Like any theater of war, hospitals and medical care was in
constant demand. As the Japanese Army surged south through Corregidor in the
last days of March 1942, this couldn’t be any truer. As the number of injured
soldiers mounted, nurses often worked long days and nights, carrying on the
duties of several people.
.
In addition to
injuries from battle, the American soldiers also had to face hostile jungle
conditions which were new to many, if not all of the men. This also introduced
them to new diseases, such as dysentery and malaria.
.
The number of people suffering from these conditions grew to
such an extent that t it quickly filled all the local hospitals to capacity.
Some beds were set up tents outside – and this was the first time American
soldiers had been treated in open-air hospitals since the American Civil War in
the mid 1860s.
.
The nurses had been evacuated just before April 9th,
moved to the mountain fortress of Corregidor Island. While there, they set up
another large-scale hospital facility for the growing war over Corregidor.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment