European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 30, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A a i l an Aerial View of the Hospital from around 1945, the year it was captured by the americans and became the both general Hospital. Frankfurt Hospital file a i a amp in Upis folks t a a a Quot a a it ads by i s1 j 4 Job a i fess. ,. V a it amp it Terr a a v a f a a fat it w a. It Jacc is High. I amp. 4 4 it f a a a a 0 Jutt it m a a amp \ a a amp of Quot z a f if did  a  rrrrrrr>t7,. Al wow Hlll a wac Ltd a a a a a a Quot it a a 0 spa if of it v  Jef a f 1 amp amp a he. 4k. R a a it 4. 4 ,. Ita y r a t a i a a a a s a v it it a of a a a let it f i a Jubb a App Quot a k v a it. A amp amp amp. %4t let. A 5 re at i ii in / isimimik4siim $ i Prrry of / 4 we in of Fate it Sprta fasten m 7991 shows How the building has grown and the area around it developed. The building was undergoing a major face lift when the photograph was taken. Continued from Page 15. Pharmacy laboratories and the morgue. Living quarters were in the d Wing. Privates lived in the attic and noncommissioned officers had the floor below. The basement and sub basement were used for storage and contained the sewage electrical steam and heating systems a plus a wine cellar which still exists according to a Hospital spokeswoman. The basement and sub basement were reinforced with thick Walls and protected windows and were to be used a it in Case of an air attack which never came. South of the Hospital were stables for horses sheep pigs and Birds some of which were used for making serums and others in medical experiments according to a unit history. A Large Garden nearby provided greens for the dining Hall. A a. Some of a Hitler s original plans called for a Landing strip for an area to one Side of Betts Cavern and a permanent mess Hail where c and h wings Are now. Those areas were never built. Most doctors lived in bad Wilbel then part of Frankfurt and the area outside the City. They commuted to work by bus. The 385th army in captured the Hospital on March 29, 1945, and held it until april 15 when the 80th general Hospital occupied the Hospital and grounds. Three months later the allies began using the Hospital. Or. Wayne Tucker now the chief medical officer for the Detroit and Lansing Mich military enlistment processing station was a medic with the 88th div and arrived at the Hospital in july 1945. A he said there were still German patients being treated when his unit arrived. Quot no allies were being treated there yet Quot said Tucker who was a staff sergeant at the time. Quot they brought them in the next Day though. Quot we were tasked with moving ail the germans to the Mainz University Hospital. It took most of the Day to move them. The German Hospital was prepared to receive . A a Tucker said one of the first things to go from the German Hospital was a roof ornament. Quot there used to be a big Swastika and Eagle on top of the building Quot Tucker said As he laughed. Quot that was shot off. A a a a a a. A a Quot actually they missed with the first shot. They used a 155 howitzer. There was nothing behind the Hospital except a water  after 1946, a Large influx of dependents accompanying soldiers began arriving in Europe. To accommodate the growing number of patients three wings pc and h were built in 1952, followed by the construction of an emergency room Chapel Library mess Hall officer so club and theater. Two years later the Hospital s bed capacity was increased to 1,000, t in the mid-1950s, Basic research on Shock therapy using Laboratory animals was done at the Hospital. Also during this time the first open heart surgery in Frankfurt was performed at the 97th, according to a German medical society history. By 1957, the Hospital had been averaging 511 patients a Day and had command and control of 33 medical. Veterinary preventive Medicine and dental units in Central a Germany probably the most popular patient at the 97th was pop Singer Elvis Presley who was hospitalized twice. Each time his Ward physician was a German according to a history provided by the Hospital. During the height of the cold War in the 1950s, up to 1,200 Beds were occupied at one time. In addition to the More than 100 army doctors on staff 38 German physicians worked at the Hospital according to or. Eberhard Koebele a staff physician who has worked at the Hospital As a Soldier and civilian for More than 20 years. In the late 50s and Early 60s, the number of patients in the Hospital declined rapidly. American soldiers were needed in Korea and Vietnam. But during the persian Gulf War the Hospital played an important role treating or. Thomas Joseph Egan some 3,000 service member s. Quot we got about 20t to 30 patients a Day from the Gulf Quot said or. Col Thomas Joseph Egan the senior executive clinician. Quot they weren t War casualties. People had flu colds heart attacks a people injured loading and unloading those types of things. Quot we actually treated 46 soldiers wounded in  Egan who has been stationed at the Hospital since 1981, has mixed emotions about the Hospital closing Down. A Quot it s kind 0/sad,&Quot he said. Quot by the same Token All things have to change especially during a draw Down. I knew it would close Down eventually but not for 20 or 30 years from  Egan who will retire from the army this summer Wilt take Many fond memories of the Hospital with him. A All the great staff a and this is an excellent location to travel Europe he said. Although Egan has seen the Hospital go through Many changes including an 11 year $91.3 million face lift completed in 1993, he said one of the most helpful improvements was getting a new phone system in the 1980s. A. A a the phone system we had was called Hitler s revenge Quot Egan said with a laugh recalling thache phones Seldom worked. Quot we used to communicate better by shouting across the courtyard than calling a number Quot Koebele said. Clockwise from above nurses walk past the buildings that served a their quarters around 1945 or. Eberhard Koebele has worked at the Hospital for More than 20 years quonset huts made up the convalescent Ward in 1946. A amps Dava Cau monday May 30,1994 the stars and stripes 17