55th Medical Group


The 55th Medical Group was constituted on 13 January 1941, in the Regular Army as the 55th Medical Battalion. The battalion served in combat in Europe in World War II. Later reorganized as a medical group, the unit again saw combat in the Republic of Vietnam. It was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina during the Cold War, before and after its deployment to Vietnam and again in the 1990s.

Lineage

  • Constituted on 13 January 1941 in the Regular Army as the 55th Medical Battalion.
  • Activated on 2 February 1941 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas
  • Reorganized and re-designated on 7 July 1942 as the 55th Medical Battalion, Motorized.
  • Battalion converted from Organic to Separate on 4 April 1944 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as follows:
  1. Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 55th Medical Battalion.
  2. Company A, as the 494th Medical Collecting Company - hereafter separate lineage.
  3. Company B, as the 495th Medical Collecting Company - hereafter separate lineage.
  4. Company C, as the 496th Medical Collecting Company - hereafter separate lineages.
  5. Clearing Company, as the 650th Medical Clearing Company - hereafter separate lineage.
  • Inactivated 3 March 1946, in Germany.
  • Activated 6 September 1955 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
  • Reorganized and re-designated 20 December 1956 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 55th Medical Group.
  • Inactivated 25 June 1970 in Vietnam.
  • Activated 25 March 1971 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
  • Inactivated 21 September 1974 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
  • Activated 1 October 1992 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
  • Inactivated 18 July 2001 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

    Honors

Campaign participation credit

  • World War II
  • *Normandy
  • *Northern France
  • *Rhineland
  • *Ardennes-Alsace
  • *Central Europe
  • Vietnam
  • *Counteroffensive
  • *Counteroffensive, Phase II
  • *Counteroffensive, Phase III
  • *Tet Counteroffensive
  • *Counteroffensive, Phase IV
  • *Counteroffensive, Phase V
  • *Counteroffensive, Phase VI
  • *Tet 69/Counteroffensive
  • *Summer-Fall 1969
  • *Winter-Spring 1970
  • *Sanctuary Counteroffensive

    Decorations

  • Meritorious Unit Commendation for:
  1. VIETNAM 1966-1968
  2. VIETNAM 1968-1969

    History

World War II

1941

The 55th Medical Battalion was activated 10 February 1941 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas in accordance with General Order No. 3, Headquarters Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Three Medical Corps Captains, fifteen Medical Corps First Lieutenants, two Dental Corps First Lieutenants, three Medical Administrative Corps First Lieutenants, and one Medical Administrative Corps Second Lieutenant were assigned to the organization under the command of Major Alvin L. Gorby, Medical Corps, who was transferred from the 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Division. A cadre of twenty enlisted men from the Second Medical Battalion, Fort Sam Houston, Texas was transferred to this organization. The organization was assigned barracks in the vicinity of the W. W. White Road and Garden Avenue on the Fort Sam Houston Reservation, was brought to training strength by the receipt of 440 selectees from the Fort Sam Houston Reception Center, and a unit training program was started.
A medical battalion had the same general function for the corps troops as the division medical battalion did to the division, with the additional mission of reinforcing divisional medical battalions as required. As originally organized, the battalion had a headquarters battalion, three lettered collecting companies, and a clearing company. The headquarters detachment distributed medical supplies to the battalion and also established a medical supply point for medical detachments in the corps area. The collecting companies established corps collecting stations when necessary, supported or reinforced division collecting companies, provided area sanitation, additional litter bearers for hospitals operating in the corps area, and their ambulance sections could operate area ambulance services. The battalion clearing company established clearing stations for corps troops or could be used to relieve or reinforce divisional clearing stations. They could be used to relieve hospitals of minor, contagious, or chemical casualties or, when properly augmented by teams from an auxiliary surgical group, in place of a surgical hospital for limited periods of time.
On June 1, 1941, Major Frank Y. Leaver, Medical Corps assumed command. On the same date a detachment of enlisted men and two officers departed from Fort Sam Houston, Texas at 7:30 A.M. for the VIII Army Corps field Exercises in the vicinity of Rising Star, Texas. On June 2, 1941, a detachment of 60 enlisted men from Company "C" departed for the VIII Army Corps Field Exercises. June 4, 1941, four officers and three enlisted men departed; and on June 7, 1941, the remainder of the 55th Medical Battalion departed for the maneuver area. The Battalion furnished second echelon medical attention for the VIII Army Corps Troops. At the close of the exercises the battalion returned to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, closing on the post on return on June 16, 1941.
After the June maneuvers the battalion resumed training and began preparation for the August and September maneuvers in the Louisiana Maneuver Area. On August 5, 1941, a detachment from Headquarters Detachment, Companies “A” and “D” left Fort Sam Houston for the initial bivouac area near Mansfield, Louisiana. The remainder of the Headquarters Detachment, Companies “B” and “C” left home station on August 10, 1941. The whole Battalion was assembled in bivouac on August 11, 1941. Second echelon medical attention was furnished the VIII Army Corps Troops during the entire maneuver period in addition to the operation of medical supply service to the Corps Troops. The strength of the Corps Troops varied from about 8,000 to 14,000. The battalion moved by shuttling a total of twelve times during the maneuvers. Moves were coordinated in such a manner that one platoon of Company “D” had a clearing station set up at all times, for the care and treatment of patients. A total of 1483 ill and 200 injured were treated, and 525 of these cases were evacuated to hospitals by Army units. The entire battalion returned to Fort Sam Houston on October 2, 1941.
The experience gained in these maneuvers demonstrated that litter bearers in the Collecting Companies could be greatly reduced or eliminated as in all cases evacuation from Corps Troops could be accomplished by ambulance directly. A shortage of transportation restricted the use of the Collecting Companies and multiple trips using organic transportation was necessary to move the battalion.
Care and operation of motor transportation was stressed upon return from maneuvers and the battalion received a commendation on their motor maintenance and the excellent condition of their vehicles from the 2nd Division Motor Inspector.
By the end of 1941, the battalion had 30 of its 34 authorized officers assigned, with their maximum number of months of duty, excluding the commanding Officer, being 30 months, the minimum one month, and the average eleven months. The enlisted strength of the battalion at year end was 280 assigned against 434 authorizations. Most of this was due to the transfer of men over 28 years old to the Enlisted Reserve Corps.

1942

In July 1942 the battalion again participated in the maneuvers in Louisiana, this time on a scale smaller than those of the 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers, again is support of the VIII Corps, which was also headquartered at Fort Sam Houston. The Headquarters Detachment and companies A and D returned to Fort Sam Houston in September, with companies B and C joining them at their home station in November 1942.

1943

After completion of training and the 1942 Louisiana maneuvers, the battalion was ordered to Desert Training Center, California and arrived at Camp Young on 1 February 1943. Training was carried out in Camp Young, California, with the unit performing its primary mission. The ultimate purpose of the training was to prepare the Battalion to operate effectively for the care and transportation of casualties and to participate with higher units in field exercises. In order to accomplish this purpose the training was conducted by the individual companies under a master schedule issued by battalion headquarters. In later phases of unit training, the organization participated in large scale field exercises conducted by higher headquarters.
The battalion received training in all phases of its primary mission while at Desert Training Center. In addition to participating in maneuvers conducted by IV Armored Corps and IX Corps the battalion operated a dispensary serving the 76th Field Artillery Brigade, in addition to its usual duties.
In August 1943, the battalion was transferred to the Communication Zone, Desert Training Center. The battalion under Communication Zone operated the central dispensary at Camp Young, two reinforced ambulance detachments, and constructed and operated the 500 bed Banning Convalescent Hospital. The two reinforced ambulance detachments, in a period of 2 months evacuated 6,814 patients, traveling a distance of 253,004 miles without an accident.
At the end of 1943 the authorized strength of the battalion was 25 Medical Corps officers, 2 Dental Corps officers, 8 Medical Administrative Corps officers, and an attached Chaplain, as well as 484 enlisted.
Life at Camp Young was austere. At Fort Sam Houston the battalion was quartered in wooden barracks and serviced by the Post Laundry. During its stay at the Desert Training Center the battalion was quartered in pyramidal tents. There were no bathing installations a greater portion of the time they were there, and the men of the battalion constructed showers by adding shower heads and reversing the flow of water from the unit water trailers. Laundry was provided by civilian establishments and occasionally by Quartermaster mobile laundry units but were never adequate, the service being very unreliable and at times unavailable.
Additionally, at Fort Sam Houston the battalion received Class A rations which were prepared in permanent post mess halls. In DTC, the rations were chiefly types “B” and “C” and were prepared on the unit's field ranges. Sewage and wastes were disposed of by incineration and burial.
Insect control was not a problem except for flies at Desert Training Center-which were controlled through use of fly traps, swatting and other usual controls.
In December 1943, the 55th Medical Battalion arrived in the European Theater of Operations and began intensive training for expected operations on the continent.