I was looking at the TO&E for an infantry company (airborne and regular) and I noticed that there is no mention of company medics. You have to go to the battalion TO&E which then references the regimental TO&E medical detachment.

Were medics permanently assigned to a particular company and under the command of the company, or were they assigned/reasssigned/etc. at the discretion of the commander of the medical detachment. The only medics mentioned in the BoB series are Spina and Roe. Were there others and were Spina and Roe always with Easy company?

Paul,

I'm not sure about the American way of medics in the field but at Pegasus Bridge, there was 1 medic, Dr J Vaughan who was 'told' to go with them. Legend has it that upon arrival, he set up his aid post as far away as possible and stayed put. However, he was a very busy man with several serious wounds within the first couple of hours.

I have been told that he went under protest but did a good job.
I don't believe he was actually assigned to that particular company and generally the british airborne did not have medics in their groups although the Paras certainly did and do.

Danny

Paul,

Try this site: http://med-dept.com/. It's designed by vets and reenactors. I think a medical unit was assigned to each battalion and each company had medics. Also, I read there was a lot of disorganization, but have not verified that. T

he 38th EVAC unit from Charlotte followed troops from Africa into Italy. A great read online: http://www.cmstory.org/history/default.asp. They were a remarkable group of men and women. One of the nurses, Martha Mitchell is still alive. It includes letters home, Ernie Pyle's reports of the unit, and really provides good detail of life/work in a mobile medical unit during WWII. They were right behind the soldiers all the way.

Best,
SB

OK so there was one medic, assigned by the battalion medic detachment, per infantry platoon. I assume that airborne infantry had the same ratio. If true then who was the third Easy medic? I tried searching the forums for more information on this topic but kept getting an error.

I wouldn't fuss too much over the anamolies of medic assignments going into Bastogne (or any combat situation). Don't forget that they were rousted out of their rest and refit mode in France to rush into the breech in Bastogne. They went with what they had, some of it spotty and unprepared, and that included the complement of men and their various assignments. Additionally, I've read that, if available, extra medics would have been attached to troops about to go into combat, for obvious reasons. BK

Not Sure if I'm too late but I'll add my two cents,

I'm pretty sure that in Normandy 2 medics per company was the standard (Ernest Oats and Eugene Roe in Easy Company) but Joe (Mooch) gave me a roster that also had Sal Bellino, Ralph Wimer, and Sergio Moya as medics but none of them have combat medic badges on their shadow boxes so I don't think they were. In Holland it was upped to one per platoon, so 3 total (Roe, John Holland, and Spina [I think]). After that I have no idea of the number but in Easy it was just Roe and Spina as far as I know. I hope this helps.

Matt