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{"id":15301,"date":"2018-10-18T11:00:11","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T15:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/?p=15301"},"modified":"2022-08-03T11:48:48","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T15:48:48","slug":"fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFit to Fight\u201d: Home front Army doctors and VD during WW I"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Susan L. Speaker ~<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15296\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15296\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbcb_crop.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"15296\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbcb_crop\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbcb_crop.jpg?fit=1236%2C1122&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1236,1122\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBCB_crop\" data-image-description=\"<p>As director of the State Hygienic Laboratory, Sawyer often investigated outbreaks of infectious diseases such as typhoid and rabies.<br \/>\nhttps:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/ps\/retrieve\/ResourceMetadata\/LWBBCB<\/p>\n\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Wilbur A. Sawyer at city hall in Hanford, California, investigating a typhoid epidemic, April 1914<br \/>\nNLM Profiles in Science<\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbcb_crop.jpg?fit=300%2C272&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbcb_crop.jpg?fit=840%2C763&ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15296\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbcb_crop.jpg?resize=300%2C272&ssl=1\" alt=\"A man in a suit seated at a desk in an office with a wood stove heater..\" width=\"300\" height=\"272\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15296\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wilbur A. Sawyer at city hall in Hanford, California, investigating a typhoid epidemic, April 1914<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/101584931X22\"><em>NLM Profiles in Science<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After the United States entered the World War in April 1917, <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/ps\/retrieve\/Collection\/CID\/LW\">Dr. Wilbur Sawyer<\/a>, a 37-year-old public health administrator with the California State Board of Health, joined the Medical Reserve Corps. Like many physicians, he hoped to see some service in Europe. And, like many physicians, he \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/ps\/retrieve\/Narrative\/LW\/p-nid\/136\">did his bit<\/a>\u201d on the home front instead. Nearly forty percent of the U. S. Army Medical Corps\u2014doctors, nurses, sanitary engineers, and others\u2014served state-side. They examined new recruits, kept them \u201cfit to fight\u201d at the training camps and departure points, and cared for wounded troops sent home from the front. Sawyer, who had directed campaigns to control outbreaks of rabies, typhoid, and venereal diseases (VD) (as sexually transmitted diseases were then called) in California, took up his duties in the Venereal Diseases Section of the Surgeon General\u2019s Office in January 1918.\u00a0 For his first assignment, he worked with California colleague William Snow on a <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/101584931X7\">statistical study of VD rates in the army<\/a>, published in August of that year.\u00a0 His second assignment was to direct an innovative VD control experiment in the Newport News, VA Port of Embarkation from July through November.<\/p>\n<p>Control of disease, while it may have lacked the drama of battlefield medicine, was essential to the war effort: sick soldiers are liabilities\u2014they can\u2019t fight or carry out other duties, and they might infect others, further reducing available manpower. And one of the biggest disease challenges for medical officers during the war years was not common camp infections like measles or mumps, but sexually transmitted diseases, mainly gonorrhea and syphilis. \u00a0Long acknowledged as a drain on the military, the diseases accounted for more sick time than any other single ailment except influenza. With the drug therapies available at the time (arsphenamine and mercury compounds for syphilis and colloidal silver for gonorrhea) treatment could sideline a soldier for up to four weeks at a time, see details in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.nlm.nih.gov\/bookviewer?PID=nlm:nlmuid-14120390RX9-mvpart#page\/266\/mode\/2up\">Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War, Vol 9, chapter 7<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15310\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15310\" style=\"width: 222px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_5_fig6b.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"15310\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbbj_page_5_fig6b\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_5_fig6b.jpg?fit=894%2C1209&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"894,1209\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_5_fig6b\" data-image-description=\"<p>Venereal Disease is the Greatest Single Cause of Disability in the Army. Over 5\/6 of this burden was brought into the Army, 1\/6 was contracted after enlistment.<\/p>\n\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Cartoon in “Venereal Disease Control in the Army,” in Journal of the American Medical Association, August 10, 1918<br \/>\nNLM Profiles in Science<\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_5_fig6b.jpg?fit=222%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_5_fig6b.jpg?fit=757%2C1024&ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15310\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_5_fig6b.jpg?resize=222%2C300&ssl=1\" alt=\"Poster illustrated with a cartoon of a small silhouette of a solder in front of a large drawing of a civilian man.