1918 – A letter from an overweight, overtired, and, especially, overworked but dedicated medic who managed a ward in an overcrowded base hospital near Nantes, France

Base Hospital #38 near Nantes, France, 1918. Very good. This four-page letter from J. K. Leister of Base Hospital #38 near Nantes, France to his mother back home in Pottstown, Pennsylvania is dated 17 August 1918. It is enclosed in its original mailing envelope and bears a manuscript “Soldiers Mail” annotation along with a standard censor handstamp. Although APO 767 is referenced in Leister’s return address, the cover is not postmarked. In nice shape

In this letter, Leister reports

“Last night was the first night I’ve had my clothes off since Sunday. . .. A red cross train came in Monday and I’ve been on the go ever since. Another is due to-night at 830 so little Johnny won’t sleep again for several days. It will be work, work, work from morning until night, and then all night. But that’s what I’m here for and as long as I can stand it. . .. You’ve never had to handle a fifty-bed ward with one assistant and no nurse. I’m just about ready to drop. . .. I wonder how much longer it will last.”

. During World War One, base hospitals were the most sophisticated medical facilities in theater. Located far behind the front lines, they treated only the most severely wounded soldiers after they had already been stabilized at more forward hospitals and aid stations. They had x-ray departments, multiple operating theaters, large medical staffs, and many beds for both treatment and stabilization before further evacuation to the states or possibly rehabilitation and return to the front.

Base Hospital No. 38 was formed primarily from the medical staff of the Jefferson Medical College and Hospital of Philadelphia. After the war, it published an informal history/yearbook. It notes that Leister was consistently teased for his weight and always wanting to sleep. The caption under his photo read, "Please go ‘way and let me sleep.”

A very nice letter documenting the endless work required of the staffs in the medical units of the American Expeditionary Force.