From the Farm to Arlington by Clayton Bard Custead

Author:Clayton Bard Custead [Custead, Clayton Bard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Military, Personal Memoirs, History, World War II
ISBN: 9781646630196
Google: d_pRyQEACAAJ
Publisher: KOEHLER BOOKS
Published: 2019-11-15T03:06:16+00:00

CHAPTER 16

National Naval Medical Center

UPON COMPLETING MY TOUR OF duty aboard the USS Banner, I was ordered to the destroyer USS Ingersoll, whose home port was in San Diego. Lois and the kids, living the nomadic life of a sailor’s family, joined me in San Diego while I waited for the destroyer to port again. Knowing it might be a month or two before the Ingersoll returned, I found a Quonset hut for us to call our home while we waited. The plan was for Lois to head back to Denver with the kids once I jumped aboard. When the Ingersoll finally arrived in port, I kissed Lois and the children goodbye and reported to duty. Once onboard, I did not even have a chance to unpack my sea bag before I was told that I had new orders to report to the admiral’s command at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Maryland (now known as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center). I rushed back to our temporary living quarters, hoping Lois and the kids had not yet left for Denver. Luckily, she was still packing when I came running in out of breath, letting her know that we had a last-minute change of plans and a 3,000-mile journey ahead of us.

NNMC was the most pleasant duty station I had yet encountered in my eight years in the Navy. The sprawling medical center, surrounded by a golf course, had beautiful dogwoods, cherry trees, and azalea bushes everywhere. Located in the heart of upscale Bethesda, Maryland, just northwest of Washington D.C., it was the Navy’s most prestigious medical facility for the care of military personnel, clinical research, technical training, and the teaching of Navy doctors and nurses. The president, as well as members of Congress and other dignitaries, receive their healthcare there. It was also the site of serious Cold War military research, which was to become my field. I arrived on December 2, 1955, after driving the 3,000 miles across the country with Lois, Steve, and Sally in our Cadillac.

Upon arrival, I followed my orders to report to the admiral’s command. The command personnel greeted me with puzzled looks on their faces. I was met with “Who are you?” and “Where did you say you came from?” Not knowing what to do with me, they sent me away and told me to call them the next day. In short order, after calling different commands on the base, they determined I was to report for clinical training at the laboratory and hematology schools. The fourteen-month classes had begun a week earlier, but I was allowed to enroll late. The school administrators and teachers quickly determined I was overqualified for the lab courses because of my extensive lab training and experience at Jacksonville Naval Air Station, and because of my experience in emergency care at San Diego Naval Hospital and aboard the Repose. I was then enrolled in more advanced classes studying the physical sciences including biology, bacteriology, pathology, and hematology, among others.

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