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68th
Medical Group |
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| 68th Medical Group History | |||||||||||||||
| 1978 - 19.. | |||||||||||||||
(Source: History of Headquarters, 68th Medical Group) |
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The 68th Medical Group was most recently reactivated on 21 October 1978 at Frankfurt, Germany and was assigned to 3rd Support Command, V US Corps. Its mission is to provide command and control to non-divisional medical units assigned or attached to V Corps. The 68th Medical Group currently has four subordinate units. ORGANIZATION (1982): |
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The Group, under full mobilization in support of V Corps, would have in excess of 90 subordinate elements, ranging in size from 400-bed evacuation hospitals to 6-person surgical detachments. In 1985, as part of the move of 3rd Support Command to Wiesbaden, the 68th Med Gp and most of its subordiante elements (with the exception of the 7th CSH, which remained in Pirmasens) moved to Wiesbaden Air Base. |
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(Source: Email from Ron Cummings) |
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A few facts that may be of help.
The 68 Med Gp was a subordinate unit of 3rd Support Command (SUPCOM) when I was assigned there between 1979-1982. The group HQ was in
Ziegenberg, Germany. It was basicly the only unit at this "Post", named Camp Bloomquist (http://www.dustoff.org/hall-of-fame/Citations/bloomquist.htm).
I was assigned to the 32nd Combat Support Hospital, in Ludwigsburg, a northern suburb of Stuttgart, at Coffee Barracks (We were a fully staffed unit, save for Doctors and Nurses). There was a "cadre only" CSH as well in the 68th stationed a Pirmasens . |
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| (Source: Email from Glen Reid, HHD, 68th Med Gp, 1982-84) | |||||||||||||||
I was waxing nostalgic and typed in my old unit on the computer. I found a website with this contact email asking for information about the 68th Medical Group. I'm not sure what you're looking for, but I was stationed at Camp Bloomquist (HHD) from July 1982 until July 1984 in Ziegenberg.
The best duty in the Army. The duty driver who first picked me up in Frankfurt told me that. Twenty-six years later, I still believe it. We were an isolated post with about 40 personnel, living in a converted Nazi motorpool facility in the woods. There were about 10 soldiers living on base, and the first time they walked me upstairs to my room, there was a naked female walking out of the shower room. The place was so close-knit, men and women shared the same showers.
The unit was VERY relaxed. Headgear wasn't required on base, and come to think of it, neither was saluting. Being isolated with no PX or mess hall, most of us ate at a restaurant in the village. If a local offered to buy you drinks, the standing order was to accept them to promote good relations with the civilian population, even if it meant not returning to work that day or returning extremely intoxicated. If someone wanted to travel, the unit would provide a military van with gas coupons and a free 3-day pass. The surrounding woods had the overgrown ruins of a town in them. It was a wonderful and mysterious place to serve.
When my orders came to ship back stateside, I was called into the CO's office to sign my extension papers. I said "no" because I hadn't watched television in two years. He called in several officers and NCO's, who promptly told me I was nuts not to stay. But I knew the rumors in the wind were about the HHD and subunits relocating to Wiesbaden, and I thought maybe it was the end of an era, and it was time to move on.
Really, all I have are stories about the HHD unit in Ziegenberg, and I can give a description of the place. I probably have some old photos in a box someplace. In the two years I spent with the detachment, I maybe visited the subunits only twice, and they were hundreds of kilometers away. So no help there. There was a WWII command bunker nearby. The single most prominent feature in the village of Ziegenberg is the Castle, and behind it is a series of bunkers. Hitler himself was staying in the bunkers while he monitored the Battle of the Bulge (I think). I seem to remember the dates of December '44 and January '45. When the yanks found out, they bombed the castle a month later thinking he was probably there, but Hitler was long gone (and hadn't stayed in the castle anyway).
The ruins I mentioned in the woods were from the bombing raids of that time. The ruins also had a large overgrown pond that we used for raft-building competitions (I still have the scars on my ankle from the time my raft sank and I got tangled up in barbed wire at the bottom of the pond).
Some of the reinforced concrete from the bunkers was apparently absorbed into construction in the village, and I remember a gasthaus owner telling me once that the foundation under the floorboards was from a nazi bunker.
