{"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=8th+Evacuation+Hospital+collection%2C+1941%2F2011\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1998","next":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=8th+Evacuation+Hospital+collection%2C+1941%2F2011\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1998\u0026page=2","last":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcollection%5D%5B%5D=8th+Evacuation+Hospital+collection%2C+1941%2F2011\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1998\u0026page=2"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":1,"next_page":2,"prev_page":null,"total_pages":2,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":0,"total_count":12,"first_page?":true,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/UVA/repositories_7_resources_112.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.lib.virginia.edu/ark:/59853/134031","title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1941-2011"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1941-2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1941/2011"],"normalized_title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"text":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112","18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.","catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library","The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/","Copyright restrictions may apply.","Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"unitid_tesim":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"creators_ssim":["Guerrant, John","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"access_terms_ssm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material."],"extent_ssm":["25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["25 Linear Feet"],"date_range_isim":[1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThe 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOn March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ecatalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/UVA/repositories_7_resources_112.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.lib.virginia.edu/ark:/59853/134031","title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1941-2011"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1941-2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1941/2011"],"normalized_title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"text":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112","18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.","catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library","The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/","Copyright restrictions may apply.","Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"unitid_tesim":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"creators_ssim":["Guerrant, John","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"access_terms_ssm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material."],"extent_ssm":["25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["25 Linear Feet"],"date_range_isim":[1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThe 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOn March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ecatalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112"}},{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c1233","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Correspondence regarding monetary donations to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library from the 8th Evac hospital unit, 1998","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c1233#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c1233","ref_ssm":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c1233"],"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c1233","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112"],"title_filing_ssi":"Correspondence regarding monetary donations to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library from the 8th Evac hospital unit","title_ssm":["Correspondence regarding monetary donations to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library from the 8th Evac hospital unit"],"title_tesim":["Correspondence regarding monetary donations to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library from the 8th Evac hospital unit"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Correspondence regarding monetary donations to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library from the 8th Evac hospital unit, 1998"],"text":["Correspondence regarding monetary donations to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library from the 8th Evac hospital unit, 1998","8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","3 TDS 3 pp.","box 28","folder 049"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1998"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1998-99"],"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"component_level_isim":[1],"sort_isi":1233,"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"physdesc_tesim":["3 TDS 3 pp."],"containers_ssim":["box 28","folder 049"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"date_range_isim":[1998],"_nest_path_":"/components#1232","timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/UVA/repositories_7_resources_112.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.lib.virginia.edu/ark:/59853/134031","title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1941-2011"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1941-2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1941/2011"],"normalized_title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"text":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112","18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.","catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library","The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/","Copyright restrictions may apply.","Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"unitid_tesim":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"creators_ssim":["Guerrant, John","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"access_terms_ssm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material."],"extent_ssm":["25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["25 Linear Feet"],"date_range_isim":[1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThe 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOn March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ecatalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c1233"}},{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c682","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed aerial photo of 8th Evac, 1998","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c682#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eShaffer writes about his camera surviving a 1000 foot fall from an airplane and its risky rescue. The photo shows the 8th Evac north of Naples in 1943 where the inspiration for the shower scene in the movie \"MASH\" occurred.\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c682#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c682","ref_ssm":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c682"],"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c682","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed aerial photo of 8th Evac","title_ssm":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. 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The photo shows the 8th Evac north of Naples in 1943 where the inspiration for the shower scene in the movie \"MASH\" occurred."],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1998"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1998 June 10"],"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"component_level_isim":[1],"sort_isi":682,"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"physdesc_tesim":["TLS 2 pp., PHOTO 1-B"],"containers_ssim":["box 13","folder 074"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"date_range_isim":[1998],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eShaffer writes about his camera surviving a 1000 foot fall from an airplane and its risky rescue. The photo shows the 8th Evac north of Naples in 1943 where the inspiration for the shower scene in the movie \"MASH\" occurred.