Construction map of WWII Lawson General Hospital
In preparation of the U.S. possibly entering World War II, military hospitals were quickly constructed across the country. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Tom Keating located this 1941 layout map or plot plate of World War II Lawson General Hospital in the State of North Carolina Archives.
Lawson General Hospital in 1941, Morris Volpp and others
Volpp was first sent to Camp Forrest hospital in Tennessee. He developed rheumatic fever and was moved to Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.
Coming soon: new Lawson General Hospital photos
A wonderful collection of photos was shared with me by the family of Morris J. Volpp. He contracted rheumatic fever while serving in the National Guard in 1941. These photos are not large group photos, but pictures of Volpp and a few other patients on the campus of Lawson General Hospital.
Military service of Clyde Casto included surgical training at Lawson General Hospital
In 1943, Casto was sent to train as a Surgical Technician in the Medical Department Technicians School at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.
Beautifying the landscape of Lawson General Hospital 1942
Almost a year later, in 1942, plans to improve the Lawson Hospital grounds with plants were underway. The area around the buildings had no trees, no grass and no blooming plants.
Charlie Agnew, Lawson General Hospital 1943
Private Agnew reported to Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia in August, 1943, but by September 1943 he was injured during basic training. The accident involved an obstacle course.
WWII Lawson General Hospital discoveries lead to more questions
I have returned to the subject of Lawson General Hospital again and again. It is intriguing to me that during WWII this hospital was located in Chamblee, adjacent to Naval Air Station Atlanta. Also, the people involved were sometimes from Atlanta, Chamblee or other nearby towns, but most of the people who worked, trained, or were treated at Lawson General Hospital were there for a brief time. They went home or to another hospital after being treated or they received their orders and left to serve their country using the skills received as part of the MDTS, Medical Department Training School.
WWII soldier Richard R. Smith and Thanksgiving 1944 at Lawson General Hospital
It is always an honor to learn the story of a soldier who spent time at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia during World War II. Stories of soldiers who were injured and of men who did medical training at Lawson have been shared with me and I will continue to share those stories through pasttensega.com.
This history comes from Doug Smith, whose father Richard Rouse Smith, Sr., was wounded in France during July of 1944 and spent the last part of 1944 at Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.