Realizing Major William Borden's Dream: Military Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and Its Wounded Warriors, 1909–2009: An Essay Review

This essay review examines three books dealing with the founding and subsequent activities of Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and the evolution of military medicine from 1909 to 2009 recently published by the US Army's Borden Institute. Established by fellow army doctor William Borden t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences 2011-07, Vol.66 (3), p.380-394
Main Author: CONNOR, J. T. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Afghan Campaign 2001
Amputation
Amputees
Armies
Army posts
Books - history
Borden
Disabled Persons - history
Historians
History of medicine
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Hospitals
Hospitals, Military - history
Humans
Iraq War, 2003-2011
Military history
Military medicine
Military Medicine - history
School campuses
Soldiers
Veterans - history
Warfare
World wars
Wounds and Injuries - history
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Description
Summary:This essay review examines three books dealing with the founding and subsequent activities of Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) and the evolution of military medicine from 1909 to 2009 recently published by the US Army's Borden Institute. Established by fellow army doctor William Borden to honor Walter Reed himself, WRAMC, located in Washington, DC, soon became the public and professional face of medical care for American soldiers. The discussion highlights the ongoing issue of the care and treatment of combat amputees; aspects of gender within military medicine; and WRAMC's function as an educational and research facility. Also discussed are the archival and documentary bases for these books and their utility for historians. Complimentary analysis of two of the books which are, in particular, explicitly about the history of WRAMC is contextualized within the celebration of the centennial of this army post contemporaneously with its closure, amalgamation, and relocation primarily to Maryland.
ISSN:0022-5045
1468-4373
DOI:10.1093/jhmas/jrq042