Dr. C. Everett Koop's Jacket
name: label: user
content: Koop, C. Everett
notes: label: Description
content: 8 ribbons on left side. Officer in charge insignia (agency head medal) on right. Garment worn by Dr. C. Everett Koop, Vice Admiral U.S. Public Health Service
label: Description
content: In 1871, John Maynard Woodworth was created supervising surgeon (later renamed Surgeon General) of what would become the United States Public Health Service. Woodworth created the Commissioned Corps, an elite and highly mobile force of medical professionals who could be moved around the country to deal with disease outbreaks. Members of the Commissioned Corps wore uniforms to make them easily identifiable and to reflect their rank or position within the organization.
label: Description
content: C. Everett Koop (1916-2013) was the 13th Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS); in that role, he held the title of Vice Admiral. During his tenure as Surgeon General (1981-, Koop dealt with the emergence of the AIDS crisis and he took on several high-profile issues including tobacco use, sex education, and issues related to disabilities. He was a strong opponent of abortion although he declined to address this issue directly during his tenure as Surgeon General.
label: Description
content: Like the medical professionals they oversaw, Surgeons General traditionally also wore a uniform denoting their rank. However, by the 1980s, when Koop became Surgeon General, wearing the uniform had become increasingly uncommon. After assuming the position of Surgeon General, Koop advocated, but did not mandate, that members of the Commissioned Corps wear the uniform. Koop himself always wore the uniform when in public. This, combined with his distinctive Captain Ahab facial hair and his willingness to speak on a variety of public health issues in formats ranging from television to high schools made an easily identifiable figure. By 1986, a public relations firm discovered that not only were the overwhelming majority of Americans able to identify Koop, they had also come to trust him more than almost any public figure in America.
label: Description
content: This is the jacket of Koop’s Service Dress Blue uniform. Service Dress Blue uniforms are typically worn every day but they can also be worn on more formal occasions. The Public Health Service uniform was originally modeled on a naval uniform.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1992.0452.01
label: catalog number
content: 1992.0452.01
label: accession number
content: 1992.0452
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Jacket
label: Other Terms
content: Jacket; Military; Uniform; Clothing; U.S. Public Health Service
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rayon (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: navy blue (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: gold (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: average spatial: 87 cm x 74 cm; 34 1/4 in x 29 1/8 in
label: Measurements
content: star pin: 5/8 in x 1 3/4 in; 1.5875 cm x 4.445 cm
label: Measurements
content: ribbons pin: 5/8 in x 4 1/4 in x 1 1/4 in; 1.5875 cm x 10.795 cm x 3.175 cm