Surgeon General's letter to Washington University - April 30, 1919

Transcript

[Washington University letterhead] War Department Office of the Surgeon General Washington. April 30, 1919. Board of Trustee, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis [Missouri] Gentlemen: Thru (The American Red Cross National Headquarters) Red Cross Base Hospital No. 21 accredited to Washington University Medical School, having been returned to this country for demobilization, I take this opportunity to express my appreciation of the invaluable services rendered the Nation by this splendid organization. It will always be remembered that the first organizations of the American Army to be sent overseas were six Red Cross base hospitals and, at the time of the great Allied offensive, beginning July 18, 1918, thirty-nine of the forty five base hospitals on duty in France and England were Red Cross hospitals. There Readiness for service and the patriotic devotion to duty, as well as the professional excellence of the personnel of these organizations, have made them the chief reliance of the Medical service of the forces in France, while those on duty with the British have rendered equally valuable and appreciated aid to the British Army. It is earnestly recommended that effective measures be taken by you to keep the organization of your unit intact and they every effort be made to imbue its future personnel with the fine spirit to be expected in the possessors of the glorious heritage of splendid achievement handed down from the Great War by the original personnel of Base Hospital No. 21. In this connection, I desire to invite your attention to the excellent work done by Colonel Fred T. Murphy, M.C., as Director of Base Hospital No. 21, and to ask that you convey to him my sincere appreciation of the value of the service he gave to our country in its time of need. Sincerely, M.W. Ireland, Surgeon General, U.S. Army.