Short Rounds

Edgar King Prepares for War

Topping out at 6'9", Edgar King was born in Arkansas in 1884.  He graduated from the University of Arkansas Medical School in 1906,  and shortly became a contract surgeon in the Medical Corps, receiving a commission the following year upon completion of the Army Medical School. 

A pioneer in military psychiatry, King specialized in mental illness and disciplinary problems, and wrote numerous articles and reports such as "Mental Capacity of Recruits" and "The Military Delinquent," as well as the book Mental Disease and Defect in United States Troops (Washington: GPO, 1914).

During his career, King played a role in the introduction of so-called "intelligence tests" by the army, did extensive work in criminal rehabilitation (reportedly while stationed at Fort Leavenworth, he recruited his household staff from among the inmates at the military prison), and labored to improve health conditions in the Canal Zone.  In late 1939 then Colonel King was appointed Army Chief Surgeon of the Hawaiian Department.  Promoted brigadier general in October of 1942, he continued in this assignment, effectively serving as the chief military medical officer for the entire Central Pacific.   In mid-1944, King became acting Chief Surgeon, U.S. Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas.  That November he was relieved from this assignment and reported to the Office of the Surgeon General in the Pentagon, where he directed treatment of mentally ill troops until the end of the war.  General King retired in January of 1946 with the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.  In retirement he lived in Texas and later Nevada until his death in 1970.

So Edgar King had an honorable careeras a medical officer in the U.S. Army.

But perhaps King's talents might have been better used had he been in a different branch of the service.  For on the eve of World War II he proved to be one of the most forward thinking and hard working officers in the Army

As Chief Surgeon of the Hawaiian Department, King, observing the world scene, ordered military hospital facilities expanded to nearly 1,500 beds, developed an evacuation plan for non-infectious military patients, to free space in an emergency, requested and received additional staff, organized an ambulance corps, arranged for civilian personnel to supplement military personnel in an emergency, provided first aid training to many Army civilian employees and dependants, helped organize a blood bank, and took many other similar measures, all prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on which tragic occasion his preparations proved invaluable.

So perhaps Edgar King might have been a better choice for planning the defense of the islands than some other officers. 

FootNote: For a picture of King and some of his associates in the Hawaii Medical Department, look here.  It was taken at the dinner given on November 15, 1942, in the Officers' Club at Fort Shafter to celebrate his promotion to brigadier general.

Interservice Rivalry, French Style

Inter-service rivalry has probably existed as long as military services have existed.  For the most part such rivalry usually manifests itself in bragging and one-upmanship or athletic rivalries (such as on the first Saturday in December), and sometimes may present problems in the development of strategy and plans, as in the case of the American armed forces on several occasions.  And, of course, there have been instances when inter-service rivalry can become so toxic as to seriously harm a nation's war effort, such as in the case of the Imperial Japanese armed forces during the 1930s and 1940s. But often the consequences are merely silly, at least in peacetime, such as in the case of French coast defense policy in the late nineteenth century.

Historically, most countries assigned coast defense to either the army or the navy.  But during the 1890s many French coast artillery installations had some guns controlled by the Army and some by the Navy.

Army coastal batteries were technically only permitted to fire at targets offshore, while the Navy batteries were only permitted to fire at hostile ships attempting to enter port.  Upon mobilization all coast defense batteries were to come under the control of the local naval district commander.  But he in turn, would have to cede control of his torpedo boats to his new subordinate, the local army coast defense commander.

Fortunately, the French never found their coasts and ports under attack, at least from the sea.