32nd Station Hospital

Italy Part 4

Click on image to enlarge These two pictures shows the air raid shelters which were in use before we arrived. When we got here the entire complex had been vandalized and striped from top to bottom. All windows and doors had been taken away and these shelters were filled with all kinds of waste matters. Our maintanance people with the help of an engineer unit closed down these shelters and destroyed those concrete entrance ways.

This photo was taken at the Mediterranian beach known as Montragone; our U.S. military cleared the area of many land mines and built the above beach house where we could change clothes and have soft drinks at a bar. Note the sign on the "smoke stack" S.S. MONTRAGONE, sort of a make believe ocean ship. Our hospital unit had a bus schedule for us to make this trip from Caserta, a distance of about 25 miles.

This is the way the Caserta Royal Palace looked in December, 1943, as one stood on the highway outside our hospital gate. Major changes were made in this area in past years. When I visited this area in 1998, I fould that the highway no longer runs right up to the Palace; it makes a right turn about two blocks before the Palace.

This picture shows Sgt Willis Truhlicha who worked in our personel office. When we arrived here to set up our 32nd Staion Hospital in December, 1943, there was very little local civilian law inforcement; most able bodied men were in the Italian army. U.S. Army military police kept things in order and almost all U.S. military members " had the run of this place". I recall going through this large palace building, room to room, from top to bottom. When I visited this complex in 1998, the Palace was tourist attraction and only the first floor was available for sight seeing. .

Click on image to enlarge If you click on this image, you will see the layout of our hospital complex at Caserta, Italy. Here we had about 12 buildings for patients with a total capacity of about 500 patients. In addition to what you see here, we had some huts and tents set up to accommodate female patients, especially Womens Army Corps,WACs, many of whom were employed as secretaries and clerks at 5th Army headquarters in the Palace. Our staff was trained to handle male patients so when females arrived some major changes had to be made introduced. Many Italian females were hired to help out.

Click on image to enlarge Here you see me (the author) and my wife Catherine at the entrance gate of the 32nd Station Hospital, when we visited this hospital area in 1998. When we operated here it was necessary to have round the clock guards at both entrance and exit gates to keep out intruders. The walls around the perimeter were topped off with bobed wire. In spite of these precautions we had outsiders gain access to some of our equipment and supplies. At one time we lost a whole truck load of bed sheets to thieves. We had to post our own men as guards at the entrance and exit gates to keep out unauthorized persons. Later, we had Military Police take over this job which released our own men to handle hospital duties.

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