HISTORY OF MEDICAL DETACHMENT

By

Sgt. J.M. Herbert

The present Medical Detachment, 147th Field Artillery Battalion, was officially inaugurated on 1 March 49 in Sioux Falls, SD.  . Prior to that time, it had served with the 1st Battalion, SEC, Med. Det., 196th Infantry Regiment.  On 1 Mar 49, the following men comprised the unit's roster: 1st Lt. Dale D. Whitcher, commanding officer; 2nd Lt. Harvey D. Goeman, Sgt. R. F. Ellinhausen, Sgt. Harlan L Herbert, Pfc. Samuel C. Johnson, Rct. Warner C Peterson, Rct. John H Westra and Rct. James M Herbert. Their weekly two-hour meetings were held at the National Guard Armory Sioux Falls, S. D. Training dealt mostly with basic military subjects such as drill and ceremonies, inspections, first aid, military courtesy and personal hygiene.  The training schedule at that time was geared to the prime intention of  basically trained men for the forthcoming June encampment at Camp Ripley, Minn.

During the spring of 1949 the guard found it difficult to produce these trained basics. For various reasons there was a sizeable turnover in men. Out of the original two officers and seven enlisted men, only two officers and. four enlisted men attended the June encampment. They were Lt. Whitcher, Lt. Goeman, Cpl. Dow, Pvt. Otten, Pvt. Roberts, and Pvt. Herbert. Surprisingly, the summer encampment of 1949 was from all aspects a success  The men of the Med Det had the opportunity to put into practice the weekly instruction they had been undergoing. Although the enlisted men had not received as much medical theory as desirable, they did a commendable job in handling the dispensary and field problems in conjunction with Medical Company, 196th Infantry Regiment.

The fall of 1949 and the spring of 1950 were devoted to giving the detachment advanced medical training. The subjects they covered were anatomy. physiology; pathology and more detailed study of first aid procedures. Thus, the men who attended the summer encampment of 1950 were trained medical technicians in contrast to the basics that attended Camp Ripley in 1949. At Camp McCoy; Wis., site of the 1950 encampment, the detachment operated a dispensary exclusively for the 147th FA Bn.  They provided treatment for minor diagnoses, and first aid during field problems. The men attending the encampment were Lt. Whitcher, Lt. Goeman, Cpl. Dow, Cpl. Herbert, Cpl. Roberts and Pfc. Otten.

When the 147th FA Bn was alerted on 7 Aug. 50 for federal service, the medical detachment was ready.
There were only two officers and four enlisted men, but they formed an excellent cadre for the formation  of a medical detachment equal to the best  for giving efficient aid to any fighting unit. When Lt. Whitcher was unable to leave because of illness and Cpl. Roberts was released  due to dependency, the cadre of the medical detachment was one officer and three enlisted men. They nucleus of the medical detachment.  Lt. Goeman became CO, Cpl. Dow later became acting first sergeant, Cpl. Herbert was promoted to Sgt. and Pfc. Otten was promoted to Cpl.  On 14 Nov. Lt. Goeman left for duty in Texas.  Lt. Julian Johnson became acting commander.

Meanwhile, during the latter part of the same month. the new men entered the detachment. After three  months basic and unit training, they proved themselves capable of being   good soldiers and fine medics. They were Pvt. Edward Bolts. Jr., from Nanticoke, Penn.; Pvt. Donald Bopp,, Johnstown, Penn.; Pvt. Carmen Marzzuca, Philadelphia. Penn.; Pvt. Karl C. Rutkowski, Reading. Penn.; Pvt. Joseph Bontempo, Norristown, Penn.; Pvt. Charles Boyer, Shillington, Penn.; Pvt. Salvador Romero, Crystal City, Texas; Pvt. Virgil Wright, Austin, Texas; and James A Tyer, Beaumont, Texas.

Capt. Arvid Temple became the commanding officer of the detachment on 19 Feb 51, replacing Lt. Julian Johnson.  Under Capt. Temple's direction, the detachment was given specialist training through 31 Mar 51. The subjects covered were physiology,  anatomy and review of first aid.