The Flight Surgeon's Oath

I accept the sacred charge to assist in the healing of the mind as well as of the body.

I will at all times remember my responsibility as a pioneer in the new and important field of aviation medicine. I will bear in mind that my studies are unending; my efforts ceaseless; that in the understanding and performance of my daily tasks may lie the future usefulness of countless airmen whose training has been difficult and whose value is immeasurable.

My obligation as a physician is to practice the medical art with uprightness and honor; my pledge as a soldier is devoted to Duty, Honor, Country.

I will be ingenious. I will find cures where there are none; I will call upon all the knowledge and skill at my command. I will be resourceful; I will, in the face of the direst emergency, strive to do the impossible.

What I learn by my experiences may influence the world, not only of today, but the air world of tomorrow which belongs to aviation. What I learn and practice may turn the tide of battle. It may send back to a peacetime world the future leaders of this country.

I will regard disease as the enemy; I will combat fatigue and discouragement as foes; I will keep the faith of the men entrusted in my care; I will keep the faith with the country which has singled me out, and with my God. I do solemnly swear these things by the heavens in which men fly.

Preface

Medical Support of the Army Air Forces In World War II has been prepared to fill a gap in the medical history of that period. Its purpose is to present a unified narrative of the total performance of the AAF medical service in support of the Air Forces combat mission. Fundamentally a reference book, this volume is based almost exclusively upon unpublished documents in custody of the U. S. Air Force, with occasional citation of published sources.

Since this volume, like other comparable military publications in World War II, is based upon masses of archival material, the project has been in a very true sense a group project. During World War II professionally trained historians carried out basic research and writing while professional specialists in aviation medicine prepared highly technical materials. And while as authors we must assume final responsibility for the historical and technical accuracy of the presentation and interpretation of the present volume, it has been our intention insofar as is humanly possible to establish and acknowledge individual contributions. In the order of sequence in which these group efforts appear, first mention is made of Chapter III, "School of Aviation and Related Programs" which represents a collation of edited data based upon the series of 6-month histories prepared in the Army Air Forces Training Command under the direction of Col. Neeley Mashburn (MC), by the School of Aviation Medicine, and by the four continental air forces. Chapter IV, "Research and Development" represents in part a collation of materials from the same source, together with a draft prepared by the staff of the Aero Medical Laboratory. Chapter V, "The Air Evacuation Mission" is a collation of data gathered from the histories of the School of Air Evacuation, the School of Aviation Medicine, and the Wing histories of the Air Transport Command. None of these chapters represents original research or writing on the part of the editors. The overseas theaters, on the other hand, have been approached somewhat differently. Two historians on the wartime staff were originally scheduled to prepare monographs on the

Mediterranean and European Theaters respectively. John S. G. Carson, Ph. D., who was to prepare the final draft of the AAF/Mediterranean Theater medical history was called back to his academic post before his research and writing was completed. Chapter VI, however, incorporates much of his draft material. It also includes, with minor editing, a section on the North African Landings and early Twelfth Air Force prepared in the theater under the direction of Col. William Cook (MC). Another Headquarters historian, Wiley Hodges, Ph. D., was scheduled to prepare a monograph on the European Theater but he too was called back to his academic post before his task was completed. A large section of Chapter VIII dealing with the "Special Problems of Aviation Medicine in Europe", however, remains substantially as written by him. The section on the Ninth Air Force, with slight editing, incorporates the periodic histories prepared in the theater. And while the editors have taken extensive liberties with his manuscript, authorship credit for the chapter on the Pacific and Southwest Pacific belongs to Lt. Col. Charles G. Mixter, Jr. (MC) who was Malaria Control Officer in that area during the war and later called to Headquarters, AAF, to prepare the official report. Finally to Bruce Berman, M. A., who is presently a member of the historical staff, goes collaborative credit in preparation of the chapter on ChinaBurma-India. This is in addition to his assistance in editing the volume.

Because of space limitations it was decided arbitrarily not to include three important programs. The AAF Psychological Program had already been treated in the definitive 19-volume series published under the title, The Aviation Psychology Program in the AAF. The manuscript history on surgery prepared by Col. Alfred R. Shands, Jr. (MC), Maj. James V. Luck (MC), Maj. Hugh M. A. Smith (MC), and Lt. Col. Henry B. Lacey (MC), was of such a specialized nature that it was believed advisable to publish that material as a separate monograph at some future date. Likewise it was considered desirable that a separate monograph discuss the operation of Army Air Forces hospitals in the Zone of Interior during the period of mobilization and demobilization. This decision was based on the fact that the central theme of the present volume was support of the combat mission, and it seemed proper to concentrate upon policy decisions at AAF Headquarters level rather than upon operational details of the many Army Air Forces installations in the Zone of Interior.