1st Medical Brigade
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active
3 August 1917 – 12 November 1945
10 June 1950 – 24 March 1962
3 January 1968 – present
CountryUS
BranchRegular Army
Garrison/HQFort Cavazos
Nickname(s)Silver Knights
Motto(s)Fortitude and Compassion
March1st Medical Regiment March[1][2]
Anniversaries28 May, the day the 1st Sanitary Train, 1st Division, AEF began combat operations during the battle of Cantigny, France
EngagementsWorld War I
World War II
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Tracy Michael
Notable
commanders		MG Paul R. Hawley

MG George F. Lull
MG Glenn J. Collins

MG Robert D. Tenhet
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 1st Medical Brigade is a medical brigade of the United States Army. It is located at Fort Cavazos, Texas, providing health care and medical services to the Fort Cavazos community, and continuing training in its combat support mission.

History

World War I

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army.

The 1st Sanitary Train, as originally organized, was composed of two battalions—one motorized and one animal drawn. The companies of the battalions had all been raised well before the start of the war, and were assembled as an organization upon arrival in France. Each battalion was composed of two field hospital companies and two ambulance companies. The first elements of the train—composed of ambulance company 6 (later renumbered 13) and field hospital company 6 (later renumbered 13) began movement to Hoboken, New Jersey, where they embarked for Europe on 14 June 1917, arriving in the port of St. Nazaire on 26 June. On 13 August, field hospital companies 2 and 12 and ambulance companies 2 and 12 landed on 1 and 3 September in Liverpool, England, and later moved to La Harve. On 1 December field hospital company 3 departed Fort Bliss, Texas and ambulance company 3 departed Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, sailed from Hoboken on 5 December, and arrived at St. Nazaire on 22 December, among the last elements of the 1st Division to arrive in France. The 1st Sanitary Train was assembled, finally, in the Gondrecourt training area, where the division trained for combat operations.[3]

The table of organization for a sanitary train called for a total of 927 officers and men. Each ambulance company had 12 ambulances; the animal drawn companies each had 70 mules to pull their ambulances, as well as 24 riding horses. Each field hospital company could hold 236 patients, although it was authorized no nurses; the animal drawn field hospital companies also had 30 mules and 22 riding horses each. In column, the sanitary train stretched for 1,160 yards—more than half a mile.[4]

Sommerville Sector

Ambulance Company 13 of the 1st Sanitary Train was the only American ambulance company operational in the Sommerville sector and furnished litter bearers for duty in the trenches, evacuating patients to Field Hospital 13 (like the ambulance company, an organic unit of the 1st Sanitary Train) and from it to Base Hospital 18 at Bazoilles-sur-Meuse, and to Camp Hospital 1 at Gondrecourt. It did not establish a dressing station, as patients were moved direct by litters and by vehicles from the battalion aid stations to the field hospital. Because of road conditions near the front, the ambulance company's collecting point was some distance in the rear of the aid stations, so the wounded were carried through the trenches to the battalion aid stations and then back an additional 3 km to the collecting point at Bathelemont.[5]

Field Hospital 13 was the only field hospital established for the 1st Division in the Somerville sector. Half of it, including X-ray and other necessary equipment, was located in a residence and two pavilions at Einville; the other half was in part of a hospital at Dombasle. As the base and camp hospitals to which this hospital was to evacuate were 81 km to the rear by road, patients were retained with the portion of Field Hospital 13 at Einville.[5]

Ansauville Sector

Map showing the location of medical units of the 1st Division, AEF, during Ansauville operations

The division surgeon's office, headquarters of the sanitary train, and headquarters of the train's field hospital and ambulance sections were at Menil-la-Tour.[6] Medical Department personnel established an aid station at each regimental headquarters and battalion aid stations in battalion areas. The most advanced battalion aid stations were located in dugouts at Seicheprey. Because the village was under direct enemy observation and was shelled frequently, patients had to be evacuated at night, when ambulances could travel the road from Beaumont. Evacuation to the regimental aid stations often required that patients be carried a kilometer or more through trenches which often were knee deep in mud and water. Patients were usually suffering from disease, although a moderate number of men suffering from shell wounds, and on occasion a fairly large number of chemical casualties.[7]