\" width=\"222\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15310\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cartoon in “Venereal Disease Control in the Army,” in<em> Journal of the American Medical Association<\/em>, August 10, 1918<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/101584931X7\"><em>NLM Profiles in Science<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Venereal diseases were especially hard to control because they were usually acquired outside the camps during soldiers\u2019 leave time, from prostitutes or other companions. \u00a0Traditional military culture had accepted drinking, gambling, and visiting brothels as normal, even necessary free-time activities in soldiers\u2019 often rough lives, and nearby communities made money from such businesses. Reducing military VD levels thus required a change of attitude among military commanders, plus cooperation from the communities near army and naval bases. Fortunately, as historian Allan Brandt relates in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/nlmcatalog\/?term=9408662\"><em>No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States since 1880<\/em><\/a>,1985, the military\u2019s needs dovetailed with a substantial VD control movement already underway in America. From the early 1900s, Progressive anti-vice reformers had campaigned against the morally degrading influences of alcohol, illicit sex, and gambling. In a parallel effort, medical and public health groups sought to frame VD as a public health problem, require reporting of cases, and educate the public about the health costs such diseases carried for individuals and families. The Bureau of Social Hygiene, established by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1911, applied social science and scientific management principles to its expert investigations of vice and disease, completing four major studies of prostitution. In 1913, vice-control and public health advocates joined forces, forming the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2024534\/\">American Social Hygiene Association<\/a> (ASHA). Dr. Sawyer was an early member and became ASHA\u2019s recording secretary in 1915. Public health officers and reformers knew that a military build-up would vastly expand the presence and the dangers of vice and disease. They had had a preview of this during the Army\u2019s Mexican border campaign in 1916, when brothels and saloons appeared near the camps almost overnight and Army VD rates soared. Visiting ASHA investigators reported on the debauchery to Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, who subsequently ordered Army commanders to work with local communities to control the problems. When it became likely that America would enter the war in Europe, ASHA officials advised Baker to establish a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/nlmcatalog\/?term=commission+on+training+camp+activities\">commission to oversee U.S. training camps<\/a> and keep adjacent community areas \u201cdecent and respectable.\u201d He authorized the <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/wardepartmentcom00unitrich\">Commission on Training Camp Activities<\/a> (CTCA) in April 1917, with ASHA members in leadership roles.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15300\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15300\" style=\"width: 219px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/vcbbbw_.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"15300\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/vcbbbw_\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/vcbbbw_.jpg?fit=876%2C1200&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"876,1200\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}\" data-image-title=\"VCBBBW_\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Will You Be a Free Man or Chained, 1918<br \/>\nNational Library of Medicine #101447415 <\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/vcbbbw_.jpg?fit=219%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/vcbbbw_.jpg?fit=748%2C1024&ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/vcbbbw_.jpg?resize=219%2C300&ssl=1\" alt=\"Caricature of the bottom half-length of a soldier with metal rings fastened about the ankles and attached by chain to large, heavy balls on which are written, Venereal Disease, and Enslaving Habits.\" width=\"219\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15300\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Will You Be a Free Man or Chained, 1918<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/resource.nlm.nih.gov\/101447415\"><em>National Library of Medicine #101447415<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The CTCA\/ASHA strategy for moral and medical salvation was multifaceted. First, they worked with state and local authorities to render prostitutes and other \u201cantisocial venereal disease carriers\u201d less accessible by strengthening anti-prostitution ordinances and enforcement; they closed brothels, dance halls, and saloons\u2014and often entire \u201cred light\u201d districts. They instituted routine testing and treatment of women arrested for prostitution, under quarantine. To reduce the number of potential VD vectors, they proposed to protect and rehabilitate \u201cweak-minded\u201d girls and women, providing permanent custodial care if needed. They taught courses on \u201csocial hygiene\u201d at the camps and published <a href=\"http:\/\/resource.nlm.nih.gov\/101521481\">educational pamphlets<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/101584655X17\">posters<\/a>. They even made films, including the feature-length \u201cFit to Fight\u201d later re-titled \u201cFit to Win.\u201d And, through civic organizations like the YMCA, they provided alternative social and recreational facilities for soldiers and civilians of both sexes. At the same time, the Army strengthened its disease-reporting protocols. Medical officers examined the men every two weeks, checking for VD, and soldiers returning from leave were required to report any sexual contact, so that they could be given prophylactic treatment. They also followed up on the many soldiers who had entered the service with VD infections.