Norwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (NORMASH) was the Norwegian field hospital

Field hospital

A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...

 in Korea

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 from 1951 to 1954, participating in the United Nations Command operations in Korea.

History

On December 29, 1950 the Norwegian Red Cross

Norwegian Red Cross

The Norwegian Red Cross was founded September 22, 1865 by prime minister Frederik Stang. In 1907 the Norwegian Ministry of Defence authorized the organization for voluntary medical aid in war...

 received a request for a hospital to help in Korea.
During the first days of 1951 a plan was drafted for a field hospital based on the American Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

The Mobile Army Surgical Hospital refers to a United States Army medical unit serving as a fully functional hospital in a combat area of operations. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War and later conflicts. The U.S...

 (MASH) with 60 beds and a staff of 83.

On March 2, 1951 the Norwegian Parliament approved the plan for a Norwegian field hospital.

The first group of personnel left Norway on the May 16, 1951, the next group left on May 23. The trip was a long one both in time and distance, and took the men and women of NORMASH from Stavanger

Stavanger

Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...

 to Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 via. München, Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

, Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

, Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

, Calcutta, Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 and Hongkong. From Tokyo the personnel were transported to Seoul by military transport aircraft.

NORMASH was first established at Uijongbu, approximately 12 miles North of Seoul. The hospital consisted of both Nissen hut

Nissen hut

A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated steel, a variant of which was used extensively during World War II.-Description:...

s and tents and had a surgery with 4 operating tables. The hospital was later moved to Tongduchon about 40 miles North of Seoul, and was moved a third time to its final location a few miles further north.

In the first 40 days NORMASH treated 1048 patients, of which 23 were civilians. All told NORMASH treated 90 000 patients, of which the largest groups were the US (36%), South Korea (33%) and the various British and Commonwealth troops (27%). The unit also treated 172 North Korean and Chinese POW's.

NORMASH performed on average 8 surgerys per day, with variations ranging from 1 to 64, and Doctors could spend 24 hours or more performing surgery on a continual stream of wounded arriving from the front.

In the fall of 1951 it was decided to increase the personnel from 83 to 105, and on October 26, 1951 the decision was made to maintain the hospital for the duration of the UN operation in Korea.

The hospital was also changed from a Red Cross hospital to a regular army hospital, and the personnel changed their Red cross uniforms for regular US army uniforms and ranks. This also included Norwegian army personnel for close protection of the hospital.

With the signing of the Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953, the hospital stopped receiving wounded soldiers, but a substantial amount of civilian Koreans were now treated. Though an armistice

Armistice

An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...

 was in effect, the stability of it was questionable, and the hospital was kept at the ready in case of a breaking of the ceasefire

Ceasefire

A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...

.

In the fall of 1953 NORMASH was the only hospital for 4 Divisions in the 1st Army Corps. The hospital was kept awaiting the establishment of a Scandinavian training hospital in Seoul, and it was not until October 17, 1954 that the hospital received orders to return to Norway. 4 days later the last patient was released, and on November 10 all equipment was returned to the US Army.

Personnel

In total 623 men and women served in NORMASH over 7 contingents, 5 of which were before the Armistice. The hospital lost 2 members killed, Driver Arne Christiansen was shot and killed in 1952 and Laboratory Technician Brit Reisæther was killed in a car accident in 1954.

Awards and Commendations

NORMASH twice received the Meritorious Unit Commendation

Meritorious Unit Commendation

The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions....

 and the Korean Presidential Citation

Presidential Unit Citation (Korea)

The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation is issued by the government of South Korea to both Korean military and foreign units. The last major issuance of the decoration was during the Korean War when the decoration was bestowed to several U.S., U.K., and Commonwealth military units...

. All personnel also received the Norwegian Korea Medal.

Though the most cherished and appreciated "award" is probably the visit by Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

which Major Enebakk reports "made the boys go wild".

External links

• Norway - the official site in Korea
• NORMASH - Korea - Norsk Veterannettverk in Norwegian
• Koreakrigen og det norske feltsykehuset Norwegian Military Journal article by Major (retired) Magnar H. Enebakk in Norwegian