Stinkymutt
Active member
Hey all , First off I just got done smoking on some Sharon W.W. so I can handle typing all this . Second I am not totally sure of who sent this letter home , I only hope it would not upset this person to know I shared it with you all. The actual date of the letter is smudged so I am not sure of this , but as you read you will see when and where it all happend. I find it very cool to read ! IT A LONG ONE
5 July 194(smudge)
Dear Osa + Vina ,
It has been such a long time since I have written that I'm really ashamed of myself . I hope you will forgive me .
Another Idependance day has come and gone. There was no celebration here . The medics are the only forces in this theater still on full schedule. We have nearly as many patients now as then April + May , Our heavy months (about 10,000)
I can tell you some of the things I couldnt previously mention. I sailed from Boston with the 56th General 8 Oct. 1943 after waiting in P.O.E. for two months. We sailed on the Mauritania (smudged as well so spelling) with about 11,000 aboard , her biggest load. We came over without escort but made it safely, although we ran smack into a pack of subs the 2nd night out and were chased all over the Atlantic taking 10 days instead of 5 for the trip. We docked at Liverpool 18 October and went to Malvern Wells in the Midlands. 8 Nov. I went to Bristol with Det. "A" to open a second hospital. Dec. 43, Jan. and Dec. 44 I got to do some surgery. March and April I went out as medical inspector and 27 April I went to Western Base Section HQ. I took over as Chief of Hospitalization and Evacuation section. We had 19,000 beds in the base section 1 way and when we came to France there were 62,000 beds- an increase of 43,000 beds. All hospital construction and patient movement came under me. After D-Day we handled as high as 4,000-6,000 patients a day. The handling of patients was not too difficult because it was mostly supervision from a distance. In August I came to France with the same headquarters and we finally became Channel Base section and moved into Le Havre(smudged her too) . When we first came to France we landed on "Utah Beach" . We then followed Patton's trail accross France to Fontain bleau , south of Paris . We went to Le Ha..(smudge , haure ) on the 18 of September. I went in with the advanced party and was one of the first Americans in the city. All organized resistance has stopped but the snipers made it uncomfortable . I was driving a Jeep and got two bullets through it- one in the front and one in the rear . Begining then I discarded my red cross arm band and strapped on a .45 . In Novemeber we our HQ to Lille on the Belgian border . Since we were in British territory , there was very little doing in my section .
I was put in for promotion in October but I wanted to get out of administration so asked for a transfer to an auxillary Surg. group. the transfer went through but Col. Green had no one to take my place at the time so had my orders cancelled. Finally in Jan. I got transferedto a Gen. Hosp. (200th). It was a new outfit and had never operated. I spent five weeks with them getting there administration set up. I put in for transfer up to Army but again I got pulled off the list and sent into another administrative job . I joined the 813th hospital center here at Ma?????lon (cant read handwriting here) , near Ruins France , on 10 March. Again it was a new outfit just opening up . I was assigned at once as Chief if the Hospitalization and evacuation section . I had no experienced personell so had to start from scratch . In the beginning I had just three clerks . On 27 March we started recieving patients from East of the Rhineand by 30 March had 15,000 beds in eleven hospitals in operation .We handled 90,000 patients from 27 March to June 1 . We recieved 60,000 by air from Germany . One day we recieved 1582 in 3 hours on the air strip . I had 3 ambulance companies and two hospital trains . Also had 15 C-H6 transport planes carrying patients from here to Englandand as many planes as necessary on call to carry patients back to the States requiring extensive treatment . We were getting pats. back here just 3 hours after they were wounded still with battlefield dressings on . We had only 161 deaths most of which were Germans . The German patientscame in in horrible condition after the Americans began over running some of the prison camps . previous to that there was not much difference between German and American patients. It was even worse than the way the Germans were smashed up by the Americans after the Germans shot the American prisoners after the Battle of the Bulge.
Ive never worked so hard in the army as here .Through March and April I worked an average of 16-20 hrs a day and many nights never left at all . Planes kept coming with patients till10 P.M. and we started loading out trains at 5 A.M. . I drove the hospitals day and night until I didnt think they could take it another day and then had to drive them still harder . Some of the hospitals were turning over 1,000 patients a day . We turned over 5,400 patients one day . day after day we had to unload and carry to hospitals , 500 - 600 patients an hour from the planes landing on the air strip . The unloading strip was over a mile long and Ive seen c-47 transports lined up nose to tail the entire length of it . Averaging 25 pats. per plane . Ive used everything from ambulance to 10 ton trailer trucks that would carry 60-75 walking patients at a time . It has been the biggest operation of its kind in the history of the US Army .
I hope I havnt bored you with all this but it will give you an idea of the magnitude of total war . I dont know what the future holds , Ive given up on ever getting out of administration especially after yesterday after I got notice from US forces HQ / European theater that I had been changed from a 3100 Med. Officer to 2120 Med. Officer Administration.
It doesnt look like Ill be home before next year . All the other hospitals in France are closing up but we are servicing the assembly area Command for redeployment of troops . We epect 250,000 men a month going thru the 13 camps in our area . And we have to furnish hospital and Med care for them .
To add to our difficulties , the hospitals we started with were all new units . We broke them in and had them doing things the way we wanted them done . But being new units they were to be the first to go to the Pacific . So we been replacing them with old units sent over from England to operate here until we finished and then go home . Its hard to teach an old dog new tricks and we operate differently in many ways than back in England.
Enough rambling , I hope you are all well . Some would like to up at camp for the week and Ive been in France almost a year without a day off .
