1918 influenza pictures

I just ran across 4 pictures of the influenza epidemic at the end of World War I. 

USNH, Mare Island, Cal. Scene on ward during influenza epidemic. Nov. 1918. (12-0137-009)

U.S. Naval Hospital. A busy winter. General view of inner buildings and influenza emergency camps. [Building.][Hospitals, wards.][World War 1.] Mare Island, California. 12/10/1918. (09-5036-044)

U.S. Naval Hospital. Corpsmen in cap and gown ready to attend patients in influenza ward. [Hospitals, wards.][Scene.][Influenza.][World War 1.] Mare Island, California. 12/10/1918. (09-5036-043)

U.S. Naval Hospital. General view of influenza tents and open-air mess tent. [World War 1.] Mare Island, California. 12/10/1918. (09-5036-031)

New photos of Naval Hospital Corona online

Some images of Naval Hospital Corona were missed in our 2009 scanning project, and I've just scanned and put them online here.

Here's some information on the hospital that Andre Sobocinski posted last year:

As a Navy hospital commissioned in World War II, Corona was unique. It was not uncommon for the Navy to take over hotels and even on one occasion a former estate, but the hospital established at Corona was different. Constructed in the 1920’s as a luxury hotel and resort called the Norconian, it owed more to San Simeon than to the Ritz. And like Hearst’s home, it served as the playground for the who’s who of Hollywood.

Architecturally, it offered guests a festival of wrought iron, art deco, and Spanish elements complete with resplendent pillars, marble floors, and lavish Heinsbergen murals. Guests could stay in one of the luxurious 250-bedrooms, and access Louis IV-inspired lounges, dining rooms, bath houses and Olympic-sized pools, and of course, a man-made lake. These amenities would later play a pivotal role in the rehabilitation of hundreds of thousands of wounded servicemen returning home from World War II and later the Korean War. It is remarkable that many of these amenities and architectural features like the murals still exist at the old property today.

As a military hospital, Corona proved to be a rarity among its Army and Navy counterparts in that it had a Hollywood star as a chairman of its Naval Aid Auxiliary Hospital Visiting Committee. Kay Francis, once the most highly paid star in Hollywood, headed this cultural affairs committee. Every Thursday, Francis would bring “friends” such as Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Claudette Colbert, Cary Grant, Red Skelton, and others, to the hospital to meet with patients. And thanks to her connections, the hospital hosted numerous radio programs, big band concerts, and USO shows.

In the 1950’s, the hospital was used by the Navy as a testing bed for new techniques in Occupational and Physical therapy, and the treatment of diseases like tuberculosis. In fact, the Navy saw fit to use the hospital as setting for several important educational and training films now found at the National Archives. Some of these films even featured the celebrities that frequented the hospital in World War II.

Archives always have something you don't expect in them

This set of 65 pictures has little do to with Navy medicine, but is interesting from a straight Navy history point of view. They were donated by Jan Herman, who received them from a realtor who found them in an empty house. They're not scanned yet, but can be upon request.

