CARLIE COATES

     After a few years of the facility being open, a group of doctors and nurses expressed interest in helping wounded soliders overseas during World War II ("Our History".)   At the time, the hospital was not affiliated with a medical school, thus this volunteer occurance was extremely rare ("Our History".)  While overseas in Italy, the medical staff facilitated the 38th Evauation Hospital in Italy for soliders (Martha Mitchell Interview.) 

     Martha Mitchell was a nurse in the 38th unit and she spoke on the camp conditions overseas, "occasionally we would gather in the mess tent, which was the only place I think that had lights. Because someone had to hook us up to local power so that we'd have lights in the surgical, in the operating room and to you know for the x-rays and those things that had to have power. But the mess tent was the only place that had light, so we'd sit in there and read or play bridge, something like that," 

     Martha also mentioned the most inspirational moment she had while helping in Italy, "I think we had a patient, in Italy I believe it was, this young gentleman named Walker who was, I guess it was in Italy because I think that a Richard Trugasus was one of our patients and in the bed next to him was this young man. And he had so many wounds and we worked so hard for this young man too and we umm finally got him stabilized. And I did not know what ever happened to him. You know we'd give him IV's and blood transfusions. Incidentally we one, one of the medical doctors set up our own little blood bank and the contributors donating blood were, were the guys... And we worked so diligently, so hard over this guy. And he was so dreadfully wounded. I guess to get him stabilized enough to move to a hospital in the rear was one of the most satisfying things for me."