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UNMC in Service

 

Arthur Charles Stokes, MD, 1919

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

 

Arthur Charles Stokes, MD

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Arthur Charles Stokes, MD

Director of Base Hospital No. 49

As a Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Stokes enlisted as the director of Base Hospital No. 49, overseeing staffing and management of the facility in Allerey, France. In staffing the hospital, Dr. Stokes reviewed applications for those wishing to serve at the base. Initially consisting of 230 medical personnel, under Dr. Stokes’ leadership the hospital base grew to employ nearly 400 nurses, enlisted men, and officers.

 

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E.L. Bridges, MD, 1919

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

 

E.L. Bridges, MD

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

E.L. Bridges, MD

Chief of Medical Service at Base Hospital No. 49

Ranked a Major, Dr. Bridges served as the chief of medical service at Base Hospital No. 49. In this role, Dr. Bridges oversaw communications and coordinating services on the base. In writing back home to the Nebraska State Medical Journal, Dr. Bridges said: “Since the big drive started [the Meuse-Argonne offensive] they [surgical cases] steadily gained on us, and now lead [the medical cases] by a good big margin, which is increased with each train that comes in. At the present moment we have 800 surgical and 600 medical cases with three more trains due in tonight.”

 

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Alfred Jerome Brown, MD, 1919

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Alfred Jerome Brown, MD

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Alfred Jerome Brown, MD

A Surgeon on the Front Lines

Alfred Jerome Brown, MD, served at Debarkation Hospital No. 2 on Staten Island before moving overseas as the chief of surgical services, first at Naval Base Hospital No. 1 in Brest, France and then at Evacuation Hospital No. 37. He was also consulting surgeon to the 40th Division in France. Upon his discharge in 1919, Dr. Brown joined the faculty at UNMC as a professor of surgery until 1943, when he became professor emeritus.

 

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Intubation Kit

Donated by Charles W. McLaughlin, MD, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

This kit, used by Alfred J. Brown, MD, was patented in 1892 by the George Ermold Company. Intubation was used to treat diseases such as diphtheria, which affected patients’ ability to breathe. Diphtheria infected 4,700 American soldiers during WWI.

Intubation is still used today when placing a patient on a ventilator or to assist with breathing during anesthesia, sedation, or illness.

 

 

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Hiram Winnett Orr, MD, c. 1918

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

Hiram Winnett Orr, MD

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

H. Winnett Orr, MD

Revolutionizing the Care of Fractures during WWI

Born in 1877, Hiram Winnett Orr, MD, came to Nebraska in 1892. He received his medical degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine in 1899. During WWI, Dr. Orr served as a surgeon in the Medical Corps, developing the “Orr method” of using surgery and plaster casts to reduce infection in open and compound fractures. Returning to the states in 1919, he oversaw the medical regiment of the Nebraska National Guard for three years, discharging from the military in 1922 at the rank of Colonel. He was the founder and chief surgeon at the State Orthopedics Hospital, as well as Bryan Memorial Hospital and Lincoln General in Lincoln, Nebraska, until his retirement in 1956.

Dr. Orr was an active collector of rare books. In partnership with the American College of Surgeons, McGoogan Library houses and cares for the Orr rare book collection.

 

Dr. Orr cataloged his time during the war through photographs. After service, he had his images converted into slides for presentation and wrote an accompanying book detailing his experiences as a surgeon during the war. Donated by Dr. Orr’s grandson, these slides and the book are now housed in McGoogan Library’s Special Collections and Archives.

 

 

Gift of J. Douglass Klein, grandson of Dr. H. Winnett Orr, from the McGoogan Health Sciences Special Collections and Archives

 

 

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August Frederick Jonas, MD

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

August Frederick Jonas, MD

Chair of the Committee for Establishing Base Hospital No. 49

During WWI, Captain August Frederick Jonas served as special medical aid to the Governor of Nebraska and was chair of the organizational committee for Base Hospital No. 49 and the Omaha Ambulance Company.

 

Dr. Jonas taught surgery at UNMC from 1898 until his retirement in 1929. He also served as dean from 1898-1902, overseeing the merger of Omaha Medical College with the University of Nebraska. As a professor of surgery, Dr. Jonas relied heavily on medical illustrations in his classes. Learn more about his illustration collection via our Teaching Tools.

 

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John Beekman Potts, MD, 1919

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

John Beekman Potts, MD

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

John Beekman Potts, MD

Head of Ear, Nose, and Throat Wounds at Base Hospital No. 49

In January 1918, Captain John Beekman Potts, MD, was the first physician connected with Base Hospital No. 49 to be called to active service. He reported to Fort Shelby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, while awaiting the base hospital to open in Allerey, France, where he would oversee the otolaryngology department. Under Dr. Potts’ leadership, Base Hospital No. 49’s otolaryngology team cared for all ear, nose, and throat wounds in the hospital complex at Allerey.

 

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James M. Patton, MD, 1919

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

James M. Patton, MD

Mustard Gas and Shrapnel made Eye Care Critical at Base Hospital No. 49

During WWI, James M. Patton, MD, joined the Medical Corps of the US Army as a Captain, serving at Base Hospital No. 49 and later in the Hospital Centre at Vittel, France. Dr. Patton eventually achieved the rank of major during his service.

 

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George Worthington Covey, MD, c. 1918

From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives

George Washington Covey, MD

Pathologist at Hospital Base No. 49

George Worthington Covey, MD, joined the war effort as a Lieutenant in the Medical Relief Corps of the US Army and served as a pathologist at Base Hospital No. 49. Dr. Covey’s work was critical in studying and tracing the highly infectious and deadly 1918 influenza pandemic.

 

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These items were issued to Lieutenant George Worthington Covey, MD, when he entered the Medical Relief Corps. Pathologists like Dr. Covey had an important role during WWI. Collecting blood samples with hypodermic needles such as these were critical for studying and tracing the 1918 influenza pandemic that ravaged the ranks of the infantry.

Syringe Kit

Courtesy of History Nebraska

Helmet

Courtesy of History Nebraska

 

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