Infantry regimental aid stations were first established Beaumont and Mandres, but on 1 March the station Mandres moved to Bouconville. The aid stations at Beaumont and Bouconville were in basements of partially destroyed buildings and were made provided additional protection from indirect fire using logs, sandbags, and stone. The road between Beaumont and Mandres was especially dangerous, as it was shelled day and night, causing many casualties. The regimental aid station of the 16th Infantry at Mandres had at first functioned also as a dressing station, but on 1 March 1918, this service was taken over by Ambulance Company 2, until they, in turn, were relieved by Ambulance Company 3 on 27 March. The station treated chemical casualties as well as other cases and to a limited degree acted as a triage point. It was on the axial road and occupied a building whose walls had been protected by thick sandbags, but occasionally when receiving indirect fire it utilized a dugout which it had constructed nearby. Ambulance Company 13 operated ambulances from Menil-la-Tour and provided litter bearers to forward units until relieved by Ambulance Company 12 on 21 March 1918. That ambulance company, augmented by vehicles from other companies, maintained headquarters and an ambulance park at Menil-la-Tour, dispatching ambulances to the dressing station at Mandres and to forward units. Other ambulances were attached to unit aid stations at important points in rear areas of the sector.[8]

Evacuation Ambulance Company 1 from the Services of Supply maintained two ambulances at Field Hospital 13 for evacuation to Sebastopol, where twenty ambulances were available for use during periods of heavy casualties.[8]

The different ambulance circuits, in forward and rear areas, were established for dealing with battle casualties, with a third circuit for the routine sick. The front circuit was maintained by Ford ambulances working forward from Mandres and returning to deliver patients to the dressing station there. Pertaining to it were emergency ambulances stationed at Beaumont, Rambucourt, and Bouconville, and at times at Seicheprey, with reserve at Mandres. The advance point to which ambulances could go by daylight was on the Beaumont-Bouconville road paralleling the front line and 2 km from it. At night ambulances could be sent forward to Xivray-Marvoisin and Seicheprey, 1 km from the front line. When circumstances warranted the risk, ambulances stationed at Seicheprey could evacuate from Seicheprey by day, but not as a routine measure. The rear circuit of heavy G. M. C. ambulances began at Mandres, where patients were carried to a fixed evacuation hospital. In order to cut down transportation, patients who could stand the longer trip to Toul or to Sebastopol were sent directly from Mandres and were not required to stop at the triage at Menil-la-Tour. Patients were distributed from Mandres as follows: (1) Seriously wounded and sick who could not stand long ambulance transportation, to Menil-la-Tour; (2) chemical agent casualties to Menil-la-Tour; (3) surgical cases to Sebastopol; (4) and sick and contagious diseases to Toul. A few ambulances for this circuit were maintained at Mandres, with reserve at Menil-la-Tour. At times of expected periods of high casualties, the ambulance park was advanced to Hamonville, and ambulances and trucks were dispatched to Mandres as needed.[9]

In quiet times a routine circuit of ambulances was maintained, daily calls being made at all aid stations within the division area that could be reached for the collection of sick and slightly wounded to be triaged at Menil-la-Tour, allowing placement of ambulances posted at outlying aid stations for emergency use.[10]

Field Hospital 13 became operational on 17 January 1918 at Menil-la-Tour, in barracks taken over from a French field hospital and equipped for the care of 200 patients. This served at first as a divisional hospital and, after hospitals in the rear began functioning as a triage, for the reception of chemical casualties and some ill patients until relieved about 31 March by a field hospital of the 26th Division. The location was poorly suited for a hospital because of its proximity to a large supply dump and railhead subject to indirect fire. Several attacks occurred and missiles impacted within a hundred yards of the hospital, but no artillery fire was ever received.[10]

Patients began to be received immediately after arrival of the 1st Division in the sector. Seven wounded were admitted on 21 January, and sixty-two chemical casualties on the 26th, the first chemical casualties in the division. Of the 674 patients received by Field Hospital 13, 323—nearly half of all patients treated—were due to chemical agents.[10]

Field Hospital 12, after being held in reserve, became operational on 23 January at Sebastopol in large, permanent, stone barracks. It functioned as an evacuation and surgical hospital until relieved on 4 February by Evacuation Hospital 1, which then assumed responsibility for care of the seriously wounded. The field hospital personnel had been previously augmented by details from Ambulance Companies 3 and 13. Field Hospital 12 moved 6 February to a large stone barracks—Caserne la Marche—at Toul, where it established a 400-bed hospital for the divisional sick. Since the barracks were large and readily adapted for use as a hospital, the field hospitals here supplemented their normal equipment with the addition of large quantities of supplies suitable for the proper maintenance of a semi-permanent hospital. Field Hospital 2 arrived at Toul on 18 February and established an annex to Field Hospital 12 for the care of contagious cases. It operated until 2 April, when the annex was turned over to a hospital of the 26th Division.[11]

Field Hospitals 12 and 13 evacuated by train from Toul to base hospitals in the rear those cases which did not require surgical attention at Evacuation Hospital 1. This continued until about 3 April, when the facilities were turned over to hospitals of the 26th Division. In this sector Field Hospital 13 received 889 patients (not including those triaged directly to other hospitals) and Field Hospitals 12 and 2 received a combined total of 2,482 patients. As Evacuation Hospital 1 received most of the wounded, their patients were primarily those that were ill, and chemical casualties.[12]