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Shaffer writes about his camera surviving a 1000 foot fall from an airplane and its risky rescue. The photo shows the 8th Evac north of Naples in 1943 where the inspiration for the shower scene in the movie \"MASH\" occurred."],"_nest_path_":"/components#681","timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/UVA/repositories_7_resources_112.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.lib.virginia.edu/ark:/59853/134031","title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1941-2011"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1941-2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1941/2011"],"normalized_title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"text":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112","18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.","catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library","The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/","Copyright restrictions may apply.","Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"unitid_tesim":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"creators_ssim":["Guerrant, John","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"access_terms_ssm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material."],"extent_ssm":["25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["25 Linear Feet"],"date_range_isim":[1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThe 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOn March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. 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Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c682"}},{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c687","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed photo, 1998","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c687#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eThe photo shows from left to right: McNeel, Secretary of War Stimson (pith helmet), an unidentified man, and General Mark Clark and was taken in September 1944.\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c687#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c687","ref_ssm":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c687"],"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c687","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Melvin C. 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Klein with enclosed photo, 1998","8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","TLS 1 pg., PHOTO 1-B","box 13","folder 079","The photo shows from left to right: McNeel, Secretary of War Stimson (pith helmet), an unidentified man, and General Mark Clark and was taken in September 1944."],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1998"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1998 June 10"],"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"component_level_isim":[1],"sort_isi":687,"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"physdesc_tesim":["TLS 1 pg., PHOTO 1-B"],"containers_ssim":["box 13","folder 079"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"date_range_isim":[1998],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe photo shows from left to right: McNeel, Secretary of War Stimson (pith helmet), an unidentified man, and General Mark Clark and was taken in September 1944.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The photo shows from left to right: McNeel, Secretary of War Stimson (pith helmet), an unidentified man, and General Mark Clark and was taken in September 1944."],"_nest_path_":"/components#686","timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/UVA/repositories_7_resources_112.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.lib.virginia.edu/ark:/59853/134031","title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1941-2011"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1941-2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1941/2011"],"normalized_title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"text":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112","18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.","catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library","The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/","Copyright restrictions may apply.","Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"unitid_tesim":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"creators_ssim":["Guerrant, John","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"access_terms_ssm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material."],"extent_ssm":["25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["25 Linear Feet"],"date_range_isim":[1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThe 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOn March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. 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Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c687"}},{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c689","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed photo, 1998","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c689#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eThe photo is of the area near the 8th Evac camp at Pietramala in the winter of 1944-45 and shows the Brenner Pass. Senator Bob Dole was severely wounded here.\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c689#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c689","ref_ssm":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c689"],"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c689","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed photo","title_ssm":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed photo"],"title_tesim":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed photo"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Letter from Melvin C. 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Senator Bob Dole was severely wounded here."],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1998"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1998 June 10"],"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"component_level_isim":[1],"sort_isi":689,"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"physdesc_tesim":["TLS 1 pg., PHOTO 1-B"],"containers_ssim":["box 13","folder 081"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"date_range_isim":[1998],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe photo is of the area near the 8th Evac camp at Pietramala in the winter of 1944-45 and shows the Brenner Pass. 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(38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. 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In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. 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The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. 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During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. 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A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c689"}},{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c686","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed transparency, 1998","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c686#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eThe transparency is of the 8th Evac at Pietramala, Italy, and was made in the winter of 1944-45.\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c686#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c686","ref_ssm":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c686"],"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c686","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed transparency","title_ssm":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed transparency"],"title_tesim":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed transparency"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with enclosed transparency, 1998"],"text":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. 