Archives West Finding Aid

Dr. H. Leslie Frewing served as a surgeon with the 46th General Hospital and likely took most, if not all, of the pictures in this collection himself. After World War II, Frewing settled with his family in Vancouver, Washington, and became one of the four founders of The Vancouver Clinic before continuing medical work abroad.

During World War I, the 46th General Hospital had been known as Base Hospital No. 46; it remained dormant in the decades between conflicts. The hospital was directed to begin preparations to reactivate on March 11, 1940, by Major James C. Magee, who was Surgeon General of the United States at the time. Dr. John Guy Strohm, depicted in at least one of the photographs in this collection, served as the Medical Reserve Unit Director as plans were being organized, and then became commanding officer once the hospital was mobilized on July 15, 1942. Lieutenant Dean Seabrook is also pictured in at least one photograph in the collection. Part of the planning involved procurement of medical providers, including nurses, before joining the unit at Fort Riley in Kansas. The 46th General Hospital first moved to North Africa on September 2, 1943, before shifting to Southern France in August 1944.