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Contents

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Although some materials used in the preparation of this volumecame from civilian sources and from other Government agencies, the vast bulk ofthe documentation both in manuscript and in printed form is to be found in Armyrecords located within the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. For matterspertaining to the Zone of Interior and the determination of broad personnelpolicies, the best single source was the central files of the Office of TheSurgeon General for the war years, now deposited in the National Archives. Herewere copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence, reports, memorandums forrecord (often containing invaluable summaries of long or complex courses ofaction), and minutes of conferences.

The Historical Division of the Surgeon General`s Office(now known as the Historical Unit, U.S. Army Medical Service) collecteddocuments during and after the war which were especially useful in tracing theapplications of policy and in following the personnel history of particularareas at home and overseas. This material includes diaries, correspondence, andreports emanating from the various segments of the Surgeon General`s Office.Among them are a number of reports to the Historical Division showing thehighlights of personnel administration for various periods of the war. Thematerial also includes annual reports of medical units and medical sections ofheadquarters as well as manuscript histories of some areas prepared, in mostcases, under the direction of the surgeons of theaters and field armies; forcertain theaters, there is considerable material of other types, such as orders,correspondence, and circular letters. These documents were of special value inthe preparation of the chapters dealing with manpower sources.

Also deposited in the Historical Unit are a number of usefulmanuscript histories of various components of the Medical Department. Theseinclude "Organized Nursing and the Army in Three Wars," by Col.Florence A. Blanchfield (Ret.) and Mary E. Standlee; Lt. Col. Everett B. Miller`shistory of the Veterinary Corps; Col. William A. Hardenbergh`s"Organization and Administration of the Sanitary Engineering Division(Office of The Surgeon General)"; Col. Emma Vogel`s "PhysicalTherapists of the Medical Department"; and the work entitled "Historyof the Army Dietitian." The Historical Unit`s file of annual reports ofThe Surgeon General to the Secretary of War yielded important data concerningpersonnel administration. These reports ceased to be published after the fiscalyear 1941, but during the war years, annual summaries of events prepared by theHistorical Division for Army Service Forces headquarters to some extent took theplace of the published reports.

The Historical Unit at one time housed histories, reports,and correspondence accumulated in the Office of the Air Surgeon. These are nowin the custody of the historical office of the Surgeon General of the Air Force.

The files of The Surgeon General`s Resources AnalysisDivision contained material of value for personnel history during the latterpart of the war. They were arranged both chronologically and by subject andsince the elimination of that Division have been distributed among The SurgeonGeneral`s Personnel Division, Executive Office, and Comptroller`s Office.Other extremely useful sources of information were the files of the AdjutantGeneral`s Office, the General Staff (particularly G-1), and Army ServiceForces headquarters, which contained material regarding medical personnelmatters involving those agencies. Manuscript and "processed" historieson file in the Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army,as well as printed volumes of the "official" history, were also used,both to obtain additional data pertaining to the Medical De-


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partment and to gain a fullerunderstanding of developments which affected that Department in common withother branches of the Army.

Statistical materials were obtained in all of the groups ofrecords mentioned, but certain sources of such data deserve special mention. Ofparticular significance for discussions of strength, promotions, and rank wasthe series originally prepared in mimeographed form by the Returns Section,Miscellaneous Division, Adjutant General`s Office, in 1940 and known as theQuarterly Station Strength Report, Continental and Foreign. This became amonthly publication during the later emergency period and eventually was issuedin printed form under the title "Strength of the Army" (STM-30) by theMachine Records Branch, Office of The Adjutant General.

Another important publication of a similar character wasissued from October 1942 to May 1946. It was known as Personnel Section No. 5Monthly Progress Report until August 1945 when the title was changed toPersonnel and Training No. 5 Monthly Progress Report. From October 1942 throughJanuary 1943, it was prepared by the Control Division, Army Service Forces; from28 February through 31 August 1943, by The Adjutant General`s Office; and from30 September 1943 through 31 May 1946, by the Director of Personnel, ArmyService Forces. It has been used mainly for data concerning strength of civilianpersonnel of the Medical Department. For authorized strengths of MedicalDepartment units and medical complements of other organizations the "troopbases" and "troop lists" were used; these were published as earlyas 1941. For the purposes mentioned, the most extensive use was made of the"Troop List for Operations and Supply," prepared monthly, from 1 July1944 until after the end of hostilities, by the Strength Accounting andReporting Office of the War Department.

Data pertaining to strength and replacements in the Europeantheater also were obtained from a serial document issued by the theater`sServices of Supply (and successor commands) beginning in July 1942. Under thetitle "Statistical Summary" and later "Progress Report,"this appeared several times a month until 1945, when it was issued monthly andrenamed "Progress Report, Section 1." Parts of this series are filedin the Record Center at Kansas City and in the Historical Unit, U.S. ArmyMedical Service.

Additional data on strength and rank were derived from one ofthe sources of "Strength of the Army," that is, the reports on W.D.,A.G.O. Form No. 323 which are now in the custody of the Departmental RecordsBranch of the Adjutant General`s Office. Another source of "Strength ofthe Army," the monthly statistical summary prepared in processed form bythe Promotion Section, Officers Branch, Office of The Adjutant General, fromNovember 1944 to June 1945 also was utilized. This series is on file in thePromotion Section, Personnel Actions Branch, Adjutant General`s Office.Finally, considerable use has been made of the Department of the Army`s"Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II, Final Report,7 December 1941-31 December 1946" [Washington, D.C., June 1943].

Records of civilian agencies of the Government were studiedprimarily for the history of personnel policies. They included printed material;for example, transcripts of Congressional hearings, the Statutes at Large of theUnited States, and unpublished correspondence and minutes of meetings of theDirecting Board and subordinate committees of the Procurement and AssignmentService of the War Manpower Commission. Medical, dental, and similar journalsrevealed the attitudes taken by professional organizations toward Army andMedical Department personnel policies and, in letters to the editors, the viewsof individuals who were affected by these policies.

Despite the vast number of War Department records pertainingto medical personnel matters that were produced during World War II, manydecisions were made by officers and civilian employees of the Department eitherin conference or by telephone without a written record of what took place. Tohelp fill the gaps in the record as well


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as to reconcile conflicting evidence and to develop properperspective, many such individuals were interviewed in person or by telephonefor their knowledge and opinions concerning various matters. A similar use wasmade of correspondence, now filed in the Historical Unit. Information obtainedin this way has been used especially in the oversea sections of the chapters onstrength and utilization of personnel. Finally, the chapters have beencirculated in draft form among persons responsible for decisions taken on thesubjects discussed in this study and their comments have been taken into accountin the preparation of the final version.

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