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(38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. 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In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. 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During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. 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A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. 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Klein with one enclosed photo of Shaffer and Snavely, 1998","8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","TLS 1 pg., PHOTO 1-B","box 13","folder 076"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1998"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1998 June 10"],"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"component_level_isim":[1],"sort_isi":684,"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"physdesc_tesim":["TLS 1 pg., PHOTO 1-B"],"containers_ssim":["box 13","folder 076"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"date_range_isim":[1998],"_nest_path_":"/components#683","timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/UVA/repositories_7_resources_112.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.lib.virginia.edu/ark:/59853/134031","title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1941-2011"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1941-2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1941/2011"],"normalized_title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"text":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112","18.25 linear ft. 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During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. 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The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. 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The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. 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A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. 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(38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. 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A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/","Copyright restrictions may apply.","Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"unitid_tesim":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"creators_ssim":["Guerrant, John","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"access_terms_ssm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material."],"extent_ssm":["25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["25 Linear Feet"],"date_range_isim":[1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThe 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOn March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. 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Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. 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Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c683"}},{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c685","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. 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(38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.","catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library","The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/","Copyright restrictions may apply.","Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"unitid_tesim":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"creators_ssim":["Guerrant, John","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"access_terms_ssm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material."],"extent_ssm":["25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["25 Linear Feet"],"date_range_isim":[1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThe 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOn March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ecatalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c685"}},{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c688","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with two enclosed photos, 1998","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c688#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eThe photos show tents, patients, and military personnel at the 8th Evac's Lake Garda location in the summer of 1945.\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c688#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c688","ref_ssm":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c688"],"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c688","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","parent_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_ids_ssim":["viu_repositories_7_resources_112"],"title_filing_ssi":"Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with two enclosed photos","title_ssm":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with two enclosed photos"],"title_tesim":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with two enclosed photos"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with two enclosed photos, 1998"],"text":["Letter from Melvin C. Shaffer to Joan E. Klein with two enclosed photos, 1998","8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","TL 1 pg., PHOTOS 2-B","box 13","folder 080","The photos show tents, patients, and military personnel at the 8th Evac's Lake Garda location in the summer of 1945."],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1998"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1998 June 10"],"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"component_level_isim":[1],"sort_isi":688,"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"physdesc_tesim":["TL 1 pg., PHOTOS 2-B"],"containers_ssim":["box 13","folder 080"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"date_range_isim":[1998],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe photos show tents, patients, and military personnel at the 8th Evac's Lake Garda location in the summer of 1945.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The photos show tents, patients, and military personnel at the 8th Evac's Lake Garda location in the summer of 1945."],"_nest_path_":"/components#687","timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_ssi":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_root_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","_nest_parent_":"viu_repositories_7_resources_112","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/UVA/repositories_7_resources_112.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.lib.virginia.edu/ark:/59853/134031","title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1941-2011"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1941-2011"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1941/2011"],"normalized_title_ssm":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"text":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011","MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112","18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material.","There are no restrictions.","The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.","Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff","Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.","catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library","The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/","Copyright restrictions may apply.","Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"collection_ssim":["8th Evacuation Hospital collection, 1941/2011"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"unitid_tesim":["MS.5","Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","Previous Archival Resource Key","/repositories/7/resources/112"],"repository_ssm":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"repository_ssim":["University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept."],"creator_persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"creators_ssim":["Guerrant, John","Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"access_terms_ssm":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"physdesc_tesim":["18.25 