On November 14, 1942, Ashford General Hospital received its first patients. Soldiers being treated in the “whirlpool room” by nurses. Colonel Ashford was known for his malaria research and for founding the School of Tropical Medicine in Puerto Rico. The hotel was renamed Ashford General Hospital, after Army physician Colonel Bailey K. These rooms served as recreational facilities for the soldiers. Some of the larger rooms retained their more elegant features. Guest rooms transformed into utilitarian patient rooms. Workers began soon after to turn the luxury resort into a functional Army hospital. In September 1942, the United States Army purchased The Greenbrier hotel and 7,000 acres of surrounding ground for $3.3 million. Large hotels fit this goal well, because they had many guest rooms and event spaces that could be quickly transformed into medical facilities. Military officials set out to identify buildings that they could turn into hospitals. In the summer of 1942, the government released these diplomats in exchange for United States diplomats detained overseas.Īt the onset of World War II, the United States military knew the country’s existing hospitals would not have enough beds or staff to properly serve the armed forces. German, Italian, and Japanese diplomats and their families were held for seven months. They hoped that relocating the diplomats to high-quality internment centers would inspire Axis nations to treat US diplomats similarly. Today, a historic dome houses the springs, and the vast estate of The Greenbrier surrounds it.ĭays after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States Government leased the hotel to house “enemy alien diplomats”. The first recorded guest at the springs “taking the waters” for their health was in 1778, and people are still enjoying them into the 21st century. The town of White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia has long been known for its restorative properties. During World War II, The Greenbrier “went to war” for the United States, serving as an internment center for enemy diplomats, a general hospital for US troops, and a Cold War-era bunker location. The Greenbrier is a luxurious resort located in rural West Virginia, established in the early 19th century. Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine. The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
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