The sick rate of the division was three times that for battle casualties. More than two-thirds of those cases were minor, and most of the patients were returned to duty in a short time directly from the field hospitals. The prevailing diseases in the division in the sector were respiratory or intestinal. Sporadic cases of cerebrospinal meningitis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, mumps, and measles occurred, but no epidemic developed. A camp for venereal cases was established southeast of Raulecourt, and patients who were able to do so were put to work as laborers on road construction and similar heavy work.[12]

The medical supply unit of the division, with a large stock, was maintained at Demange-aux-Eaux in the division rear. An advance medical supply depot was operated by Field Hospital 13 at Menil-la-Tour for issue to all organizations in advance areas. An advance subdepot was maintained at the dressing station at Mandres, for the distribution of supplies by ambulance or runners to front-line aid stations.[12]

The 1st Division was relieved 1–3 April 1918, by the 26th Division and proceeded to the neighborhood of Chaumont-en-Vexin, where headquarters were established 8 April. For the next 10 days the division was trained in open warfare, activities consisting chiefly of brigade and division maneuvers. Regiments evacuated the disabled directly into the French hospitals at Gisors.[12]

Cantigny Sector

The offensive launched by the Germans on 21 March 1918 placed the Allies in a desperate situation. The lack of complete cooperation among the Allies on the Western Front had been appreciated, and the question of preparation to meet the crisis had already received attention of the supreme war council. Reserves were not available and on 28 March, the 1st Division was placed at the disposal of the allied high command, starting movement toward the battle front on 17 April. On 25 April it took over the Cantigny sector 4.9 km west of Montdidier, relieving French troops and becoming a part of the French First Army. During the first six weeks that the division remained in this line the sector was very active; the remaining period was active. Battery positions were made untenable by high-explosive and chemical shells. Air raids were frequent and severe.[13]

On 27 May 1918, the Germans attacked Chateau-Thierry, and when the French appreciated how serious and how successful the attack was they began to withdraw both their air squadrons and supporting artillery from the Cantigny sector. On the 28th the 1st Division made the first sustained American offensive of the war and captured the village of Cantigny—a date later chosen by the 1st Medical Regiment as its Organization Day. Because of determined German efforts to retake the salient, losses were greater after the attack than during it. Beauvais, where a Red Cross hospital was located 38.4 km to the rear, suffered very severely. Hospitals were not immune from attack, and operation of the evacuation system, particularly at night, was very difficult.[14]

Map showing the location of medical units of the 1st Division, AEF, during operations near Cantigny and Montdidier-Noyon

Montdidier-Noyon

Picardy

Aisne-Marne

Saint-Mihiel

Meuse-Argonne

After the Armistice was signed, the 1st Sanitary train marched with the rest of the 1st Division to the Coblenz Bridgehead as part of the US Third Army, which served as part of the Army of Occupation.[15]

The Inter-War Years

Supporting the Medical Field Service School

In support of the 1929 class of the Officer Basic Course at the Medical Field Service School, the regiment accompanied the students—all officers—on their field training exercise, this year conducted on the battlefield at Gettysburg. Students worked problems involving terrain exercises, while the 1st Medical Regiment then demonstrated the approved school solution.[16]

By 1930, the regiment was well integrated into the activities of the school. The regiment was maintained at "full peacetime strength," which equated to the regimental headquarters, a service company, a hospital company, a collecting company, a veterinary company, and two ambulance companies—one motorized and one animal drawn. In addition to serving as the demonstration unit for the school, most of the officers and noncommissioned officers who taught there were drawn from the ranks of the regiment, and senior officers in the regiment frequently moved into department directors in the school after completing their time in the regiment. The Medical Equipment Laboratory, charged with studying and developing equipment and transportation for medical department troops and installations frequently turned to the regiment for assistance in testing equipment in the field, particularly for battalion aid stations and equipment used by the medical regiments of the divisions.[16]

The Ohio river floods, 1937

In January and February 1937, the Ohio and Mississippi rivers flooded over 12,700 square miles in twelve states. As part of the Federal response, The 1st Medical Regiment's Company G (Hospital), under the command of Captain Alvin L. Gorby (who would later command the regiment, and who retired as a major general) arrived by train on 30 January. The company included six medical corps officers and 93 enlisted men, with another 21 enlisted and ten ambulances from the regiment's Company E (Motor Ambulance), who were sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana to provide support in that area. Inspecting a school building which had been used as an improvised hospital for the prior week by local volunteers, he found it an excellent facility with a modern structure, indoor plumbing, and a cafeteria. Moving his soldiers into rooms on the top floor, he quickly established hospital operations, reorganizing what he found on arrival was an "appalling lack of organization." When the water pressure proved to be inadequate, he had his troops dig latrines on the school grounds and had water for other purposes trucked in.[17]

