The 92nd Field Hospital: a Surgeon's Memories of WWII

Drawing from a meticulously kept journal, a personal archive of rare wartime photographs, and copies of official army orders and memoranda, Dr. John Gaisford has pieced together a fascinating personal account of the day-to-day operation of a field hospital and M*A*S*H unit in the Philippines during World War II. Assigned to the 92nd Field Hospital as assistant chief of surgery and chief of anesthesiology, Dr. Gaisford was forced to work under conditions that seem shockingly adverse by today’s standards. Not only was the range of anesthetic equipment extremely limited, but no one on staff, including himself, had been specifically trained in the administration of anesthetics. And as the wounded were brought in one after another, Dr. Gaisford usually had to perform surgery without assistance from any other medical doctors. When he was ordered to become the chief of surgery and anesthesiology of the 92nd’s offshoot M*A*S*H unit, he relied on this seat-of-the-pants approach even more. But this is not just one man’s story. It is also a tribute to the remarkable people of the 92nd Field Hospital, who pulled together to save as many lives as possible under the worst possible conditions, and despite the constant threat of attack by an enemy that was always nearby. The nature of war has changed, and so has the way we care for its victims. The 92nd Field Hospital describes in vivid detail a very different world and a piece of history impossible to forget.