I have always been fascinated by my Uncle Eddie's military service. His military service was not a long one, and it appears that the last year of his life was spent with some illness. Although he died on duty, it was a case of acute appendicitis that led to his death. In March 2002 I filled out a formal request form which was sent to the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis MI for a copy of Eddie's military records.
An immediate family member was required for me to obtain these records, so being a niece was not enough. Thankfully, Aunt Linda was living in Clayton at the time and she graciously agreed to be the sender and recipient of these records. In August 2002, she received the military file and forwarded it to me. Included in the records were the Navy muster rolls, Eddie's dental records, medical records, naval correspondence and even his fingerprints.
According to his medical record primary cause of death was Poisoning, Anesthesia, due to Pentothal Sodium. Contributory factors included Acute Appendicitis. Doses of Pentothal large enough to produce
adequate relaxation also caused moderate cyanosis. He seemed to do well until after the operation when his respiration failed. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. This does not mean that he was deliberately or accidently poisoned. Even today, every surgical procedure has risk factors that cause the simplest of procedures to become complicated.
I find his medical history recorded by the Navy rather revealing. I'm no nurse but noted in Eddie's past medical history was mention of several episodes of arthritis flares. It is interesting to note, that 6 months prior to his death, the arthritis flares were diagnosed as Rheumatic Fever.
Here I will give a timeline and description of his treatment while in the Navy.
Eddie enlisted on June 19, 1942 and was sent to Norfolk Va on June 22, 1942. There is record of dental xrays taken, along with multiple vaccinations including Cowpox which resulted in no severe reactions.
Not much else is noted in his record until March 5th 1943. On this date he complained of pain in the right shoulder and right wrist. The physicians noted in his medical record that this probably existed before his enlistment in the Navy. Eddie's own description of his history confirms this. He gave the physcians a history of been laid up three or four months with a similar attack of painful joints in the right shoulder, wrist, hip, and knees before entering the Navy. He was diagnosed with acute arthritis and given pain medication.
March 7th 1943 Eddie was transferred to the U.S. Naval Air Station in San Juan, PR for further treatment.
Between March 7th and April 1st Eddie had labs and x-rays of the heart. He had no enlargement of the heart and no other cardiac symptoms. He did, however, have a fever at times along with the joint pain and swelling.
On April 1st, the Navy diagnosed him with Rheumatic Fever. He stayed in the hospital for treatment until May 28th 1943 when he was sent back to active duty aboard the Hilary P Jones.
He had no other health issues until September 25th 1943 when he reported for nausea and abdominal pain. He went to surgery and died immediately after its completion.
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