Thirty-One Hundred Miles with the First Medical Regiment

From the Roer to the Elbe With the 1st Medical Group: Medical Support of the Deliberate River Crossing

“…Sick or injured individuals go no farther to the rear than their condition or the medical situation warrants. 4. Sorting of the fit from the unfit takes place at each medical installation in the chain of evacuation.…”

“…3 The regiment would remain there until 15 June 1940, when it moved to Camp Ord, California. 4 To serve with the regiment while it was at Carlisle Barracks was considered one of the most desirable assignments in the Medical Department, and many of the senior Medical Department officers during World War II had served in the 1st Medical Regiment, including virtually the entire medical chain of supervision of the 1st Medical Group in Europe.…”

“…It was rumored that "trade goods" should fill all optional space in luggage since money meant nothing over there. Special emphasis was placed on liquor (worth a hundred dollars a bottle), "Soap" is a universal bartering item, and lipstick runs a close second to silk stockings, as an international currency.1 4 Since the 1st Medical Group had spent several years on the West Coast, and all of the other units that had been part of the 1st Medical Regiment had been deployed to the southwest Pacific, the rumors concerning its varied destinations were probably inevitable.…”