Colonel Edward D. Churchill’s role as the Chief Surgical Consultant in the Mediterranean Theater of the Second World War brought about major changes to the standards of wound care for all soldiers in the theater. Churchill toured the theater noting the major discrepancies and problems in the medical care of wounded soldiers. Following this tour, Churchill set out to implement higher standards of wound care throughout the theater. Churchill vehemently worked with whole blood use, implementation of an organized evacuation route, and proper surgical techniques. Civilian doctors who made up the U.S. Army Medical Corps as well as medical misinformation caused many of the problems in these three areas. Churchill’s implementation of whole blood use ended the excessive use of plasma, a whole blood substitute, raising the survival rate of the wounded soldiers. Implementation of proper surgical techniques ensured the end of the overuse of sulfonamides, an antibacterial drug, which the military surgeons frequently used in the place of surgery. Lastly, Churchill organized the medical evacuation route from the front lines to the zone of communication which guaranteed that the wounded soldiers received surgical care in a timely and appropriate manner increasing the survival rate of the casualties. These lessons extended far beyond the Mediterranean Theater to help casualties in the Pacific and European Theaters making Churchill’s incites invaluable

Emily Crews 2012 history thesis.