Letter of the Day: May 29

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 02291

May 29, 1897

Mr. F. A. Brockhaus,
Leipzig, Germany.

Dear Sir:
Please purchase for this Museum the prothetic [sic] apparatus invented and described by Dr. W. Liermann, of Frankfurt a.M., in the Deutsche Militaraztliche Zeitschrift, Jahrgang XXVI, 1897, Heft I, p. 13 etc. The apparatus is made by L. Droll, Frankfurt a.M., Friedenstruasse, 6.

Have it carefully packed and forwarded to this Museum in the usual manner and send the bill to me.

Very respectfully,
D.L. Huntington
Deputy Surgeon General, U.S.Army
In charge of Museum and Library Division

Letter of the Day: May 28

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 00691

May 28, 1895

Major C.E. Munn,
Surgeon, U. S. Army,
Post Surgeon, Benicia Barracks,
California.

Dear Doctor:

I have sent you a second set of cultures of pathogenic organisms. I am sorry that you have had so much trouble in obtaining them, which was, as you well know, the fault of no one here.

Owing to the continual demand which has been made upon the Museum for slides of malarial parasite, I am unable at present to send you a slide; but I have placed your name first on the list, and just as soon as the fever begins at Washington Barracks, will send you a carefully stained slide.

Very truly yours,
Walter Reed
Surgeon, U.S. Army,
Curator

Letter of the Day: May 27

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 06723

Surgeon General's Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library,
Corner of 7th and B Streets, NW
Washington, May 27, 1903.

1st Lieut. E.L. Ruffner
Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Base Hospital, Iloilo,
Panay, P.I.

(Through the Surgeon General, U.S. Army)

Sir:
I have the honor to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of thirty (30) dried cover-slip films of Aestivo-autumnal malarial blood for the use of the Army Medical School.

I would be very glad to have more of such specimens as about 50 will probably be needed to go around the class.

Very respectfully,
James Carroll
1st Lieut. Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Asst. Curator.

Canadian War Museum exhibit borrowed from Medical Museum

War and Medicine exhibit shows healing in conflict
CBC News May 26, 2011
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/05/26/ott-war-museum-medicine633.html

-the exhibit is from Britain, but the Canadians jazzed it up with material from North America.

Letter of the Day: May 26

May 26, 1917.

From: W.O. Owen, Colonel Medical Corps, U.S. Army,
Curator Army Medical Museum.

To: Professeur Jacob,
Directeur des Archives et Documents de Guerre,
Paris, France.

Subject: Specimens for the Army Medical Museum.

Your letter of the 9th of May is at hand. I am indeed obliged to you for
your willingness to assist me in making the collections here what they
ought to be.

I am particularly anxious to have specimens of the modern armor, such as
I am informed are in use by all of the armies engaged in this warfare,
and if you can place me in communication with anyone who has the
material for sale, or if you can inform me if there is any way by which
I may, properly, obtain this material form the military authorities of
France, by purchase or otherwise, I will be much obliged to you for the
courtesy.

It will give me pleasure to make a collection of any material that you
may want from this Country, or to let you have such material as we may
have in duplicate that may be desired by your Museum, if it may suit
your convenience to let me know your needs in these directions.

Concept new museum

National Museum of Health and Medicine moving to Forest Glen

Architectural rendering of the new museum facility.

National Museum of Health and Medicine moving to Forest Glen

'National Treasure' relocating to new facility, new command, same wonderful old stuff

http://www.detrick.army.mil/standard/entry.cfm?entry_id=5FE38920-C474-57CE-FD816E2F025F310B

Letter of the Day: May 25

AEM/caw

 

25 May 1959

 

Mr. William Fowler

Instruction Aids Division

Quartermaster School

Fort Lee, Virginia

 

Dear Mr. Fowler:

 

The Medical Museum of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and display of military medical material. It is one of the four major departments of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, a national institution jointly sponsored by the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.

