Consolation (AH 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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Officer in Command of the Naval Hospital in the U.S.S. CONSOLATION Captain M. R. Wirthlin Captain Wirthlin entered the Naval Service as a LT Iigl in June i929 and served on board the following ships and ' ' ' d s Of stations prior to assuming uty a - ficer in Command of the Naval Hospital in the U.S.S. CONSOLATION IAH-l5I U.S.S. BRAZOS, CHAUMONT, DOBBIN DESDIV I7, Massachusetts, U. S. Naval Hospitals Brooklyn, San Diego, Annap olis, Philadelphia, Oakland, Newport t' and BuMed Captain Wirthlin Quan ico . is a member of the American Medical - A Association and a Fellow of the men can College of Surgeons Commanding Officer Captain Otto J Stem Captain Stem s Naval Career started in l9l4 in the coal burning destroyer FLUSSER and later served in the cruiser BIRMINGHAM and battleship WYO MING He left the Navy in I9I8 and served in a licensed capacity in the Merchant Marine He obtained his En sign s commission in the Naval Reserve d in I933 and in i940 was recalle to active duty upon his own request He in several types of Naval Auxlllaries in h cluding amphibious transports and t e largest floating dry dock the Navy has He served in the Navy during the Mex :can Campaign WWI and the recent Korean action has since served as commanding officer I I , , . -..,...,.,,,,,'. YI I' --' ...L --.fw Q-x.-x..,,.,mH

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ug s. s. CONSOLATION CAH-157 PM NO- , cfo FLEET POST oFFlcE AH15fQ13-br, SAN FRANcnsco. CALIFOBPIAA ,Z P20-1 A Ascauv can ,S AA-3 3 Egiffiii NAVY DEPARTMENT LIBRARY From: Commanding Officer, U.S.S. CONSOLATION QAH-151 Officer in Com and of the Naval Hospital in the U.S.S. CONSOLNTION To: ALL HANDS A A Subj: Letter of appreciation A A 1. The Commanding Officer, U.S.S. CONSOLATION and the Officer in Command A ' ' l 'n the U.S.S. CONSOLATION desire to express their ' 'if r the of the Naval Hospita 1 ' ' f making this cruise, the fourth tour o appreciation to ALL HANDS or U.S.S. CONSOLATlON in the Far East, a successful one. 2. From dawn to dawn every day the CONSOLATION stood rea y ing services. A Marine suffers non-fatal submersion in icy waters, a ' ' d n Air Force man develops Acute Soldier is accidentally shot in the hea , a ember of our United Nations Force is striken with t 'n - Hemorrhagic Fever, aim Polio, or a Korean civilian's leg is traumatically amputated by a rai the CONSOLATION was ready to care for all who needed medical assistance. 3. For all who needed medical care the CONSOlATlON was ho were attached to the CONSOLATION the ant ship in the harbor. For all w real VIP was the patient. In essence, the CONSOLATION was a team.of train- ed personnel and a site for technical equipment, services, and supplies available day and night to help relieve distress and suffering. The doctor, nurse, corpsman, social worker, engineer, navigator, deck hand, cook, and all the Others Within the CONSOLATION made up the team - each a VIP in his assigned task for the care of the real VIP - the patient. d with lifesav- the most import- L. For the important role each and every one played on this successful vteam, we offer our sincere appreciation and a Vwell Donen. R Me. 'R. Wim, LIN gf VCAPTAIN, MC, USN C TAIN, USNR Officer in Command of the Commanding Officer Naval Hospital I N JAN 333553 A WW! OERAMRYNHERY L3RsRARV

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TION IAH I5 1 , ,gifs f. - 514.419 , W, L , I , ,N 3 .1 . ss lfefdlt lv i1'2?v:k,,,!1f'- il i , 2.1 V 'r 1 ffl i F' s L' 715 i, ...,,,,,5wv.x fQn5,..i.,z umm! . W-::.'.::.M.: f ,, SI' ' H ,ia ' 1: - gxx U , , . 5 WWW fi. Aj X ix ,, Y' Z ' , ,i f I 7 vf2'ffM.,, tg'l?15.W'f A ff - 1 ,, fi ,, - , , , .. ZQ Y M, 'VVV K ,. f 4 M V! A ,...,,.,,,,. W5 f,y4gq1.QL,3 f 1 c 1.4 -6 , x W K. W-.sf-sv , '- ',,,,,yw- X 5: f my ,, M. .. A -,f f ,,.f:,f-f .' , ,-fm-,W , ,. -W ,, 711557 of ,M fM6,s :V M 'ff-fr- n ff,-gy M - W., - fm.. u f mf..-Q-'. ' .s.sis,'ff', 'ff f Q. ff' . --'rm ff-M' , awe -1 ff ,., ---' 1 , ,, - xg,p,iegZf'gp.,-W .W,..x -. .. we ,. N M..