Armed Forces Institute of Pathology: Its First Century 1862-1962/Preface
Preface
In the preparation of this book. I have had so much assistance and so many kindnesses from so many persons that I despair of making suitable acknowledgment to all to whom it is due.
First and foremost. I am deeply obliged to the Director of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Col. Frank M. Townsend. U.S. Air Force. MC; to the Deputy Directors. Col. Joe M. Blumberg. MC. U.S. Army, and Capt. Roger H. Fuller. MC. U.S. Navy; and to the Scientific Director of the Institute. Dr. Robert E. Stowell. They have provided every facility and all possible assistance for the work.
Especially appreciated was the establishment of an Advisory Editorial Board, with Col. John Boyd Coates. Jr.. MC. USA. Director of The Historical Unit. U.S. Army Medical Service, as chairman, and the following membership:
- Col. James E. Ash. MC. USA (Ret.)
- Brig. Gen. George R. Callender. USA (Ret.)
- Brig. Gen. Raymond O. Dart. USA (Ret.)
- Maj. Gen. Elbert DeCoursey. USA (Ret.)
- Howard T. Karsner. M.D.
- Rear Adm. William M. Silliphant. USN (Ret.)
Whatever merit this book has is due in no small degree to the counsel and guidance received from the members of this Board.
All departments, divisions, and branches of the Institute have helped in the preparation of the book, but special thanks are due Mr. Herman Van Cott. Chief of the Medical Illustration Service, and his staff, including Mr. Herbert C. Kluge, who rendered special service in going through the voluminous pictorial records of the Illustration Service and finding many of the photographs which are used.
Special thanks are due, also, to the staff of the Medical Museum, where most of the material for the volume was located and where most of the writing was done. Col. Albert E. Minns. Jr.. MSC. USA (Ret.). Curator of the Museum when work on the book was started, and his successor. Col. John W. Sheridan. MSC. USA, have done all in their power to facilitate the work. In the processing of the manuscript, the Executive Officer of the Institute. Lt. Col. Vernon S. Oettinger. MSC. USA, and the Adjutant. Lt. Col. Russell Z. Seidel. MSC. USA, and their staff have been most helpful, for which I am grateful.
The services of the Institutes' Ash Library and its Librarian, Mrs. Ruth Haggerty, have been numerous and varied, and are gratefully acknowledged, as are the services of the secretarial pool and the Reproduction Division of the Institute.
The Library of Congress, the National Archives of the United States, the National Library of Medicine, and The Historical Unit of the U.S. Army Medical Service have obligingly responded to every call for information and assistance.
I am particularly grateful to Dr. Esmond R. Long, author of "A History of Pathology," published in 1928, and "A History of American Pathology," published in 1962, for permission to quote from his books, and for his interest in the development of this book.
Thanks are also due to Dr. W. Montague Cobb, professor and head of the Department of Anatomy of the College of Medicine of Howard University, for information concerning Dr. Daniel Smith Lamb's connection with that institution.
Among the many individuals who have been helpful in the writing of this book, to all of whom I am grateful, there are a few whom I must mention with special appreciation: Mrs. Gwendolyn M. Evans, Mrs. Ida P. Gaylin, Miss Betty Krulack, Mrs. Genevieve Overmyer, Miss Helen R. Purtle, Mrs. Esther M. Stone, Miss Cleo A. Warren. M. Sgt. Julia S. Williams, Mr. H. E. Demick, Mr. Gordon T. Harrell, Mr. Myron Miller, Mr. James B. Smith, and Sgt. Bennett W. Thompson.
Finally, I am deeply indebted to my associate in this work, Mr. Samuel Kier. Research Historian of the Institute, who has been most helpful in the organization and writing of this book, and to Mrs. Cyrilla E. Hickey. Editor, of the Editorial Branch. The Historical Unit. U.S. Army Medical Service, who has shepherded the manuscript through the press.