Photograph album of Dr. Deane Harold Vance, MC, USN, with aviation
medicine photographs and clippings from the 1920s, and family
photographs from the 1950s. CDR Vance was born on October 17, 1891,
enlisted on September 10, 1917, and retired on May 1, 1937. He returned
to duty in World War 2. He was a flight surgeon and a medical inspector.
The clippings cover Vance's service as a surgeon on an airplane
ambulance.
Captain STEPHANIE M. SIMON
"A rough, hand written journal containing the records, minutes, notes,
etc, of the Naval Medical Society from April 27, 1882 to December 25,
1886. By several authors. (Medical Officers of the Navy)" - from a label
on the front of the journal. Book was transferred in early 2011 from
NNMC Bethesda with Stitt Library collection. Binding repaired with tape.
"Case Book of Assistant Surgeon H.L. Law. U.S. Navy. From Nov. 9th 1870,
to 15th Feby. 1875." Homer Law notes he served on the Congress "having been
attached to her, and on duty, 3 years, 2 mos, 15 days. During this time
I have treated cases of the following named diseases or injuries." and a
list follows. He then reported to the Sabine where he "had a daily
average of patients of much less than one." His case book is broken into
sections: Hygiene and description of the U.S.S. "Congress" (2nd Rate);
General Hygiene, Medical Topography and description of Stations and
places visited (including Key West, Dominica, Haiti, St. Thomas, Havana,
Cuba, Southampton, England, Cherbourg, Nice and Toulon, France, Naples,
Italy, Lisbon, Portugal, Jaffa, Syria); and A few of the cases treated,
since my entry into the Naval Service; with the history, course,
duration and treatment adopted in each case. The case book appears to
have been compiled from pre-existing notes into this notebook. Book was
transferred in early 2011 from NNMC Bethesda with Stitt Library
collection. Spine is broken and binding repaired with tape.
Also includes a volume labeled Medical Department Journal of the U.S.S. Ranger, 1876 – actually Law’s letterpress book containing copies of his correspondence, with an index to correspondents at the beginning. Finally, there is a folder of correspondence on his Naval career from 1880-1907.
Johnson Collection
U.S. Navy BUMED Office of Medical History
Date of Records: 1898 - 1959
Size: Approx. 3 linear feet (7 boxes)
Biographical Note: TBD
Scope/Series Description: Rear Admiral Lucius W. Johnson (MC) had a strong interest in medical history and was an authority on hospital ships during the 1940s. He also was interested in the law of the sea. The Johnson Collection consists of various documents, photographs and three-dimensional objects relating to U.S. Naval Hospitals, Hospital ships, Naval medicine and disease spanning World Wars 1 and 2.
BOX LIST
Box 1:
1. Typescript, "History of U.S. Naval Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y."
Four photographs of the hospital including first ambulance.
2. U.S. Navy From 1775 To 1853 book.
3. Bound set of All Hands newsletters from 1944-1946 in leather album entitled "The Stethoscoop & All Hands." News Paper of U.S. Naval Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y. Presented by Harry Gernler. 15 February 1958. The Fifteenth Anniversary of the Commissioning of the U.S. Naval Hospital, St. Albans, Long Island, New York.
4. Reprints and typescripts on The Hague and Geneva Conventions including
Revision of the Hague Convention of 1907 concerning the adaptation to warfare at sea of the Principles of the Geneva Convention.
5. Object: Civilian Employee Identification Badge, U.S. Naval Hospital,
Brooklyn, NY in wooden box, circa 1918.
Box 2:
1. Three portfolios containing reprints, typescripts and correspondence relating to the history of U.S. Navy hospital ships.
2. Five portfolios containing reprints, typescripts and correspondence relating to the history of U.S. Navy hospital ships.
3. Bound book of reprints on various medical topics written by Lucius Johnson.
4. USS Relief. One reprint, typescript and design plan relating to a fleet hospital ship.
Box 3:
1. World War 1 German attacks on hospital ships. One reprint and typescript regarding the German misuse of British hospital ships. Also contains a pilot chart map of the Atlantic Ocean.
2. Hospital ship photographs. Photographs, one reprint and notes regarding various hospital ships such as USS Red Rover, USS Mercy, USS Relief and USS Solace. Also contains photographs of Japanese, Russian and British hospital ships.
3. Hospital ships reprints and typescripts. Includes information on hospital ships, USS Main, USS Solace and USS Relief.
4. USS Relief photographs and negatives including indoor amenities.
5. Fleet hospital ships - reprints, typescripts and correspondence.
6. USS Relief photographs.
Box 4:
1. Yellow Fever. Reprints and typescripts regarding the discovery,
epidemiology and vaccination of Yellow Fever.
2. Yellow Fever. Reprints and typescripts regarding the discovery,
epidemiology and vaccination of Yellow Fever.
3. Collection of typescripts regarding Yellow Fever on ships of Union
Navy Civil War period.
Box 5:
1. Navy historical papers (1898 – 1903). Contains correspondence and examination reports of John Milton Kerr (HS), U.S.R.S. Franklin; Louis Hildebrandt (HC), U.S.R.S. Vermont; William J. Williams (HC), U.S.S. Detroit.
