African American Doctors of World War I: The Lives of 104 Volunteers

by W. Douglas Fisher, Joann H. Buckley

Overview

In World War I, 104 African American doctors joined the United States Army to care for the 40,000 men of the 92nd and 93rd Divisions, the Army's only black combat units. The infantry regiments of the 93rd arrived first and were turned over to the French to fill gaps in their decimated lines. The 92nd Division came later and fought alongside other American units. Some of those doctors rose to prominence; others died young or later succumbed to the economic and social challenges of the times. Beginning with their assignment to the Medical Officers Training Camp (Colored)--the only one in U.S. history--this book covers the early years, education and war experiences of these physicians, as well as their careers in the black communities of early 20th century America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476663159
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	12/17/2015
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

W. Douglas Fisher served for ten years as an Army and Foreign Service officer after Princeton University, and then worked in computers and banking. His grandfather’s letters and diaries of his experiences as an officer in World War I with the 92nd Division triggered Fisher’s research and writing. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The late Joann H. Buckley taught history and English after Longwood University and then worked in Washington, D.C., nonprofits for more than 20 years. Her grandfather was with New York’s 77th Division and her grandmother, a nurse in New York, treated the wounded returning from Europe. She lived in Florida.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments deletevi
Preface
Introduction
The Biographies
Epilogue
Appendix: Physicians Not Able to Serve on Active Duty and Dentists Who Did
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

This prodigious work promises to captivate interested general readers and invite scholars to expand the seldom seen swaths of African American life at war and at home that open with the vistas of the 104 physicians”—Library Journal; “Excellent work”—The NYMAS Review; “well-researched”—Watermark; “The authors have performed a valuable bit of thoughtful, detailed research. The result is an evenhanded review of the lives of these remarkable men during a critical period of American history.”— William Hanigan, MD, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery.

From the Publisher

01/01/2016
An estimated 40,000 African Americans served in France during World War I; 27,000 in the 92nd Division under U.S. command and 13,000 in the 93rd Division's four infantry regiments (369th, 370th, 371st, and 372nd). Under French command, the troops earned individual and unit awards of the Croix de Guerre, the country's highest military honor. Coauthors Fisher, a grandson of a 92nd Division unit commander, and humanities curriculum and program developer Buckley, tell abbreviated life stories of the 104 African American physicians who volunteered to serve as the black troops' medical arm. Beginning with details of U.S. Army Surgeon General records, the authors trace the men's origins, where they went to medical school, how they found their way to the Medical Officers Training Camp at Fort Des Moines, IA—the main site for training black line officers—and their activities during and after military service. VERDICT This prodigious work promises to captivate interested general readers and invite scholars to expand the seldom seen swaths of African American life at war and at home that open with the vistas of the 104 physicians.—Thomas J. Davis, Arizona State Univ., Tempe

Library Journal