CAMP PICKETT (Virginia)
Late 1941 the Government purchased a substantial number of acres of land in Nottoway, Dinwiddie, Lunenburg and Brunswick Counties for construction of a new Camp . In 1942 two rail spurs were built leading to Cp. Pickett to increase logistics and rapid movements of troops on and off Post . A four-runway military airfield was later added, called Blackstone Army Airfield . By the end of 1942, more than 1,400 buildings were in use, including 1,000 Enlisted barracks and 70 Officers’ quarters . The first large group of soldiers arrived for training in April 1942 . The first complete unit was the 79th Infantry Division which arrived at the Camp to be activated June 15, 1942, followed on September 22, 1942 by the 3rd Infantry Division (redesignated August 1, 1942) – Division’s most highly decorated soldier of WWII > Audie MURPHY, and later on January 27, 1943 by the 45th Infantry Division (inducted into Federal service February 10, 1940) – famous member > Bill MAULDIN also trained here . The 28th Infantry Division (inducted into Federal service February 17, 1941) replaced the 45th Inf Div on June 6, 1943 and departed for the United Kingdom on October 8, 1943 . As from August 28, 1943 the 31st Infantry Division (inducted into Federal service November 25, 1940) was already training at Cp. Pickett, and it was soon to be followed on October 9, 1943 by the 77th Infantry Division (activated March 25, 1942) which then left on March 24, 1944 with destination overseas, i.e. Hawaii and the Pacific . The last unit to train at the Camp was the 78th Infantry Division arriving on March 27, 1944 (activated August 15, 1942) and departing for the E.T.O. on October 14, 1944 .
Cp. Pickett also trained a variety of smaller units, such as Artillery and Engineer Battalions, and in addition trained recruits destined as Replacements for losses in combat .
Early 1944 the WD determined that the Camp was a suitable location for a Convalescent Hospital – when operational, it offered treatment to men suffering from physical wounds, disease, or combat fatigue . The Hospital received the first large influx of female personnel, including Army Nurses and Enlisted WACs . Prior to expanding the Hospital; US Army Hospital, Camp Pickett, the Army moved the Medical Replacement Training Center (MRTC) authorized by the WD in Jan 41, from Cp. Lee, Petersburg, Va. In the summer of 1942 . When it closed in October 1943, the MRTC had trained an estimated 10,000 Medics for overseas duty …
When the Germans and Italians were defeated in N. Africa in mid-1943, more than 250,000 soldiers were captured – many of these were brought to the United States to perform farm work and other non-war related jobs, as allowed by the Geneva Convention . Approximately 6,000 German PWs were transferred to Cp. Pickett in January 1944 . The Army had to build a main camp + nine smaller camps in the nearby Counties to house the PWs .

transfer from Cp. Lee, marching to Cp. Pickett to establish a new MRTC there (3-day march – total of 42 miles) 19 Jun 42 Click image to enlarge