<\/p>\n<blockquote><div class=\"tiled-gallery type-rectangular tiled-gallery-unresized\" data-original-width=\"840\" data-carousel-extra='{"blog_id":1,"permalink":"https:\\\/\\\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/18\\\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\\\/","likes_blog_id":"52242398"}' itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageGallery\" > <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 840px; height: 345px;\" data-original-width=\"840\" data-original-height=\"345\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 327px; height: 345px;\" data-original-width=\"327\" data-original-height=\"345\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbbj_page_1-chart\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"323\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"341\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"15311\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_1-chart.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"998,1054\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_1-chart\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_1-chart.jpg?fit=284%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_1-chart.jpg?fit=840%2C887&ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_1-chart.jpg?w=323&h=341&ssl=1\" width=\"323\" height=\"341\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"323\" data-original-height=\"341\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_1-chart\" alt=\"Annual venereal disease rates per thousand men in the National Army, Regular Army, National Guard and Expeditionary Forces by weeks for the period from 9\/21\/1917 to 5\/24\/1918 inclusive.\" style=\"width: 323px; height: 341px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 277px; height: 345px;\" data-original-width=\"277\" data-original-height=\"345\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbbj_page_2-chart\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"273\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"341\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"15312\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_2-chart.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1036,1294\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_2-chart\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_2-chart.jpg?fit=240%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_2-chart.jpg?fit=820%2C1024&ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_2-chart.jpg?w=273&h=341&ssl=1\" width=\"273\" height=\"341\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"273\" data-original-height=\"341\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_2-chart\" alt=\"Annual venereal disease rates per thousand men in the National Guard, National Atmy and Regular Army by months for the period from 9\/1017 to 5\/1918 inclusive and the average rates for the same period.\" style=\"width: 273px; height: 341px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 236px; height: 345px;\" data-original-width=\"236\" data-original-height=\"345\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-small\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbbj_page_3-chart\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"232\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"341\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"15313\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_3-chart.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"986,1446\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_3-chart\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_3-chart.jpg?fit=205%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_3-chart.jpg?fit=698%2C1024&ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_3-chart.jpg?w=232&h=341&ssl=1\" width=\"232\" height=\"341\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"232\" data-original-height=\"341\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_3-chart\" alt=\"Comparison of the anual rates per thousand men for all troops in the United States between 9\/21\/1917 and 5\/31\/1918 of certain of the more importatnt commuinicable diseases.\" style=\"width: 232px; height: 341px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <div class=\"gallery-row\" style=\"width: 840px; height: 546px;\" data-original-width=\"840\" data-original-height=\"546\" > <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 374px; height: 546px;\" data-original-width=\"374\" data-original-height=\"546\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart1\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"370\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"542\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"15314\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"974,1426\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_4-chart1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart1.jpg?fit=205%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart1.jpg?fit=699%2C1024&ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart1.jpg?w=370&h=542&ssl=1\" width=\"370\" height=\"542\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"370\" data-original-height=\"542\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_4-chart1\" alt=\"Percentage distribution of injuries and certain of the more important communicable diseases based on the total number of diseases and injuries reported, for all trppps in the United States from Sept. 21, 1917 to May 31, 1918.\" style=\"width: 370px; height: 542px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <div class=\"gallery-group images-1\" style=\"width: 466px; height: 546px;\" data-original-width=\"466\" data-original-height=\"546\" > <div class=\"tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-large\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart2\/\" border=\"0\" itemprop=\"url\"> <meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"462\"> <meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"542\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" data-attachment-id=\"15315\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart2.