(Photo: The first and second floors of all
barracks, after cleaning out some rubble and Japanese filth,
were suitable for CP's, RSO, Hospitals and barracks. )
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AID STATION AT TOPSIDE BARRACKS |
The busiest section of the great barracks was made up
of a number of reasonably well preserved rooms near the center of
the building, where the medics set up their aid station. The
Regimental Surgeon Major Thomas Stevens
(who had jump-mastered my plane with such
skill) lost no time in singling out this location. He set his men to
work at in piling the debris out of these rooms, and rustling up
beds for the wounded. A large number of two-decker, spring cots had
been discovered, and as fast as a room could be cleaned out, these
were brought in to furnish a "hospital ward." As fast as these
furnishings could be brought in, or even faster, they were filled
with patients Men thronged here, some limping, some hopping, some
leaning on comrade's shoulders, some sitting on the crossed-palms of
bearers, some lying on stretchers, improvised out of any material
available. Some had broken jaws. Some had broken legs. Most had
severe sprains. A few had bullet wounds. None complained.
However, no artificial inducements for sleep were
available either, their being no beds, no blankets, no mattresses,
no pillows, except in the hospital. Most of the men secured sections
of parachutes which served as coverlets. The soft, lustrous, fabric
formed a ludicrous contrast to the dirty, sweat-crusted clothes in
which the men slept, and the concrete floors on which they lay.
Nevertheless, slumber comes easily to men who are acclimated to such
conditions by two years service in the field.
Capt. Charles M. Bradford, MD |
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