Medicine World War II Hawaii

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin had an exclusive on December 7, 1941 because the presses of the Honolulu Advertiser had broken down. A 12-page "Special Extra" in the December 2, 1991 Final Edition of the Advertiser recreated what the issue would have looked like on December 7th had their presses been operational.

Honolulu Advertiser, Final Edition, 2 December 1991, Souvenir Edition, Special Extra.

John J. Moorhead, M.D., (left of center in photo courtesy of the Hawaii Medical Journal) a surgeon invited by the Honolulu County Medical Society to give a series of lectures, arrived in Honolulu on December 3, 1941. Coincidentally, his first lecture was on "Traumatic Surgery" and the second, "Treatment of Wounds, Civil and Military."¹

On the morning of December 7th, Moorhead's lecture, "Burns," was interrupted by the announcement that Pearl Harbor was under attack. He later delivered a lecture on December 11th, reviewing the response of the medical community followed by a discussion with members of the Honolulu County Medical Society.²

Dr. Moorhead suggested that the "morale of the wounded, the unusual skill of the surgeons and the devoted service of the nursing and other hospital personnel" were "outstanding features" of the initial response to the war.³

1. John J. Moorhead, "Surgical Experience at Pearl Harbor," Journal of the American Medical Association 118 (January-April 1942): 713.
2. ________. "Retrospect," Hawaii Medical Journal 1 (January 1942): 147.
3________. "Surgical Experience at Pearl Harbor," Journal of the American Medical Association 118 (January-April 1942): 714.

The many different gases used in wartime required appropriate protection. Gas masks were issued to Hawaii residents to protect them from the inhalation of poisonous gases. It was noted, however, that the masks would not protect against "sewer gas or illuminating gas."

H.L. Arnold, "What to do about poison gas," Hawaii Medical Journal 1 (January 1942):179.
H.L. Arnold, "Chemical Warfare Agents," Hawaii Medical Journal 1 (January 1942):180-181.

World War II became a sort of proving ground for new chemotherapeutics. Sulfa drugs were limited in the types of infections that responded to them. Penicillin was shown to be valuable in the treatment of a wider scope of infections; the U.S. government embarked on a large-scale project to produce penicillin in quantity.¹

Studies were undertaken by the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association (HSPA) with Penicillium notatum that had been identified by Fleming in 1929. Studies focused on the growth of P. notatum under local conditions to determine which strain would yield high concentrations of penicillin.²

Cultures of P. notatum were supplied to produce inoculated dressings. The Red Cross volunteers in the Surgical Dressing Corps received a request from the Penicillin Laboratory at Aiea Naval Hospital to provide the new "Penicillin pads" in April of 1945. "The bottles used were the standard pound-size coffee jars, with ten [2x2] dressings packed in each. The packing was done with chop sticks, placing the dressings in a fan shape in the bottom of the jar, so that the mold grew over them. Thus, one dressing could be moved without destroying the growth on those surrounding it."³

1. John C. Sheehan, The Enchanted Ring: the Untold Story of Penicillin (Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 1982), 3.
2. C.W. Carpenter, D.M. Weller, and J.P. Martin, "Studies with Penicillium Notatum Westling in Hawaii," Hawaiian Planters' Record 49 (First Quarter 1945): 9.
3. American National Red Cross, Hawaii Chapter, War Record of Volunteer Special Services (Honolulu): American Red Cross, Hawaii Chapter, 1947) 14.

It was determined early in the war that the use of plasma to treat burns was even more important than local treatment of the burn itself in order to prevent "secondary shock," i.e., symptoms that became evident one to four hours after the injury.

A. An empty unit ready for use.

B. A unit without tubes for serological testing.

C. Muslin bag covering unit for easier handling.

D. Unit ready for drawing off plasma.

Severe burn cases were one of the larger problems of war. Human plasma was the treatment of choice when the restoration of volume was needed and "cellular components of blood had not been diminished in quantity." It became apparent that the use of plasma significantly led to the reduction of mortality during World War II compared to World War I.

Howard K. Gray, "Some of the Surgical Lessons Learned in World War II," Hawaii Medical Journal 4 (May-June 1945): 233-234.

"The thought of those officers and men as well as others who have fallen in the fields of battle, those who died at their posts of duty, or those who met death and all their bereaved families, pains our heart night and day…The welfare of the wounded and the war sufferers and of those who lost their homes and livelihood is the object of our profound solicitude." - Emperor Hirohito.

President Truman announced the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945. VJ Day (Victory over Japan) was officially September 2, 1945, when the Instrument of Surrender was signed.

Honolulu Advertiser, Home Edition, 15 August 1945.