Updated on April 8, 2022. Sadly Dr. P. J. Moore, Jr. died on April 6, 2022 at the age of 102. Dr. Moore was stationed at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia during WWII and shared his experiences with me. I’m so glad I got to know this amazing man and his lovely wife Elaine Moore.
Dr. P. J. Moore, Jr. celebrated his 101st birthday March of this year. In March of 2020, I wrote about Dr. Moore, who served as a surgeon during World War II at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia. Read more about Dr. Moore in this article I wrote for the Dunwoody Crier.
I recently reached out to Dr. Moore to see if he recalled a young woman who was an amputee visiting Lawson General Hospital when he worked there. The woman’s sister contacted me to share the story of her sister talking with the soldiers and demonstrating how well she got along with her prosthesis. Dr. Moore did not recall the young woman, but what an amazing story about the military hospital.
Lawson General Hospital opened April 15, 1941 and was located where Chamblee Tucker Road meets with West Hospital Avenue (named for the hospital) and Buford Highway. It was next door to Naval Air Station Atlanta, built in 1940. This area is now home to CDC Chamblee and the IRS.
The hospital had a large impact on the community, providing jobs for many and bringing in customers for local businesses. It is also true that the community had an impact on Lawson. Many visited patients to help lift their spirits. Local families, such as the Andersons of Dunwoody, brought patients to their homes to enjoy a home-cooked dinner. Nearby residents brought flowers, like the Akers family who owned a summer home along Spalding drive.
In addition to being a surgeon, Dr. Moore helped soldiers see that golf was a sport they could participate in after their recovery.
Famous golfers of the day visited Lawson General Hospital. In April of 1945, Bobby Jones and Bud Bicknell, chairmen of the PGA tournament taking place in Atlanta, brought a group of golf pros to the hospital. The golfers included Byron Nelson, Craig Wood, Sam Snead, Tony Penna, Harold McSpaden, Bob Hamilton, Johnny Revolta, Ed Dudley, Denny Schute, and Jimmy Thomson. They demonstrated their skills on a runway of adjacent Naval Air Station Atlanta.
Lawson General Hospital surgeon Dr. P. J. Moore, Jr. celebrated his 101st birthday with some Top Golf, dinner at Olive Garden, and a helicopter ride.
