page_title: Theodore C. Lyster
section_title: World War I
hierarchical_section_title: Theodore C. Lyster / Military career / World War I
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Theodore C. Lyster, MD (1875-1933); U.S. Army; Aviation Medicine pioneer; From: Gillett, Mary C. (1995), The Army Medical Department, 1865-1917, Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. (Series: Army Historical Series)
context_page_description: Brigadier General Theodore C. Lyster, M.D. was a United States Army physician and aviation medicine pioneer.
  In 1918, Lyster established an army laboratory that put aviation medicine on a sound scientific basis in the United States and he insisted on making military aviation physicians organic members of the flying squadrons, thus creating the position and role of "flight surgeon". These efforts, along with his 1917 creation of the post of chief surgeon, Aviation Section, Signal Corps and his planning and directing of the United States Army Air Medical Service, earned him the title of "Father of Aviation Medicine" or " Father of Army Aviation Medicine".
context_section_description: A month after the United States entered World War I, Lyster was promoted to lieutenant colonel. It was by War Department Special Order 207 (September 6, 1917) that Lyster became the first chief surgeon, Aviation Section, Signal Corps, United States Army—a position he had recommended as essential to fully realize the capability of Army aviation and provide adequate medical support to it. He was also Chief of Aviation and Professional Services in The Surgeon General's Office in 1917 and 1918, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award. With the expansion of the army and his new duties as chief surgeon, he rose to brigadier general in March 1918.
  Following a visit to Europe in 1918, Lyster conducted numerous research studies on the "Care of the Flyer" which led to substantial improvements in treatment and recovery. Learning from the British experience during the first years of World War I, Lyster made two important contributions to the efficiency and safety of flying. First, he emphasized physical standards for pilots. The British had cut flying fatalities from 60% to 20% by screening pilots for medical defects. This emphasis led Lyster to champion an extensive research program. This program was under the control of a board "with discretionary powers to investigate all conditions affecting the physical efficiency of pilots, to carry out experiments and tests at different flying schools, to provide suitable apparatus for the supply of oxygen ... [and] to act as a standing organization for instruction in the physiological requirements of aviators." This board established the first laboratory of its kind and put aviation medicine on a sound scientific basis in the United States. Lyster's second major contribution was to insist on making aviation surgeons be organic parts of the squadrons. This arrangement meant that surgeons familiar with aviation would deploy with the flying units, rather than being part of a larger medical organization that would be slower to respond. This organization, as well as the emphasis Lyster put on selection and training of aviation surgeons, produced the concept of the flight surgeon.
  Although Lyster's most significant contribution was pioneering aviation medicine, he was instrumental in many other areas. He was primarily responsible for standardizing and expediting physical examinations (1917) and in organizing the Medical Research Board (1918). He was a member of several civilian medical organizations and made many valuable contributions to medical literature. His studies of yellow fever and his work in otorhinolaryngology are of lasting relevance.
caption: Lyster as a colonel, c. 1917
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