOSPITAL No. 108
STATISTICS OF AUGUST 1944
The following statistics will explain the amount of work that had been accomp-
lished by the officers and men of the above hospital to date.
Total Number of Patients Admitted, .........cc:00...ssssscescnssanssnecsvssecsevesvedvsacserersseee 31,000
Total Namber ef Deaths — All Coauieeiig os .ntstucasr anion cdannsonaaumemesn 6|
Total Number of War Casualties (Key Letter "Ko... eee 2,849
Total Number of Deaths — War Casualties..........0cccccccccccccsceesececsecvsveeveveeveveees |3
Total Number of War Burtig oc. ccccccccsasassenccans crosses sens aneacns sun sconennsenssncdeiveusuas teres 309
Total Number of Deaths — War Burns o............cccceccccececeeeescececcesteveeeeseveveeeeeeens 9
Total Number of Gas Gangrene Cases .o.......0ccccccccceceecetctestecee ceecseeveteer eee 38
Poste Shorabaer Gt Py F, Gop. cr cer sensssanrnsescare vers exe voueaovvore vers cuvens sos loreneiclnaneatenen 4.332
Total Number of Alp EVaet@tiGiis 2......ccccconcccoclerrnconoes mnnscossnensmeneennvsiBlinipesivdiicti 3,594
EURO, asco uri en atieaims nig ein deter eee coma hasdnad atin anit ac oetealiameveatercimechalioniketieied 0
Troha Mitiriomer Exagearbetel Taye SSID ase eercasr ere ve macnte weccion anc nanan casera menial 13760
RT AT accacssrvns anasentdncivndd anil tbe dle narctensunsialtenasanensnnettetniee anne eV sone wn cmmanaaneetine |
Average Aaimission Rate Par Davy, cis csincccavssscanrenrs cesnoneereses nentens vnewestalisaligiedeneal 75
Greatest Number Evacuated One Day............ccceccecceescese eee eeeteteeeteeneseeeeneneeee: 865
U. S. NAVAL MOBILE HOSPITAL NO. 8
(U. S. N. FLEET HOSPITAL)
NO. 108
Month Admissions Discharges Evacuations Deaths Average Daily
Load
*June 1943 453 293 93 0 126
*July 1943 634 27\ 298 3 133
Aug. 1943 | 420 418 a2 3 307
Sept. 1943 [,720 635 | 043 10 667
Oct. 1943 |,986 798 er: 4 hay
Nov. 1943 2,208 729 | ,076 8 907
Dec. 1943 2,65 | 724 Raa 6 | ,070
Jan. 1944 2,939 | 020 2,109 6 | ,097
Feb. 1944 2,386 687 | 641 Z | 022
Mar. 1944 2,652 |,O10 |,612 5 | 098
April 1944 Zar? | 002 | 529 | 997
May 1944 2,370 809 |, 182 4 | 466
June 1944 [ a 854 1,190 | 906
July 1944 | 567 722 | 062 | 985
Aug. 1944 2,155 745 | 057 2 986
Sept. 1944 3,345 | O10 |,226 3 | pane |
Oct. 1944 2773 | 434 2,361 3 [aes
Nov. 1944 |, 780 688 2,027 2 | 269
Dec. 1944 | 668 516 |,106 ie 87 |
Total 39,076 14,365 24,218 70 Average 9716.5
*KOLI POINT BRANCH ONLY.