Camp Bloomquist -- our HHD unit comprised the entire camp. It was a VERY cool place. Anyone passing would never have guessed it housed a U.S. military base. It more resembled a rustic hotel or something, and the people living on-post would climb out their windows to have roof parties on the weekends. The huge attic areas on the third floor were completely empty and beneath the whole structure were a series of subterranean levels full of spooky labyrinthine rooms and tunnels that NOBODY ever completely explored. Our "commo" guys worked in a small area down there, and the rumors were that a tunnel existed that went under the village to the castle and bunkers. Me and a few friends got drunk one night and decided to find it, but we ended up getting lost and spent the night sleeping in the cobwebs. We had a kitchen area, a TV room with VCR (we would get videotapes of American shows, but did not receive AFN for some reason), a dayroom that won "Best Dayroom in V Corps" every year I was there, and a movie theater. One of my duties was to drive to Giessen once a week and pick up 16mm prints from the depot there, and then act as projectionist on Thursday Nights.
Yeah, it was a strange place. The whole compound was cobblestoned, and we had our own "gasthaus" on post. It was closed up, but we cleaned it out once and tried to run it as a beer joint for the gang, but it was easier to just go across the street for that sort of thing.
A funny note. Camp Bloomquist was not guarded by us. We hired German civilians to watch the front gate. Two of them, I remember fondly. One was a 25-year-old guy who wanted to be an actor in porno movies and another, an old man, who would tell me stories about when he served in the German army during WW2. Neither of them were very vigilant gate guards though, but the command staff never seemed to mind. Once the sun went down and the command staff left for the night, the guards usually turned off the lights in the guard shack and went to sleep.
I was the unit clerk for HHD for about six months starting in late 1982 until S-4 stole me away. It was just me and the First Sergeant. CO's rotated from the HQ staff and all the Lieutenants and Captains took their turns playing CO for a few months at a time.
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| (Source: Email from Rich Hetzel, HHD, 68th Med Gp) | |||||||||||||||
All of the following units were located at Wiesbaden Airbase at least up until 1990 when I PCS'ed back to the USA. The 68th was subordinate to the 3rd Corps Support Command, which was subordinate to V Corps.  HHD, 68th Medical Group 557th Med Co (Ambulance) 583rd Med Co (Ambulance) 12th Evac Hosp 32nd Combat Support Hospital 7th Combat Support Hospital (located in Pirmasens, FRG) I was the unit clerk for HHD, home of 1SG Chicken George Roberts! |
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If you have more
information on the history or organization of the 68th Medical Gp,
please contact me . |
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| 7th Combat Support Hospital | |||||||||||||||
| 1951 - 19.. | |||||||||||||||
(Source: History of Headquarters, 68th Medical Group) |
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| On 16 February 1951, the 7th Evacuation Hospital was reactivated and designated the 7th Evacuation Hospital (Semi-mobile), and on 15 August 1951, it was moved to Germany. It was again redesignated as the 7th Evacuation Hospital on 1 October 1953, at which time it moved from Degerndorf to Darmstadt. On 29 September 1972 it was reorganized and redesignated as the 7th Combat Support Hospital. In September 1976 the unit moved from Darmstadt to Pirmasens and was located with USAMMCE (United States Army Medical Material Center, Europe). On 16 November 1978 the 7th CSH was assigned to the newly reactivated 68th Medical Group. |
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| (Source: 3d Supcom Command Log, May 1981) | |||||||||||||||