 

While the parent organization is located on the grounds of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Museum is located in the downtown area of Washington where it can better carry out its mission of service and interest to the public. It is here that the military services portray the developments in the field of military medicine and the resultant benefits to all mankind. A dynamic program of current and timely Armed Forces Medical subjects, together with constantly changing exhibits of the history and pathology of diseases and certain other selected topics of military medical history, have made this a living museum. The positive support of the Museum by the Surgeons General of the three Armed Services assures its continued growth and improvement.

 

In view of this and to continue its collection of historical material the Medical Museum is seeking to obtain and preserve actual uniforms worn by those who have distinguished themselves in Medical Service and will live long in its history. It is also hoped to have type uniforms of the Medical Services complete in every detail to show the changes through the years. Naturally the passing of time makes it increasingly difficult to find either.

 

Your display of uniforms at the Armed Forces Day Exhibit at Andrews Air Force Base, Washington, has caused me to write to you as to what the possibility would be of getting type uniforms of bygone years, new or discarded, or the specifications for their making.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Albert E Minns Jr

Colonel MSC

Curator, Medical Museum

Confederate photographs uploaded to Flickr

We’ve had a request for pictures of Confederate soldiers and have posted what should be every one to Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=99129398@N00&q=confederate&m=text

 

Letter of the Day: May 24

TWE*RK

 

War Department,

Office  of the Surgeon General,

Army Medical Museum and Library.

Washington

May 24, 1918.

 

 

Lieutenant Robert Ross,

C/o Col. Bispham, Officers Training Camp,

Fort Riley, Kansas.

 

My dear Bob:

 

I am in receipt of your letter of the 21^st and am indeed sorry to learn that you missed the big crowd which you intended to take.

 

You certainly have gotten me in a fine hole with the “Battle of Cambrai”. No sooner had you left town than they were on the phone about this film and have been on the phone ever fifteen minutes since as it had been booked for the Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia to play before an audience of 7,000 people more or less, and we are all going to get into trouble before the show is given. Up until the present time the show has not been given.

 

Hurry up and get through with the picture you are on and get back here. Fifteen different jobs here need your attention. Pay rolls have already been forwarded for the men to sign.

 

Sincerely,

Tom Evans

Archives technician job in Museum open

http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=99516079&JobTitle=ARCHIVES+TECHNICIAN&q=archives&where=washington%2c+dc&brd=3876&vw=b&FedEmp=N&FedPub=Y&x=0&y=0&AVSDM=2011-05-20+00%3a03%3a00

 

Job Title: ARCHIVES TECHNICIAN

Department: Department Of The Army

Agency: Army Medical Command

Job Announcement Number: NEBB11982400D

SALARY RANGE:	$42,209.00 - $54,875.00 /year
OPEN PERIOD:	Friday, May 20, 2011 to Friday, May 27, 2011
SERIES & GRADE:	GS-1412-07/07
POSITION INFORMATION:	- This is a Permanent position. -- Full Time
PROMOTION POTENTIAL:	FPL 07
DUTY LOCATIONS:	1 vacancy - DC - Washington
WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED:	US Citizens

JOB SUMMARY:

Challenge Yourself - Be an Army Civilian - Go Army! Civilian employees serve a vital role in supporting the Army mission. They provide the skills that are not readily available in the military, but crucial to support military operations. The Army integrates the talents and skills of its military and civilian members to form a Total Army. Organization(s): US ARMY MEDICAL COMMAND, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE, COLLECTIONS DIV MRK, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20307 About the Position: For more information about the National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) please visit our website at http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum. MORE THAN ONE VACANCY MAY BE FILLED FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT Who May Apply: Click here for more information. ·  Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) eligibles. ·  All U. S. citizens.

 

Letter of the Day: May 23

AEM/caw

 

23 May 1960

 

Mrs. Helen Chatfield

Histopathology Laboratory

Mary Hitchcock Hospital

Hanover, N.H.

 

Dear Mrs. Chatfield:

 

Reference is made to recent letter inquiring if you might visit the Laboratory to repair several mounted specimens during your visit to Washington on 6 and 7 June 1960.

