Edgar Erskine Hume | |
|---|---|
 Major General Edgar Erskine Hume | |
| Born | (1889-12-26)26 December 1889 Frankfort,Kentucky |
| Died | 24 January 1952(1952-01-24) (aged 62) Walter Reed Hospital |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1952 |
| Rank |  Major general |
| Service number | 04033 |
| Unit | Medical Corps |
| Awards | seebelow |
| Spouse(s) | |
Edgar Erskine HumeCBEFRSEMD (26 December 1889 – 24 January 1952) was an American physician, Major General in the U.S. Army medical corps, writer and amateur ornithologist. At the time of his retirement from the Army he was the most decorated medical officer in American history.[1]
Edgar Erskine Hume was born at the Capital Hotel inFrankfort, Kentucky on 26 December 1889, the only son of Dr.Enoch Edgar Hume and his wife, Mary Ellen South. He had a sister called Eleanor Marion, born at "Roselawn" the home of their maternal grandparents.[2] He received his preliminary education at the Frankfort High School and the Franklin Institute and entered college in 1904.
Hume studied medicine atCentre College in Kentucky, being the youngest member of the class, graduatingBA in 1908 andMA in 1909. While at Centre College he was a member of theKappa Alpha Order fraternity.[3] In the same year he enteredJohns Hopkins University where he gained his degree ofDoctor of Medicine after four years in 1913.
He then did further postgraduate studies in Europe, first inProf. Friedrich von Müller's Clinic at theUniversity of Munich inGermany (1914) then, after the mobilisation of theGerman army, in thePolyclinic Umberto I atthe University of Rome in Italy (1915). After theearthquake in the Abruzzi mountains in January 1915, Hume was put in charge of the medical relief expedition organized by the U.S. Ambassador to Italy. He stayed in the country until recalled to America by his mother's death in 1916.
In 1916 he passed the examination for admission to the Medical Corps of the Army, standing first among the candidates. He was commissioned First Lieutenant in theMedical Reserve Corps and admitted to theArmy Medical School in Washington, D.C. He graduated in February 1917, as first honor graduate, receiving a commission as First Lieutenant in theRegular Army.
In theFirst World War he served in base hospitals inItaly. During September 1918, he was sent to France for temporary duty with several American units, and with theBritish Expeditionary Force, during theMeuse–Argonne offensive and theBattle of Saint-Mihiel, he was attached to theB.E.S General Hospital No. 12 inRouen. From October to November 1918 he was Commanding Officer of the American Army Field Hospitals with the3rd,4th, and8th Italian Armies during theBattle of Vittorio Veneto.[3]
After the armistice, in February 1919, Lt. Colonel Hume was appointed Chief Medical Officer forState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs,[4] to have charge of the anti-typhus campaign in theState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, leading a team of eighteen physicians of the Medical Corps of the Army, working alongside Serbian Surgeon GeneralColonel Sondermeir.[5] In June he was madeAmerican Red Cross Commissioner forState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, he was the only active duty medical officer involved,[6] he then became in charge of allAmerican Red Cross activities in that part of the Balkans and with the Allied Army of Occupation inHungary. He was next on temporary duty with theAmerican Forces in Germany and for two months as assistant to the Surgeon in the Post Hospital atAntwerp.[7]
In August 1920, after a year and a half in the Balkans, Lt. Colonel Hume was ordered home to America where in November 1920 he was assigned to duty as assistant to the commanding officer of the Corps Area Laboratory atFort Banks, Massachusetts, and later as Commanding Officer until June 1922.[8] On his own time he attended classes atHarvard andM.I.T., receiving a certificate in public health ( changed later to Master of Public Health) from M.I.T. and a diploma in tropical medicine from Harvard.
In 1924 he was assigned to theArmy Medical Library inWashington DC, to replaceFielding Hudson Garrison first as Assistant Librarian, for two years he worked in the institution assisting Albert Allemann. Concurrently he attended Johns Hopkins and received the degree of doctor of public health.[1] It was during this second period at Johns Hopkins that he founded, together with fellow graduate Claude William Mitchell, theDelta Omega honorary society, a national honor society for public health.[9][10] In 1926 Hume served atFort Benning until 1930, then instructed in theNew Hampshire andMassachusetts National Guard.