linear ft. (38 boxes, ca. 18,000 items); correspondence, reports, photographs, 5 boxes of Byrd Stuart Leavell's manuscript, scrapbooks, and other archival material."],"extent_ssm":["25 Linear Feet"],"extent_tesim":["25 Linear Feet"],"date_range_isim":[1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\nThe 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nOn March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\n","\u003cp\u003e\nThe Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital was organized and staffed by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. In February of 1942, University President John L. Newcomb and Dean of the School of Medicine, Harvey E. Jordan, gave permission for the organization of a medical unit for war service designed to be an evacuation hospital for emergency surgical cases. In March of 1942, Dr. Staige D. Blackford was made director of the unit. Dr. E. Cato Drash assisted Dr. Blackford in organizing a staff of over four hundred people for the 750-bed evacuation hospital, including 47 commissioned officers and 52 commissioned nurses. Ruth Beery, a former instructor at the School of Nursing, was made the principal chief nurse. Organization was completed by May of 1942.","The unit went through basic training during the summer of 1942 and was activated on August 19, 1942 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lincoln F. Putnam. In November of 1942, the men of the 8th Evacuation Hospital shipped out on the U.S.S. Santa Paula and went ashore at Casablanca where they set up a provisional general hospital at the former Italian consulate. Colonel John W. McKoan took over as commanding officer and oversaw the closing of the hospital four months after its establishment. During that time there were nearly 4,200 admissions and thousands of outpatients were treated in outpatient departments and the dental clinic.","On March 14, 1943 the 8th Evacuation Hospital moved to a new location on Anfa Hill where they were joined by 51 nurses and began to function as a convalescent hospital, caring for nearly 1,460 inpatients before being dismantled and parked in early June. The unit moved to a bivouac area at Camp Matifou, Algiers for six weeks until they were assigned to Salerno, Italy. After their arrival in Italy, they learned that all the hospital equipment had been lost, but they quickly managed to procure tents, a telephone system, generator and laboratory equipment. The hospital moved to Caserta and stayed there from October until December of 1943, and then spent three months in Teano functioning as a field hospital for combat operation. In Italy the hospital became very efficient at following the moving front line of the Allied forces. The Allied advance slowed in the fall of 1944 and the 8th Evac. was assigned to a muddy field in Pietramala, a mountainous area north of Florence, where they stayed for six months. The fall was wet and muddy and the winter cold and snowy. During this time the unit treated over 9,000 inpatients, of whom half were injured and wounded.","The end of fighting in Italy in the spring of 1945 meant that some members of the 8th Evac. were sent home, others to the Pacific, and others set up hospitals near Verona and Lake Garda. E. Cato Drash was made commanding officer as the 8th Evac. spent four months at Lake Garda treating almost 5,000 inpatients, mostly for disease. In the fall of 1945 the 8th Evacuation Hospital was demobilized after three and a half years of active duty. Over 48,000 patients, twice as many as were admitted to the University of Virginia Hospital in 1942-1944, were admitted to the 8th Evacuation Hospital in Africa and Italy over the three year period. Of those patients fourteen percent were injured, twenty-two percent were wounded, and sixty-four percent were sick. There were 253 deaths, or about half of one percent. More than 53,000 outpatients were seen in clinics.","The Hospital functioned in the heat of North Africa and southern Italy and in the rain, snow, and cold of the Italian mountains. At times the operating areas were all in use with a hundred men waiting for surgery, and at other times the staff had time on their hands and little to entertain themselves with. The unit received more awards, commendations, and decorations than most similar units and served longer in North Africa and Italy than any other American hospital. The men and women of the 8th Evacuation Hospital served their country well and were excellent representatives of the University of Virginia."],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eProcessed by:\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHistorical Collections Staff\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Processed by:\n        Historical Collections Staff"],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["8th Evacuation Hospital Collection, MS-5, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections and Services, University of Virginia"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFinding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Finding Aid by M. Alison White; 2006, 2012, 2014 revisions by Janet Pearson."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ecatalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["catalogued individually at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library:","The 8th Evac: A History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II, by Byrd Stuart Leavell, [1970]; 260 p.; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 .L4 1970\nC'est le Garre: Reminiscenses of a World War II Army Nurse, by Elizabeth Engleman Carter [edited by Caroline Carter Jones], 1992?; Typescript, 39 p.; Health Sciences Rare Oversize Shelves: D807.U722 NO.8 .C3 1992\nUVA Goes to War: The Story of the 8th Evacuation Hospital in World War II, [sound recording]; Panelists: John L. Guerrant, M.D.; Elizabeth Drash, R.N.; William N. Thornton, M.D.; Moderator: John F. Harlan, 1989; Health Sciences Rare Shelves: D807.U722 NO. 8 U93 1989 [audio/visual material]\nAlso see other materials at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The 8th Evacuation Hospital collection includes photographs, personal and official correspondence, reports, notebooks, purchase orders, citations, certificates, scrapbooks, newsclippings, insignia, and a manuscript of Byrd Stuart Leavell's book: The 8th Evac.: a History of the University of Virginia Hospital Unit in World War II (1970). Additional artifacts, including uniforms, plaques, and a replica set of Roman instruments, are in the artifact collection at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, Historical Collections, University of Virginia. A web exhibit on the 8th Evacuation Hospital, featuring content and images from the collection is available here: http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/8thevacuation/"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCopyright restrictions may apply.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["Copyright restrictions may apply."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_789960313839502ee81eb962b5ede1f8\"\u003eOf unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["Of unique relevance to the University of Virginia Health System is the 8th Evacuation Hospital Collection. The \"8th Evac.\" was organized and staffed primarily by University of Virginia physicians and nurses during World War II. The collection contains scrapbooks, memoirs, reports, and numerous photographs that recall the experiences of the men and women who provided medical and nursing care in North Africa and Italy during the war."],"corpname_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library"],"persname_ssim":["Guerrant, John"],"names_ssim":["Claude Moore Health Sciences Library","Guerrant, John"],"language_ssim":["English"],"total_component_count_is":1580,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-08-14T22:54:53.229Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/viu_repositories_7_resources_112_c688"}}],"included":[{"type":"facet","id":"repository_ssim","attributes":{"label":"Repository","items":[{"attributes":{"label":"University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.","value":"University of Virginia, Special Collections 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