The Lost Legion: The Story of the Fifteen Hundred American Doctors Who Served with the B.E.F. in the Great War

Springfield, MA: Loring-Axtell Company, 1926. First Edition. Hardcover. Slight soiling inside boards and flyleaves, some soiling to boards, rear board somewhat scratched. [6], xi,[1], 3-40, [2]8 pages. Illustrations. Large, 4 panel fold-out group photo between pages vi and vii. Foreword by Franklin H. Martin. Roster. Some minor soiling inside boards and flyleaves. Some wear and edge rubbing to cover and edges. Inscribed by the author. From an article in JAMA from 1908--After a struggle of four years on the part of the Surgeon General of the Army, backed by the medical profession, Congress at its last session was induced to give much needed relief to the Army Medical Corps, by an Act, approved last April, entitled "A bill to increase the efficiency of the Medical Department of the Army." Conditions in the Army prior to this were deplorable, so far as the organization of the Medical Department was concerned, as apparently no thought had been given to requirements for war. In fact, officers were far too few to perform the ordinary duties of peace times. To be capable of ready expansion in war time. the act authorized the Medical Reserve Corps, a peacetime pool of trained civilian physicians. This represented the first United States Army volunteer reserve and proved the forerunner for the entire Army Reserve system. The Medical Reserve Corps had grown to 1,757 officers, plus 146 on active duty, compared to 443 Regular Army medical officers at the time. By 30 June 1917, less than three months after the declaration of war, this had grown to 9,223 officers in the Medical, Dental, and Veterinary Officers' Reserve Corps. The American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons formed a Committee on Medical Preparedness. Franklin H. Martin, head of the American College of Surgeons, was particularly instrumental in recruiting surgeons to the Medical Reserve Corps in anticipation of the war. The National Academy of Sciences created the National Research Council, which became an arm of the National Defense Council. Universities such as Johns Hopkins, University of Kansas, and Harvard University, were to organize and field hospital units, operating under the overall control of the army. The Red Cross was at this time an organization which provided ambulances and delivered medical care, besides its relief activities, was of great assistance. It had been involved in the war since 1916, providing 47 ambulance units to assist the British and French armies. All of these units were taken into the Army after war was declared. The first American military unit in France during World War I was Base Hospital No.4 (Cleveland), which arrived to cheering French crowds on 25 May 1917, nineteen days ahead of General Pershing and the nucleus of his American Expeditionary Force (AEF) staff. These American physicians, nurses, and enlisted men would face the possibility of death and destruction months before the first American soldiers would see combat. The root of Reserve Medical Officers aiding the British Army was the Balfour Mission which came to the United States in April 1917. This visit by the former British Prime Minister sparked the agreement that led to placing U.S. Army medical personnel in British units. Balfour asked Dr. Martin if he could provide between a thousand and twelve hundred physicians as soon as possible. Martin promised he could, saying he would be glad to be of assistance. The next day Dr. Martin reported to Secretary of War Newton Baker that he had pledged the United States government to provide 1,000 American medical officers to serve with the British forces. Baker’s response to Martin on being informed of the commitment was “Doctor, go the limit!” The die was cast that would send nearly 1,500
American Army medical officers to Europe to serve with the British Army, some until the end of the war. This American contribution would take the immediate form of six base hospitals, each with a complete medical staff, and over 100 additional medical officers were quickly dispatched to England. Thus 'The Lost Legion" was created.
Condition: good.

Keywords: WW1, Military Medicine, B. E. F., Hospitals, Ypres, Ambulances, Vimy Ridge, United States Army

[Book #11354]

Price: $250.00

See all items in Military Medicine, U.S. Army, WW1
See all items by