Call Number:

MSS 387

Repository:

Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Extent:

1 folder

Language:

English

Date:

1944-1945 (inclusive)

Creator:

United States. Army. Evacuation Hospital, 95th

Form:

Reports

Abstract:

The 95th Evacuation Hospital's official station was set up at Fort Breckenridge, Kentucky on August 25, 1942. In April 1943, the Hospital shipped out to North Africa from New York City. The unit served as support to the U.S. Fifth Army through the end of the North Africa campaign, as well as Italian campaigns at Naples-Foggia, Anzio, and Rome-Arno. In August 1944, the Hospital was reassigned to the U.S. Seventh Army, and supported it through campaigns in southern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. The Hospital was still functioning on May 8, 1945 (V-E Day), and remained in Germany until June. It was officially inactivated at Camp Kilmer, Stelton, New Jersey on December 3, 1945. The United States Army 95th Evacuation Hospital Reports collection consists of photocopies of the original reports and several photographs (held in the United States National Archives), which document the activities of the Hospital in southern Italy, France, and Germany during World War II from 1944 to 1945. This collection was donated by Dr. Zachary B. Friedenberg in 1995.

Evacuation hospitals were mobile combat support units, consisting of 400 beds and approximately 30 doctors and 40 nurses. They generally operated anywhere from 2 to 20 miles behind the artillery, and often received casualties directly from battalion aid stations. On August 14, 1942, the 74th Surgical Hospital (activated June 1, 1942 at Fort Warren in Cheyenne, Wyoming), was reorganized as the 95th Evacuation Hospital, Motorized, and its official station was set up at Fort Breckenridge, Kentucky on August 25, 1942. The Hospital shipped out from New York City on the Mariposa in April of 1943, and set up in wartime conditions for the first time in Oujda, Morocco (North Africa) later that month, assigned to the U.S. Fifth Army. From there, the unit travelled to Aïn-et-Turk, Algeria; and then to Salerno, Italy, in September 1943 as a combat support hospital for the invasion of Italy, including D-Day at Salerno on September 9, the Naples-Foggia campaign, the Anzio campaign, and the Rome-Arno campaign. The Hospital was bombed on February 7, 1944, while at Anzio Beachhead, by a German Messerschmidt trying to escape two British Spitfires. Twenty-eight people were killed, sixty wounded, and the operating room left non-functional. After regrouping, the unit set up in Riardo, Carinola, Itri, Corti, and Montalti, before leaving Bagnoli on August 9 for southern France, and being re-assigned to the U.S. Seventh Army. The Hospital set up near Gonfaron, France, on August 19; St. Amour on September 5, followed by Saulx, Epinal, and Golbey, before arriving in Mutzig in the Alsace region in France in early December, and Sarrebourg on January 8, 1945. On March 23, the Hospital at Sarrebourg closed and the unit made its way into Germany. By May 5, the Hospital was at Ebermagen, on the road to Münich; the number of causalities decreased; resistance crumbled, and the Seventh Army halted. The Hospital was still functioning on May 8 (V-E Day), and remained in Germany until June. It was officially inactivated at Camp Kilmer, Stelton, New Jersey on December 3, 1945. Sources: Friedenberg, Zachary. Hospital at War: The 95th Evacuation Hospital in World War II. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University, 2004. WW2 US Medical Research Centre. "95th Evacuation Hospital Unit History." WW2 US Medical Research Centre. 2017-2018. Accessed 15 June 2018. https://www.med-dept.com/unit-histories/95th-evacuation-hospital/

Born in New York City on April 12, 1915, Zachary B. Friedenberg graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in 1939.

Following an internship at Kings County Hospital, New York City, Friedenberg served in World War II as a surgeon in the 95th Evacuation Hospital, an advanced army field hospital, in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany and participated in three D-day landings. He was honored with the European Theater Ribbon, the Meritorious Service Unit Plaque, and the American Defense Service Medal.

After his military experience, he went to the University of Pennsylvania, where he trained as an orthopaedic resident and fellow from 1945 to 1949. He then joined the faculty, where he attained the rank of full professor in 1970. He was also chief of orthopaedic surgery at Presbyterian Medical Center and Chester County Hospital, and maintained a private practice. In 1955, he was elected as a Fellow to The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

While at Penn, Friedenberg was an early researcher in the electrical healing of bone fractures by direct current stimulation, and was a co-author of many papers on this and a multitude of other subjects. He taught many medical students, interns and residents, and set up the Clinician Scientist Award of the Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation, designed to assist practicing surgeons in devoting time to research. In 2002, he played a prominent part in the development of a film produced by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, entitled Wounded in Action. The film documents the role of orthopedic surgeons in World War II and is part of an art exhibit of the same name that celebrates those who served. He was also instrumental in the development of the documentary, A Legacy of Heroes.

He published numerous books on medical history, including The Doctor in Colonial America, Medicine Under Sail; Hospital at War: The 95th Evacuation Hospital in World War II; Surgery Over The Centuries; and Magic, Miracles, and Medicine, published in late 2010.

Friedenberg was married to his wife, Kathleen, for over 30 years. They had two children. He died January 27, 2011, in Bryn Mawr, PA.

Sources: : Donegan, Derek J., and Andrew F. Kuntz. "A Dedication to Zachary B. Friedenberg, MD." University of Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Journal 21 (May 2011): 3. Accessed 7 June 2018. http://upoj.org/wp-content/uploads/v21/v21_03.pdf

Penn Medicine. "In Memory of Dr. Zachary B. Friedenberg." Penn Medicine News. 24 February 2011. Accessed 7 June 2018. https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/internal-newsletters/presby-bulletin/2011/february/in-memory-of-dr-zachary-b-friedenberg

The United States Army 95th Evacuation Hospital Reports collection consists of photocopies of the original reports and several photographs (held in the United States National Archives), which document the activities of the Hospital in southern Italy, France, and Germany during World War II from 1944 to 1945.

The documents are likely part of the National Archives' Military Agency Records (RG 407): The War Department and the Army Records: Records of the Adjutant General's Office (1917-) and include:

Unit commendation for the 95th Evacuation Hospital, Lt.

General Mark W. Clark, 17 January 1944

Report of Surgical Service, 1944

Table number 1 from the Annual Report, 1944

Anaesthesia Report, 1944

Medical Department Report, 1944

Report of Medical Service, 1944

Nursing Report, 1944

Report concerning the bombing raid of the 95th Evacuation Hospital, 12 February 1944 (2 copies)

Photograph, Officers and nurses of the 95th Evacuation Hospital, 24 April 1944

Photograph, aerial view of camp?, undated

Photograph, soldiers, undated

List of nurses on duty with the 95th Evacuation Hospital, January and February 1944

95th Evacuation Hospital Historical Report, 1945

Report of Surgical Service, 1 January 1945 to 8 May 1945 (inclusive)

Anesthesia Statistics, 1 January 1945 to 8 May 1945 (inclusive)

Medical Department Report, 1945