United States Army, 73rd Evacuation Hospital papers, 1943-1985

Printable guide [HTML]
Request items

Summary

Creators:
United States. Army. Evacuation Hospital 73rd
Abstract:
The collection contains correspondence, memoirs, documents and photographs related to the activities of the 73rd Evacuation Unit of the United States Army in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. It also includes material related to reunions of former unit members, donation of items to the Los Angeles County Medical Association Library, and the Library's exhibition on the unit.
Extent:
2,713 items in 12 boxes + 1 oversize folder
Language:
The records are in English.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of correspondence, documents, manuscripts, photographs, slides and ephemera. It primarily contains items donated to the Los Angeles County Medical Association (LACMA) Library by former members of the 73rd Evacuation Hospital Unit.

The majority of correspondence is from the 1980s, and consists of letters between former members of the unit with Dr. Lewis T. Bullock, founder and president of the Friends of the LACMA Library, and Elizabeth Crahan, Director of Library Services. These letters center around the acquisition of items related to the 73rd Evacuation Hospital Unit and reunion dinners.

Manuscripts include former unit members' essays, diaries and memoirs. These items document the unit's activities, and describe the experiences of individual members during World War II. There are also copies of official military memorandums, and a report of a military action. The manuscripts include duplicates of photographs found elsewhere in the collection.

Writings by former unit members include:

  • "Clinical Survey of Eight-Six Cases of Scrub Typhus" by Clarence M. Agress and Edward R. Evans
  • "Contribution of Hospital in Time of War" by L.J. Tragerman
  • "Memoirs" by John M. Salyer
  • "My Diary of Experiences in India" by Ethel H. Weber

Photographs make up the bulk of the collection, and primarily represent the unit's activities and views of India and Burma during World War II. The collection also contains a large number of slides, many of which are duplicates of the photographs.

The collection also contains ephemera from the LACMA Library exhibition about the unit, including wall panels and transparent sheets.

The collection is organized in the following manner:

Box 1: Correspondence, arranged in chronological order.

Box 2: Manuscripts, arranged in chronological order.

Boxes 2-11: Photographs, divided into subsections according to subject. This organization is based on the arrangement and categories created by the LACMA Library. Please note that a photograph placed in one category might also depict scenes related to other categories. Photographs of identified doctors and nurses are placed under their name.

Boxes 11-12: Slides. Located in two volumes of binders, as arranged at the LACMA Library.

Box 12: Ephemera.

Biographical / historical:

The 73rd Evacuation Hospital Unit was formed in 1940 in Los Angeles, California, and activated in 1942. In January 1943, the unit left the United States for the China-Burma-India theater during World War II. The unit arrived in Bombay in March 1943, and was transferred to Margherita, near Ledo in Assam, India, to provide services to the engineering units building the Ledo Road and Chinese soldiers.

In March 1944, the unit moved to Shingbwiyang in northern Burma and was stationed there until it was inactivated in July 1945. All medical officers were on the Attending Staff of the LAC/USC Medical Center and a majority of these were on the Staff of Good Samaritan Hospital.

Unit members identified in the collection include: Clarence M. Agress, Frank M. Anderson, Clarence J. Berne, Joseph H. Boyes, Thomas H. Brem, Reuben Chier, Mildred Clemson (Mildred Franks), Harold A. Cole, Herbert G. Crockett, Wallace N. Davison, Dorothea M. Dent, Arthur R. Dewey, Florence Edgington, Claire Enders, Edward R. Evans, Mary C. Graham, Colby Hall, Vernon Hauser, Coleman Hendricks, Dora M. Henning, Erle Henriksen, Mrs. Deron Hovsepian (Agnes Spies), Thomas Kidd, Kathryn L. Kurka, Mildred F. Lageson, Hazel Langdon, Irma Ludberg, Albert McEvers, James Nelson, Martha Pollock, Herman Riddell, John M. Salyer, Ralph L. Schroeder, Ella Albeck Schueler, Elizabeth F. Scott, William H. Snyder, Charles Montgomery Stewart, L.J. Tragerman, Marjorie Tubbs, Ewing Turner, E. Richmond Ware and Ethel H. Weber

Acquisition information:
On long-term loan from the Los Angeles County Medical Association, 1992.
Rules or conventions:
Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website