Once that hospital was up and running, the company assumed responsibility for a typhoid inoculation station, then repaired and reorganized a second school which was being used as a segregated facility for black patients. During the 13 days the company operated in Louisville, they provided more than 5,000 inoculations and provided over 2,000 patient-days of care in the two improvised hospitals they were running. This relief operation would be the Army's last major domestic relief operation before the start of the World War II.[17]

The Last Reunion of the Blue and Grey, 1938

[18]

World War II

Supporting NATO

During most of September 1950 the 1st Medical Group participated in a major exercise called "Rainbow." Following spring 1950 a command post exercise named "Shamrock," this exercise saw most of the US medical units in Germany deploy their headquarters elements to the field, as well as sending as many operational elements as could be spared. Although medical play within the Communications Zone was simulated, soldiers role playing as patients were moved between the units in the field in Germany. In all, 40% of all Medical Corps and 20% of all Nurse Corps officers in Germany participated, with most units, according to published reports, rated as "Excellent" in their performance.[19]

The French Communications Zone

Fort Sam Houston

One of the responsibilities of the 1st Medical Group and its subordinate units at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, was to serve as a test-bed for the Medical Equipment Test and Evaluation Division of the United States Army Medical Materiel Agency. Established in 1964 and based at Fort Sam Houston, the test and evaluation division was responsible for testing new medical products and equipment for suitability for the Army's use. Much as they had done at Carlisle Barracks decades earlier, the 1st Medical Group's units at Fort Sam Houston, including a MUST equipped combat support hospital and an air ambulance company, provided a readily available platform for testing equipment under field conditions.[20]

Subordinate units

World War II

1 February 1945

  • 1st Medical Group[21]
    • 183rd Medical Battalion
      • 442nd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 472nd Medical Company (Ambulance)
      • 626th Medical Company (Clearing)
    • 430th Medical Battalion
      • 462nd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 488th Medical Company (Ambulance)

1 March 1945

  • 1st Medical Group[22]
    • 183rd Medical Battalion
      • 442nd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 462nd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 626th Medical Company (Clearing)
    • 188th Medical Battalion
      • 463rd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 472nd Medical Company (Ambulance)
    • 430th Medical Battalion
      • 415th Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 488th Medical Company (Ambulance)
      • 489th Medical Company (Ambulance)

23 March 1945

  • 1st Medical Group[23]
    • 20th Field Hospital
    • 188th Medical Battalion
      • 463rd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 472nd Medical Company (Ambulance)
      • 565th Medical Company (Ambulance)
    • 430th Medical Battalion
      • 462nd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 488th Medical Company (Ambulance)
      • 489th Medical Company (Ambulance)

1 May 1945

  • 1st Medical Group[24]
    • 48th Field Hospital
    • 183rd Medical Battalion
      • 442nd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 463rd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 626th Medical Company (Clearing)
    • 185th Medical Battalion
      • Ambulance Platoon, 445th Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 627th Medical Company (Clearing)
    • 430th Medical Battalion
      • 95th Medical Battalion (Gas Treatment) (OPCON)
      • 415th Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 462nd Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 481st Medical Company (Collecting)
      • 488th Medical Company (Ambulance)
      • 666th Medical Company (Clearing)

Cold War

Frankfurt, 10 June 1950

1st Medical Group[25]

  • HHD, 1st Medical Group
  • 9th General Dispensary
  • 548th Medical Company (Clearing) (Separate)
  • 563rd Dental Prosthetic Detachment (Fixed)
  • 564th Dental Prosthetic Detachment (Mobile)
  • 581st Medical Company (Ambulance)

Southwest Asia

Operation Desert Shield

  • 1st Medical Group[26]
    • 41st Combat Support Hospital
    • 46th Combat Support Hospital
    • 47th Combat Support Hospital
    • 34th Medical Battalion
      • 498th Medical Company (Air Ambulance)
      • 36th Medical Detachment (RG)--UH-60 Aircraft
      • 57th Medical Detachment (RG)--UH-60 Aircraft
      • 82nd Medical Detachment (RA)--UH-1 Aircraft
      • 440th Medical Detachment (RE)
    • 85th Medical Battalion
      • 517th Medical Company (Clearing)
      • 547th Medical Company (Clearing)
      • 595th Medical Company (Clearing)
      • 702nd Medical Company (Clearing)
      • 690th Medical Company (Ambulance)

