Like a patchwork of panels in a stained glass window, the accomplishments and developments of Ireland Army Community Hospital have been pieced together to paint a beautiful and rewarding history of Fort Knox and the Army medical community.
Next month marks the 58-year anniversary of the hospital, which was named in honor of Maj. Gen. Merritte Ireland, former Surgeon General of the Army, for his dedication and developments in advancing Army medicine in the 1920s. After four years of construction, the $8.5 million facility was officially opened in April 1957 as one of the first modern medical hospitals in the nation.
Throughout the years, IRACH has been repeatedly recognized for its innovations and achievements in the medical field. For example, Maj. Frank Camp's driving concern in 1965 for the supply of safe and usable blood donations as the Fort Knox Director of Blood Transfusion Research Division led to the establishment of The Blood Bank Centers and Army research in blood preservation, distribution and transfusions.
In 1972, IRACH partnered with the University of Kentucky to initiate a Nurse Midwifery Program to educate nurse midwives. Two years later, four certified midwives managed about 25 percent of all deliveries while teaching nurse midwife graduate students.
By 1978, Fort Knox was recognized as one of the first installations to incorporate a highly successful Army Health Nurse Mobile Van to accommodate patients in the community while increasing family quality of life.
While historical records on the hospital's construction and medical accomplishments are widely available, there is a missing piece to the story--one that has possibly been either forgotten over the years or inadequately publicized from its inception.
For those who have visited the hospital chapel on the second floor, they have experienced the beauty of the large stained glass windows with colorful religious and military images, including a nurse and two Soldiers, all of whom are dressed in Vietnam- era fatigues. The symbolism behind the windows is apparent, but what's not obvious is the story behind the design.
There is a small panel under the window dedicating the stained glass to a fallen Soldier named Pvt. John F. Bush who died at the age of 20 in 1966. There is no further inscription or historical marker explaining who Bush was, why he was commemorated, and equally important, who designed the window.
After a month of researching, the story behind the stained glass remains a mystery. More than a dozen civilian and military officials from Fort Knox, Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Jackson, South Carolina, have joined the search, including three military museums, Fort Knox's Cultural Resource Office, three chaplain offices, as well as the hospital's Department of Plans, Training, Mobility and Security.
The only clue that has surfaced thus far is from IRACH facility manager Matt Biscan and quality assurance inspector Donald Hunt, who worked in the hospital's maintenance department in the 1970s when the windows were created and installed.
"From what I understand (the windows) were done by one of the former hospital commanders in the '60s or '70s. His hobby was stained glass," said Biscan. "I have to add that he did a very good job, as they are well built."
Hunt recalls hearing about the history of the windows during a historical presentation at the hospital by a former staff member named Maj. Bell in the late 1990s. Copies of the brief are long gone and neither remember the name of the 1970s hospital commander who supposedly created the artwork.
Research by the hospital DPTMS secretary Melanie Brock shows there were five commanders during that time, which coincided with hospital renovations. Brock, who organized thousands of hospital artifacts and newspaper clippings, also found a 1979 memorandum by the health facility project officer to the Kentucky Area Engineer Office discussing the pending move of the chapel from the hospital's basement to the second floor.
Based on this discovery, it is likely the window was constructed to coincide with the chapel's relocation.
As for the dedication to a young Soldier named Bush, historical records are absent from his lifetime and assignment to Fort Knox, according to Historic Preservation Specialist Matt Rector.
"I really expected to find historic articles about its history or about the Soldier it was dedicated to, but was surprised when nothing turned up during my research," Rector said. "I'd love to know the full story."
Rector looked extensively into the chapel window and Bush's death, but public records proved only that the Soldier had died in Hardin County. No further information on the cause of his death has become available.
So the reason the chapel's window was dedicated to him also remains elusive.
Like a puzzle with a missing piece, the hospital's history remains incomplete without including the story behind the stained glass window. The goal is to include a placard in the chapel to commemorate the efforts of the window's creator and the fallen Soldier.
Patching together history though requires involvement from the community. By helping paint the picture of the window, Fort Knox will add to the hospital's history and properly pay tribute to the memory of Bush.
If you have additional information on the history of the stained glass windows or Bush, please contact the Gold Standard staff at (502) 624-4414 or Matt Rector at (502) 624-7877.
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