Write often and take care
Love to all
Win.
WOW that is some sore eyes in the making reading and typping that . Hope all enjoy , I know its an odd thing for here but its neat to read in real life !
Peace
Mutt
5 July 194(smudge)
Dear Osa + Vina ,
It has been such a long time since I have written that I'm really ashamed of myself . I hope you will forgive me .
Another Idependance day has come and gone. There was no celebration here . The medics are the only forces in this theater still on full schedule. We have nearly as many patients now as then April + May , Our heavy months (about 10,000)
I can tell you some of the things I couldnt previously mention. I sailed from Boston with the 56th General 8 Oct. 1943 after waiting in P.O.E. for two months. We sailed on the Mauritania (smudged as well so spelling) with about 11,000 aboard , her biggest load. We came over without escort but made it safely, although we ran smack into a pack of subs the 2nd night out and were chased all over the Atlantic taking 10 days instead of 5 for the trip. We docked at Liverpool 18 October and went to Malvern Wells in the Midlands. 8 Nov. I went to Bristol with Det. "A" to open a second hospital. Dec. 43, Jan. and Dec. 44 I got to do some surgery. March and April I went out as medical inspector and 27 April I went to Western Base Section HQ. I took over as Chief of Hospitalization and Evacuation section. We had 19,000 beds in the base section 1 way and when we came to France there were 62,000 beds- an increase of 43,000 beds. All hospital construction and patient movement came under me. After D-Day we handled as high as 4,000-6,000 patients a day. The handling of patients was not too difficult because it was mostly supervision from a distance. In August I came to France with the same headquarters and we finally became Channel Base section and moved into Le Havre(smudged her too) . When we first came to France we landed on "Utah Beach" . We then followed Patton's trail accross France to Fontain bleau , south of Paris . We went to Le Ha..(smudge , haure ) on the 18 of September. I went in with the advanced party and was one of the first Americans in the city. All organized resistance has stopped but the snipers made it uncomfortable . I was driving a Jeep and got two bullets through it- one in the front and one in the rear . Begining then I discarded my red cross arm band and strapped on a .45 . In Novemeber we our HQ to Lille on the Belgian border . Since we were in British territory , there was very little doing in my section .
I was put in for promotion in October but I wanted to get out of administration so asked for a transfer to an auxillary Surg. group. the transfer went through but Col. Green had no one to take my place at the time so had my orders cancelled. Finally in Jan. I got transferedto a Gen. Hosp. (200th). It was a new outfit and had never operated. I spent five weeks with them getting there administration set up. I put in for transfer up to Army but again I got pulled off the list and sent into another administrative job . I joined the 813th hospital center here at Ma?????lon (cant read handwriting here) , near Ruins France , on 10 March. Again it was a new outfit just opening up . I was assigned at once as Chief if the Hospitalization and evacuation section . I had no experienced personell so had to start from scratch . In the beginning I had just three clerks . On 27 March we started recieving patients from East of the Rhineand by 30 March had 15,000 beds in eleven hospitals in operation .We handled 90,000 patients from 27 March to June 1 . We recieved 60,000 by air from Germany . One day we recieved 1582 in 3 hours on the air strip . I had 3 ambulance companies and two hospital trains . Also had 15 C-H6 transport planes carrying patients from here to Englandand as many planes as necessary on call to carry patients back to the States requiring extensive treatment . We were getting pats. back here just 3 hours after they were wounded still with battlefield dressings on . We had only 161 deaths most of which were Germans . The German patientscame in in horrible condition after the Americans began over running some of the prison camps . previous to that there was not much difference between German and American patients. It was even worse than the way the Germans were smashed up by the Americans after the Germans shot the American prisoners after the Battle of the Bulge.
Ive never worked so hard in the army as here .Through March and April I worked an average of 16-20 hrs a day and many nights never left at all . Planes kept coming with patients till10 P.M. and we started loading out trains at 5 A.M. . I drove the hospitals day and night until I didnt think they could take it another day and then had to drive them still harder . Some of the hospitals were turning over 1,000 patients a day . We turned over 5,400 patients one day . day after day we had to unload and carry to hospitals , 500 - 600 patients an hour from the planes landing on the air strip . The unloading strip was over a mile long and Ive seen c-47 transports lined up nose to tail the entire length of it . Averaging 25 pats. per plane . Ive used everything from ambulance to 10 ton trailer trucks that would carry 60-75 walking patients at a time . It has been the biggest operation of its kind in the history of the US Army .
I hope I havnt bored you with all this but it will give you an idea of the magnitude of total war . I dont know what the future holds , Ive given up on ever getting out of administration especially after yesterday after I got notice from US forces HQ / European theater that I had been changed from a 3100 Med. Officer to 2120 Med. Officer Administration.
It doesnt look like Ill be home before next year . All the other hospitals in France are closing up but we are servicing the assembly area Command for redeployment of troops . We epect 250,000 men a month going thru the 13 camps in our area . And we have to furnish hospital and Med care for them .
To add to our difficulties , the hospitals we started with were all new units . We broke them in and had them doing things the way we wanted them done . But being new units they were to be the first to go to the Pacific . So we been replacing them with old units sent over from England to operate here until we finished and then go home . Its hard to teach an old dog new tricks and we operate differently in many ways than back in England.
Enough rambling , I hope you are all well . Some would like to up at camp for the week and Ive been in France almost a year without a day off .
Write often and take care
Love to all
Win.
WOW that is some sore eyes in the making reading and typping that . Hope all enjoy , I know its an odd thing for here but its neat to read in real life !
Peace
Mutt
