Publisher's Synopsis
PART 1 of 2 Medical Support of the Army Air Forces In World War II has been prepared to fill a gap in the medical history of that period. Its purpose is to present a unified narrative of the total performance of the AAF medical service in support of the Air Forces combat mission. Fundamentally a reference book, this volume is based almost exclusively upon unpublished documents in custody of the U. S. Air Force, with occasional citation of published sources. Since this volume, like other comparable military publications in World War II, is based upon masses of archival material, the project has been in a very true sense a group project. During World War II professionally trained historians carried out basic research and writing while professional specialists in aviation medicine prepared highly technical materials. And while as authors we must assume final responsibility for the historical and technical accuracy of the presentation and interpretation of the present volume, it has been our intention insofar as is humanly possible to establish and acknowledge individual contributions. In the order of sequence in which these group efforts appear, first mention is made of Chapter Ill, "School of Aviation and Related Programs" which represents a collation of edited data based upon the series of 6-month histories prepared in the Army Air Forces Training Command under the direction of Col. Neeley Mashburn (MC), by the School of Aviation Medicine, and by the four continental air forces. Chapter IV, "Research and Development" represents in part a collation of materials from the same source, together with a draft prepared by the staff of the Aero Medical Laboratory. Chapter V, "The Air Evacuation Mission" is a collation of data gathered from the histories of the School of Air Evacuation, the School of Aviation Medicine, and the Wing histories of the Air Transport Command. None of these chapters represents original research or writing on the part of the editors. The overseas theaters, on the other hand, have been approached somewhat differently. Two historians on the wartime staff were originally scheduled to prepare monographs on the Mediterranean and European Theaters respectively. John S. G. Carson, Ph. D., who was to prepare the final draft of the AAF/Mediterranean Theater medical history was called back to his academic post before his research and writing was completed. Chapter VI, however, incorporates much of his draft material. It also includes, with minor editing, a section on the North African Landings and early Twelfth Air Force prepared in the theater under the direction of Col. William Cook (MC). Another Headquarters historian, Wiley Hodges, Ph.D., was scheduled to prepare a monograph on the European Theater but he too was called back to his academic post before his task was completed. A large section of Chapter VIII dealing with the "Special Problems of Aviation Medicine in Europe'', however, remains substantially as written by him. The section on the Ninth Air Force, with slight editing, incorporates the periodic histories prepared in the theater. And while the editors have taken extensive liberties with his manuscript, authorship credit for the chapter on the Pacific and Southwest Pacific belongs to Lt. Col. Charles G. Mixter, Jr. (MC) who was Malaria Control Officer in that area during the war and later called to Headquarters, AAF, to prepare the official report. Finally to Bruce Berman, M. A., who is presently a member of the historical staff, goes collaborative credit in preparation of the chapter on ChinaBurma- India. This is in addition to his assistance in editing the volume.