 

You are welcome to continue your training in macropathology and there should be no problem in repairing your mountings.

 

If we may be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to write.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Albert E Minns Jr

Colonel MSC

Curator, Medical Museum

 

Capt. Elgin C. Cowart, Jr., USN, M.D. former Museum Curator & AFIP Director

[this obituary was provided to us by his family]

Elgin Courtland Cowart, Jr., M.D., USN Ret.

Dr. Elgin C. Cowart, 87, of Potomac, Maryland died November 1, 2010, after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Cowart is survived by his wife, Madeleine Mary Hoge Cowart; and their children: Phillip Joseph Hoge (Susan) of Crofton, MD; Mary Kim Hoge Kammann of San Diego, CA; James Christopher Hoge, Michael Gregg Hoge of Washington, DC; and John Patrick Hoge, of Annapolis, MD. Additional survivors also include his son & daughter of his first marriage, Steve Cowart (Teresa) of Escondido, CA; daughter, Susan Cowart Ellis of El Paso, Texas; and many grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, Elgin Sr. and Annie Susie McAllister Cowart; his beloved grandmother, Susie McAllister; and his brothers, Mac and Jack Cowart.

Originally a born native of Dothan, AL, Dr. Cowart's childhood was mostly spent in beloved Fort Gaines, GA. In those early years, he and his brothers happily visited his grandmother, "Miss Susie", and other relatives there. In Fort Gaines, he was known by his nickname, "Bubba". At the age of 13, Elgin's family set off for New Orleans, LA where he attended and graduated from Alcee Fortier High School in 1940. Having such a close-knit family, Elgin decided to stay close to home as World War II was starting. With the impending war, and having already signed on with the United States Navy, he studied at the Tulane School of Tropical Medicine, and earned his Doctorate of Medical Sciences degree in 1946. Upon finishing at Tulane, Elgin entered active duty being indoctrinated at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was there he received his orders to serve in WWII in the South Pacific theatre on the islands of Guam and Yap, where he was featured in the National Geographic Magazine providing medical aid. Upon his return from war, Dr. Cowart practiced family medicine for five fulfilling years in Brook Haven, MS.

In 1955, Elgin returned to active duty in the US Navy, for his residency training and serving in pathology at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland (1955-1960). Then upon receiving promotion, he was assigned to be a Commander supporting the Naval Medical Research Unit in Cairo, Egypt (1960-1964). In 1964, he was appointed curator at the United States Army Medical Museum back in Washington, DC on the National Mall until it closed and was relocated to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus (1964-1969). He was a very quiet and proud man - especially when it came to his work. Tying the up the ribbon to the Medical Museum in the closing ceremony with President Lyndon Johnson, where the Hirshhorn Museum and Gardens now stands, for him that was a very sad day and he looked forward to one day having a medical museum on the National Mall again.

Dr. Cowart served in the Vietnam War and in 1971 was presented the National Legion of Merit on behalf of the United States President in recognition of his meritorious conduct as commanding officer of the Naval Hospital aboard the USS Sanctuary out of Port Hueneme, California. Post-Vietnam War, he returned to AFIP as the Deputy Director (1975) and then Director (1976-1980) where he retired a first time after receiving the select distinction of being honored as the "Clinical Scientist of the Year (Sunderman Award)" for making outstanding contributions to clinical science in research, service, and teaching. Missing his passionate career, he came back to work to become the Director of American Registry of Pathology (1981-1990).

Elgin took great interest in his large extended family and looked forward to hunting trips back in his old childhood stomping grounds with his brothers and sons. He took fishing quite seriously until he took more interest in his Chesapeake Retriever dogs with which he spent many long hours training to receive awards and certificates of distinction. He had always hoped to travel to Alaska to cruise the waterways to see nature in its purest form and witness the Aurora Borealis. He no doubt will be remembered with great affection by those who truly knew and loved him.

A memorial mass and full honors burial will be held on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 11:00 A.M. at Ft. Myer Chapel, Arlington National Cemetery. Those attending are asked to arrive at the administration building at 10:30 A.M.

