“On his very first patrol, one of his comrades at the head of the group stepped on a mine,” said U.S. ![]() ![]() Hammond got to work as soon as he arrived in Korea. In February 1953, Hammond was deployed to the Korean Peninsula, and attached to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Division, Fleet Marine Force, where he quickly earned the respect and admiration of his comrades. He learned to care for the wounded, set up aid stations, perform field medicine, and coordinate the evacuation of injured service members from battlefield.Īs stated in an account from the Naval History and Heritage Command, hospitalmen were trained to do “everything and anything in their power to keep their patients alive” until they could be transported to the nearest mobile Army surgical hospital units, where their odds of survival were much higher. Navy as a seaman recruit on March 20, 1951.įor close to two years, Hammond trained at the Naval Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes, Illinois the Naval Hospital at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, in Vallejo, California and the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton near Oceanside, California, to become a hospitalman. He gallantly gave his life for his country,” reads the citation.īorn in 1931 in Alexandria, Virginia, Hammond expected to follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a pharmacist after graduating from George Washington High School.īut as the Korean War raged into its second year, he instead decided to enlist in the U.S. “His great personal valor in the face of overwhelming odds enhances and sustains the finest traditions of the U.S. ![]() Eisenhower awarded Hammond a posthumous Medal of Honor. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Francis "Doc" Hammond saved countless lives during intense battles with enemy forces before losing his own in March 1953.įor his acts of valor, President Dwight D. As a 21-year-old hospitalman in the Korean War, U.S.
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