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The Korean War Educator learned about the hospital trains used during the Korean War through the book, 8138th Army Unit Hospital Trains: Korean War by KB Taylor, whose aunt was Lt. Virginia Mae Taylor, nurse on Train 105. Information about Taylor's book is listed in this page section. See: nmra.org/sites/default/files/sr201508hospital.pdf and railwaysurgery.org/Army.htm.
"Hospital Trains in Korea", The American Journal of Nursing, February 1952, Vol. 52, Issue 2, pp. 166-167
RN Aynes explains the role of the hospital trains in Korea through the memories of Capt. Josephine LoCicero, an Army nurse on Train 102. Life wasn't easy for the nurses assigned to the hospital trains, and Aynes explains why in great detail.
"8138th Army Unit Hospital Trains: Korean War"
Summary: The critical role of the hospital trains during the Korean War told through firsthand accounts of a nurse and a medic who cared for the wounded on their journey from the frontlines. Until September 1950 when the first mercy trains arrived from the States, Korean passenger cars were used to evacuate the wounded. By year end 1951, additional hospital-ward cars had arrived and the 8138th Hospital Train Unit was formed and divided into eight trains: 101 through 108. In one location, the hospital trains went as far forward as 8,000 yards from the enemy lines (30 miles north of the 38th parallel). Each train's capacity was 216, but during heavy fighting, as many as 300 or more were transported. (General James A. Van Fleet/Rail Transport and the Winning of Wars stated: "Evacuation of wounded by hospital trains (Korea) saved thousands of lives.")
Order Information: ISBN: 9781733369756 (copyright 2021); 7x10 Soft Cover, 174 pages, 200 = pictures, 70 of these in color.
About the Author: KB Taylor, raised in Grays Harbor County, Washington State, worked as a project-control manager for an aerospace contractor in San Diego. She and her husband now reside in Washington State. She is an award-winning author whose previous novel is the WILLA award winner: The Seagirls of the Irene--a children's book based on family history. The author's website is www.kb-taylor.com.