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"990,1163\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_4-chart2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart2.jpg?fit=255%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart2.jpg?fit=840%2C987&ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_4-chart2.jpg?w=462&h=542&ssl=1\" width=\"462\" height=\"542\" loading=\"lazy\" data-original-width=\"462\" data-original-height=\"542\" itemprop=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/image\" title=\"LWBBBJ_Page_4-chart2\" alt=\"Annual venereal disease rates and prophylactic treatment rates per thousand men by weeks for Camps Sherman, Lee, Upton, Meade, Custer, Kearney, and the Western Department, from Oct. 26, 1917, to May 10, 1918, inclusive, showing the amount of venereal disease contracted before and after enlistment.\" style=\"width: 462px; height: 542px;\" \/> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <!-- close group --> <\/div> <!-- close row --> <\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Statistics from “Venereal Disease Control in the Army,” by William Snow and Wilbur Sawyer in <\/em>Journal of the American Medical Association<em>, August 10, 1918<\/em><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/101584931X7\">NLM Profiles in Science<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Did such measures actually reduce VD rates?\u00a0 In 1918, at the Newport News Port of Embarkation in Virginia, the U.S. Army, and the ASHA\/CTCA collaborated in a community VD control demonstration project to find out. The project was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, and ran for five months. The <a href=\"https:\/\/collections.nlm.nih.gov\/bookviewer?PID=nlm:nlmuid-14120390RX4-mvpart#page\/420\/mode\/2up\">account of this project<\/a> in the official Army Medical Department history shows how the military\u2019s efforts evolved within a complex situation. Dr. Sawyer served as both director of the project and supervisor of non-military activities. Several of Sawyer\u2019s letters to his wife mention the project, <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/101584931X137\">describing the town as \u201camorous\u201d<\/a> and also giving an account of a trip to Richmond, Virginia where <a href=\"https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/101584931X141\">prostitutes had been rounded up for VD treatment<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div data-carousel-extra='{\"blog_id\":1,\"permalink\":\"https:\\\/\\\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/18\\\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\\\/\"}' id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-15301 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbjn_page_1b\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"232\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbjn_page_1b.jpg?fit=232%2C300&ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"A handwritten letter.\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-15308\" data-attachment-id=\"15308\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbjn_page_1b\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbjn_page_1b.jpg?fit=929%2C1202&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"929,1202\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBJN_Page_1b\" data-image-description=\"<p>https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/ps\/retrieve\/ResourceMetadata\/LWBBJN<br \/>\nJune 27, 1918 Dear Margaret: This morning I mailed you a much worn letter which had been in my pocket in rainy weather for over twenty-four hours. I did not burden you with another letter last evening. Two of my scrawls in one mail might be too much for a lovely lady with a sick child on her hands. A shortage of postage stamps was responsible for the delay. I bought three books of stamps this morning so as not to be caught that way again. Yesterday I saw the General,–General Hucheson–and he issued an order announcing that I had been attached to his staff and that all non-military organizations having dealings with the military organizations at the port of embarkation should deal with me. Twenty six organizations or groups of organizations were listed in the document, including the Red Cross and the U.S.P.H. Service. For two and a half days I have been spending much time walking the streets (over) <\/p>\n\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Letter from Wilbur A. Sawyer to Margaret Sawyer, June 27, 1918<br \/>\nNLM Profiles in Science<\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbjn_page_1b.jpg?fit=232%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbjn_page_1b.jpg?fit=791%2C1024&ssl=1\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-15308'>\n\t\t\t\tLetter from Wilbur A. Sawyer to Margaret Sawyer, June 27, 1918\nNLM Profiles in Science\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbjs_page_1b\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"232\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbjs_page_1b.jpg?fit=232%2C300&ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"A typed letter on letterhead from the Headquarters Port of Embarkation Newport News, Virginia.