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'Hospital Corpsman' (HM) is a rating in the United States Navy and a member of the Navy's Hospital Corps. Hospital corpsmen serve as enlisted medical specialists for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. Hospital corpsmen serve in a wide variety of capacities and locations, including shore establishments such as naval hospitals and clinics, aboard ships as the primary medical caregivers for Sailors while underway, or with Marine Corps units as battlefield medics. The Hospital Corps has the distinction of being the only enlisted organization designated as a corps in the United States military.

Contents

History

Hospital Corpsmen in the Maritime Service

Organization

Hospital corpsman pledge

Ships named in honor of hospital corpsmen

U.S. Navy Enlisted Medical Personnel Killed in Action

Decorations of Valor Awarded to Hospital Corpsmen

Hospital Corpsmen who received the Medal of Honor

See also

External links

History

Prior to the establishment of the Hospital Corps, enlisted medical support in the Navy was limited in scope. In the Continental Navy and the early US Navy, medical assistants were assigned at random out of the ship's company. They were commonly referred to as Loblolly Boys, a term borrowed from the British Royal Navy and a reference to the daily ration of porridge fed to the sick. The nickname was in common use for so many years that it was finally officially recognized by the Navy Regulations of 1814. In coming decades, the title of the enlisted medical assistant would change several times - from Loblolly Boy, to Nurse (1861), and finally to Bayman (1876). A senior enlisted medical rate, Surgeon's Steward, was introduced in 1841 and remained through the Civil War. Following the war, the title Surgeon's Steward was abolished in favor of Apothecary, a position requiring completion of a course in pharmacy.
Still, there existed pressure to reform the enlisted component of the Navy's medical department - medicine as a science was advancing rapidly, foreign navies had begun training medically skilled sailors, and even the US Army had established an enlisted Hospital Corps. Navy Surgeon General J.R Tyron and subordinate physicians lobbied the Navy administration to take action. With the Spanish-American War looming, Congress passed a bill authorizing establishment of the US Navy Hospital Corps, signed into law by President William McKinley on 17 June 1898. A revision in 1916 established the rates of Hospital Apprentice and Pharmacist's Mate, a structure that would remain in place for over thirty years.
During World War I, Corpsmen served throughout the fleet, earning particular distinction on the Western Front with the Marine Corps. A total of 684 personal awards were awarded to Corpsmen in the war, including 2 Medals of Honor, 55 Navy Crosses, and 237 Silver Stars.
In World War II, Hospital Corpsmen hit the beach with Marines in every battle in the Pacific. Joe Rosenthal's iconic photo of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima, captured during that battle's early days, depicts Pharmacist's Mate Second Class John Bradley among the group of Marines on Mt. Suribachi that day. They also served on thousands of ships and submarines. Notably, three unassisted emergency appendectomies were performed by Corpsmen serving undersea and beyond hope of medical evacuation. The Hospital Corps has the distinction of being the only corps in the U.S. Navy to be singled out in a famous speech by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal after the conclusion of the war.[1]
Hospital Corpsmen continued to serve at sea and ashore, and accompanied Marine units into battle during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Fifteen Corpsmen were counted among the dead following the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. Today, Corpsmen are serving around the world in support of the global War on Terrorism.

