The 56th Evac. Hospital: Letters of a WWII Army Doctor - Hardcover

Lawrence D. Collins

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0929398831 ISBN 13: 9780929398839

Publisher: University of North Texas Press, 1995

Synopsis

Collins chronicles his experiences from training in Texas to service in Italy at Paestum, Dragoni, and worst of all, the desperate “Hell's Half Acre” of Anzio Beach, where, because of frequent shelling of the hospitals, patients were known to go AWOL to the front. His book is a rare opportunity to view WWII from the perspective of those whose task it was to treat the sick and wounded.

About this title

About the Author

LAWRENCE D. COLLINS, M.D., served in the Baylor Medical Unit from 1942-1945, after which he went into practice with his brother in Waco. In 1982 he retired from medical practice and lived in Waco with his wife Margaret.

From the Back Cover

"I see no way that we junior officers will ever be prepared for any major surgery....I've a premonition that in time it is inevitable. We'll have to perform major surgery on our own, ready or not". Thus wrote Dr. L. D. Collins at the beginning of his tour of duty with the 56th Evacuation Hospital (a mobile tent hospital similar to the M*A*S*H units of Korean War fame), largely staffed by men and women who trained at the Baylor University College of Medicine in Dallas, Texas. Collins chronicles the experiences of the "Baylor Unit", from its training in Texas, through the relatively uncomplicated months in Morocco and Bizerte, to its service in Italy at Paestum, Dragoni, and worst of all, the desperate "Hell's Half Acre" of Anzio Beach. Because of frequent shelling of the hospitals, patients were known to go AWOL to the front, where it was considered safer. During the Anzio campaign, 92 medical personnel were killed in action, 387 were wounded, 19 captured and 60 more missing in action.

Reviews

Collins's letters to his wife, mother and sister record his experiences with the Army's "Baylor unit," a medical team mobilized out of Baylor Medical School in Dallas during WWII that cared for GIs in the North African and Italian theaters from 1942 to '45. His somewhat bland letters hide from his family the fact that he was in a hot combat zone; for several weeks, his tent hospital was stationed on the Anzio beachhead, from which Collins wrote: "Be reassured that the jerries respect our red crosses and that their marksmanship is good, so we're always safe." The most harrowing passages in the letters have to do with details of surgery performed on wounded men, especially an account of a quadruple amputation. A highlight of Collins's final months of overseas service was an audience with Pope Pius: "He had the personality of a most excellent politician." Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Collins arrived in North Africa in 1943 as a member of the 56th hospital unit, which hailedfrom Baylor Medical College in Dallas, and eventually wound up in Bizerte, Tunisia. His letters to his wife and mother, often accented by wit or irony, first tell about his military and travel experiences and discuss books he is reading. Then the 56th crosses the Mediterranean to Italy and receives its first real combat experience, the most rugged part of it consisting of 73 days at the Anzio beachhead. Shelling and bombing become so intense that several patients go AWOL from the hospital and return to their units on the front line because they feel they will be safer there. Although a physician, Collins has to do a considerable bit of surgery; his work with gas gangrene proves especially interesting. Moreover, his descriptions of a Benedictine monastery above Pompeii and of other sites add interest to his engaging letters. William Beatty

Edition details

• Publisher: University of North Texas Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0929398831
• ISBN 13: 9780929398839
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304