\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-15307\" data-attachment-id=\"15307\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2018\/10\/18\/fit-to-fight-home-front-army-doctors-and-vd-during-ww-i\/lwbbjs_page_1b\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbjs_page_1b.jpg?fit=929%2C1202&ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"929,1202\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}\" data-image-title=\"LWBBJS_Page_1b\" data-image-description=\"<p>https:\/\/profiles.nlm.nih.gov\/ps\/retrieve\/ResourceMetadata\/LWBBJS<br \/>\nAugust 30, 1918. Dear Margaret: I shall have to be very careful in writing this letter because I am making a carbon copy to send to Gertrude in answer to the letter from her which I am enclosing. So if I seem cold, just remember that this is not one of my regular letters to you, -only just a family letter to tell about the events of the last few days. With these preliminary precautions I shall proceed with my labor-saving experiment. On Tuesday the Social Hygiene Demonstration became the possessor of a Dodge car. And the same day the Fuel Administrator issued a statement asking the public not to use cars on Sunday, – and that after the staff had planned to rent the car on a mileage basis and to visit Jamestown and Yorktown to see the places where our earliest history was made. I would like to catch the man who told the F.A. that we had a car. Well, anyway, I have had one lesson in running the thing, and I am almost as proficient in it as I am in teasing the typewriter. On Tuesday evening I received a telegram from Mrs. Rippin saying that there was a bad state of affairs at Petersburg and wouldn’t I please rectify. The report was that the prostitutes who crowded the jail were being marched through the principal street in gangs to the clinic for treatment. How the picture stimulates the imagination! This gave me a good excuse for visiting that very interesting city, although I cannot see just why anyone should think that Petersburg’s troubles were mine just then. As the trouble was in Miss Brown’s territory, I told her about it, and she decided it was time she made an initial visit to the place. I know you will be glad to hear that I had the pleasure of traveling with an interesting young lady. I did my usual race to go out to my room to pack a bag in five minutes and make the train- the five five in the afternoon. We reached Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy in two hours of riding through the woods. Cool, ferny, damp woods that are probably there because mosquitoes have fought off the settlers for hundreds of years, and have devitalized them with frequent doses of the plasmodia of malaria. At Richmond we took a car between stations intending to check our bags and get something to eat before starting for Petersburg. But just as we approached the station, a priest in a touring car called out and asked me if I was going to Petersburg. We both hopped in and had a delightful trip of twenty-two miles over a highway wet by a recent thundershower. We passed several big places although most of the country was just woods. One large place had a large dairy heard grazing over a lawn, while nearby under the trees was a herd of elk. We reached Petersburg at 8:30, an hour earlier than we had expected, and had dinner at the hotel. Rooms had been engaged for us by the extra-cantonment lieutenant, Lt. Orcutt. As it was too early for bed and too late to do any business we took in a movie to wind up the day. When my long-distance phone message to Lt. Orcutt arrived, Colonel Carter was around. He evidently was a little deaf, because he protested against reserving two rooms in a crowded town for two officers traveling on expense account. He always shared his room with another officer and took people into the other berth of his stateroom, etc., etc. They finally made him understand that the other officer was a lady and I <\/p>\n\" data-image-caption=\"<p>Letter from Wilbur A. Sawyer to Margaret Sawyer, August 30, 1918<br \/>\nNLM Profiles in Science<\/p>\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbjs_page_1b.jpg?fit=232%2C300&ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbjs_page_1b.jpg?fit=791%2C1024&ssl=1\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-15307'>\n\t\t\t\tLetter from Wilbur A. Sawyer to Margaret Sawyer, August 30, 1918\nNLM Profiles in Science\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>The Newport News demonstration showed that a joint military and civilian effort could indeed reduce the levels of venereal disease among the troops there\u2014VD rates dropped from 24.8 per thousand in June to 4.5 per thousand in November. Those numbers increased again after the project (and the war) ended. Overall, while the military and civilian efforts to reduce VD had some success, many soldiers caught the diseases. From April 1917 (when the U.S. entered the war) to December 1919 (when demobilization was done) there were about 3,500,000 soldiers admitted to sick report for disease only. Syphilis and gonorrhea accounted for over ten percent of these (357,969) and resulted in 6,804,818 duty days lost.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Sawyer never worked on VD control again after the war. In June 1919, he went to work for the Rockefeller Foundation\u2019s International Health Division, and spent the next three decades investigating tropical diseases, and developing an early yellow fever vaccine.<\/p>\n<p><em>Through 2018, <\/em>Circulating Now<em> will periodically publish posts featuring NLM collections that illuminate the medical history of <a href=\"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/category\/series\/the-great-war\/\">The Great War<\/a>, which lasted from August 1914 to November 1918.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Susan Speaker, PhD, is Historian for the Digital Manuscripts Program of the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Susan L. Speaker ~ After the United States entered the World War in April 1917, Dr. Wilbur Sawyer, a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19605840,"featured_media":15294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[42333869,12763,1269102],"tags":[1337,488,98564,1079099,1834,110820,546948],"class_list":["post-15301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives-manuscripts","category-collections","category-the-great-war","tag-california","tag-military","tag-sex-education","tag-venereal-disease","tag-virginia","tag-world-war-i","tag-yellow-fever"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/lwbbbj_page_5_feature.jpg?fit=900%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xcDk-3YN","jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19605840"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15301"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24582,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15301\/revisions\/24582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |