Letterman Army Hospital

Letterman Army Hospital was located on the Presidio of San Francisco. Established around 1898, the hospital was named, in 1911, for Jonathan Letterman, featured in every US foreign conflict in the 20th century, and remained in service until the army base was decomissioned in 1995. ^[1] In 2005, Lucasfilm opened the Letterman Digital Arts Center on the site of the old hospital.

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Chronology of Selected Historical Events

1898-1906 The Presidio became the nation’s center for assembling, training, and shipping out forces to the Spanish American War in the Philippine Islands and the subsequent Philippine-American War. Letterman Army Hospital was modernized and expanded to care for the many wounded and seriously ill soldiers from these campaigns.

1906 The San Francisco Earthquake of April, 1906 led to immediate Army response directed by General Frederick Funston, who had earned the Medal of Honor for his bravery in the Philippines. Army units provided security and fought fires at the direction of the city government. After the fire which resulted from the earthquake, Presidio soldiers provided security and gave aid, food, and shelter to refugees.

1915 The road system for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition became the street system until the 1960s.

1914 - 1918 During the World War I, Letterman Army Hospital was expanded with additional facilities. These were necessary to accommodate the incoming wounded.

1918 - 1941 Letterman Army Hospital continued to receive patients from other military installations. Concrete buildings were built to replace simpler wood-frame ones.

1941 - 1946 World War II saw intense activity at the Presidio. It continued as a coordinating headquarters, deployment center, and training site, as it was for most of its existence.The Western Defense Command was responsible for the defense of the West Coast. For a time this included supervising combat in the Aleutian Islands.

The Presidio again was crowded with temporary barracks and training facilities. Letterman Army Hospital became crowded with casualties. At one point, entire trains arrived at the Presidio filled with war wounded from the battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

1950 - 53 The Korean War again tasked the Presidio’s headquarters and support functions. Again, Letterman Army Hospital was mobilized to care for casualties from the war.

1969 Modern 550 bed hospital completed.^[2]

1961 -1973 The Presidio took a supporting role in the Vietnam War. Antiwar demonstrations took place at the Presidio’s gates. A mutiny occurred at the Presidio stockade prison. In the midst of Vietnam War turmoil, most local civilians continued to support the soldiers. For example, thousands volunteers helped wounded soldiers at Letterman Army Hospital.

1974 5-story Letterman Army Institute of Research (LAIR) building constructed. Sections of the old LAMC demolished. ^[3]

1970s LAIR invented an HBOC which did not need typing and which was expected to be used by the combat medic to sustain a wounded until adequate medical care is available. ^[4]

1980s LAIR continued research on caring wounds from trauma. ^[5] Work continued on HBOCs.

1982 LAIR sponsored an international symposium on blood substitute research. ^[6]

1990 The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine raised issues of animal research ^[7]at LAIR citing that the research was costly "both in terms of tax dollars and animal suffering."

1994 Army left the Presidio. The old hospital leased to the Thoreau Center for Sustainability. ^{[3] [8] [9]}

2002 Letterman Army Hospital removed as Lucasfilm began work on its new site.

References