Memorial Day: Honoring Service, Sacrifice, and the USPHS Commissioned Corps

The Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) first entered war during the Spanish-American war in 1898. They weren't officially militarized by the President at that point, but rather the USPHS Marine Hospitals were used to provide care for injured service members, and USPHS doctors helped prevent the spread of yellow fever amongst service members. A USPHS medical officer was also on duty aboard the Revenue Cutter McCullough with the fleet of Commodore Dewy at the battle of Manila Bay (Parascondola, 2001). These are just a few examples of the Commissioned Corps's role during the war.

This conflict called into the question the role of USPHS during wartime. The government essentially didn't want to compromise the primary role of protecting the Nation's public health while still utilizing USPHS's valuable support for wartime efforts. Accordingly, in 1902 the President was given power to militarize USPHS during times of war which happened for WWI, WWII, and Korea. While not officially militarized by executive authority, USPHS officers also served on surgical teams in Vietnam and in various hospitals throughout the Gulf War era (Parascondola, 2001).

USPHS Commissioned Corps officers have made the ultimate sacrifice. At least 14 officers died while on active duty during WWII. Six were killed in action (KIA) mostly while on USCG cutters. More than 600 USPHS officers served with the Armed Forces during WWII and most were assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard (MLC, 2018). A USPHS surgeon named Harry M. Levin died while aboard the USS Serpens (name inscribed in Arlington memorial pictured below). The ship exploded while carrying a large amount of ammunition and was considered to be the biggest single disaster for USCG during WWII (ANC, last accessed May 2026).

There were six USPHS medical officers assigned to the Phillipines during WWII. The officer-in-charge Dr. Howard F. Smith was re-assigned as medical aide to General Douglas MacArthur. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the other five USPHS medical officers were captured as prisoners of war in the Phillipines. Two of them died as POWs, Drs. Floyd W. Hawk and Fred Black (Dr. Back is pictured below) (Furman, 1973).

It is difficult to appreciate the true number of USPHS officers KIA. In 1942 Assistant Surgeon Dr. Haskell Rosenblum was aboard the USS Muskeget, a naval ship on loan to the U.S. Coast Guard. It was sunk by a German submarine and all passengers onboard were declared dead (USCG, 2024). Dr. Rosenblum's headstone picture below) states US Navy which might mislead one to think he was a Naval officer when in fact he was commissioned with USPHS. Moreover his obituary also states he was a "civilian" onboard the ship which is also in accurate given USPHS's status as a uniformed service since 1889. It's likely that many more USPHS officers have been attributed to other uniformed services upon death given the obscure nature of the Commissioned Corps.

Memorial Day is about remembering those who died while serving in the Armed Forces, but what about the officers who have died while fighting the "silent war against disease?"

USPHS Assistant Surgeon Milton Rosenau once wrote, "The doctor who battles against the microbe is not as picturesque or as romantic a figure as the soldier who dies fighting on the field of battle, though each may be fighting to save his country against an invading foe. Bacteria are as deadly as bullets and many a medical officer has fallen from the infection of disease in saving his fellowmen." (Michael and Bender, 1984)

One such example is USPHS medical officer Thomas B. McClintic (pictured below) was a Virginia med school grad and 12 year USPHS veteran. McClintic silently earned his valor in 1911 when he was detailed to Montana to research Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and succumbed to the disease at age 38 (Lyons, 2018).

Happy Memorial Day to all of the USPHS Commissioned Corps officers who have given their lives in service to the United States of America.

References

1. Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). USS Serpens Memorial. Website: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Monuments-and-Memorials/USS-Serpens. Last accessed May 25, 2026.
2. Furman, Bess. A Profile of the United States Public Health Service, 1798-1948. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. 1973.
3. Lyons, Michele. I AM INTRAMURAL BLOG: Remembering IRP Scientists Who Gave Their Lives for Their Work. NIH Intramural Research Program. November 9, 2018. Last updated July 5, 2023.
4. Michael, Jerrold M. and Bender, Thomas R. Public Health Reports: Fighting Smallpox on the Texas Border: an Episode from PHS's Proud Past. CDC. November-December 1984, Vol. 99, No. 6 579.
5. Parascondola,John. MILITARIZATION OF THE PHS COMMISSIONED CORPS. 2001. PHS Historian
6. The Military Coalition (TMC). Letter to the Director of the National Museum of the American Indians. June 2018.
7. United States Coast Guard (USCG). Muskeget, 1942 (WAG 48). Last updated July 2024. Website: https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Water/All/Article/3828010/muskeget-1942-wag-48/. Last accessed May 2026.