Archives West Finding Aid

During the war, Warren W. Hale served initially with the U.S. 1st Army, coming ashore in Europe on D-day (June 17, 1944) and ended his service with the U.S. 3rd Army of General Patton in Czechoslovakia. In his letter, he mentions serving with the "67th" at the time of the war's end, helping units cleaning up the Ruhr (Rohr) Pocket. The 67th Evacuation Hospital came across to the continent on June 17, 1944, and after Normandy served in Belgium, then to Germany and Czechoslovakia. He mentions two different resort towns - Spa, in Belgium, and Marienbad, in Czechoslovakia, where he picked up some of his ephemera. The history of the 67th specifically mentions them staying at Spa during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944. It also tells of the frantic pull-out from Malmedy (where U.S. prisoners were massacred). The unit history also verifies its presence at Duren March October 24, 1945. About Duren, the unit history says: "At Duren, Germany, a ward of a bombed municipal hospital was converted into an operating room, which proved satisfactory, inasmuch as the number of casualties proved to be small. Again Sibley stoves were found to give adequate heating." It served at Marienbad June 1 through June 30, 1945. In reference to Marienbad, the history has to say: "In Marienbad, Czechoslovakia, the hospital functioned as a 300-bed station hospital in a converted hotel, a 15-day evacuation policy was followed. The operating room was set up in the ballroom where three tables were adequate to take care of accidents, appendectomies, circumcisions, tonsillectomies, and other minor operations. The outpatient clinic was heavy with surgical consultations of all kinds."

His letter contains information about the situation at the end of the war, including the status of Displaced Persons and Returned Allied Military Personnel, and about the Concentration Camps. The unit history was accessed at the U.S. Army Medical Department of History.