Tent housing at Cp. Pickett, Virginia - July 1942 Click image to enlarge

CAMP JOSEPH T. ROBINSON (Arkansas)
Construction of Cp. J.T. ROBINSON, located near Little Rock, Ark., began on September 9, 1940 . The Camp was originally designed as a tent & barracks cantonment with a capacity for approximately 25,000 soldiers, comprising headquarters – administration – hospital – railroad – warehouses – communications – and all necessary utilities . Construction was completed March 31, 1941 (cost + US$ 11.5 M) . The Camp embraced at total of 42,124 acres, and would finally consist of 6,763 buildings . Troop capacity numbered 2,596 Officers and 44,077 EM .
Camp Robinson began receiving its first troops on December 29, 1940; by January 7 there were 16,000 troops, primarily soldiers from the 35th Infantry Division (inducted into Federal service December 23, 1940) which left their Camp during the latter part of October 1941 for additional training prior to embarking for overseas service in the E.T.O. in May 1944 .
The 92nd Infantry Division was activated at Cp. Robinson October 15, 1942, and left the installation in May 1943 for additional training, before leaving for the Mediterranean Theater in September 1944 .
The 66th Infantry Division (activated April,15, 1943) arrived at Cp. Robinson August 17, 1943 and stayed until April 7, 1944 ; it was equally transferred overseas early December 1944, after undergoing additional training in the ZI .
A Branch Immaterial Replacement Training Center (BIRTC) was located at Cp. J.T. Robinson early 1942; it was organized into five Training Regiments, i.e. the 11th – 12th – 13th – 14th and 15th . In January 1943 the BIRTC was converted to an Infantry Replacement and Training Center (IRTC) which started with an original training cycle of eight weeks, later to expand to sixteen weeks (but again shortened to fill immediate manpower requirements) .
A Medical Replacement Training Center (MRTC) authorized by the WD Dec 41 operated at Cp. J.T. Robinson from 1942 up to 1943 . It consisted of three Medical Training Regiments, the 21st – 22nd and 23rd . Like the BIRTC the MRTC started with an eight-weeks training cycle, which later doubled . In 1944, the IRTC was expanded, and MRTC units were turned into Infantry training units . Cp. Robinson was now authorized a capacity of 878 Officers and 4,024 Enlisted Men, with a total training capacity of 21,000 men … Training continued until 1946 …

open air classroom at Cp. Robinson, Arkansas - 1942 Click image to enlarge

medical trainees learning how to evacuate crews from wooden tank dummies - 1942 Click image to enlarge

242d GENERAL HOSPITAL
The 242d General Hospital was organized at Cp. Barkeley, Abilene, Tex. (Armored Division Camp and Medical Replacement Training Center, with a total acreage of 69,879 and a Troop capacity of 3,192 Officers and 54,493 EM) . The Hospital was probably organized from personnel pertaining to the 11th Medical Training Regiment . After thorough training, the 242d Gen Hosp, under command of Lt. Colonel Albert M. RICHMOND, MC, left for Europe via NY P/E where it embarked for overseas on the Queen Mary – it left New York December 10, 1944, reached Scotland on December 16, and thence moved by train to Oxford, where the 242d was to stay for two weeks, in order to get organized . A troop train took the men to Southampton, where they boarded a Polish ship bound for Le Havre . The Hospital then got transported by trucks to a staging area near Rouen, under bad weather and lots of snowfall . Most medical personnel had to live in tents, while the nurses were temporarily housed in a wrecked building, this was to last for three whole weeks, before moving to Sissonne (north of Reims) where the 82d Abn Div had its base camp . The 242d Gen Hosp received casualties and PWs for over four months, until several days after V-E Day . The unit then moved to Arlon (Belgium), and subsequently to Marseilles (southern France), where they embarked with destination a small island near Japan . When V-J Day took place, the Hospital was diverted to New York P/E, and finally disbanded in Alabama …

view of Cp. Barkeley Hq building, Texas – March 1941
Cp. Barkeley CO > Col Fay W. BRABSON
MRTC CO > Col Roy C. HEFLEBOWER
Click image to enlarge