I5|
PLAIN AIRMAILGRAM 220032-APR
FROM: COMSOPAC
TO» SOPACFOR
WITH THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE VIRTUAL COMPLETION OF THE SOUTH
PACIFIC CAMPAIGN X EXCEPT FOR MOPPING UP AND STARVING OUT
OPERATIONS X | CAN TELL YOU AND TELL THE WORLD THAT NO GREATER
FIGHTING TEAM HAS EVER BEEN PUT TOGETHER X FROM THE DESPERATE
DAYS OF GUADALCANAL TO THE SMOOTH STEAM-ROLLERING OF BOU-
GAINVILLE AND THE EASY SEIZURE OF GREEN AND EMIRAU ALL US AND
ALLIED SERVICES PUT ASIDE EVERY CONSIDERATION BUT THE ONE GOAL
OF WIPING OUT JAPS X AS YOU PROGRESSED YOUR TECHNIQUES AND
TEAMWORK IMPROVED UNTIL AT THE LAST GROUND AMPHIBIOUS SEA
AND AIR FORCES WERE WORKING AS ONE BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF PRECISION
MACHINERY THAT CRUSHED AND BAFFLED OUR HATED ENEMY IN EVERY
ENCOUNTER X YOUR RESOURCEFULNESS, TIRELESS INGENUITY, CO-
OPERATION AND INDOMITABLE FIGHTING SPIRIT FORM A BATTLE PATTERN
THAT WILL EVER BE AN INSPIRATION X AND A GREAT MEASURE OF THE
CREDIT FOR THE SKY-BLAZING, SEA-SWEEPING, JUNGLE SMASHING OF
THE COMBAT FORCES GOES TO THE CONSTRUCTION GANGS AND
SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS THAT BULLDOZED BASES OUT OF THE JUNGLE
AND BROUGHT UP THE BEANS AND BULLETS AND SUPPLIES X YOU NEVER
STOPPED MOVING FORWARD AND THE JAP NEVER COULD GET SET TO
LAUNCH A SUSTAINED COUNTER ATTACK X YOU BEAT THEM WHEREVER
YOU FOUND THEM AND YOU NEVER STOPPED LOOKING FOR THEM AND
TEARING INTO THEM X WELL DONE X
HALSEY
4/29/44 JED / LIST 2 AND 3
[52
“HELLS PUINT AMMUNITION DUMP EXPLODING’
N November 27, 1943, the Hells Point Ammunition Dump, located one and one-
I half miles away, became ignited and blew up. Bombs were bursting for more
than twenty four hours, causing great concern due to falling shrapnel and the fear
and tension of the patients. During this, the U. S. Army 20th Station Hospital
stretcher bearers forded the Lunga River with some 200 stretcher and ambulatory
patients. These 200 patients arrived here without warning at a time when this hospital
was in a state of emergency, yet through additional effort of the officers and men
this new emergency was met. For this, the Commanding Officer of the 20th Station
Hospital wrote a commendatory letter to the officers and men of this hospital in
appreciation for the additional strain placed on the staff and facilities of this hospital.
On this particular occasion, one of the hospital's 1!0-wheel trucks driven by
McIVER, "'R" "A", 576 35 39, MoMM2/c, V-6, U.S.N.R., was sent to the 20th Station
Hospital to aid in evacuation of the patients to this hospital. Without thought to
his own personal safety, this man drove up a native trail to the hospital through a
hail of shrapnel from bursting bombs. He loaded his patients, making them lie down
on the bed of the truck, and started his return trip down this same trail. As he pro-
ceeded down the trail shrapnel was whistling all around striking the truck in many
places. Tire after tire was blown out as he proceeded. When McIVER finally arrived
safely at this hospital, with the patients, five tires were flat, his gasoline tank had
been punctured, and shrapnel had showered the truck in many places. Through this
man's courage, and ability to meet his emergency, he brought himself and patients
out past the blazing Hells Point Ammunition Dump from the 20th Station Hospital
which was being destroyed.
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Top: RECEPTION FOR CAPT. TURVILLE
IN THE OFFICERS CLUB—May 16, 1944.
Bottom: CAPT. TERRY PRESENTING
CAPT. TURVILLE WITH A PLAQUE
FROM THE OFFICERS.
Left: THE PLAQUE. Right: May 16, 1944—THE ENLISTED PERSONNEL PRESENTED TO CAPT.
TURVILLE THE RED CROSS FLAG THAT WAS FLOWN FROM THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
ON AUGUST 7, 1943.
[54
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MAY 17, 1944 wrrine’pcy USN. 10 Coptein JS: Tory (MC) USN.
