PYEONGTAEK, SOUTH KOREA -- Perhaps Cicero, the Roman orator, said it best, "The life of the dead consists in being present in the minds of the living."
In compliance with Eighth United States Army directing all buildings and roads on U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys to be memorialized and named, the memorialization process took shape as the USAG Humphreys medical clinic was memorialized March 22.
The Soldiers of the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity Korea, 65th Medical Brigade, 8th United States Army, USAG Humphreys, civilians and family members gathered in front of Building 555 for a ceremony to memorialize the current medical facility as the Master Sgt. Henry L. Jenkins Patient Centered Medical Home.
Guest speaker for the ceremony, Maj. Gen. Thomas James, Director of Operations, United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, United States Forces Korea, said, "Master Sgt. Henry Jenkins responded to the calls of 'medic' and was devoted to his profession. Should we achieve to aim like him, this new medical home will be a landmark within our community and I cannot think of another way to inspire selfless service or caring for one another than by dedicating this clinic to a true hero."
Henry L. Jenkins, "Doc," to his good friends, was born in 1917 in Rigby, Idaho, as the first of nine children. When World War II started, he enlisted in the U.S Army and went into the medical field as a combat medic. He served in the Pacific Theater where he was awarded the Combat Field Medics Badge, a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star for courage under fire.
After the war, Jenkins returned to the United States for several years until he returned to active duty to serve his country in Korea. Again as a medic, he showed courage under extreme circumstances and was awarded the Combat Field Medics Badge (2nd award), another Purple Heart and Silver Star. He then chose to stay in the Army and pursue a career after the war.
Years later, he was sent to South Vietnam and was awarded the Combat Field Medics Badge (3rd award). He later retired from the Army as a master sergeant with 26 years of service.
Jenkins was placed in the Medical Hall of Fame at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as one of only three men with a Combat Field Medics badge from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
Prior to the naming of the facility, the staff of the Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital, of whom the facility is responsible for, began to make improvements in services by expanding the Humphreys clinics hours, rotating more specialty care providers from BAACH, developing a phone application and establishing a 24-hour bilingual medical advice line all in efforts to make sure the Humphreys community has adequate medical care support. The Jenkins Clinic is now the largest outlying clinic on the Korean peninsula serving more than 13,000 beneficiaries.
Social Sharing