| Togetherness, pride at the 7th CSH By Lewis D. McCaskill They say they are the best in what they do, and the way they do it. They don't have major incidents with the police, nor do they have internal problems, or dissent within their unit (talk about bragging). These are remarks by members of the 7th Combat Support Hospital in Pirmasens. After looking around and talking to people for a while, one can easily understand what makes them so proud. The unit maintains a 200-bed inflatable hospital in addition to the equipment of some like units in the States. They don't have all the personnel to do all the jobs that must be done, so they cross-train their people into those areas where they are short. "We have people with as many as three extra jobs that they must perform outside their MOS. They don't gripe about it because they know it must be done. They take it in stride, and they do get the job done," said SSgt. Maureen Akin, an operating room specialist and training NCO. In a warehouse where part of the hospital is stored, the unit has a classroom. There the NCOs go about the task of cross-training their soldiers to keep their unit combat ready. "We live with another unit, we eat with another unit, but that does not seem to bother our soldiers as indicated by our non-existing AWOL record. However, we do have our ten percent," she said, referring to the one or two soldiers that in spite of all one tries to do step on it anyway. When asked what keeps the soldiers motivated as they work and play in somewhat isolated area, 1st Sgt. Milligan Morgan explained, "We get some of the best soldiers because we must have the best under these conditions. If you get a good soldier in the first place, then it is not too hard to keep that soldier motivated. We try to insure that our people continue their education. In fact, right now over 90 percent of our people are enrolled in high school or college, and we encourage them to do so." "There's no doubt that we are the best in the command, and I will put them up against any soldiers in USAREUR, and that is just how I feel about it," continued Morgan. The 7th CSH has husband and wife teams assigned to the unit also, and this is a positive factor in the smooth operating of this small family-like outfit. SSgt. Elaine Howard is an operating room technician; she is the unit NBC NCO and doesn't mind the extra duty as the unit Reenlistment NCO. Spy Larry Robinson, also an operating room technician, is the unit armorer, and likes his job because it all contributes to the overall functioning of the unit. The unit's claim of wide scale crosstraining, was verified by SEC Lewis Daniels during a class on the use of training aids and instructional techniques. This block of cross-training was attended by all members of the 7th CSH including the executive officer, 2nd Lt. Lincoln Hawkes. In spite of all the cross-training into other specialties, the personnel of this unit manage to maintain proficiency by going TDY to some of the hospitals herein USAREUR. Soldiers must maintain proficiency in their MOS, so once a year they train in their specialties with one of the hospitals. Many of the 7th CSH's soldiers would not mind being stationed some place else. However, they are assigned here, and medical work is their profession in the military. So they accept their duty assignment and keep on doing what it is they do so well. The people of the 7th CSH may not belong to such a large unit, but whatever they are short, they make up with motivation and dedication. |
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| 32nd Combat Support Hospital | |||||||||||||||
(Source: History of Headquarters, 68th Medical Group) |
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| On 16 February 1951, the 32nd Surgical Hospital was redesignated as the 32d Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) and was reactivated on 15 September 1951 at Degerdorf (Degerndorf?), Germany. The unit was redesignated as the 32d Surgical Hospital (Mobile) on 1 April 1953 and moved to Leighton Barracks, Würzburg on 15 June 1955. In 1962, the unit was reassigned to the 30th Medical Group. On 28 September 1970, the unit deployed to Jordan to provide surgical and medical care to the casualties of the Jordanian Civil War (Operation Fig Hill). In April 1971, the unit became the first Medical Unit Self Transportable (MUST) Hospital in USAREUR and on 29 December 1972, it was reorganized and designated the 32d Combat Support Hospital. The unit has been located at its present location, Coffey Barracks, Ludwigsburg, since 22 June 1971. The unit has supported and participated in each REFORGER or in a major Field Training Exercise each year since 1975. On 21 October 1978, the 32d Combat Support Hospital was reassigned to the 68th Medical Group, 3d Support Command, and returned once again to V Corps, as its only active Combat Support Hospital. |
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| 1952 | |||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Johnny Ezell, 32nd SHMA 1952-53) | |||||||||||||||
| The 32nd MASH unit in Pirmasens changed names in
early 1953 to
32nd SHMA (Surgical Hospital (Mobile) ???). We had to change all of our vehicles markings ect.
The 32nd CSH sure didn't ring any bells for me. Lt. Col. Lebovitz
was C.O. when I left
in late 1953.