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MAY 1/7, 1944
TURNING UVER THE COMMAND
FHUM CAPT. TURVILLE TU CAPT. TERRY
An elaborate ceremony had been planned, but was interrupted, and personnel
were dismissed, when a tropical downpour of rain occured while Captain Terry was
reading his orders.
[56
MAY 17, 1944—CAPTAIN TURVILLE SAYING "“GOOD-BY" TO THE CHIEF NURSE,
KREIDER, (NC), U.S.N.
MAY 1I7, 1944—CAPTAIN TURVILLE SAYING 'GOOD-BY" TO CAPTAIN TERRY BEFORE BOARD-
ING THE AIRPLANE ON WHICH HE FLEW FROM GUADALCANAL TO PEARL HARSOR.
ARMY, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS CEMETERY
GUADALCANAL
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THE CHAPEL AT THE ARMY, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS CEMETERY
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MUB 6 INSIGNIA
THE OFFICIAL INSIGNIA OF THE HOSPITAL WAS APPROVED BY THE BUREAU
OF PERSONNEL, AND COULD BE USED ON AMBULANCES, TRUCKS, SIGNS,
STATIONERY, ETC., BUT NOT ON ARTICLES OF THE UNIFORM. IT WAS DE-
SIGNED FOR THE HOSPITAL BY WALT DISNEY.
160
THE BKETEL NUT CHEWER
HE betel nut chewer's equipment consists of three parts, the nuts themselves,
an 8 or 9-inch section of bamboo open at one end, and the green leaves of a
small shrub which | have not been able to identify.
The nut itself, from the area palm, is a hard, waxy sphere about 2 cm. in dia-
meter, which, when split in two, reveals numerous seeds about the size of a tomato
seed. The color of the nut is a kind of pearly, pinkish brown. When chewed by itself,
it does not produce the red spittle which discolors the teeth and so characterizes
the betel nut chewer. It is very astringent and bitter and has a woody consistency.
The bamboo joint contains a finely powdered red coral. This coral is carefully
selected and, as a rule, it is obtained directly from the ocean floor by diving. It is
further pulverized and carried in the bamboo section. The owner of "'lime box'' fre-
quently covers it with many intricate designs.
When chewing is indulged in, a half of a betel nut is wrapped in a piece of
fresh leaf and popped into the mouth. After a little preliminary crushing and mixing,
the chewer takes a bamboo sliver from the lime box and wets it by drawing it between
the lips. Then he plunges this into the powdered coral! in the bamboo joint and licks
off what has stuck to the stick. This process is repeated from time to time until the
nut has been leached of its stimulants.
| believe that the betel nut contains a native indicator (like litmus) and that this,
in contact with the lime, gives the red color.
The discoloration of the teeth is looked upon as a great adornment. The redder,
and the darker, the handsomer.
Though | have seen women and children chew betel nut, the practice is much
more prevalent among the men. They tell us it makes them drunk to chew it.
J. WILLIAMS, Lieut., (MC), U.S.N.R.
16]
JAPANESE TRANSPORT KINUGAWA MARU BEACHES NEAR CAPE ESPERANCE.
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THE SEEDS FROM WHICH THESE TREES GREW WERE PLANTED ON MAY |,
1943 —The FIRST FRUIT ON THIS TREE WAS EATEN IN MAY 1944.
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“MUB 8 SUNG
"THE CORAL SONG"
(Music: — Tune of "We've Been Working on the Railroad’)
We've been workin’ on the coral, all the live long day —
We've been workin’ on the coral, just to pass the time away —
Can't you hear the Captain shoutin', shovel it over here —
Can't you hear the Captain shoutin', "NO" shovel it over there.
Chorus
Shovel it over here —
Shovel it over there —
No matter where you shovel it —
The Captain says not there.
Words by Lt. R. H. Driscoll (MC) U.S.N.
Enlisted Men's Volley Ba!! Court—CAMP GENDREAU.
Printed in New York City by Robert W. Kelly Publishing Corporation
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