95th Evacuation Hospital
The 95th Evacuation Hospital was a U.S. military hospital during World War II, the Vietnam War, and in Germany. Background The 95th Evacuation Hospital originally constituted as the 74th Surgical Hospital 21 December 1928. It was activated at Fort Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming, 1 June 1941. The hospital was then reorganized and re-designated as the 95th Evacuation Hospital 14 August 1942. It was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, 3 December 1954. The 95th Evacuation Hospital was again activated on 26 March 1963 and inactivated in South Vietnam 28 March 1973. The 95th Evacuation Hospital was activated in Heidelberg, Germany on 15 November 1994. World War II During World War II the 95th Evacuation Hospital operated as a 400-bed mobile hospital. The unit was staffed with approximately 40 doctors, 40 nurses, and 220 enlisted men. During operations in Morocco, Algiers, and Italy, it was attached to the U.S. Fifth Army and to the U.S. Seventh Army while operating in France and Germany. When the 95th Evacuation Hospital landed in Italy 9 September 1943, it was the first U.S. hospital established on the European continent in World War II. In addition to Salerno, the hospital made two other amphibious landings (Anzio and Southern France). The 95th Evacuation Hospital achieved national recognition at Anzio when, on 7 February 1944, a German plane dropped a load of fragmentation bombs on the hospital in an effort to evade two British planes, rendering the hospital inoperable, killing 28 people, and wounding an additional 60. Among the dead were two officers, three nurses, 16 enlisted men, a Red Cross worker, and two other personnel. As a result, the 95th was sent to the then-static Cassino front where it was re-staffed and re-equipped. Vietnam War As part of the buildup for operations in South Vietnam, the 95th was reactivated 26 March 1963 at Fort Benning, Georgia and alerted for overseas movement. The unit's advance team arrived at the proposed site of the hospital at Red Beach Base Area near Danang on 20 March 1968. By the time that the arrived with the unit's equipment and the majority of its personnel six days later, the members of this advance team had completed a design plan for the site and begun construction of an access road with assistance from the Seabees. The initial phase of construction included the preparation of defensive fortifications, perimeter wire and tentage for billets. During the initial phase the unit provided its own mess, electrical power, potable water and hospital laundry facilities. By 1 April, the vertical construction was initiated consisting of two-by-four frames for tent wards. Factored into the initial construction was the directive to ensure proper surgical conditions in the tropics for patients with traumatic injuries. There was some uncertainty. By conserving construction resources, the unit was able to construct a tropical structure suitable for air-conditioning. Despite supply shipping delays, construction of the first 100 beds was completed by 10 April. By 30 April, the hospital was 99 percent filled, and additional beds were