Lt. McCoy, US Army Medical Corps, 1943. Photograph

Lieutenant Frederick J. McCoy, US Army Medical Corps, July 24, Lt. 1943, Colorized Photograph. Five days before reporting for duty at McCloskey General Hospital, Temple, Texas. McCoy would ultimately become Chief of Plastic Surgery at McCloskey and be promoted to Major. He was Program Director of the Plastic Surgery Program at Truman Medical Center / Children's Mercy Hospital at University of Missouri, Kansas City, for over 40 years, until his retirement.

McCloskey General Hospital was a massive U.S. Army general hospital activated in Temple, Texas, on June 16, 1942, during WW2.

History and Operations

Naming: Named after Major James A. McCloskey, the first regular U.S. Army doctor to lose his life in WW2 (killed on Bataan on March 26, 1942).

Specialty: Designated primarily as a specialized treatment center for orthopedic cases, severe neurosurgery, and amputees. At its peak, it housed over 5,000 patients and was the second-largest general hospital in the nation.

Pioneering Care: Physicians pioneered early ambulation techniques, wide penicillin usage, and experimental treatments for battle casualties.

Above: Maj. McCoy, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Wakeman General Hospital, 1946.

Wakeman General Hospital was a major U.S. Army medical facility located at Camp Atterbury in Johnson County, Indiana, during WW2.

Key Facts in 1945

Designation Change: On May 1, 1945 (per General Order 13), Wakeman General Hospital was officially incorporated as part of the newly designated Wakeman Hospital Center.

Specialization: The hospital was a primary hub for treating wounded battle casualties, specializing in plastic surgery, neurosurgery, and orthopedic reconstruction (including extensive facial and jaw rebuilding).

Patient Volume: It handled tens of thousands of returning service members flown in via transport planes or brought by hospital trains, acting as one of the largest medical complexes in the United States during the war. ]

Facilities & Improvements: In 1945, major expansions included an outpatient clinic building, a swimming pool, a telephone exchange added to the Post Exchange by Bell Telephone, concrete walks and driveways, and extensive interior/exterior repainting.

Post-War Transition: Following the end of WW2 later in 1945 and into 1946, the massive operation began scaling down and eventually returned to standard station hospital status. [1]