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During World War II, Corpsmen received their initial medical training at Hospital Corps School. They learned first aid, minor surgery, nursing care, dietetics, hygiene and sanitation, pharmacy, chemistry, nursing care, and anatomy and physiology. The following Hospital Corps Schools were active during the war: Norfolk, VA, Portsmouth, VA, Hampton Roads, VA, Great Lakes, IL, Brooklyn, NY, Bethesda, MD, San Francisco, CA, San Diego, CA and Farragut, ID. Course length varied from 10-13 weeks, dependent on needs of the service. Medical personnel assigned to the Fleet Marine Force then attended Field Medical Service School. Here they learned bandaging and splinting, treatment of shock, casualty evacuation, and field sanitation. They also fired infantry weapons, lived in the field, and learned how to wear and use Marine-issue field equipment. This four-week course of instruction was first established in 1941. Schools were established at Camp Elliot, CA, and Camp Lejeune, NC. The west coast school relocated to Camp Pendleton, CA in 1944. Approximately 1,000 Sailors were assigned to each Marine division. Support units typically had a small medical cadre of 1-2 Corpsmen per each company-sized unit. In the infantry, each platoon was supposed to have one attached Corpsman. The infantry battalion also had a small battalion aid station with a doctor and small medical staff. But in combat, there were often not enough Docs to go around.
In combat, when Marines were wounded, the call for "Corpsman!" would sound. No matter where the wounded Marine was located, Docs and stretcher bearers would race to the scene to stabilize and evacuate their comrade. Equipped with battle dressings, sulfa powder and not much else, they were often the difference between life and death for the wounded. Thousands of Marines owed their lives to the work of Corpsmen. Prior to the war, Navy medical personnel were often identified by Red Cross brassards. During the campaign for Guadalcanal, they quickly discovered that Japanese snipers used their Red Crosses as aiming points. Also, the enemy used ruses and tricks to ambush Corpsmen, often faking the call of wounded Marines. Contrary to popular belief, Navy medical personnel were almost always armed during World War II. Early in the war, they mostly carried the M1911A1 pistol. By mid-war, many were equipped with the M1 carbine. They had to be ready to use their weapons as quickly as their medical supplies. The enemy was ruthless and didn't recognize any constraints on the battlefield. There were no pauses such as sometimes happened in Europe to allow medical personnel to attend to the wounded. The Navy Hospital Corps paid a high price for its work. 1,170 Corpsmen were killed in action during World War II and several thousand were wounded. Among the awards for heroism presented to Corpsmen were seven Medals of Honor, 66 Navy Crosses, 465 Silver Stars, and 982 Bronze Stars.
Below is an alphabetical list of Navy Hospital Corpsmen who earned the Medal of Honor in World War II with links to their citations on the Home of Heroes web site. (Note: Names with an asterisk (*) indicate posthumous awards. HA 1/c Robert E. Bush, Co. G, 2nd Bn, 5th Marines, Okinawa, 2 May 1945 HA1/c Fred F. Lester, 1st Bn, 22nd Marines, Okinawa, 8 June 1945 (*) PhM1/c Francis Pierce, Jr., 2nd Bn, 24th Marines, Iwo Jima, 15-16 March 1945 PhM3/c Jack Williams, 3rd Bn, 28th Marines, Iwo Jima, 3 March 1945 (*) PhM1/c John H. Willis,
Co. H, 3rd Bn, 27th Marines, Iwo Jima, 28 February 1945 (*)
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This site is owned & maintained by Mark Flowers, copyright 2004, all rights reserved.
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Few outside the Naval Services know that the Marine Corps does not have its own medical branch. All medical, dental and religious care to Marines is provided by members of the US Navy assigned to the Marine Corps. These Sailors serve throughout the Fleet Marine Force, providing every sort of service, from routine sick call and first aid to major surgical hospitals equipped to treat all types of trauma. 
(above) A Navy Corpsman splints a fractured leg on the front lines of Iwo Jima—1945. The Marine kneeling on the left fills out a field medical card. still image from USMC combat camera film 
(above) A Navy Corpsman in Iwo Jima treats a Marine with a severe chest wound. Life giving plasmanate flows from the bottle attached to the M1 rifle at right. still image from USMC combat camera film