Evening star., 1943-03-07
Specialists Direct
Medical Research
In Army Air Forces
Noted Doctors, Scientists
Map Flyers Protection
Under Every Hozord
BY HOWARD w. BLAKEsLEE,

by nOWAAU w. 0LAAESLEE,
Associated Press Science Editor.
WRIGHT FIELD, Ohio, March 8.
You can get an idea Of how well
your boys In the air service are cared
for by the type Of men in charge Of
aviation medicine.
Here ct the aero medical research
laboratory Of the Army Air Forces
materiel center are military doctors
who have won distinction In medi-
cine, scientists from Harvard, Yale,
Minnesota. the Mayo Clinic. Chicago,
Columbia, New York University,
University Of Rochester, Loyola Of
Chicago, Wayne University Of DE-
troit. and collaborators in UNIVERSE
ties from coast to coast.
Even the privates are picked men.
Three doctors OF philosophy in pfysi-
ology are privates. There are many
In the ranks with degrees carrying
special qualifications. There are
still others. one q former pugilist
with skills useful for medical work
80 Specialists sen Job.
There are so medical and scientific
SPECIALISTS hare today where there
were four three years ago.
The commanding o@cer, Col. 9th
q. Benson, native 81 Minnesota.
dark. slender, well set-up, u /
dynamo Il you can conceive q
dynamo that u frequently smiling
and always considerate Of other
people.
IN asro medicine this character
istic may have added values. II
Is one sign Of IN alert, open mind.
That mental quality here helps to
save the lives Of flyers out there.
Here Il why. just 50 years ago the
frst humans to reach high altitude,
Galisher and Coxwell, went to 20 900
fest In q balloon. 0alishers sight
dimmed, his hearing faded, his arms
and legs became paralyzed. He
dumped unconscious. Coxwell, arms
paralysed. seized the rip cord In his
teeth and the balloon descended to
Q level where both men were safe.
Ever since then the troubles Of
men going too high have been In
creasing. Those troubles are pilins
ln now faster than ever before be.
cause 10000 feet and higher y an
aim Of this war. The troubles are
due to cold, low pressure Of the
atmosphere, oxygen lack even when
breathing pure oxygen, aero bends
and internal gas which expands Z
diametsrs.
Answses Needed New.
Aviator3 need the answers fisht
now. Ths answers are the sort Of
problems where the best results are
usually obtained by an alert man
who Is also capable Of stopping ev-
erything else to hold his head in his
hands for "a hours trying to figure
out the right tests. Impatience In
this work literally spells death for
flyers.
Patience and open-mindedness in
the Army Air Forces aviation medi-
cine starts at the top In Brig. Gen.
D. N. w. Grant, chief air surgeon
In Warrington. It goes all the way
down to the last private ut the Aero
Medical Research Laboratory. They
work from before daylight until after
dark.
Gen. Grant sums the problem
thus: THE boys are going up into
regions for which God never made
them. They are tense, they are in
constant fear. Fear Of death,
whether they realize 1t or not. Death
from many sources. Just one mis-
take ends their lives"
All that is a medical problem.
Here at the new laboratory, in addt-
ton to medicine, the staff is design
ing apparatus to protect flyers
against the physical hazards of hieh
altitude. Members Of the stan carry
their studies into operations, flying
with airmen on expeditions where
apparatus and medical problems can
be tried out. One such trip which
extended half way around the
world brought a pleasant surprise.
Protective Measures.
The route lay for many thousand
miles over some Of the worlds worst
malartal areas. These covered most
Of two great continents. All along
the route not a man Of the Ameri-
can maintenance forces was taking
either quintne or atebrin. They did
not need 1t, for they had no malaria.
The sanitary measures along the
route afforded complete protection.
The aero medical laboratory
claims no credit In that medical
miracle. It was the work OF ply
sicians, some Of whom yesterday
were family doctors and specialists
These physicians by the thousands
have converted to new and n-
familiar air activities with the same
speed and skill - industry.
Some have become specialists In
Z line Of medicine that possibly no
doctor ptacticed regularly before the
war. The aero laboratory has