A few names were Sgt. Hollis, 1st. Sgt. Duty, WOJG
Isacson, Barfeild,
Kent, Faircloth, Vigil, Capt Regan, Sgt. Neilson. My rank was T- Cpl. I was up for sgt. but i wouldn't take an extension so I didn't get the 3rd stripe. I was unit armsman as well as med. We had a total of 65 people in the unit most of the time. Would like to know if any info. exits on the holding sect. of the unit which as the name implies, would have stayed behind with any paitents too bad to be moved. It was a 5 man sect. and all 5 were volunteers. We were in training in the U.S. for nine months before going overseas. Alerts were almost nightly occurrences and some were thought to be the real thing, but we were lucky and it didn't happen. We had bed check every night with no over night passes. Pirmasens had been pretty well bombed out and we were not welcomed by every one. We were a well trained unit but it seems we were sort of stranded and ignored as it seems there are no records of our existence. Any info. of this unit or any one in it during this time would be appreciated. |
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| 1973 | |||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Mike Cannon) | |||||||||||||||
| I was stationed at Coffey Barracks from Jan. 1973 to July 1974. I was a Spec. 4 in the 32nd Combat Support Hospital. The company's CO was Major Rice when I arrived and a little later Major Taylor took over. Our Top Sergeant was E8 George, a helluva good guy. The 32nd was a MASH hospital and saw duty in Israel in 1967. By the time I arrived in 1973 it had been changed to a MUST unit (Mobile Unit Self Transportable) which replaced the old tent setup to a 200-bed inflatable hospital which we could set up in a day. |
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| 1976 | |||||||||||||||
| (Source: Email from Bob Watson, 32nd CSH, 1976- 77) | |||||||||||||||
| I assumed command of the 32d CSH in February 1976. The unit was not distinctive among other units in 68th Medical Group. We challenge the lethargy and moved to develop as sense of purpose, pride and direction that would sustain us for the period of my command at least. We embarked upon a campaign to distinguish ourselves by the self-proclaimed identification of “Unit of Choice”. This meant we were different amongst peers in all measures used to determine readiness and impact in the theater of operations. We did this through setting three precedents during REFORGER operations. In 1976 we first flew the hospital via combined US Air Force fixed wings and US Army rotary wings Chinook. We safely move 30 containers and all of the assigned personnel. There were no accidents, incidents and injuries. We were the first field hospital also to have a French doctor assigned for this mission. Our second and third precedent occurred during our next REFORGER 1977. We moved the hospital to its REFORGER site via French, German and US multi-national convoy, demonstrating how the hospital could be transported without organic assets. The third precedent occurred at the REFORGER site where we integrated the facility with a local gymnasium, providing the same environment any hospital in the USA would have. Before we could go to our “Rapid Recovery Program” we were summoned by MEDCOM to take the hospital up to Frankfurt Medical Center and provide emergency relief for its operating rooms which were down because of section electrical failure. We did that and had the first known delivery of a baby by cesarean section. So, these experiences plus our active partnership with the German Military Medical School, Munich and winning several post and community athletic competitions made us very distinctive and proud. I was very happy to see that our people never had to spend long weekends on the post because they had their own NATO partners to see and share their German experiences. No other unit in Germany could make the claims of the Unit of Choice. Today I salute the members of my command for a job well done. Incidentally, I was the S3 of 68th Med Grp. before I moved to the 32D CSH, my command select assignment. |
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| 1981 | |||||||||||||||
| (Source: 3d Supcom Command Log, 1 June 1981) | |||||||||||||||
| 32d medics 'MUST' be battle ready by Pamela Matthews Medical units must train in the field in order to be proficient in their battlefield skills. Part of this training is to operate a Combat Support Hospital. 32nd Combat Support Hospital is the only active unit of its kind in V Corps. Recently they went to the field to test their skills. The 32nd set up a 200-bed Medical Unit Self-Contained Transportable (MUST) hospital. The unit contains 40 intensive care beds, 80 intermediate beds and 80 minimum care beds. The unit has four operating rooms two material and central supply rooms, one pharmacy, two x-ray rooms and one laboratory. The hospital is designed, according to Lt. Col. Joseph Lillard, hospital commander, to provide comprehensive hospitalization for casualties in combat. Lillard said the MUST unit has everything a regular hospital needs. "Only the environment and treatment is different." There is no way to maintain a constant sterile environment. Yet the air stays clean by a constant flow in