Operation Desert Storm

  • 1st Medical Group[26]
    • 2nd Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
    • 5th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
      • 755th Medical Detachment (KA)
    • 10th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
    • 28th Combat Support Hospital
      • 250th Medical Detachment (KB)
    • 41st Combat Support Hospital
    • 46th Combat Support Hospital
    • 47th Combat Support Hospital
    • 34th Medical Battalion
      • 498th Medical Company (Air Ambulance)
      • 690th Medical Company (Ambulance)
      • 36th Medical Detachment (RG)--UH-60 Aircraft
      • 57th Medical Detachment (RG)--UH-60 Aircraft
      • 82nd Medical Detachment (RA)--UH-1 Aircraft
      • 374th Medical Detachment (RA)--UH-1 Aircraft
    • 85th Medical Battalion
      • 517th Medical Company (Clearing)
      • 547th Medical Company (Clearing)
      • 595th Medical Company (Clearing)
      • 702nd Medical Company (Clearing)
      • 685th Medical Company (Ambulance)
      • 440th Medical Detachment (RE)
    • 274th Medical Detachment (KA)
    • 248th Medical Detachment (JA)
    • 628th Medical Detachment (OM)

Current

Units of the 1st Medical Brigade:[27]

Former Commanders

ImageRankNameBranchBegin DateEnd DateNotes
ColonelBailey K. AshfordMC3 August 191723 November 1917Ashford's primary duty was as the Division Surgeon.
MajorCharles Carroll Demmer[28]MC24 November 191731 December 1917A new Table of Organization authorized separate positions for the commander of the 1st Sanitary Train and the 1st Division Surgeon; Ashford remained the Division Surgeon.
MajorHarry G. FordMC1 January 191826 February 1918
ColonelJames I. MabeeMC1 March 191831 August 1918
MajorEdwin B. Maynard Jr.MC1 September 191816 October 1918Major Maynard received the Silver Star for gallantry in action on 18–21 July 1918 for recovering wounded from the battlefield while assigned to the 1st Sanitary Train [29]
Lieutenant ColonelHerbert C. WolleyMC20 February 1918August 1919
MajorJoseph E. BastionMCNovember 1919August 1920Promoted to Brigadier General 23 June 1943; Served as Commanding General, Percy Jones General Hospital, Battle Creek, Michigan.[30]
MajorHenry S. BeckfordMCAugust 1920September 1920
MajorWood S. WoolfordMC1 September 1920Served with the Army Air Forces in World War II and transferred to the United States Air Force upon its formation, retiring as a colonel.
10 February 1921Reorganized and Redesignated 1st Medical Regiment
Lieutenant ColonelFrank A. PylesMC6 October 19213 February 1922[31]
CaptainWilliam C. RussellMC4 February 192223 August 1922[31]
CaptainJohn J. CardenMC23 August 19229 November 1922[31]
MajorJoseph E. BastionMC10 November 192218 July 1923Major Bastion had previously commanded the 1st Sanitary Train in France. Promoted to Brigadier General 23 June 1943; Served as Commanding General, Percy Jones General Hospital, Battle Creek, Michigan.[30]
MajorGarfield L. McKinneyMC19 July 192319 July 1928[31]
MajorRobert P. WilliamsMC19 July 192826 July 1928Promoted to Brigadier General 27 May 1949.[31]
MajorJohn M. WillisMC26 July 192830 August 1929Command Surgeon, United States Army Pacific Ocean Areas;[32] Namesake of Willis Hall, United States Army Medical Department Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, Texas[31]
MajorFrank S. MatlackMC30 August 192931 July 1930[31]
Lieutenant ColonelLarry B. McAfeeMC1 August 193030 August 1930Promoted to Brigadier General 1 March 1941. Executive Officer to the Surgeon General; Assistant Surgeon General; Commanding General, Bruns General Hospital, Santa Fe, New Mexico [31]
MajorFrank S. MatlackMC30 August 19305 June 1933[31]
MajorJacob L. HartmanVC6 June 193330 November 1933Promoted to Brigadier General 3 March 1953; Chief, Army Veterinary Corps [31]
MajorFrank S. MatlackMC30 November 193324 June 1934[31]
Lieutenant ColonelLanphear W. Webb Jr.MC24 June 19341 December 1935[31]
MajorHoward T. WickertMC2 December 193531 August 1938[31]
Lieutenant ColonelGeorge F. LullMC7 September 193630 June 1937Promoted to Brigadier General 11 March 1943; Promoted to Major General 24 September 1943. Deputy Army Surgeon General [31]
Lieutenant ColonelPaul R. HawleyMC1 July 193731 August 1938Promoted to Brigadier General 10 September 1942; Promoted to Major General 27 February 1944. Chief Surgeon, European Theater of Operations; Acting Medical Director, Veterans Administration under Omar Bradley.
MajorAlvin L. GorbyMC31 August 19387 June 1940Promoted to Brigadier General 11 September 1951; Promoted to Major General 7 May 1954.Second Army Surgeon; Senior Medical Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs); Deputy Commander, Walter Reed Army Medical Center; Chief Surgeon, US Army Europe; Commanding General, Valley Forge General Hospital.[31]
