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Quick medical attention saves many Yank lives
Ample supplies and early evacuation of wounded keep casualty lists down
Washington (UP) – (July 8)
Ample medical supplies and attention and quick evacuation saved the lives of many wounded American soldiers on the Normandy beachhead, the War Department disclosed tonight.
A report by Maj. Gen. Paul R. Hawley, chief surgeon of the European Theater of Operations, to Army Surgeon General Norman T. Kirk, told the story of rapid aid to the wounded.
Gen. Hawley said the 9th Air Force “got in there fast after D-Day” and was carrying out air evacuation of wounded to England three days after the invasion. Many wounded were flown back within an hour after reaching evacuation points behind the lines. Few waited at these points more than 12 hours.
Few arrive in shock
The flight to the United Kingdom was about an hour. Ambulances quickly transferred the patients to hospitals nearby. Air has now supplanted almost all other types of evacuation.
Field hospital platoons were used as holding hospitals at airstrips and beaches for those sent to the United Kingdom.
Gen. Hawley wrote:
The condition of the casualties on arrival in the United Kingdom has been surprisingly fine. Fractures have been well splinted. Shock has been treated on the LSTs (Landing Ship, Tanks) and hospital carriers, and it is a rare patient who arrives in shock.
Both whole blood and plasma have been plentiful in every medical installation from the clearing station to the hospital. There has been enough penicillin to treat all the cases that required it and the freedom of wounds from infection has been a source of surprise to all of our surgeons.
Supply called superb
Gen. Hawley described the medical supply as “superb.” He said he found no hospital or station in France without ample quantities.
Many American soldiers owe their lives to surgeons aboard LST boats on D-Day, Gen. Hawley wrote. The Army placed an experienced surgeon on each craft. In addition, there were two young naval medical officers and about 20 hospital corpsmen.
Reception of wounded in Britain went smoothly. Specially trained Negro litter bearers handled casualties gently.