11-0002-000 Series of images taken by a sailor, circa 1933.
11-0002-001 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Ruins at Long Beach. [Long Beach,
California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-002 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" The Pike - Long Beach. [Long Beach,
California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-003 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Seaside Hospital. [Long Beach,
California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-004 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Ruins at Long Beach, Calif. [Police
officer standing guard; Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-005 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Hamilton School, Long Beach. [Long
Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-006 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Anaheim Blvd., Long Beach. [Long Beach,
California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-007 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Imperial Theatre - Ocean Ave. - Long
Beach. [Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-008 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Law Enforcement By U.S. Navy - Long
Beach, Calif. [Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-009 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Wonder Bread Co. Ruins at Long Beach,
Calif. [Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-010 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Ruins of Security Bldg, Compton Calif.
[US Navy sailor standing guard; Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-011 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Long Beach, California [Damaged
building with upside down sign partially reading 'Safe' having fallen off of
it; Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-012 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Ocean Ave. Long Beach [Marines or
soldiers standing guard; Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-013 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Ruins of Catholic Church, Long Beach
[Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-014 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Feeding Refuges at Lincoln Park - Long
Beach, Cal. [Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-015 Print b&w 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" Poly-High [school] - Long Beach, Cal.
[Long Beach, California 1933 earthquake].
11-0002-016 Print b&w 3 3/4" x 3" USS Williamson [DD-244]
11-0002-017 Print b&w 3 3/4" x 3" USS Twiggs [DD-127]
11-0002-018 Print b&w 3 x 5" U.S.S. Saratoga
11-0002-019 Print b&w 3 x 5" U.S.S. Lexington
11-0002-020 Print b&w 3 x 5" Planes Leaving U.S.S. Lexington.
11-0002-021 Print b&w 3 x 5" Laying smoke screen [planes flying over ocean].
11-0002-022 Print b&w 3 x 5" Aerial Torpedoes - Navy Combat Plane.
11-0002-023 Print b&w 3 x 5" Parachute Jumper Landing From Kit Balloon.
11-0002-024 Print b&w 3 x 5" Naval Reserve Training Plane.
11-0002-025 Print b&w 3 x 5" Through The Hole To Oakland Airport [Airplanes
in formation flying through clouds].
11-0002-026 Print b&w 3 x 5" Battle Fleet Planes Passing In Review.
11-0002-027 Print b&w 3 x 5" Navy Seaplane Returning To Ship.
11-0002-028 Print b&w 3 x 5" U.S.S. Los Angeles At Sunset [ZR-3 rigid
airship].
11-0002-029 Print b&w 3 x 5" U.S.S. "Saratoga," Mammoth Airplane Carrier, in
Miraflores Lock, Panama Canal.
11-0002-030 Print b&w 3 x 5" A Tourist Ship, Gatun Locks, Panama Canal.
11-0002-031 Print b&w 2 1/2 x 4" [Railway tug pulling a ship through the
Panama Canal]
11-0002-032 Print b&w 3 x 5" U.S. Army Transport in Pedro Miguel Lock, Panama
Canal.
11-0002-033 Print b&w 3 x 3/4" Passing Through Panama Canal.
11-0002-034 Print b&w 3 x 5" Seeing Edinburgh, Scotland [Navy officers on
castle roof].
11-0002-035 Print b&w 3 x 5" Fleet at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
11-0002-036 Print b&w 3 x 5" Buying Souvenirs at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
11-0002-037 Print b&w 3 x 5" Market Boats at Guantanamo Bay. [Cuba]
11-0002-038 Print b&w 3 x 5" Unloading Bacardi, Caimanera, Cuba. [rum,
liquor]
11-0002-039 Print b&w 3 x 5" Prisoners in Haiti.
11-0002-040 Print b&w 3 x 5" Black Christ, Haiti. [statue]
11-0002-041 Print b&w 3 x 5" "Sailors Special" Bridgetown, Barbados
[horse-drawn trolley].
11-0002-042 Print b&w 3 x 5" Ships Anchor At Balboa. [Panama]
11-0002-043 Print b&w 3 x 5" Native Hut at Panama.
11-0002-044 Print b&w 3 x 5" [Sailor] Gathering Cocoanuts At Panama.
11-0002-045 Print b&w 3 x 5" The Golden Altar, Panama City.
11-0002-046 Print b&w 3 x 5" Santiago [Stairways going up hillsides in
Chile].
11-0002-047 Print b&w 3 x 5" Cremation Ceremony at Boli Island [Maldives].
11-0002-048 Print b&w 3 x 5" Pottery Market, Boli Market [Maldives].
11-0002-049 Print b&w 3 x 5" At Singapore [sailors in rickshaw].
11-0002-050 Print b&w 3 x 5" A Waterspout in Yellow Sea.
11-0002-051 Print b&w 3 x 5" Four Rebels Less [execution by firing squad].
11-0002-052 Print b&w 3 x 5" Inspecting Paintings On Stern of Chinese Junk.
11-0002-053 Print b&w 3 x 5" Gunboat in Yangtze River [China].
11-0002-054 Print b&w 3 x 5" Chinese Rapid Transit [sailors in sedan chairs].
11-0002-055 Print b&w 3 x 5" Parading at Shanghai.
11-0002-056 Print b&w 3 x 5" Death Of A Thousand Cuts. Making The Last Cut
Before Death. [execution; China].
11-0002-057 Print b&w 3 x 5" These "Chinks" Will Rob No More. [execution;
China]
11-0002-058 Print b&w 3 x 5" The Bread Knife Death. [execution; China]
11-0002-059 Print b&w 3 x 5" The Stretching Death. [execution; China].
11-0002-060 Print b&w 3 x 5" The High Executioner. Note His Happy Smile.
[China].
11-0002-061 Print b&w 3 x 5" Chinese Executing A Woman.
11-0002-062 Print b&w 3 x 5" Men, Women and Children Before The Grand
Beheading. [execution; China]
11-0002-063 Print b&w 3 x 5" Executing Girl Students. [China]
11-0002-064 Print b&w 3 x 5" Easy To "Lose" Your Head In China. [execution].
11-0002-065 Print b&w 3 x 5" After The Execution. A Pair Who Paid. [China;
decapitated heads].
11-0002-066 Print b&w 3 x 5" At Manila Bay [Philippines; sailors watching
fleet at anchor].

New Book About Naval Hospital Corona Just Released

In their new book, The Navy in Norco, the husband and wife team of Kevin Bash and Brigitte Jouxtel expertly explore the storied past of Naval Hospital Corona, in Norco, CA, through historical images.

As a Navy hospital commissioned in World War II, Corona was unique. It was not uncommon for the Navy to take over hotels and even on one occasion a former estate, but the hospital established at Corona was different. Constructed in the 1920’s as a luxury hotel and resort called the Norconian, it owed more to San Simeon than to the Ritz. And like Hearst’s home, it served as the playground for the who’s who of Hollywood.

Architecturally, it offered guests a festival of wrought iron, art deco, and Spanish elements complete with resplendent pillars, marble floors, and lavish Heinsbergen murals. Guests could stay in one of the luxurious 250-bedrooms, and access Louis IV-inspired lounges, dining rooms, bath houses and Olympic-sized pools, and of course, a man-made lake. These amenities would later play a pivotal role in the rehabilitation of hundreds of thousands of wounded servicemen returning home from World War II and later the Korean War. It is remarkable that many of these amenities and architectural features like the murals still exist at the old property today.

As a military hospital, Corona proved to be a rarity among its Army and Navy counterparts in that it had a Hollywood star as a chairman of its Naval Aid Auxiliary Hospital Visiting Committee. Kay Francis, once the most highly paid star in Hollywood, headed this cultural affairs committee. Every Thursday, Francis would bring “friends” such as Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Claudette Colbert, Cary Grant, Red Skelton, and others, to the hospital to meet with patients. And thanks to her connections, the hospital hosted numerous radio programs, big band concerts, and USO shows.

In the 1950’s, the hospital was used by the Navy as a testing bed for new techniques in Occupational and Physical therapy, and the treatment diseases like tuberculosis. In fact, the Navy saw fit to use the hospital as setting for several important educational and training films now found at the National Archives. Some of these films even featured the celebrities that frequented the hospital in World War II.