# Question about WW2 battlefield medicine

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ww2-battlefield-medicine/689183>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 24, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ww2-battlefield-medicine/689183 "2014-05-24T15:02:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ww2-battlefield-medicine/689183/1 "2014-05-24T15:02:58Z")

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Put simply, how much medical training did the US army give the common rifleman and what kind of a first aid kit did he carry? I’m not asking about specific people trained as medics but just your average guy with a pack and a rifle.

I just saw an old movie where Private Jones fitted a pressure bandage and administered a shot of morphine to his sergeant after the sergeant caught a shell fragment in his leg. I’m just wondering about the facts behind this scene.

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**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ww2-battlefield-medicine/689183/2 "2014-05-24T15:19:01Z")

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Each rifleman carried a Morphine Syrette and a Carlisle Bandage. It doesn’t sound like there is anything unbelievable about that scene.

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**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ww2-battlefield-medicine/689183/3 "2014-05-24T15:24:03Z")

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Here is a link to the entire first aid kit carried by airborne infantry soldiers. It contained

Container, Packet, First-Aid, Parachute  
Morphine Tartrate, 1 Tube  
Sulfadiazine, 8 Tablets  
Sulfanilamide, Crystalline, 5, 5-Gm Envelopes  
Dressing, First-Aid, Small, Field Brown  
Tourniquet, Field

[http://med-dept.com/individual\_kits.php](http://med-dept.com/individual_kits.php)

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**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ww2-battlefield-medicine/689183/4 "2014-05-24T15:25:30Z")

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I’m not saying anything was unbelievable about the scene. I don’t know enough about the facts behind the scene to comment usefully. I’m just curious about how the average rifleman would have been trained and equipped to deal with the battlefield medical needs.

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**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-ww2-battlefield-medicine/689183/5 "2014-05-24T15:26:36Z")

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ETA - Beaten to the post by Bear\_Nenno. Many thanks.