HOSPITALIZATION DURING WWII
The Surgeon General was responsible for furnishing adequately trained and equipped Army Service Forces Hospital units for the Theaters of Operations, where numbered Station, Field, and General Hospitals were the most important medical installations . In the years from June 30, 1943 to June 30, 1945 the Medical Department trained 189 General Hospitals, 74 Field Hospitals and 61 Station Hospitals for overseas service . In fiscal 1945, when the peak of overseas shipments occurred, the WD sent 81 General, 35 Field, and 8 Station Hospitals to the various Theaters of Operations . By May 1945, when the peak in Hospital beds overseas was reached, there were 335,000 fixed beds and about 87,000 mobile beds in all Theaters . The E.T.O. alone had approximately 700 Hospital units of all kinds in operation overseas at this time …
During the period from June 30, 1943 to June 30, 1945, the MD’s task of hospitalizing sick and wounded personnel exceeded that of any previous period in the history of the US Army . In that same period 5,050,718 Army patients were admitted to overseas Hospitals, and 6,002,013 to ZI Hospitals ! The number of patients in Hospitals overseas increased from 47,446 on June 30, 1943 to 266,466 at the end of January 1945 . Effective evacuation to the Zone of Interior reduced this number to 138,486 by June 30, 1945 . Meanwhile, the number of Hospital patients in the United States increased from 167,713 on June 30, 1943 to a peak of 303,102 by June 30, 1945 (at this time, the number of authorized beds for all Hospitals in the ZI was 314,588) . To cope with this situation, The Surgeon General’s Hospital program revised the ZI Hospital system developed and perfected a system of specialized General Hospitals, provided additional General and Convalescent Hospital beds, improved the overall administration of Hospitals, and inaugurated a program of increased standards of maintenance and improvement of Hospital facilities .
During 1946, Station and regional Hospital capacity in the ZI dropped from 69,700 to 22,600 beds ! Of 225 Station Hospitals and regional Hospitals in operation at the beginning of 1946, only 106 would remain in operation (as Sta Hosp) at the end of the year . As the overall patient load declined in general, plans were made to liquidate the Hospital system which had required 5 years to develop – during the last quarter of 1945, the MD closed 20 General Hospitals and 3 Convalescent Hospitals, reducing its capacity by more than 75,000 beds ! During 1946, the closure of 34 General Hospitals and 6 Convalescent Hospitals eliminated an additional 96,300 beds . Only 14 General Hospitals and 1 Convalescent Hospital remained in operation in the ZI by end of 1946 .

… typical view of a Field Hospital, somewhere in Normandy – June / July 1944
Click image to enlarge

HOSPITAL CENTERS
After D-Day an important feature of Base Section administration was the Hospital Center, i.e. a group of (fixed) Hospitals, such as Gen Hosp – Sta Hosp – Conv Hosp, operating under a SINGLE Headquarters . As early as March 1944, three groups of Hospitals in the United Kingdom, at Cirencester, Malvern, and Whitchurch in western England had been put under Hospital Center Headquarters for the sake of more efficient operation .
With the mass evacuation of large numbers of casualties from the Continent to the United Kingdom (after the D-Day Invasion), the grouping of Hospitals into a Hospital Center (HC) brought additional advantages; it would furnish enough vacant beds for reception and care of the 200-300 evacuees from the Continent carried by a Hospital train . Discharge would take place at a single railhead . Moreover, a single Hospital could be chosen to render all services provided in the entire group in a given specialty, in the one and same Hospital . In one of the largest Centers (i.e; the 12th HC at Great Malvern), French patients were cared for as a group, and within a single Hospital, were concentrated personnel skilled in chemical warfare medicine as well as the necessary supplies, ready for a possible large scale influx of possible gas casualties …
After the Invasion, additional HCs were established . Seven operated mostly in southern and western England, all administered by the United Kingdom Base organization – they were located at Blandford (Dorsetshire), Cirencester (Gloucestershire), Devizes (Wiltshire), Great Malvern (Worcestershire), Newmarket (Cambridgeshire), Taunton (Somersetshire), and Whitchurch (Flintshire) . By close of December 1944, 45 General Hospitals, 11 Station Hospitals, and 2 Convalescent Hospitals were in operation in the Continental Base Sections, and the grouping of different Hospitals became also practicable there as well . After January 1945, nine Hospital Centers were developed on the Continent; Cherbourg – Le Mans – Mourmelon – Nancy – Paris – Var-le-Duc – Vittel, all in France, Liège, in Belgium, and Aachen, in Germany .
The system was also introduced in the ZI, where by April 1945, nine Hospital Centers were organized, each composed of 1 General and 1 Convalescent Hospital . They were established at Cp. Pickett, (Blackstone, Va.), Cp. Butner (Durham, N.C.), Cp. Edwards (Falmouth, Mass.), Cp. Carson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Cp. Atterbury (Columbus, Ind.), Ft. Custer (Battle Creek, Mich.), Ft. Sam Houston (San Antonio, Tex.), Ft. Lewis (Tacoma, Wash.), and Cp. Forrest (Tullahoma, Tenn.) .

