Evening star., 1902-01-15
NAVAL SURGEON GENERAL
DIR. VAN BEYPEN TO GO ON RETIRED
LIST SOON.
Voluntary Action on His Part - His
Long Career of Active Service
DIR. Rixey His Successor.

| Rear Admiral William X. Van Reypen,
chief of the naval bureau Of medicine and
surgery, will be placed on the retired list
| of the navy on the 25th instant with the
| rank and retired pay of senior rear ad-
| miral, corresponding to that of major gen.
eral in the army. An Arrangement to that
effect was made at conference between
Secretary Long and Admiral Van Reypen
| at the Navy Department today. The action
was voluntary on the part of Admiral Van
Reypen, and is in accordance with the law
authorizing the retirement of an officer
| with advanced rank. after forty years SER
vice, including service in the war of the
rebellion.
His Service in the Navy.
Surgeon General Van Reypen entered the
naval service as assistant surgeon Decem-
Der 26 1861, having previously served as
assistant surgeon Of the I'd Regiment, New
Jersey state militia, from April to July,
1861. His first duty in the navy was at the
naval hospital, Brooklyn, n. Y.
In september, 1867 he was ordered to
duty IN charge of the marine hospital Key
West, Fla, which was then used by the
navy as a yellow fever hospital On his
arrival he found that his predecessor had
just died of the disease, and there were
hrty-siX cases of yellow fever in the hos
pltai. He remained on duty at Key West
until December 1864, having passed
through two epdemics of yellow fever
During his service in the navy he has been
attached at different times to every SQUAD
ron, and has been fleet surgeon of the Pa
clilc' North Atlantic and squadron Of naval
review. While attached to the Pacific
squadron he travelled overland from Valna-
ralso to Montevideo, in company with Lieut.
Potter, to obtain information for the gov
erhment. He was the senior medical Off
Ger with Rear Admiral Benham at Rio Ia
nero III 1874, when yellow
aient on every merchant ship and every
man-of-war in the harbor except on the
vessels OF the United States navy
In 1894, While surgeon of the PoWhatan at
the Boston navy yard, preparing for n
cruise IN the West Indies, he was ordered
70 washington to take charge of the bu-
Ieau OF medlcine and surgery and remained
as acting chief of the bureau until AnriI
!, when he was appointed assistant To
the bureau. He remained as assistant 10
the bureau until April, 1892, when he joined
tiie san FRANCISCO at Honolulu as fleet sur
eeon or the Pacific squadron
In 1897 he was sent as the de,eeo+o ..
! represent the medical department OF the
navy at the international medical CONGRESS-
a. ae MOSCOW, ana read paper on the care
OF wounded in the navy, and presented
drawings of an ambulance ship which he
mad designed, copies of which drawings
were presented by request to the Russian
minister of marine.
Appointed Surgeon General.
oh octoper -, 1897, he was appointed
surgeon general Of the navy, and was re-
appointed on December 1S 1901
During his first term he had an onnor-
tunity to carry out the theory advanced in
MS Moscow paper, and the ambulance shin
Solace, which rendered such excellent SER
vice during the war with Spain was the
result OF his efforts. The new naval hos
pltais at Portsmouth, N. H; Mare Island.
Sal.. ana Newport, r. l., were built from
During his term as surgeon general the
nospital corps of the navy has been estab-
iished. assistant surgeons have been given
the rank Of junior lieutenant and the nav
OF medical officers has been placed on its
old basis. VIA '''
Surgeon Rixey His succes.or.
Medical Inspector Presley NJ Rixey, who
now has the rank of commander will sue
ceed Admiral Van Reypen as chief OF the
bureau of medicine and surgery. and while
holding that office will have the rank of
rear admiral. The new chief is well known
IN this city through his connection with
the White House as the attending phy-
sician of the families of President McKiu-
ley and President Roosevelt. His appoint-
ment by President Roosevelt is in con-
rormlty with promise made to the friends
OF DIR. RiXey by President Mckinley Ad-
m1ral RiXey is native of Virginia, and en-
tered the navy in January, 1874 After
serving on various ships and naval stations
in all parts Of the world he was in Sem
tember, 1898, assigned to duty at the naval
dlspensary In this city, and has been sta
toned here ever since. He attended Presi-
dSnt Mckinley in his last illness in Buffalo
and was at his bedside when he died