Hospital Corpsmen in the Maritime Service

During World War II, the United States Maritime Service created a Hospital Corps similar to the Navy's and sent pursers through this Hospital Corpsman training, to serve in a combined administrative and medical role on civilian tankers, freighters, and oilers. Prior to this, there were no competent trained personnel to perform first aid onboard these vessels. The Purser-Corpsman were trained in anatomy, physiology, pharmacy, clinical laboratory, hygiene and sanitation, emergency treatment, first aid, and nursing. They were taught how to give shots, treat compound fractures, administer blood plasma, and suture wounds.
The Maritime Service’s Hospital Corps School was founded at the Sheepshead Bay training station on December 7, 1942. Surgeon S.S. Heilwell (R), United States Uniformed Public Health Service, was placed in charge of training. The course was taught four months, with 12 week period in didactic classroom experience, and four weeks of practical experience at a marine hospital. The original class of 331 students resulted in 239 graduates on March 12, 1943. But, demand saw an increase in the class to 600 students, to cycle in 50 student classes starting on a weekly basis. Training stations were instructed to provide careful scrutiny by examining boards for all candidates. Pursers on sea duty started arriving at the station on August 10, 1943. By January 1, 1944, there were 600 Purser-Corpsman at sea, with 1,324 graduates in the Maritime Service.
Selection required an above average mark in GCT, and definite interest in both administration and health care. A survey reveals that the men have an IQ average of 130 and two years of college. Pursers entering the hospital school are given ratings according to the length of time they've spent at sea. Those serving less than six months are given Chief Petty Officer ratings and those with more than six months at sea receive Ensign Ratings. Of the 50 men who enter the school each week, 30 are Pursers and 20 were apprentice seaman.

★ Work Cited: Mast Magazine May 1944, Mast Magazine August 1944, Mast Magazine May 1945

Organization

Because of the need for Hospital Corpsmen in a vast array of foreign, domestic, and shipboard duty stations, as well as with United States Marine Corps units, the Hospital Corps is the largest rating in the United States Navy.
The basic training for Hospital Corpsman is Naval Hospital Corps School, one of the Navy's "A" schools (primary rating training). Upon graduation, the Hospital Corpsman is given the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) code of 0000, or "quad-zero" in common usage. NECs are analogous to MOS in the United States Army and Marine Corps, or AFSC in the Air Force. There are primary NECs, and secondary NECs. For example, a Hospital Corpsman that completes FMTB and earns the NEC 8404, moves that NEC to primary and has a secondary NEC of 0000. If that Corpsman attends a "C" School, then the NEC earned at the "C" School becomes their primary and 8404 becomes the secondary. Some Hospital Corpsmen go on to receive more specialized training in roles such as Medical Laboratory Technician, Radiology Technician, Aviation/Aerospace Medicine Specialist, etc. This advanced education is done through "C" schools, which confer additional NECs.
Of note is Field Medical Training Battalion (FMTB), with locations at Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejeune, where Sailors bound for service with United States Marine Corps operating forces attend to earn the NEC HM-8404, Field Medical Service Technician. This is specialized training emphasizing physical conditioning, small arms familiarity, and the fundamentals of Marine Corps life. This is some of the most rigorous training in the US Navy. As of 2005, this course is seven weeks long.
Corpsmen who have received the warfare designator of Enlisted Fleet Marine Force Warfare Specialist are highly trained members of the Hospital Corps who specialize in all aspects of working with the United States Marine Corps operating forces. Attainment of this designation is highly prized among all Corpsmen.
Be they assigned to hospital ships, reservist installations, recruiter offices, or Marine Corps combat units, the rating of Hospital Corpsman is the most decorated in the United States Navy with 22 Medals of Honor, 174 Navy Crosses, 31 Distinguished Service Medals, 946 Silver Stars, and 1,582 Bronze Stars. [2] There have been 14 naval ships that have been named after hospital corpsmen.
A common description of 8404 hospital corpsmen could be found in the 1980 book, ''Green Side Out Marine Corps Sea-Stories'' by H. G. Duncan and W. T. Moore, Jr. -- "A long haired, bearded, Marine-hatin' Sailor with certain medical skills, who would go through the very gates of Hell to tend to a wounded Marine."

Hospital corpsman pledge

"I solemnly pledge myself before God and these witnesses to practice faithfully all of my duties as a member of the Hospital Corps. I hold the care of the sick and injured to be a privilege and a sacred trust and will assist the Medical Officer with loyalty and honesty. I will not knowingly permit harm to come to any patient. I will not partake of nor administer any unauthorized medication. I will hold all personal matters pertaining to the private lives of patients in strict confidence. I dedicate my heart, mind and strength to the work before me. I shall do all within my power to show in myself an example of all that is honorable and good throughout my naval career."

