| Original caption: “Medics helping injured soldier in France.” Medics of 4th Medical Battalion attached to the 4th Infantry Division administer plasma to a wounded comrade on Utah Beach at a Battalion Aid Station close to Exit 2. An M1 Garand is stuck into the beach sand bayonet 1st as an ersatz intravenous pole. The glass plasma bottle will be attached to the rifle once the plasma is flowing. The medic is using his teeth to increase the flow of the plasma and to increase the blood pressure. This is another view of the scene in wwii0408.jpg. During June 6, 1944, the 3 Collecting Companies (stretcher bearers) of the 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, landed with 26 out of their total of 30 ambulances. These ambulances were immediately put into operation and utilized to their maximum capacity in the evacuation of casualties. During an attack, the Battalion Aid Station would be located as far forward as protection permitted, and the Litter carry was to be kept as short as possible to allow for prompt evacuation and basic treatment, and to ease the task of the litter bearers. This type of Aid Station was often moved by leapfrogging part of its personnel and equipment to another site, while the remaining group continued to function until such time as the part which had moved was ready to receive casualties again — it would only then move to its new location, leaving medical attendants to care for any remaining casualties. 1st Lieutenant John Kerner (February 9, 1919 – June 18, 2023), Battalion Surgeon and Combat Medic with the 110th Medical Battalion, attached to the 35th Infantry Division, landed on June 7, 1944, on Omaha Beach. He later wrote, “What we did was relatively simple, but at the same time, awful. The aid men tried to control hemorrhaging and to cover wounds. When the wounded man got to our aid station, if he had any significant wound, we started an intravenous [unit] of plasma which came packed in square boxes each bottle with an intravenous line attached. It was not easy to start intravenous [line]s since wounded men were often in shock, and shock usually causes veins to collapse. I was particularly good at starting intravenous [line]s, in part because in medical school I had done blood tests on draft candidates, many of whom were narcotic addicts whose veins had been quite ruined by the injection of drugs. In addition, I had been trained mostly on women patients, and women’s veins are smaller than men’s. Then, too, as I mentioned before, I was good at hitting the femoral vein. None of the men had training in that. So, when any of my men had trouble starting plasma] I was called upon. It is necessary to hang plasma bottles above the patient so that gravity will cause the bottle to drain. We had to use various makeshift supports. Often we put a bayonet on a rifle, pushed the bayonet into the ground, and attached the plasma to the butt of the rifle. Occasionally, I would pump to make the plasma flow more rapidly as we tried to overcome shock.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0426.jpg |
| Image Size | 1,012.39 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2924 x 2317 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office for Emergency Management, Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-208-YE-22 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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