- ..- -- ,,,,,, -.. W . --ww fl fn., HI TORY F, The USS Consolation IAH-151 was commissioned in 19-45 at Long Beach, California. She has an overall length of 520 feet, a normal displacement of 15,034 tons, and a cruising speed of 17 knots. Her first duty was in Japanese waters evacvuating and caring for ex-prisoners of war and allied nationals. Later, she took part in operation Magic Carpet which repatriated thousands of men from over seas at the end of the war. ln July, 1950, the Consolation was rapidly mobilized to full strength in equipment and personnel and was the first Amer. hospglshiplto arrive in Korean waters to furnish 'med- ical support for the United Nations forces. She participated in the lnchon invasion and operations at Wonson and Hungnam. ln 1951 she returned to the U. S. long enough to have a 60 by 60 foot helicopter landing platform built on her after deck. She returned to Sokcho-Ri, Korea, 15 miles above the 38th parallel where Operation Heli- copter began within sight and sound of Communist guns. The first battlegcasualty ever flown direct from the field of battle' to oghospital ship was landed by Marine Heli- copter on 185 December 1951. This was the beginning of a mission unfprecedented in Naval or Medical history. ln March 1952Qvhen the battle action increased on the West- ern Korean frront, the Consolation was ordered to lnchon to furnish Medical supportto U. N. troops. Patients were received by bolat and helicopter, many within minutes of being wounded., ln June 1952, she returned to the U. S. for upkeep andvrenplenishment 'of supplies. The Consolation 'returned again to lnchon Harbor in Korea in September 1952, to continue her care of the sick and wounded. She continued this mission until June 1953, 2 . when she again returned to the U. S. for a brief main- tenance and overhaul period. ln October 1953, she re- turned to Korean waters and although the fighting had ceased, there were still many patients to care for among the U. N. troops and Korean civilians. During the Consola- tion's 36 months in Korean waters, 19,726 patients have been cared for. The Consolation is a well equipped, general hospital with all the facilities one would find at a modern hospital within the United States. The medical facilities include four operating rooms, an X-ray and fleuroscopic department, complete laboratory and blood bank, Eye, Ear, Nose 81 Throat, Urology, Neuro-psychiatry, physio-therapy, phar- macy and dental departments. There are beds for 785 patients. The mobility of a floating, well equipped general hospital, plus the innovation of the use of the helicopter for rapid transit of seriously wounded, has brought prompt comprehensive medical care to within a few minutes of the actual battlefield. Among the Consolation's firsts are: 1. Participate in the Korean Action. 2. Include a woman Medical Officer on her staff. 3. Return battle casualties to the U. S. from Korea. 4. Utilize an Electronencephlograph lBrain wave tracingl machine at sea. 5. Install and use a blood bank as standard equipment. 6. Have a Helicopter flight deck installed. 7. Receive casualties from battle field via helicopter. 8. To have a Korean baby born aboard a hospital ship. A-VA , W, , V ,, .. ,. . . . . . ,. ' ' ' ' H M ,,. .1 ,4.,'.V. h,,l5'3-.I-'fx J-il.i.f...., ........ ,- ......--..... ..-..,,,.,..,, , ,,,,..,,,.A,,n. Q . .. . . , ..., - .. ..., . -- 4- ' ' W -4 ---H v if . -V .- . -. .,,. f., .. .,.,,. N -3 V 5, ..'..,.-s-.... ...,.H.. . .....,,...ff-ff'Q1 '. rt 1' - f' -- uv,-.1-..-... -.,..,,,,uU-M -my , ,, Q.,-,A ,,,...,..-.-...-.i..,...,... .,.- ' '- K- -- it . . . , . .. , , ,N l.. .1 , .. .,,,.,,.......,... . --w......,.-1. .Us-i... . .-,v .i . ' 'X'---U-1-it-U... ' N ' 2 -- Y ' ' .. V.. .i.....-...,. f .. -.4 f.. i,f....1.. ,Q nf- '- . 5-3. ,, , , 1, l L-I-. V- .. .gi .1H.. .Sg-,-'gig'Y,-..g3':5J..g5g.,.4A ,R ,V . wr, ,.', . .. .1 , 4 , ji'f-:frf- --'3-1w-i-l-.1 :U w.-. - . ..g- -4 ...'..l'31 5 f--1 1- -. . . 1 - -i , s...1,.. ,. ,...... ...,s.,,. 6 ,A , - ... 1 . .11 ..i..-nf., M -Q..-.- -... .L'-- - -- - V. --sw..-lv. - - N- i i - - -