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United States Army, 73rd Evacuation Hospital papers
mssEvacuationhospitalpapers
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Title: United States Army, 73rd Evacuation
Hospital papers
Dates: 1943-1985
Collection Number: mssEvacuationhospitalpapers
Creator:
United States. Army. Evacuation
Hospital 73rd
Extent:
2,713 items in 12 boxes + 1 oversize folder
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
The Huntington Library
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-3477
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
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.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities.
The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with
the researcher.
[Identification of item]. United States Army, 73rd Evacuation Hospital Papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
On long-term loan from the Los Angeles County Medical Association, 1992.
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
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.
Arrangement
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.
The Joseph H. Boyes papers, located at the Hoover Institution Archives, provide
additional information about the 73rd Evacuation Hospital's activities in the
China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. The collection includes a memoir,
slides, and miscellany related to Boyes, a Lieutenant colonel in the United States
Army Medical Corps, and surgeon in the 73rd Evacuation Hospital.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
United States. Army Medical
Service
United States. Army. Evacuation
Hospital 73rd
Medicine, Military - Burma - World War,
1939-1945
Medicine, Military - China - World War,
1939-1945
Medicine, Military - India - World War,
1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945 - Medical
care
Letters (correspondence) - 20th
century
Manuscripts - 20th century
Photographs - 20th century
Slides (photographs) - 20th
century