MEDICAL PERSONNEL AND MEDICAL CARE
In June 1943, the Medical Department numbered about 620,000 men and women among which 525,000 > Enlisted, 37,000 > Medical Corps, 28,000 > Army Nurse Corps, 12,000 > Dental Corps, 11,500 > Medical Administrative Corps, 1,800 > Veterinary Corps, 1,750 > Sanitary Corps, 700 > Dietitians, 400 > Physical Therapists, and about 50,000 > civilian employees . The Pharmacy Corps was subsequently added, and numerous changes and additions to basic components and types of medical units took place as well . Professional teams were enlarged and improved and were to include surgical – orthopedic – shock – maxillo-facial – neuro-surgical – thoracic surgical – optical repair – fixed & mobile dental repair and prosthetic, while five types of supply and two types of veterinary teams were added, specific units for both the Army Ground Forces (AGF) and the Army Air Forces (AAF) were equally developed … the actual organization of the medical service from the frontlines back thus became one of increasing specialization . The work of the Medical Technician became more and more exacting at each successive rearward medical installation . He not only assisted in surgery (Surgical Technicians), in general medicine, in the X-Ray room, in the laboratory, and in the clinic, and much of the mechanics of therapy was also left to his care .
At the Commissioned Officer’s level, there was a similar though more pronounced specialization . The soldier with an infection of his wounded leg, or with a chest wound, or a mutilated face, or an injured brain, was certain to have, after a certain interval, the care of an orthopedic, plastic, or neurosurgeon . Until he could reach his specialist, the American G.I. received the type of care which would get him to that specialist in the best possible condition !
The Dental Surgeon went as far forward as the Battalion Aid Station and assisted especially in the wounds of the jaw and mouth .
Army Nurses also gave widely varying types of skilled and sympathetic service, some of them in Field Hospitals, and others in the General Hospitals farther back . Nurses later also automatically held Officer rank during WWII (17,314 Army Nurses in the E.T.O. by May 1945) .
In order to free professional men for the work for which their studies and experience had prepared them, non-medical Officers were trained in the Medical Administrative Corps to conduct every aspect of general administration . Their responsibilities ranged from Assistant to the Battalion Surgeon at the front, and Adjutant of a Hospital in England, or in the United States .
Prior to D-Day, Medical personnel in the E.T.O. totaled 132,705, of which approximately 62,000 were with the combat forces, and 70,000 with the Services of Supply (SOS) . By March 31, 1945 the total had increased to 245,387 and casualties for the Medical Department’s field forces totalled 13,174 (of whom 2,274 were killed)

