Further study on American Military Medicine

The Army Medical Department 1917-1941

by Mary C. Gillett

Part of a multi-volume Military History Series from the U.S. Army Center of Military History,  this volume chronicled the building up and the operations of the Army Medical Department in World War I.  (A previous volume detailed the years 1865-1917)   This concluding volume, was published in 2009.   It looked specifically at World War I and its aftermath.  

Ms. Gillett's material was largely taken from the 15-volume official history (see above).  She detailed operations of the AMEDD in the U.S., including organizing, mobilizing, training, and treating patients. She extensively discussed in-theater operations in France, especially the fight for resources, the slow build-up, and the sudden rush of battle and consequent casualties.  She went into some detail about operations in north Russia, Siberia, and other areas in which U.S. troops found themselves. 

For soldiers who were either temporarily or permanently disabled, the Army provided prolonged hospitalization and rehabilitation, a new responsibility for Army medicine.  Today, the Veterans Affairs medical system provides a great deal of this kind of care, but after WW1, it was the responsibility of the Army Medical Department.  After the war, the Army sought to improve its organization and infrastructure to be more ready for another war, and Gillett chronicles how the Medical Department tried to stretch its budget to provide patient care and readiness for war.