2. Portrait of Dr. Richmond C. Holcomb (Captain, Medical Corps).
3. Portrait of Dr. Ralph McDowell (Captain, Medical Corps). Includes obituary.
4. Naval Hospital newsletters (1958 – 1959).
5. Photographs of students of first graduating class, Hospital Corps School, Great Lakes and Newport.
Box 6:
1. Reprints, typescripts and correspondence regarding scurvy and other
vitamin deficiency diseases.
2. Leprosy - contains Kalaupapa, a collection of articles on the leprosarium on Molokai, Hawaii, written by Ernie Pyle, 1937 - 1938.
3. Object: Complete standard Navy package of "Human Serum Albumin," earliest version.
Box 7:
1. Small box of photographs of U.S. Naval Mobile Base Hospital, No. 1, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. November 1940.
2. Small box of photographs of U.S. Naval Base Hospital, No. 6, Base Ebon, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides Island. 1942 – 1943.
3. a. One map and two blueprints of Lion Naval Hospital at Espirito Santo Island, San Hebrides, 1943.
b. One map of Naval Reservation in San Diego, CA, 1944.
4. Notebook which contains reprints, typescript and handwritten notes on medical care.
Johanna Medlin, 2/2012
VADM George W. Calver in his Congressional Office, 1966Navy physicians have served practically everywhere—on Polar explorations, in equatorial jungles, and even outer space. Perhaps no less mundane, and arguably as exiting, is the unique post of Attending Physician to Congress which was created in 1928, and first occupied by the U.S. Navy’s Dr. George Weynes Calver.
As birth and renewal always follows death and decay; Dr. George Weynes Calver’s post was conceived only after a succession of congressional deaths in April of 1928. Most alarming of these was that of Representative Martin Barnaby Madden, IN (R) who suffered a heart attack in his office on 27 April and was left unattended for two hours before finally succumbing to his neglect. News of Representative Madden’s untimely end chimed throughout Capitol Hill highlighting the need for an onsite capital physician who could attend to the health affairs of Senators and Representatives.
Representative Fred Britten, IL, Chairman of the House Naval Affairs, took special interest in recruiting this prospective caregiver. After conferring with Speaker of the House Nickolas Longworth, Britten submitted House Resolution 253 to the 70th Congress. This bill, which stated that the “Secretary of the Navy is hereby requested to assign a medical officer of the Navy to be in attendance at the Hall of the House of Representatives,” was agreed upon unanimously. And on 8 December 1928, LCDR George Calver, MC, USNR, then on assignment at the Naval Dispensary in Washington, DC, was chosen for this position.
The son of a District of Colombia doctor, Dr. Calver was born in the capital city on 24 November 1887. After obtaining his Medical Degree from The George Washington University Medical School, Calver chose a career in the U.S. Navy. Dr. Calver, would spend 45 years out of his 53- year service career and 76 years of his life in Washington, DC. This is not to say that some of his non-Washington duty stations were not without worth. While serving at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Canacao, Philippines, Calver met and married Ms. Jesse Willits, the daughter of Rear Admiral Albert B. Willits. Both of Dr. and Mrs. Calver’s offspring—two daughters—would eventually marry Navy physicians.
When Calver first reported to his new assignment in 1928, he was a man with little hope of serving more than then three years in this capacity. Much to his surprise, at the close of his tenure, in 1931, Congress prohibited Dr. Calver’s departure, marking his post as “permanent.” Although the official reason may not be on public record, one must wonder if Dr. Calver’s effectiveness in the role was somehow bolstered by a charming, yet professional, personality. In a sense, Dr. Calver was the perfect physician for House (of Representatives) calls; being ever-equipped with his medical bag of sage advice. “Give 5 per cent of your time to keeping well,” advised Calver. “You won’t have to give 100 per cent getting over being sick.” And if photographs offer any clues into the nature of a human being’s soul, then Dr. Calver was a kind and caring grand fatherly type—even as a young man he wore a cloak of maturity.
During his long tenure as Attending Physician, which stretched 38 years, Dr. Calver earned a reputation as a cardiologist. And his office located in the Capitol building was said to have contained the largest collection electro-cardiograph reports in the world.
As should be expected, Dr. George Calver’s profession came before his politics. As he often reminded his partisan pals, “There’s not a whit of difference between Democratic and Republican belly aches—they all hurt.”
By the time of his retirement in 1966, it was evident that Dr. Calver had made an impact on the health of his patients: all varieties of Senators and Representatives; congressional officials, and employees; reporters and even tourists. Dr. Calver once estimated that less than 6 members of Congress died compared to the average of 20 per year in 1928. One of his patients—then a freshman Senator from Missouri—adopted Dr. Calver’s prescribed practice of daily walks. Even after becoming President, Harry S. Truman continued this form of exercise.
Upon his retirement in September 1966, Dr. Calver was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral. His retirement was short-lived, however, as VADM Calver passed away at his home in Washington, DC on 27 February 1972.
Perhaps Admiral Calver’s legacy is best encapsulated in one of his pithy sayings: “Make a man live correctly to be well and he will hate but respect you. But if you cure him of his ills resulting from his own folly he will think you a saint on earth.” Healthy advice for politicians and non-politicians, alike.
Sources
BUMED Library and Archives, Biography and Photograph Collection
Congressional Record – House of Representatives, 12 October 1966
Rouh, DM. “Physician to Congress.” The Washington Evening Star Pictorial Magazine. 14 June 1953
