Bartender Now in...

[Da-Chief]

When was the Hospital Corps Established? First one to answer here gets a coin from NHCS on my dime. I will send it out to you.

HMC Crone

Happy Birthday to me....

[sonofsamphm1c]

Happy Birthday, HMC Crone.

I requested a history forum. My father is an Iwo Jima Corpsman, and corpsman history is something in which I'm very interested.

In your memorial for WW2 Corpsmen you have the following entry:



POSTLE, ERNEST C PhM3c, 6/15/44



POSTLE, ERNEST C PhM1c is listed as being KIA on Iwo Jima as a member of the 4th Marine Division. You do not have a POSTLE, ERNEST C PhM1c listed during the Iwo Jima timeframe: 2.19.45 to 3.26.45, and later for DOW's.

So either there were two Ernest C. Postle's killed in action in WW2, which is not impossible, or something is wrong.


As for your question, my dad says the Hospital Corps was established when the 1775th Marine complained of a hangover headache, which he thinks wasn't that long ago considering what angels they are.

Dad is 87. I spoke with his Chief Pharmacist Mate recently. He remembered dad very well. He said, "Sure, I remember Red. Your dad was a hard-headed s.o.b."

Anyway, I'm not a Corpsman, so I'll refrain from posting unless asked.

[crazycajun]

The Hospital Corps was established on 17 June 1898.

I need another coin....LOL

crazycajun

[crazycajun]

sonofsamphm1c,

Hey brother. I'll look into Postle, Earnest C. Da'Chief took over this web site and these are the dates they had already. Though, I'll search to see if I can find the correct information. We do not like to be wrong and are greatful to you for reporting your findings.

Semper Fi,

crazycajun

[Da-Chief]

hey Bro just got a packet from BUMED of all the casualties from WWI - Korea.. I will copy it tomorrow and send it to ya.. Might scan it in as well for people to download.

Good History..

Yeah I'll send you a coin!
;-)
DFC

[crazycajun]

Chief,

Cool please send the information, I could scan it and put it in an adobe file. I have a scanner with a document feeder, to make it easier.

Though I did search the WWII Archives and they only listed one person with that name, though they didn't list the date he KIA'd.

Semper Fi,

crazycajun

[sonofsamphm1c]

The date on your memorial coincides with the invasion of Saipan.

His Marine Division was there.

My hunch is that your memorial is correct, and the information I was given is incorrect.

[puckmedic]

Met a guy recently from 4th Marines he was with a unit called Jassco. However ya spell it. He was involved in those same battles. Guam was 3rd Marines (I think) and this guy was 4th Marines. Still wears a USMC belt buckle, ring and hat. 88 yrs old, can still fit in his blues!

Tough old guy born in Chicago, lived here in TN since end of WWII.

[sonofsamphm1c]

The 4th Division WW2 campaigns:

Roi-Namur
Saipan
Tinian
Iwo Jima

Some of those guys switched divisions during the war, or came in in the middle of the war, so an individual often has a different campaign history.

My father served in all but 3 days of WW2, so he was a part of several different campaigns. He started out as an HA2c on the USS New Orleans. If you click on this link you can scroll through the pictures and see the torpedo damage. It blew the forward turret and bow completely away. The sickbay was just forward of the main mast, and was flooded. A surgeon and two corpsmen were killed, and a 3rd corpsman seriously injured. During battle stations dad's job was to move to the ship's galley and set up what I guess you would call an overflow sickbay. In a split second, his galley sickbay became the ship's sickbay. The next day he was promoted to PhM3c:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/04/04032.htm