Lawson General Hospital in 1941, Morris Volpp and others

In my last blog post, I told of Morris Volpp, who became a patient at Lawson General Hospital in 1941. The hospital opened in 1941, so everything was still new. From looking at the photographs, it seems any vegetation was removed from the property. One of the photographs even has a note reading, “Notice the trees.” Lawson will be beautified later, but in 1941 it is quite stark.

A truck parked in front of part of Lawson General Hospital. A note on the back reads, “notice the trees.” Photo by the Volpp family.

Volpp was born in Illinois in 1921. He enlisted in the National Guard March 4, 1941. According to the True Republican newspaper, Sycamore, Illinois, July 4, 1941 edition, Volpp was first sent to Camp Forrest hospital in Tennessee. He developed rheumatic fever and was moved to Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.

An early view of Lawson General Hospital, photo taken by the Volpp family in 1941.

Morris Volpp spent time at Lawson in Ward B-5, during his slow recovery. These photos were taken and processed in 1941 when his parents visited him at the hospital.

Sadly, Volpp died in 1943 in an airplane crash. He had received an honorable discharge from the army and was working on his father’s farm in Illinois. He became interested in airplanes when his younger brother became a bomber in the Army Air Corps and was on his first airplane ride. (DeKalb Daily Chronicle, DeKalb, Illinois, Aug. 11, 1943)

Morris Volpp looks out his window at Ward B 5, Lawson General Hospital

In 1940, before the U.S. entered World War II, the construction of Lawson General Hospital began. It was located on the property where CDC Chamblee campus and IRS are today, where Buford Highway, Chamblee Tucker Road and West Hospital Avenue meet. There is still a road named West Hospital Avenue in this area.

An unidentified nurse from Lawson and patient Leslie Donovan, who appears in other photos. Photos taken by the Volpp family.

Patient Red Larson hangs up laundry. Photo from the Volpp family.

The buildings were one-story and the layout was intended to prevent the spread of disease. Initially, it had 2500 beds, but later the number increased to 4000. It became a MDTS, Medical Department Training School location, in 1942. The hospital became well-known in later years for treatments involving prosthesis.

The men in this photo are identified as Fredric Hulbert, Leslie Donovan, Albert McClure, Richard Dolan, and Morris Volpp. My guess is that is from right to left! Photo from Volpp family.

Many thanks to the family members of Morris Volpp for sharing these photographs.