MEDICAL TRAINING
Nine major Mobilization Training Programs (MTP) were to govern Training of Medical Department Enlisted personnel . When WWII broke out in Europe (Sep 39), MD Basic Training was still based on a program issued back in 1935 ! On September 9, 1940 MTP No. 8-1 was published with a combination of unit and individual training to meet the requirements of an ever-expanding Army in which field Medical units needed to support newly activated combat divisions . Enlisted Men were to receive 13 weeks of Basic Technical & Tactical Training – after the second week of the training cycle, the program stressed technical subjects that would prepare the men either for specific duties or for further training at a Medical unit or installation ; individuals qualified to be trained as Technicians, were selected at the fourth, eighth, and twelfth week of the cycle and then sent to the Medical Department special Service Schools or to Enlisted Technicians Schools for 8 to 12 weeks of technical training ! Since the first increments of Medical trainees sent to MRTCs were earmarked for assignment to specific units, the Centers organized them in groups that could be provided with special training . Trainees being ordered to numbered General Hospitals, for example, were assigned to one Training Battalion, and those being assigned to numbered Station Hospitals and/or Evacuation Hospitals, were assigned to still other Battalions . This kind of grouping allowed the Training Battalion commanders to better tailor the program to the trainee’s assignment .
Subsequent changes and adaptations were to follow during WWII; MTP No. 8-1 (9 Sep 40) still provided a training cycle of 13 weeks . MTP No. 8-5 (5 Aug 41) consisted of a 13-weeks training, including specialized training for junior Medical & Surgical Technicians . MTP No. 8-5 (17 Nov 41) consisted of 11 weeks of training, while technical training was reduced from 8 to 6 weeks . MTP No. 8-5 (2 Jan 42) included a training cycle shortened to 8 weeks, and a technical training of 4 weeks only ! MTP No. 8-5 (1 Aug 43) provided for 11 weeks of training, which was later even extended to 17 weeks . Programs were later taken over by the ASFTCs which elaborated their own training .
School training of Enlisted Technicians reached a peak in the summer of 1943, when five of the eleven Schools run by the Medical Department operated two eight-hour shifts a day . Capacities were however reduced by fall, but due to increasing demands for trained overseas Replacements, the capacity of Enlisted Technicians Schools were again increased as from April 1, 1944 . Owing to scarcity of male Enlisted personnel available for training, four Schools were discontinued in 1945, and three others were converted to training of both Enlisted Men and Women ! In 1944 approximately 15,000 men were trained as MD Enlisted Technicians . In 1945 another 26,000 Medical Technicians were trained and another 4,900 WACs, while another 5,000 WACs graduated as Medical and Surgical Technicians after a special ten-week course given along with the training of newly formed WAC Hospital Companies at the Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga. WAC Training Center . Training of Enlisted Technicians reached its peak when unit training became most active, many of the Technicians so trained were soon assigned to Theater of Operation units – these Enlisted courses trained men in advanced Medical and Surgical Nursing, for duty in forward areas where it was undesirable to send female Army Nurses .
The Medical Department participated in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP), and by mid 1943 accredited Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, and Veterinary Medicine were contracted to train Enlisted Men selected by the Army . In May 1943, there were 27 Medical Schools – 19 Dental Schools – and 6 Veterinary Schools participating in MD ASTP Training . By July 1943, there were now 74 Medical, 39 Dental and 10 Veterinary Schools . In fiscal 1944, Medical Schools already numbered 75 . In spring 1944 however, enrollment in MD ASTP units was drastically cut as a result of an urgent demand for all available men as fillers for Ground and Service units destined for overseas …

annual capacity of Med Dept ENLISTED TECHNICIANS Schools – 1942 & 1943 (1 > does not include capacity of Schools opened on 1 Jul 42)

In July 1943 the MD operated four Medical Replacement Training Centers (MRTC), with a capacity of 18,000 men – they were Cp. Barkeley, Abilene, Tex. – Cp. Grant, Rockford, Ill. – Cp. Pickett, Blackstone, Va. – and Cp. J.T. Robinson, Little Rock, Ark. . By end May 1944, when the Medical Section, Army Service Forces Training Center was activated (May 29), at Ft. Lewis, Tacoma., Wash., capacity almost reached 75,000 . In 1944 a total of 93,000 men were trained in the MD RTCs . In May 1944, ALL Military Training, except Technical, was now standardized so that all soldiers, regardless of Branch, received the same six-week basic course ! This was indeed a radical departure for the Medical Department soldier, for the FIRST time he now received an additional ninety-six hours of Training with weapons, such as the rifle – the carbine – the bayonet – and grenades …

total number of men and women trained at Med Dept ENLISTED TECHNICIANS Schools – up to September 1945

