In coordination with the Army Best Medic Competition Social Breakfast and Awards Ceremony on 28 October 2016, the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Center of History and Heritage celebrated the story of Army Medicine on the grounds of the AMEDD Museum. An Army of the Potomac field hospital, circa 1863, with Surgeon and Hospital Steward jumped into the commemoration earlier the night before during the AMEDD Regiment Social hosted by the Fort Sam Houston Sergeant Audie Murphy Club. That evening roughly 50 "patients" flowed through the canvas tent and operating tables observing 18th Century apothecary and surgery under the glow of candles and setting sun. The following morning, the staff was complete with the addition of the civilian nurse serving as the Hospital Matron. With the placement of the mule team, the Civil War hospital impression was complete.
A volunteer member the Army Medical Corps from Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders presented the state of Army Medicine in the Spanish-American War circa 1898. Our operational Model-T ambulance from World War I served as the backdrop for an American Red Cross volunteer nurse from the "war to end all wars." And finally, in a timely appearance with the publicity of Hollywood's Hacksaw Ridge, a living historian portrayed 1945 WWII Pacific Theater Medic and Medal of Honor Recipient Private First Class Desmond T. Doss complete with the bowline knot and rope used to save approximately 75 casualties. Friday's events drew a crowd of approximately 100 visitors talking and interacting with the living historians telling the AMEDD story.
The "Living History Day" was the culmination of the AMEDD Center of History and Heritage's support of the 2016 Army Best Medic Competition. In coordination with the Army Medical Department Center and School Health, U.S. Army Health Readiness Center of Excellence, this year's events were immersed into the European Theater of World War II following the June 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy. Historical and medical vignettes were placed within the context of varying lanes adding significance and realism into each event whether it was German uniforms and firearms, U.S. medical equipment, or French Resistance role players.
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US Army Medical Department Museum
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