Sanitary Train?

[arclight]

This may be the wrong section for this; if so, moderator please move as appropriate.

 

A US WWI soldier assigned to a "Sanitary Train" unit would typically wear what kind of collar disc? I was thing the usual medical corps cudaceus (I'm pretty sure I mis-spelled that one!). I would really appreciate any input.

 

Thanks,

Gary

[gunbarrel]

Gary,

 

There are other Forum members much more qualified than me to answer this question (e.g. WWI nerd), but I'll give it a shot. My understanding is that an assignment to a Sanitary Train was usually a temporary assignment before they arrived to where they were going, at which point they would be assigned to a Field Hospital (for example). Therefore, I agree with you that they would wear the caduceus disc. Troops assigned to the trains (any train) on a permanent basis would wear the train disc. Troops permanently assigned to the supply chain of the Medical Corps would wear yet another disc.

 

I will be more than glad to stand corrected if anyone knows any different.

 

Medical Corps Disc for Enlisted

 

Trains Enlisted Troops

 

Medical Corps Supply Company, Enlisted

[world war I nerd]

Gary and Rey,

 

I saw this and held off posting a reply because I wasn't exactly sure what the correct answer was, but gunbarrel's post has jogged my memory a bit, however I could still be wrong, so if I am please correct me.

 

Each division had one sanitary train which I think, was composed of 4 mobile field hospitals, one for wounded patients, one for gas patients, one for the ordinary sick patients and one to be held in reserve to meet any emergencies. It also had, I think, four ambulance companies of four (?) ambulances and a supply section, all under the command of the division surgeon, usually a major or lt. colonel.

 

This is where it gets fuzzy for me, but I think that most (if not all) enlisted personnel wore the medical disc because the sanitary train was part of the Medical Department (a seperate branch of the service) and once the hospitals were all set up and running the enlisted personnel had to help out with the day to day duties and overall operation of the hospital and even though they might be a truck driver or a clerk, etc, they were still part of the Medical Department would have some basic first aid skills and were pressed into service to carry liters and attend to the basic needs of the wounded, whenever the regular doctors, nurses and orderlies were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of wounded men arriving during an offensive or enemy attack.

 

I always thought that the train disc was worn by the ammunition and supply train personnel because their primary duty was only to transport supplies, but again I'm not entirely sure about this and perhaps a collar disc nerd can clarify?

[world war I nerd]

This still doesn't answer the Gary's question, but it corrects some of the information in my previous post.

 

The sanitary train of a division was comprised of one hundred officers and 1,300 enlisted men under the command of the division surgeon, usually a colonel or lieutenant colonel. It was made up of four ambulance companies with twelve ambulances each, a medical supply unit and four mobile field hospitals; one for gas cases, one for surgery, one for ordinary sick cases and one held in reserve to meet emergencies.

 

The field hospital marked the limit of the divisions medical and evacuation troops and was established behind the lines just out of range of the enemy guns. Each mobile hospital was provided with enough tents and equipment to care for up to two hundred patients and was limited to that which could be easily transported and set up or taken down quickly, whenever the division changed locations.

 

When a soldier was wounded he would apply his personal field dressing and make his way back to a casualty clearance station. If he could not walk, he had to wait for one of the regiments fifty five first aid men who would hastily access the nature of his wound, apply the proper field dressing, make a makeshift splint if needed, inject the patient with anti tetanus serum, making sure to mark his forehead with the initials “AT”, indicating that he had already been administered a tetanus shot, then fill out the diagnosis tag and attach it to one of the uniform’s button holes and move on to the next wounded soldier.

 

Soon stretcher bearers would arrive and carry him to a collecting, battalion or regimental aid station, where the wound was again examined, redressed and the patient was made as comfortable as possible until an ambulance, capable of carrying four stretchers, arrived to take him to one of the division’s field hospitals. After a bumpy ride, often under shell fire the soldier was delivered to a field hospital. There the wounded soldiers were sorted according to the nature and seriousness of their wounds, or “triaged” as gas cases, slightly wounded, seriously wounded, ordinary sickness, contagious sickness and shell shock cases.

 

Their wounds were reexamined, redressed, splints were re-applied if necessary, morphine was administered to ease pain, nourishment was given, minor injuries and shock cases were treated and sent back to their units. All of the patients whose wounds did not prevent them from being moved were prepared for immediate transportation to the rear, with most cases being quickly transferred out of the field hospital via ambulance within twenty four hours, to a hospital train or an Army or Corps evacuation hospital further down the line. Emergency surgery would only be performed at the field hospital when the patient’s injuries were so severe that he could not be moved or if a mobile surgical hospital was not located in the immediate area.

[gunbarrel]

Excellent information, regardless.

 

Thanks, Brian!

[arclight]

Wow! you guys have provided some fantastic information that I have not heard before. This was all prompted by a Columbia Accolade I got last year. Here's a pic:

 

It was awarded to Garvey Gefley or Harvey Hefley -I can't read the caligraphy all that well. Serial no. 1 323 358. It lists him as having served in "119th Company, 105th Sanitary Train." And that he was wounded 13 October 1918. My research has only turned up that this "Sanitary Train" was attached to the 30th Division. The guy I got this from was in Alabama. NARA was able to provide nothing, sooo, if anyone has any leads, please, please let me know!

Many thanks for all of the info, and for looking!

Gary

[solcarlus]

Bonjour.

 

Trains Enlisted Troops

 

 

The "T" represents the "Ammunition Train." I do not think the "T" applies to the "Sanitary Train."

 

regards Phil.

[Jason G]

I concur, they almost certainly would NOT have worn the "T" disc as it was specifically for the Ammunition trains, IIRC. The Medical disc would be the correct disc to wear. The Medical Corps Supply disc would be worn by 'supply specific' troops, such as they were, inside their speciality, and in very, very, limited quantities.

 

Barring further evidence, I'd go with the Medical disc.

[arclight]

That seems to make the most sense to me, given all the info you guys have provided. Prior to getting this accolade, I had been totally unfamiliar with anything called a sanitary train.I was a bit disappointed that the Scipio book referenced nothing about Sanitary Trains, though. Thank you all for the information. I want to create some kind of display to honor this soldier, obviously starting with the collar discs. Just wish I could find some additional info on this guy. I was very, very happy to learn that he was in the 30th, since I have a big interest in that unit, being mostly from North Carolina and all. Could've been from TN, for all I know, though.

Thanks again to everyone for all the input!

G