Ships named in honor of hospital corpsmen

Reference: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships

★ USS ''Caron'' (DD-970)

★ USS ''David R. Ray'' (DD-971)

★ USS ''Valdez'' (FF-1096)

★ USS ''Benfold'' (DDG-65)

★ USS ''De Wert'' (FFG-45)

★ USS ''Francis Hammond'' (FF-1067)

★ USS ''Daniel A. Joy'' (DE-585)

★ USS ''Don O. Woods'' (APD-118)

★ USS ''Durant'' (DER-389)
★ Also sailed as USCGC ''Durant''

★ USS ''Frament'' (APD-77)

★ USS ''Jobb'' (DE-707)

★ USS ''Liddle'' (DE-206)

★ USS ''Thaddeus Parker'' (DE-369)

★ USS ''Walter C. Wann'' (DE-412)

★ USS ''Henry W. Tucker'' (DD-875)

★ USS ''Jack Williams'' (FFG-24)

★ USS ''John Willis'' (DE-1027)

★ USS ''Lester'' (DE-1022)

★ USS ''Halyburton'' (FFG-40)

★ USS ''Litchfield'' (AG-95)

U.S. Navy Enlisted Medical Personnel Killed in Action

★ Civil War (1861-1865), 6

★ USS ''Maine'' (1898), 3

★ World War I (1917-1918), 20

★ Nicaragua (1932), 1

★ World War II (1941-1945), 1,170

★ Korea (1950-1954), 108

★ Dominican Republic (1965), 1

★ Vietnam (1962-1975), 638

★ Beirut, (1983), 15

★ Iraq (Ongoing), 25

★ Afghanistan (Ongoing), 3

★
★ Total, 1,990

Decorations of Valor Awarded to Hospital Corpsmen

★ Medal of Honor, 22

★ Navy Cross, 174/Distinguished Service Cross (Army), 31

★ Silver Star Medal, 946

★ Bronze Star Medal, 1,582

Hospital Corpsmen who received the Medal of Honor

★ Pharmacist's Mate First Class John H. Balch, USN

★ Hospital Corpsman Third Class Donald F. Ballard, USN

★ Hospital Corpsman Third Class Edward C. Benfold, USN

★ Hospital Apprentice First Class Robert E. Bush, USN

★ Hospital Corpsman Third Class Wayne M. Caron, USN

★ Hospital Corpsman Third Class William R. Charette, USN

★ Hospitalman Richard D. Dewert, USN

★ Pharmacist's Mate Second Class William D. Halyburton, Jr., USNR

★ Hospitalman Francis C. Hammond, USN

★ Hospital Apprentice First Class David E. Hayden, USN

★ Hospital Corpsman Third Class Robert R. Ingram, USN

★ Hospitalman John E. Kilmer, USN

★ Hospital Apprentice First Class Fred F. Lester, USN

★ Hospital Apprentice Fred H. McGuire, USN

★ Pharmacist's Mate First Class Francis J. Pierce, USN

★ Hospital Corpsman Second Class David R. Ray, USN

★ Hospital Steward William S. Shacklette, USN

★ Hospital Apprentice Robert H. Stanley, USN

★ Pharmacist's Mate Second Class George E. Wahlen, USN

★ Pharmacist's Mate Third Class Jack Williams, USN

★ Pharmacist's Mate First Class John H. Willis, USN

★ Hospital Apprentice First Class William Zuiderveld, USN

See also

★ Medical Assistant (Royal Navy)

★ Medical assistant

External links

★ Corpsman.com, A Site run by Corpsmen for Corpsmen

★ CorpsmanOnline.com Corpsman News Network

★ Hospital Corspman HM

★ HM-8404 Field Medical Service Technician

★ Hospitalcorpsman.org, A site dedicated to the advancement endeavors of Hospital Corpsman