In 1932 the position of librarian at the Army Medical Library became available and Hume occupied it until October 1936. While a librarian he wrote an essay for theMilitary Surgeon which won theWellcome Prize for 1933. During this period he grew to fame as an amateurornithologist and was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh in 1933. His proposers were Dr William Joseph Maloney,Joseph Wedderburn and fellow-AmericansRobert Foster Kennedy andRichard Lightburn Sutton. Curiously he was an Ordinary Fellow rather than Honorary, which required his physical presence inEdinburgh for his induction.[11] At the end of his term as Librarian, Hume was assigned to study at theMedical Field Service School atCarlisle Barracks before becoming Commanding Officer of the Winter General Hospital inTopeka, Kansas. Colonel Hume left the hospital to attend the School of Military Government inCharlottesville.
In 1943, during theSecond World War, he was assigned toGeneral Eisenhower's North African staff for the invasion ofSicily. Following the invasion he wasChief of Public Health forSicily from July 1943 to August 1943 when he was promoted to Chief of theAllied Military Government forGen. Mark Clark's5th Army's Italian sector. Hume accepted the surrender of Naples in September 1943. Following Germany's surrender, in May 1945, he became Chief of the Military Government for the whole US zone ofAustria. He returned to Washington two years later in June 1947.
For the next two years, he served as Chief of the Reorientation Branch within the Civil Affairs Division of the Department of the Army in Washington, D.C. He was awarded theGorgas Award by the Medical Reserve Corps Association of New York in 1948.[12]
In June 1949 he was appointedChief Surgeon of theFar East command underGeneral MacArthur;[13] thereafter he was director-general of medical services of theUnited Nations Command in Korea; and surgeon on the staff of theSupreme Commander for Allied Powers. In July 1950 he became Director-General of Medical Services inKorea a position he held from MacArthur's headquarters inTokyo until the end of the Allied occupation.
Hume came back to the U.S. and retired on 31 December 1951 with the rank of Major General. Three weeks later, on 20 January 1952, as President General of theSociety of the Cincinnati, he presented the hereditary membership insignia of the Society toBritish Prime Minister Winston Churchill.(Newsreel of Winston Churchill and Major General HumeArchived 22 October 2019 at theWayback Machine)
On 24 January 1952, Hume had an aneurysm of the aorta and died the same day at theWalter Reed Army Medical Center. General Hume is buried inArlington National Cemetery.[14]
In July 1918, prior to going on active duty in theFirst World War, he married Mary Swigert Hendrick of Frankfort who came from a distinguished line of Kentucky pioneer ancestry.[15] She joined him while he was still on duty in Serbia and shared many of his travels. They had a son Edgar Erskine Hume Jr.[16]
The list of Edgar E Hume's publications reached over four hundred titles. He wrote histories, biographies, science and sociology but also critical and philosophical essays.
At the battle of Vittorio Veneto, he was wounded and received his first medal for heroism. He was wounded twice in Italy during World War II and twice in Korea. By the time he reached the end of his career, he was the most decorated medical officer in the Army.
Distinguished Service Medal with 2oak leaf clusters
Silver Star with 4 oak leaf clusters
Legion of Merit
Soldier's Medal
Bronze Star Medal with "V" device and 4 oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters
Army Commendation Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters
Purple Heart with 4 oak leaf clusters
World War I Victory Medal
American Defense Service Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3campaign stars
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" and "Japan" clasps
National Defense Service MedalMajor General Edgar E Hume was decorated by 37 countries in Europe and Latin America.
 | First lieutenant, Officer Reserve Corps: September 16, 1916 |
| First lieutenant, Regular Army: April 4, 1917 |
 | Captain, Regular Army: March 28, 1918 |
 | Major, Regular Army: May 1, 1918 |
 | Lieutenant colonel, temporary: October 1, 1918 |
| Major, Regular Army: June 9, 1920 (Reverted to permanent rank.) |
| Lieutenant colonel, Regular Army: January 14, 1937 |
 | Colonel,Army of the United States: June 26, 1941 |
| Colonel, Regular Army: January 14, 1943 |
 | Brigadier general,Army of the United States: January 27, 1944 |
| Colonel, Regular Army: February 1, 1946 (Reverted to permanent rank.) |
| Brigadier general, Regular Army: April 27, 1948 |
| Major general, Army of the United States: April 27, 1948 |
| Major general, Retired List: December 31, 1951 |
Source:U.S. Army Register, 1948.[20]
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