The 56th Evac Hospital Letters of a WWII Army Doctor by Lawrence D. Collins, M.D. Introduction by Carlo W. D'Este

"I see no way that we junior officers will ever be prepared for any major surgery. . . . [W]e'll have to perform major surgery on our own, ready or not."—Dr. L.D. Collins, at the beginning of his tour of duty with the 56th Evacuation Hospital (a mobile tent hospital similar to the M*A*S*H units of Korean War fame), largely staffed by men and women trained at Baylor University College of Medicine in Dallas

Collins chronicles his experiences from training in Texas to service in Italy at Paestum, Dragoni, and worst of all, the desperate "Hell's Half Acre" of Anzio Beach, where, because of frequent shelling of the hospitals, patients were known to go AWOL to the front.

The 56th Evac Hospital is a rare opportunity to view WWII from the perspective of those whose task it was to treat the sick and wounded. "Despite its dark moments," says Carlo D'Este, "the book is filled with examples of how the human spirit survives under the dreadful conditions of war."

LAWRENCE D. COLLINS, M.D., served in the Baylor Medical Unit from 1942 to 1945. In 1982 he retired from medical practice and, now lives in Waco with his wife Margaret. CARLO W. D'ESTE's previous publications include Decision in Normandy, Bitter Victory, World War II in the Mediterranean, Fatal Decision, and the forthcoming A Genius for War: The Life of General George S. Patton, Jr.

Number Four: War and the Southwest Series

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The 56th Evac Hospital
ISBN 0-929398-83-1
$29.95s

6x9. 352 pp. 40 photos. Map. Bib. Index
Military History. Medical Humanities.

Publication Date: May 1995.

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