Dieticians, and physical and occupational therapists serving during World War II under the U.S. Army Medical Department. Approximately 1,643 dieticians and more than 1,600 physical therapists served worldwide, while more than 900 occupational therapists served in stateside Army hospitals. Physical therapists were assigned to stateside Army hospitals and overseas to general, station, convalescent, and field hospitals, all of which followed troop movements, as well as to the Army hospital ships USS Acadia and Seminole. Dieticians served in stateside and overseas hospitals in all theaters of the war, and 42 dieticians were assigned to 25 hospital ships.
Until December 1942, all specialists served as civilian employees of the Army Medical Department with no rank or benefits. This status changed, however, when Public Law 77-828 authorized relative rank for the length of the war plus six months for dieticians and physical therapists assigned overseas. All initial appointments were made in the grade of second lieutenant. Beginning in May 1943, specialists could be promoted after eighteen months of satisfactory service and a recommendation. There were a few male physical therapists working in stateside Army hospitals, but because Public Law 77-828 applied only to women, these men were assigned as enlisted. The status of dieticians and physical therapists changed again in June 1944 with Public Law 78-350, which granted them full commissioned status with the same rights, allowances, benefits, and privileges given to other commissioned officers.
Occupational therapists served in seventy-six general and convalescent hospitals in the United States, where they treated patients who were transferred to recover from amputations; loss of hearing or sight; neuropsychiatric conditions; or orthopedic, nerve, or spinal cord injuries. Because occupational therapists did not need to be assigned overseas, the surgeon general stated that they would not need the protection under international law provided by military status, and they continued to serve with civilian status.
Dieticians and physical therapists who served overseas frequently faced a shortage of supplies, food, and water, and were often forced to improvise their equipment. Where they worked depended on the area and could range from former civilian hospitals to cantonment-type buildings, hotels, museums, or tents. Physical therapists assisted patients recovering from a variety of war wounds including nerve, brain, spinal cord, orthopedic, and thoracic injuries. Physical therapist Lieutenant Metta Baxter, who served at the 21st General Hospital in Italy, was the first physical therapist to receive the Legion of Merit for her exceptional service in the North African campaigns of July to September 1943. In addition to feeding the soldiers in their hospitals, dieticians also provided a variety of therapeutic and special needs diets. Three dieticians and one physical therapist were held as prisoners of war by the Japanese in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in the Philippines for almost three years. Public Law 80-36 established the three specialties, largely because of their service in World War II, as the Women’s Medical Specialist Corps within the regular army on March 24, 1947.
