Loyola Affiliation & Activation
Sr. Helen Jarrell's response to the establishment of the 108th
In February 1942, the Loyola University Medical School affiliated with the108th General Hospital due to the work of Dr. George T. Jordan (Colonel, United States Medical Corps, Inact. Res.). A member of the original 108th Base Hospital, Dr. Jordan returned to Chicago following the end of World War I to resume his Chicago practice and a position as chief of Loyola's otolaryngology department. As World War II loomed, Dr. Jordan anticipated the reactivation of the unit and kept in contact with the Army's Medical Department. Following Pearl Harbor, most reservists with the unit volunteered for active duty, thus leaving it on the verge of extinction.
Reactivation of the 108th news article
On 30 March 1942, Ed Schneider of Loyola University announced that applications for the 108th General Hospital were being accepted by Dr. Jordan. In June 1942, the 108th General Hospital Unit was reactivated with almost all of the physicians and nurses coming from either the faculty and staff of Loyola's medical school or staff at the six hospitals and schools of nursing affiliated with Loyola - St. Anne's Hospital, St. Bernard Hospital, Columbus Hospital, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, St. Francis Hospital (Evanston), and Oak Park Hospital. Staffing included one physiotherapy aide, four dental officers, four medical administrative corps officers, 41 medical officers, 99 nurses, and 220 enlisted men under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph F. Gallagher, M.C. (Regular Army).