Lieutenant ColonelRobert P. WilliamsMC8 June 194024 September 1940Promoted to Brigadier General 27 May 1949.[31]
ColonelWilson C. von KesslerMC24 September 194018 December 1940[31]
Lieutenant ColonelPaul R. E. SheppardMC18 December 194030 November 1941[31]
MajorJohn B. MinnaMC1 December 19418 December 1941[31]
MajorPaul H. MartinMC9 December 194120 February 1942[31]
ColonelHarry H. TowlerMC21 February 194214 June 1942[31]
MajorEaton W. BennettMC15 June 194226 August 1942[31]
ColonelRobert B. SkinnerMC27 August 194221 May 1943Promoted to Brigadier General 31 October 1959; commander, 9th Hospital Center, USAREUR; commander, Fitzsimmons General Hospital.[31]
Lieutenant ColonelBenjamin WoroMC22 May 194316 June 1943[31]
Lieutenant ColonelCharles W. MasonMC17 June 194326 July 1943[31]
Lieutenant ColonelGlenn J. CollinsMC27 July 19437 August 1943Promoted to Brigadier General 25 October 1965; Promoted to Major General 1 August 1968. As a brigadier general, Collins would command the 44th Medical Brigade in the Republic of Vietnam. As a major general, he would command the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and serve as Deputy Army Surgeon General.[33]
1 September 1943Reorganized and Redesignated 1st Medical Group
ColonelLester P. ViegelMC7 August 194316 October 1945Colonel Viegel transferred to the United States Air Force upon its creation and died while still on active duty in 1959.[34]
CaptainHarry L. GansMAC16 October 194512 November 1945Captain Gans served as the Headquarters Detachment commander and assumed command of the Group when all the other headquarters officers were released. He would again command the Group in 1971–1972, making his first and last assignments as a commissioned officer in the 1st Medical Group.[34]
12 November 194510 June 1950Inactivated
ColonelJohn Lemoin CrawfordMC10 June 1950Promoted to brigadier general, Army of the United States 25 June 1968, commanded 9th Hospital Center in Germany and Madigan General Hospital, Fort Lewis, Washington[25][35][36]
ColonelAlbert H. RobinsonMCMay 1953
Lieutenant ColonelEdwin H. CzaplaMS11 November 1954
Lieutenant ColonelJohn A. MikulukMS2 November 1955
ColonelJoseph T. CaplesMC1 September 19578 February 1959
Lieutenant ColonelNorman LepperMC9 February 195922 April 1959
ColonelJoseph K. BayneMC23 April 19595 August 1960Also served as Command Surgeon, Theater Support Command (TASCOM), Verdun, France[37]
MajorSamuel M. AllenMC6 August 196019 August 1960
ColonelAndrew F. ScheeleMC19 August 1960Also served as commander of the 42nd Field Hospital, Verdun, France. Scheele was a veteran of both Pearl Harbor and the Normandy landings.[38]
ColonelJohn H. TaberMC10 July 1961
24 March 19623 January 1968Inactivated
ColonelJohn E. BurnsMS3 January 196831 August 1968
ColonelWilliam E. SchlarbMS1 September 196815 April 1971
ColonelRaymond P. BosworthMS15 April 197118 August 1971
ColonelHarry L. GansMS18 August 197128 December 1972COL Gans also briefly commanded the Group in 1945, as a captain, during its inactivation.
ColonelWill J. CummingsMS29 December 197220 September 1977
ColonelGeorge R. LynchMS21 September 197714 February 1979
ColonelHomer B. MoranMS15 February 197930 June 1980
ColonelEdward R. PedersenMS1 July 198013 August 1981
ColonelJohn R. SperandioMS14 August 198112 July 1983Namesake of the John R. Sperandio Medical Plans, Operations, Training, Security, and Intelligence Professional Short Course, sponsored by the Office of the Army Surgeon General.
ColonelJohn S. Timberlake IIIMS13 July 198312 July 1985
ColonelHenry J. WatersMS12 July 19856 August 1987Colonel Waters originated the nickname "Silver Knights."[39]
ColonelJames R. SawyerMS7 August 19871989
ColonelEldon H. IdeusMS19892 August 1991[40]
ColonelDavid C. JacksonMS2 August 19916 August 1993[40]
ColonelRobert D. DeaderickMS6 August 19931995[41]
ColonelFrank NovierMS19951997
ColonelEmil F. MeisMS19971999
ColonelJohnny L. WestMS199910 July 2001
6 June 2000Reorganized and Redesignated 1st Medical Brigade
ColonelJoseph C. HightowerMS19 July 200118 July 2003[42]
ColonelTerry WaltersMC18 July 20035 June 2005Colonel Waters graduated the United States Military Academy in the first class of female graduates.[43]
ColonelJames RiceMS5 June 200516 August 2007[44]
ColonelRobert D. TenhetMS16 August 20071 June 2010Later promoted to major general and served as Deputy Army Surgeon General.
Lieutenant ColonelLee RoupeMS1 June 201023 July 2010[45]
ColonelBruce W. McVeighMS23 July 201016 January 2013[46]
ColonelBertram C. ProvidenceMC16 January 201327 June 2014Promoted to brigadier general on 2 November 2014.[47]
ColonelAllen J. Darden Sr.MS27 June 201428 June 2016[48]
ColonelAnthony R. NesbittMS28 June 201617 January 2019[49]
ColonelRobert F. Howe IIMS17 January 201914 January 2021[50]
ColonelRoger GiraudMS14 January 202129 June 2022

