Hugh Hickey, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native, discusses his service as an orthopedic surgeon in the Army during the Korean War. Hickey was born in Milwaukee and enlisted in the Navy V12 program during World War II, when he was seventeen. He attended Marquette University and went on to medical school at the University of Wisconsin--Madison, graduating in 1948. Hickey recalls doing his residency in Portland (Oregon) and beginning his training in orthopedic surgery at Henry Ford Hospital (Michigan). In 1950, Hickey joined the Army because he wanted to see more acute casualties and gain more surgery experience. He was assigned to Tokyo General Hospital where he treated United Nations Forces from Ethiopia, Belgium, Greece and Turkey. He remarks that doctors slept in the hospital's old laboratories and mentions his roommate, a dentist from New Orleans. Hickey tells how a charming "Japanese house girl" took him and his roommate into Tokyo to meet her friends, some of whom were Kabuki theater actresses. Hickey also met a Japanese calligraphy artist and went to the Imperial Hotel. In 1951, Hickey was reassigned to the 8063 MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) in Korea. He states this MASH was run by Colonel Murawski, a neurosurgeon who "was a Patton type of character." Hickey describes in graphic detail the types of casualties and wounds he treated. The MASH was on the front lines, so they often had to leave severe wounds open to be treated later at the hospital in Japan. Hickey describes the unsterile conditions of the operating room and how it was so cold that steam would rise from patients' bellies when they were opened for surgery. Operating challenges included a chronic lack of fresh blood for transfusions and light bulbs that frequently exploded above open wounds. Hickey discusses how maggots helped keep wounds clean. After a few months, Hickey was transferred to the 8055 MASH which "was a wonderful experience" by comparison. He felt this MASH was more effectively run and he had a clear job description as an orthopedic surgeon. He describes his operating team, praising Dale Drake for being an excellent anesthesiologist. Hickey also characterizes the nurses on his team as very competent because they had served in World War II. He remarks the nurses were older than many of the young surgeons. American corpsmen and Korean assistants also helped in the operating room, but Hickey feels the Korean staff were unreliable. Hickey remembers that quarters and toilet facilities were spartan. He tells how soldiers would light newspaper on fire and throw it into the outhouse toilets to warm the toilet seats in the winter. Hickey does not recall much "fraternization" or dating between doctors and nurses besides Dale Drake who married Kathy, a nurse at 8055. Hickey tells stories about socializing with a Norwegian MASH and some British soldiers. He describes a British party where heavy drinking occurred. Hickey mentions meeting Sister Mercy, a nun in Pusan (South Korea) who was the sister of John Hirshbeck, the Dean of Marquette Medical School. Sister Mercy was an M.D. herself and ran a popular clinic for Koreans and an orphanage. After Korea, Hickey was stationed at Camp Atterbury (Indiana) where he cleaned up casualties who had been evacuated from Korea. He comments upon the hardship of being away from his wife, Sue, and their two babies. No long distance communication was possible from Korea. He admits that he was "clinically depressed" but "functional" for most of his duty in Korea because of the combination of missing his family and being surrounded by young casualties with severe wounds. After leaving the Army, Hickey returned to his wife in Detroit (Michigan) to finish his orthopedic training. Hickey describes starting his private practice in Milwaukee and later opening a "foot clinic" at Door County Memorial Hospital in Sturgeon Bay (Wisconsin). Hickey reveals that he was consulted by the creators of the TV show M*A*S*H. He also mentions that his friend Stu King was tent-mates with Dick Hornberger (a.k.a Richard Hooker) who wrote the book that M*A*S*H the movie was based on. Hickey feels the book was "fairly close to the experiences we had except it's juiced up with some nice funny things in a situation that wasn't very funny."
