Oriskany (CV 34) - Naval Cruise Book

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Medical Department VERYBODY on the ship personally visited the Medical De- partment's working areas at least once during the cruise. Nor was it the first time in any case. In preparation for Mediterranean duty, H Division immunized all hands against diseases known to be prevalent in Southern Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, and the islands between. Corpsmen administered 8,520 shots dur- ing the month of May, 1951. The Departmentfs preventive treatment proved successful against the threat of diphtheria, typhus, typhoid fever, and small-pox. Not one case of any of these diseases occurred during the cruise, although every one of them was present in the Mediterranean area. ln addition to inoculations, food and water were checked daily, to prevent disease carried from outside the ship. On liberty, however, some of the men picked up a few bugs in the 'iGenoa Woods. By the time they returned to the States, such problems were effectively treated, cured, or under control. Medical Department was headed by CDR Watson B. Larkin, MC, USN, assisted by LT Frank F. Allen, MC, USN, and LTJG Fenton J. Lane, MC, USNB. Flight Surgeon aboard ship during the cruise was LT Peter B. Siegel, MC, USNB. F Outside strictly medical care, H Division was administered by LT David H. Baker, MSC, USN, until he was relieved by ENS W. S. Duffey, MSC, USN, as Division Officer on September 10, 1951. Leading petty oflicers around Sick Bay's many compart- ments were Chief Hospital Corpsman Lauer, and Wyeth, Stands, and Brockenbrough, all HM1s. H Division handled exclusively medical work. lt operated and manned the ward, the sick-call room, pharmacy, laboratory, op- erating room, physical examining room, Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat treatment room, X-ray laboratory, and the medical clerical and supply oflice. In the early days of the Navy, Hospital Corpsmen were called 'iLoblolly Boys, 'iApothecaries, and Pharmacists Mates. But aboard the Oriskany, as on other ships of the Navy, they were known unofficially as i'Doc. Hypodermic needles were often called Hthe corkscrewf' ufishhookv and the umbrella, but no . ..- I CDR LARKIN Medical Oflicer one was ever hospitalized as a result of shock caused by the inoculation. ' . When, after accidents or other trouble, patients walked or were carried to Sick Bay, a case of shock often looked forward to a little treatment out of special bottles usually kept under lock and key. LT Baker always kept that key with him. A , Medical officers handle 115 operations during the Mediterranean cruise. They ranged from the removal of warts and ingrown toe-nails, and circumcisions, to adenoidal surgery and other more specialized operations. , Because all Hospital Ships were needed in dangerous areas such as Korea, no floating hospital operated with 6th Fleet. In the ab- sence of regular Hospital Ships, the Oriskany serveddas asubsti- tute. The Medical Department was called on to treat special cases from other ships of the Fleet. There were 41 such cases. FIRST ROW, Left to Right: Donald R. Stands, Edmund R. Lauer, Jr., David H- Bdker, Watson B. Larkin, Frank F. Allen, Fenton J. lane, William N. Wyeth, Wil- W Iiam R. Moore .... SECOND ROW, Left to Right: Thaddeus F. Levandowski, ROY M. Shoe, John R. Davis, Emil Novak, Winton W. Willhide, Anthony A. Gia- quinto, Richard T. Hall, Beniamin Brock- enlarough, Charles E. Nichols, John T- Berriault .... THIRD ROW, left to Rigllh George W. Jarrett, Donald H. King, R05- ert A. Hain, Andrew A. Foggs, George A- Biegner, Charles E. Matheny, Albert C- Johnson, Bruce C. Parkinson, Donald l-- Bowden, Raleigh J. Harrison .... Absent from photo are: William M. Bartlett, Eugene P. Heaton. l 1

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Dental Department HE Dental Clinic on the Oriskany proved so elhcient during the Med cruise that CDR Walter B. Lett, DC, USN, Dental Officer, predicted it might serve as model for clinics aboard similar carriers in the future. A large compartment aft was divided into three operating rooms, each equipped with a reclining chair, the most modern devices and X-ray facilities. A clerical office also fitted into the layout. CDR Lett, LT Gage Colby, DC, and LTJG Robert Morstad, DC, with their assistants, handled about two hundred patients each month. That meant between 700 and 900 sittings. Records of the depart- ment showed the staff filled more than 5,000 cavities in the first six months of 1951. The two Assistant Dental Officers had received training as V-12 students. LT Colby earned his B.A. and D.D.S. from the Univer- sity of Minnesota by 1911-6. LTJG Morstad received his D.D.S. from the same school in 1949. Dr. Lett graduated from the School of Dentistry, Medical College of Virginia, at Richmond, with the Class of '33, RIGHT: D. G. Rickert, DN, P. D. Marquis, DN7 H. D. Du Bois, DT2p G. Colby, LT: W. B. Left, CDR, R. J. Morsiad, LTJG. CDR W. B. I.ETT Dental Officer WOHC Charles E. McKay handled clerical administration of the Division until August 25, when he was transferred to duty with the Marine Corps. Enlisted assistants were DuBois, who took technician training at Bethesda, Md., Marquis and Rickert, who attended Dental Technician School at Great Lakes, and Bongiorno, who studied at Great Lakes during the summer. 5 s s f fri . ..... QS