Lineage

Constituted 3 August 1917 in the Regular Army as Headquarters, 1st Sanitary Train, assigned to the 1st Expeditionary Division and organized at New York, New York. (1st Expeditionary Division redesignated 6 July 1918 as 1st Division.)[51]

Redesignated 10 February 1921 as Headquarters, 1st Medical Regiment.[51]

Relieved from the 1st Division, consolidated with Service Company, 1st Medical Regiment (organized during June 1925 at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania by consolidation of Headquarters Detachment, Medical Laboratory Section, and Medical Supply Section, 1st Medical Regiment.[51]

Reorganized and redesignated 8 October 1939 as Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Medical Regiment (Corps).[51]

Redesignated 16 December 1940 Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Medical Regiment (Army).

Reorganized and redesignated 1 September 1943 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Medical Group.

Inactivated 12 November 1945 in Fort Benning, Georgia

Activated 10 June 1950 in Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany

Inactivated 24 March 1962 in Verdun, France.

Activated 3 January 1968 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Reorganized and redesignated 6 June 2000 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Medical Brigade

Honors

Campaign participation credit

  1. Lorraine
  2. Montdidier-Noyon
  3. Picardy
  4. Aisne-Marne
  5. Saint-Mihiel
  6. Meuse-Argonne
  1. Rhineland
  2. Central Europe
  1. Defense of Saudi Arabia;
  2. Liberation and Defense of Kuwait

Decorations

  1. Southwest Asia 1990–1991[52]
  2. Southwest Asia 2003[53]
  3. Southwest Asia 2006[54]
  4. Southwest Asia 2010[55]
  5. Afghanistan 2012[56]

Insignia

Shoulder sleeve insignia

  • Description/Blazon

On a white rectangle arced at top and bottom with a 1/8 inch (.32 cm) yellow border, 2 inches (5.08 cm) in width and 3 inches (7.62 cm) in height overall, a maroon cross throughout bearing a yellow rod entwined by a green snake with a red eye.

  • Symbolism

Maroon and white are the colors used by the Army Medical Department units; gold is for excellence. The staff of Aesculapius and the maroon cross, symbolize the medical arts and allude to the mission of the Brigade.

  • Background

The shoulder sleeve insignia was authorized effective 6 June 2000. (TIOH Dwg. No. A-1-844)[57]

Distinctive unit insignia

  • Description/Blazon

A maroon shield bearing within a wreath of silver oak leaves the helmet of an esquire charged with the shoulder sleeve insignia of the First Division, a shield with the figure "1." All above a silver scroll bearing the inscription "FORTITUDE AND COMPASSION" in black letters.

  • Symbolism

Maroon and white (silver) are the colors used for the Army Medical Service. The red numeral "1" on an olive drab shield is the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 1st Division as authorized 31 October 1918, and with which the unit served in World War I. The helmet indicates the military character of the organization.

