1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910511384203321

Titolo

Physician soldier : the South Pacific letters of Captain Fred Gabriel from the 39th Station Hospital / / edited by Michael P. Gabriel

Pubbl/distr/stampa

College Station : , : Texas A&M University Press, , [2020]

©2020

ISBN

1-62349-895-3

Edizione

[First edition.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource

Collana

Williams-Ford Texas A&M University military history series ; ; Number 166

Disciplina

940.547573092

Soggetti

Physicians - United States

World War, 1939-1945

World War, 1939-1945 - Campaigns - Pacific Area

World War, 1939-1945 - Medical care - Pacific Area

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (pages [419]-433) and index.

Nota di contenuto

United States Introduction: Letters: March 5, 1942-January 8,1944 -- Guadalcanal Introduction: Letters: January 19-September 4, 1944 -- Angaur Introduction: Letters: September 1944-June 5, 1945 -- Saipan Introduction: Letters: June 14-December 27,1945 -- Afterward -- Appendix -- Notes.

Sommario/riassunto

"Frederick R. Gabriel graduated from medical school in 1942, entered the US Army, and was assigned to the newly created 39th Station Hospital. His letters from the Pacific theater -- especially from Guadalcanal, Angaur, and Saipan -- capture the everyday life of a soldier physician. His son, Michael P. Gabriel, a professional historian, has faithfully preserved, edited, and annotated that correspondence to add a new dimension to our understanding of the social history of World War II. Like most wartime hospitals, the 39th Station Hospital was positioned in a rear area and saw limited direct combat. And like most wartime hospitals, the 39th Station Hospital spent each day confronting the injuries and casualties of frontline combat. Gabriel supervised a ward and oversaw the unit's laboratory, serving a hospital that had



provided care to four hundred patients at a time. Gabriel's letters home captured this experience and more, providing a revealing look into day-to-day life in the Pacific theater. He discusses the training of medical officers and female nurses, recreational activities such as Bob Hope's USO show, and even his thoughts on the death of FDR, the end of the war in Europe, and ultimately the horrors of the atomic bomb"--