Letter of the Day: May 22

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 06713

Surgeon General's Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library
Corner of 7th and B Streets S.W.

Washington, May 22, 1903.

Major W.C. Borden
Surgeon U.S. Army
Washington Barracks, D.C.

Sir:

I have the honor to submit the following report of the results of an examination of a portion of a tumor of the rectum handed me several days ago by 1st Lieut. J.C. Gregory, Asst. Surgeon, U.S. Army.

The essential lesion is a cancer with extensive infiltration of the muscularis and indaration [sic]. There is also a well marked purulent infiltration of the tissue with localized areas of necrosis. Some of these areas present the appearance of tubercular caseation but the structure of a tubercle is nowhere apparent. Sections are being stained for tubercle bacilli and if they are found the fact will be reported. The primary lesion is carcinoma.

Very respectfully,
James Carroll
1st Lieut. Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Asst. Curator.

Museum director speaks on Sickles' leg on Youtube

Amputated leg of Civil War general on display at Fort Detrick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVcUb81qgE8

by FrederickNewsPost on May 18, 2011

Major General Daniel E. Sickles fought in the Civil War and lost his leg after being injured by cannon fire. The 148-year-old leg will be exhibited at Fort Detrick while the National Museum of Health and Medicine relocates to Fort Detrick's Forest Glen annex.
Video by: AJ Messer
Originally published May 18, 2011

Museum's brain collections featured in academic journal

One has to have university access to see the article unfortunately -

Brain collections at the National Museum of Health and Medicine

1. Archibald J. Fobbs, Jr.¹,
2. John I. Johnson²

Article first published online: 20 MAY 2011

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06036.x/abstract

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Volume 1225, S1 Resources and Technological Advances for Studies of Neurobehavioral Evolution pages E20–E29, May 2011

Owing in large part to the foresight and efforts of Wally Welker, the National Museum of Health and Medicine has become a major repository for collections of brain specimens vital to the study of neurobehavioral evolution. From its origins in the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, with the collection of largely pathological specimens assembled by Paul Yakovlev, the museum has added to its resources four additional extensive collections, largely consisting of specimens acquired specifically for comparative and evolutionary studies: Welker's collection from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, John I. Johnson's collection from Michigan State University, the Adolf Meyer Collection from the Johns Hopkins University, and the Elizabeth Crosby collections from the University of Michigan. We describe here the history and contents of each of these five collections, to inform the scientific field of the extent and details of these remarkable resources.

Smithsonian Magazine on Medical Museum

The National Museum of Health and Medicine

Once it re-opens in its new Silver Spring, Maryland location this fall, this site will scare and educate, with displays of prosthetic eyes, amputated limbs and incomplete skeletons

• By Tony Perrottet
• Smithsonian magazine, June 2011

 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Eight-All-American-Curiosities-The-National-Museum-of-Health-and-Medicine.html

Letter of the Day: May 21

Curatorial Records: Numbered Correspondence 06710

Internal Revenue Service,
1st District of New York,
Collector's Office,
Brooklyn, N.Y.

May 21, 1903

To the Surgeon General, U.S. Army
Washington, D.C.

Sir:

Referring to your letter of the 20th instant, relative to the delivery of alcohol, I would respectfully state that the U.S. Storekeeper stationed at the distillery will deliver alcohol on receipt of the duplicate permit issued by the Hon. Secretary of the Treasury to your office. I would therefore suggest that you have the said permit properly receipted, per instructions on the back of the form, and forward same to the Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the East, to be presented by his agent at the Columbus Distilling Co., 450 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn, this district.

Very respectfully,
Edward B. [illegible]
Collector of Internal Revenue

National Archives article on Edson Bemis

"I am still in the land of the living." The Medical Case of Civil War Veteran Edson D. Bemis

By Rebecca K. Sharp and Nancy L. Wing

National Archives Prologue Spring 2011, Vol. 44, No. 1

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2011/spring/bemis.html

-for some reason, they didn't include Bemis' photograph from the Medical Museum, but here it is.