MEDICAL REPLACEMENT TRAINING CENTERS (MRTC)
Cp. Barkeley > activated November 1, 1941 – closed April 1, 1945 - Training period 8 Dec 41 > 17 Mar 45
Cp. Ellis > activated February 1, 1943 – closed December 31, 1944 (28th – 29th - 30th – 31st – 32nd Medical Training Regiments) – Training period 23 Jun 44 > 1 Feb 45 - also ASF Training Center for Engineers, Quartermaster and Signal Corps personnel
Cp. Grant > activated March 24, 1941 – closed October 15, 1944 (1643rd Service Unit) – Training period 15 Mar 41 > 30 Sep 44, MRTC transferred to Ft. Lewis June 1944
Cp. Lee > activated January 16, 1941 – closed June 19, 1942 (1308th Service Unit) – Training period 15 Mar 41 > 20 Jun 42, MRTC transferred to Cp. Pickett June 1942
Cp. Pickett > activated June 19, 1942 – closed October 31, 1943 (14 Medical Training Battalions) – Training period 20 Jun 42 > 30 Sep 43
Cp. J.T. Robinson > activated January 15, 1942 – closed October 14, 1943 (21st – 22nd – 23rd Medical Training Regiments) – Training period 1 Feb 42 > 11 Oct 43

group calisthenics at the parade grounds, Cp. Barkeley, Texas - 1942

Notes :
Ft. Lewis > activated July 1944 – largest ASF Training Center in the United States, exclusively training Medics and Engineers (off training period 25 Jun > 20 Mar 45)
MRTC capacity > 30 Jun 42 – 36,000 EM per training cycle (187,200 p.a.), 30 Jun 43 – 44,349 EM per training cycle (164,091 p.a.)
In April 1944 all existing MRTCs were to be transformed into ASF Training Centers (ASFTC)

Medical trainees set up Aid Station during tactical training phase, Cp. Grant, Illinois – 1943 Click image to enlarge

unrated Surgical Technicians view demonstration in OR procedures, Ft. Lewis, Washington - 1944 Click image to enlarge

MEDICAL REPLACEMENT TRAINING CENTERS (MRTC)
Training of Medical and Surgical Technicians was mostly organized as a single program . Trainees would attend classes together during the first month or two of the course, and were then separated during the final, on-the-job instruction phase . At that point, Medical Technicians were assigned to Medical wards, and Surgical Technicians to Surgical wards or the Surgical Service . Course duration was originally 2 months, but this proved inadequate (too little practice time) . In August 1943, when the MD reorganized Technical Training, course length was extended to 3 months . Throughout WWII, trainees were provided with 1 month on-the-job training in Hospital wards . At first, this training phase was conducted at the General Hospital adjacent to the School, but from mid-1944 the program was to include ‘satellite’ Hospitals in the same area as well .
After August 1943, the training program for Medical and Surgical Technicians still consisted of 12 weeks of intensive training designed to prepare soldiers for service with all types of Medical units and installations . Lectures and demonstrations were most common during the first month, when trainees were introduced to fundamentals of their specialties – instruction focused on subjects such as anatomy and physiology, hygiene and disease prevention, ward procedure and management, and emergency medical treatment . Classes were designed to prepare the student for practical training during the last two months of the program, when emphasis was placed on student participation and practical exercises . During the second month, training centered on first aid and emergency care of all injuries and diseases common to war medicine . Topics included inflammation and infection, wounds and burns, gas casualties, and injuries to various regions of the human body . The last half month was exclusively devoted to Surgical ward and ward techniques, while the final part of the last month of the course was spent working in Hospital wards, learning the various duties of a ward attendant under supervision of a Nurse .

ADVANCED MEDICAL & SURGICAL TECHNICIANS
In August 1942, the Medical Department Enlisted Technicians School began to provide 3 months of Advanced Training for selected individuals, who had completed Surgical & Medical Technicians courses . The purpose of this course was to prepare male Technicians to replace Nurses in forward areas, and to train graduates of the basic courses who had been selected to remain at the Schools to serve as Instructors ! A number of lectures were included in the program, but the bulk of the training was conducted in Hospitals, where trainees could study Nurses on duty in the wards . This Advanced Training was temporarily halted in May 1944, but resumed in July 1944 to provide additional Instructors for the MD Enlisted Technicians Schools …

“ETO Blood Bank” cans being transported by C-47 cargo planes to the continent … Click image to enlarge

whole blood packed in refrigerated marmite cans being unloaded, France summer 1944 Click image to enlarge

… medical statistics for the E.T.O. and ANC Recruiting Poster
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