Korfmacher Writes Of Army Medicine

KORFMACHER

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 5/5/2010 at 15:36:30

Grinnell Herald-Register (Grinnell, Iowa) Feb. 15, 1943

KORFMACHER WRITES OF ARMY MEDICINE

L.P. Marsh has received an interesting letter from Capt. E.S. Korfmacher, now stationed at the 86th Station Hospital, New Orleans staging area, New Orleans. Grinnell friends will be interested in reading it. Captain Korfmacher writes as follows:

"We are located about 10 miles from Canal Street in the middle of a big swamp that has been filled in with shell and gravel. It still gets pretty wet after one of our downpours. It really pours here; duck feathers would not be out of order. This camp was established as a staging area but is being transformed into a training area. Our units are the first hospital units to be trained here so we are going through a period of "learning by experience." We have had a good basic course in military medicine or organization of hospitals. We have also been very fortunate in having the cooperation of both Tulane Medical School and L.S.U. Medical School in giving good postgraduate course. I have also been attached to Surgery at the regular station hospital as they were short of help.

"At presesnt time I am getting ready to go to Boston, Mass., where I will take a special post-grad course in Thoracic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. I consider this a very lucky break for me. Four of the surgeons here were selected to go by the chief of the Medical Training Division. This is a six weeks' course of intensive training with no time off. I report for duty there this Saturday.

"I am going to accompany Mrs. Korfmacher and Stanley as far as St. Louis, then take the train from there while the family proceeds home to Grinnell for the time being. I had hoped to spend a day in Grinnell but the time allotted is too short."