Hospital at War: The 95th Evacuation Hospital in World War II

Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series

By: Zachary Friedenberg

Narrated by: Chris Chappell

During World War II, the army established 107 evacuation hospitals to care for the wounded and sick in theaters around the world. An evacuation hospital was a forward hospital accepting patients from the battlefield. It was where the wounded first received definitive care.

Formed at Camp Breckenridge, the 95th Evac arrived in Casablanca in April 1943, with 7,000 troops, 30 doctors, and 40 nurses. First pitching their tents at Oujda, they moved eastward toward Algeria before making a D-Day landing on the beaches of Salerno, Italy, on September 9, 1939. Shortly thereafter, they entered Naples and then set up shop at Anzio before moving on to become the first American hospital to penetrate Nazi-occupied Europe. After the guns were silent, records show that these doctors and nurses had treated more than 42,000 Americans in almost all the critical battles of the European theater: Salerno, Monetcassino, Anzio, Southern France, the Battle of the Bulge, the Rhineland, and finally, the invasion into Germany.

Hospital at War is the story of the 95th Evac Hospital as told by Zachary Friedenberg, a young surgeon at the time, fresh out of his internship. He tells the story of how the men and women of the 95th survived the war. He describes how they solved problems and learned to treat the war-wounded in the extreme heat of North Africa and during the frigid winters of the Rhineland. He tells how they endured shelling and a bombing of the hospital and how they adjusted to the people and the countries in which they worked.

©2004 Zachary B. Friedenberg (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Will interest anyone who has served in a military medical unit.” (The Journal of Military History)

“Interesting and perspective volume...high-lighting its operations, activities in treating combat casualties, and personnel.” (Military Heritage)

💤 sleeper

This read like a bad after action report with many facts repeated and not needed