and out of the MUST unit. The air is circulated by a compressor powered by a helicopter engine. All the instruments and linen are cleaned and then brought to the hospital to be sterilized and stored. The MUST unit can store a three-day supply of their sterilized equipment, Lillard says. The linen is cleaned by one of 3rd Support Commands laundry and bath platoons. According to Lillard a laundry and bath unit will be attached to the hospital during a conflict. After six months of non-use the instruments must be sterilized and stored all over again. Besides taking only 24 hours to set up their hospital, 32nd personnel practiced emergency tactics. Some of the personnel were strapped to litters as simulated casualties. Others practiced taking them to an awaiting emergency helicopter. Even the helicopter pilots practiced some tactics of their own. A litter with a simulated casualty was on the ground. With skilled piloting, a rope was lowered to the litter on the ground, and with a steady hand the rope was hooked to the litter and it was raised into the helicopter. The Combat Support Hospital even had its own dining facility. Members of the hospital unit could smell the aroma of fresh baked cherry pie and a scrumptious roast being slowly cooked in the field kitchen. Yet all that had to wait until dinner. Like most units in the field C-rations were the main course for lunch. One German boy came to the hospital with an injured hand. The medical staff checked the youngster's injury, bandaged him up, and gave him back to his parents who were most pleased with the members of the 32nd. German medical personnel came to the 32nd to learn how such a hospital operates. According to the hospital's staff, most of the Germans were surprised, as well as impressed with the smooth operations. If a conflict should arise involving V Corps, 32nd Combat Support Hospital is trained and ready to move out and render vital medical support. |
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| 557th Medical Company (Amb) | |||||||||||||||
| 1952 - 19.. | |||||||||||||||
(Source: History of Headquarters, 68th Medical Group) |
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| On 7 August 1951, the 557th Medical Ambulance Company (Motor) was reactivated at Camp Pickett, Virginia and was ultimately shipped aboard the USNS General Darby to Europe. After the unit's arrival in Germany on 27 June 1952, it was redesignated as the 557th Medical Company (Separate) on 1 April 1953. The 557th Medical Company (Amb) was eventually assigned to the 31st Medical Group on 20 November 1960 as well as to the 34th Medical Battalion where it remained until the inactivation of the 34th Medical Battalion on 25 July 1965. As a result, the 557th Medical Company (Amb) was reassigned and attached to the 31st Medical Group. With the inactivation of the 31st Medical Group, the 557th Medical Company (Amb) was assigned to the 30th Medical Group on 15 April 1975 and was later assigned to the 68th Medical Group on 21 October 1978. |
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| (Source: 3d Support Command Log, June 1, 1981) | |||||||||||||||
| The 557th Medical Company (Ambulance) is moving from Darmstadt to Baumholder in mid-June. The move will be completed by the end of July. This move is part of several unit moves that will enhance the total peacetime and wartime support package - medical, maintenance and ammunition capabilities of 3rd SUPCOM. |
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| 583rd Medical Company (Amb) | |||||||||||||||
| 1945 - 19.. | |||||||||||||||
(Source: History of Headquarters, 68th Medical Group) |
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| The 583d Motor Ambulance Company was redesignated as the 583d Medical Ambulance Company (Separate), and activated in Germany where it was assigned to European Command at Bad Cannstatt, 25 August 1945. The unit was assigned to the United States Army, Europe 1 August 1951. On 1 April 1955, the unit was redesignated the 583d Medical Company (Ambulance) (Separate) and reorganized at the Landstuhl Army Medical Center. The unit was relieved from USAREUR Medical Command and assigned to the 9th Hospital Center on 15 December 1956 and then attached to the 57th Medical Battalion in April 1957. On 20 July 1958, the 583d Medical Company (Amb) was alerted to transfer to Lebanon as part of an American Task Force sent there on request of the Lebanese Government to forestall an alleged effort by the Soviet Union and United Arab Republic to engineer and overthrow the Lebanese Regime. The unit departed Landstuhl Army Medical Center on 20 July 1958 and returned to Landstuhl on 21 October 1958 where it has remained ever since. Subsequent to the deactivation of the 57th Medical Battalion, the unit was transferred to the 31st Medical Group. During this time the unit assumed responsibility for the 31st Ambulance Train until December 1973. On 15 April 1975, 31st Medical Group was deactivated and the unit was transferred to the 30th Medical Group. On 21 October 1978, the 583d Medical Company (Amb) was assigned to the 68th Medical Group as a V Corps asset under command and control of the 3d Support Command. |
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