Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Summer 2017 - 17

The role of battlefield medicine is an important one to the
history of our United States Armed Forces. Preserving its memory
and cataloguing its advancements is a difficult but important
task. Therefore, the Berks County Medical Society would like
to encourage community members to consider donating or
contributing any military medical equipment they possess that
might be of historical value.

Dr. Jimerson with
his staff at Typhus

Information about the museum as well as how to volunteer or
donate can be found at http://berksmilitary.weebly.com/.

Cedric C. Jimerson, MD
Editor's note: the passages in quotes are taken from Dr. Jimerson's
memoirs.
Dr. Jimerson had recently
completed the first year of his
surgical training in 1943 when
he received his draft notice. For
the next 2 ½ years he served in
the U.S. Army, first as a Battalion
Surgeon and then as Captain and
Surgeon in the 663rd Medical
Clearing Company in the
European Theater. The 663rd saw
combat in two battles in Germany.
During combat, the Clearing
Company is positioned to the rear
of the Battalion Surgeon and the
Collecting Company, and forward
of the Field Hospital.
"The 663rd Medical Clearing Company had a headquarters
section of twenty-two men, and two platoons with forty soldiers
(medics) in each platoon. ... We had our own motor pool,
generator, portable kitchen, and operating room and equipment
under tents. The 663rd Medical Clearing Company was similar to a
'Mash Unit', but it was smaller. ... As Captain I received $200.00
per month plus $10 for being in a combat zone."

troops. The most common injury requiring emergency surgery
was a gunshot to the chest resulting in a sucking wound, which
would cause collapse of the involved lung followed by shift of the
mediastinum to the opposite side of the thorax, with collapse of the
contralateral lung and death. "We performed emergency closure of
the soft tissue wound, did a closed thoracostomy with trocar and
cannula, inserted a short, hard rubber tube into the pleural cavity and
secured a condom over the open end of the tube, with the closed end
of the condom closed off. This ball valve contraption permitted air to
escape from the chest during expiration, re-expansion of the collapsed
lung, and re-shifting of the mediastinum and heart back to normal
position. This operation enabled the patient to be transported back to
a station or general hospital for definitive surgery."
continued on page 18

Dr. Jimerson and
one of Hitler's Elite
SS Troopers, 1945,
Dusseldorf, Germany

In addition to caring for sick and wounded soldiers, Dr. Jimerson
was responsible for teaching first aid to the medics, stocking the
dispensary and dispensing medication, inspecting the toilets and
latrines, and giving regular lectures about venereal diseases to the
SUMMER 2017

|

17
http://berksmilitary.weebly.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Summer 2017
