Page:The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology-ItsFirstCentury.djvu/312

NEW NAME, NEW HOME, NEW RESPONSIBILITIES arsenal, not a tank factory nor an airplane plant, but an institute equally useful in peace as well as in war, devoted to the cause of humanity, scientific advancement, and international Medicine.

Speaking for Surgeon General Harry G. Armstrong of the Air Force Brig. Gen Earl Maxwell emphasized the point that the Air Force had been able to utilize the services of the Institute and would "continue to enjoy that privilege * *. There is no other repository anywhere which can supply us with so much valuable information on the causes, effect, and treatment of many epidemic and tropical diseases."

Continuing, the Air Force spokesman said :

Infectious jaundice, typhus, malaria, cholera, high altitude frost bite and various other exposure problems are but a few of the host of diseases and conditions which confront our military personnel in varying environments in all parts of the world. In its aims and purposes, the Institute represents the hard core of our attack on disease and war injuries which ordinarily take such a terrific toll of military effectiveness * * *. In these days of increasingly devastating conflicts, this institution will become of even greater importance than during the past. New types of warfare, including atomic weapons, make additional pathological facilities mandatory for the prevention and treatment of casualties. Vice Adm. Joel T. Boone, MC, USN (Ret.), and Medical Director of the Veterans' Administration, spoke of the deep interest and intense pride taken by that administration in the achievements and advances by the AFIP. General Callender, he noted, was now Chief of the Pathology Division of the Veterans' Administration, which took "pride and pleasure in the very real part it is playing in this important example of medical teamwork." Maj. Gen. George E. Armstrong, Surgeon General of the Army, the principal speaker for the occasion, emphasized "the splendid achievements of several who have played a part in today's culmination of these years of dreaming and working," mentioning General Callender, Colonel Cornell, General Dart, and Colonel Ash. "It is through these individuals," he said, "together with the Surgeons General of the Army of the past several decades, some of whom are here this afternoon, that finally after years of effort we come to the fruition of our vision." Emphasizing the part played by the Hospital Branch of the Bureau of the Budget, General Armstrong expressed appreciation of the contributions of Mr. McNamara and his associates— "because, believe it or not, in the final sessions that we have been through no professional person, or persons, have fought any harder than these individuals representing the Executive portion of our Government."