  • Background

The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 1st Medical Regiment on 19 December 1923.
It was redesignated and amended to include a motto for the 1st Medical Group on 20 March 1968.
The insignia was amended to correct the symbolism on 26 April 1968.
It was redesignated for the 1st Medical Brigade effective 6 June 2000.[57]

References

  1. ↑ "Army Medical Department Regiment". Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Army Medical Department Regiment". Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War, Volume 2". Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Trains – Infantry division – Sanitary" (PDF). Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, pages 291–292. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ↑ The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, page 292.
  7. ↑ The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, pages 292–293.
  8. 1 2 The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, page 293.
  9. ↑ The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, pages 293–294.
  10. 1 2 3 The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, page 294.
  11. ↑ The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, pages 294–295.
  12. 1 2 3 4 The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, page 295.
  13. ↑ The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, pages 295–296.
  14. ↑ The United States Army Medical Department in the World War, Volume VIII: Field Operations, Washington, DC: USGPO 1925, pages 296–297.
  15. ↑ "Conduct of training in the 1st Medical Regiment".
  16. 1 2 "Medical Field Service School".
  17. 1 2 "Army flood relief in the Ohio River flood area: An account of the activities of Company G, 1st Medical Regiment".
  18. ↑ "Blue and Gray reunion at Gettysburg, Pa, June 29 – July 6, 1938". Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Medical service's part in exercise rainbow".
  20. ↑ "HSC Mercury, April 1976".
  21. ↑ "Figure 1. Task organization. 1st Medical Group. 1 February 1945" (PDF). Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  22. ↑ "Figure 2. Task organization. 1st Medical Group. 1 March 1945" (PDF). Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "Figure 3. Task organization. 1st Medical Group. 24 March 1946" (PDF). Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Figure 4. Task organization, 1st Medical Group, 1 May 1945" (PDF). Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  25. 1 2 ""Medical Unit to Train for Combat Roles" The Stars and Stripes (European Edition), 24 June 1950".
  26. 1 2 "Declassified Images". Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  27. ↑ "Fort Hood, Texas – 1st Medical Brigade".
  28. ↑ New York, U.S., Abstracts of World War I Military Service, 1917-1919 for Charles Carroll Demmer from New York State Archives, box 680 via Ancestry.com
  29. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 29 December 2019), memorial page for Col Edwin Brooks Maynard (25 Jun 1886 – 21 Aug 1954), Find A Grave Memorial no. 18692497, citing Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by Sam Clarke (contributor 46894789)
  30. 1 2 Official Register of the United States, USGPO, 1943
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "U.S. Army Order of Battle 1919–1941" (PDF). Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  32. ↑ "APPENDIX A: Chief Surgeons of Important U.S. Oversea Commands". Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  33. ↑ Official Biography, Glen L. Collins, Army Medical Department History and Heritage Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas/
  34. 1 2 "Office of Medical History".
  35. ↑ Army Register, 1961, Volume 1, page 116.
  36. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/534836/john-lemoin-crawford : accessed 18 October 2021), memorial page for BG John Lemoin Crawford (14 Feb 1904–13 Nov 1997), Find a Grave Memorial ID 534836, citing Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent, King County, Washington, USA ; Maintained by MillieBelle (contributor 46628380).
  37. ↑ "Commentary [Oct. 1960]".
  38. ↑ "Commentary [Oct. 1960]".
  39. ↑ "The Fort Hood Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 46, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 23, 1987". The Portal to Texas History.
  40. 1 2 "The Fort Hood Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 8, 1991". The Portal to Texas History.
  41. ↑ "The Fort Hood Sentinel (Temple, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 12, 1993". The Portal to Texas History.
  42. ↑ "1st Medical Brigade has new commanding officer". Temple Daily Telegram.
  43. ↑ "LTC Terry Waters: Brigade Surgeon in Somalia".
  44. ↑ "Col. James Rice off to serve as director of Wounded Warrior". Killeen Daily Herald.
  45. ↑ "McVeigh new leader of 1st Medical Brigade". Killeen Daily Herald.
  46. ↑ "McVeigh new leader of 1st Medical Brigade". Killeen Daily Herald.
  47. ↑ Spc. Bradley Wancour (FORSCOM) (29 January 2013). "1st Medical Brigade greets new commander".
  48. ↑ "1st Med. Bde. to host Change of Command Ceremony, Jun 27". Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  49. ↑ "1st Med Welcomes New Commander, Jul 07".
  50. ↑ "1st Medical Brigade bids farewell to commander; highlights recent accomplishments". Fort Hood Herald. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  51. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "1st Medical Brigade". Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  52. ↑ "HRC Homepage". Hrc.army.mil. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  53. ↑ "HRC Homepage". Hrc.army.mil. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  54. ↑ "HRC Homepage". Hrc.army.mil. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  55. ↑ "HRC Homepage". Hrc.army.mil. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  56. ↑ "HRC Homepage". Hrc.army.mil. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  57. 1 2 "Combat Service Identification Badge". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2019.

Sources

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Defense.

Official website http://www.hood.army.mil/1stMed/S3.aspx
From the Roer to the Elbe with the 1st Medical Group: Medical Support of the Deliberate River Crossing http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs/wwii/fromroertoelbe/default.htm

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