Medicine Under Canvas
Encyclopedia
Medicine Under Canvas is a book and a documentary film about the 77th Evacuation Hospital during WWII. The very rare book is 200 pages long and is arguably the most detailed history of an evacuation hospital in the European and North African theatres of war. There were over 40 evacuation hospital units in the European Theater of Operations
, but very few have published unit histories.
. Made up of 40 doctors, 60 nurses, and 300 enlisted men, the unit shipped out to England in May of 1942. They began active operation in Oran, after the Allies invaded North Africa, and continued there and in Sicily until the surrender of all axis forces in that theatre in 1943. They returned to England and prepared for deployment on the European mainland after the anticipated invasion. On July 7th, 1944 the 77th crossed the English Channel and supported the Allied troops through the end of the war.
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
, but very few have published unit histories.
The Book
The first printing in 1949, edited by Max Allen, MD was done for the unit members and only 500 copies were produced. The second edition, printed in 2008 was limited to 1,000 copies. Over 200 photographs are included, which does not include the head shots of the majority of the unit members in a "yearbook" type section filling the last pages of the volume. Early sections of the book include a view of what the injured soldier experienced from arrival through treatment and then until he is evacuated to home, another hospital or back to his unit.The Unit
The 77th Evacuation Hospital was formed at The University of Kansas Medical Center in 1942. Preliminary organization began earlier, but the actual unit was not drawn up until the Japanese attack on Pearl HarborPearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. Made up of 40 doctors, 60 nurses, and 300 enlisted men, the unit shipped out to England in May of 1942. They began active operation in Oran, after the Allies invaded North Africa, and continued there and in Sicily until the surrender of all axis forces in that theatre in 1943. They returned to England and prepared for deployment on the European mainland after the anticipated invasion. On July 7th, 1944 the 77th crossed the English Channel and supported the Allied troops through the end of the war.