Military Life
Cramer enlisted into the U.S. Army on April 28th, 1942. He was apart of the 261st Medical Battalion as a Private First Class. His job as a Private First Class consisted of carrying out tasks and orders that they were assigned to to the best of their ability, and to be masters of individual responsibility. He died on June 6, 1944, or D-Day, due to a sea mine explosion. His name is located on the Tablets of the Missing in the Normandy American Cemetery.
Picture of the 261st Medical Battalion's crest
Picture of the Causality Collection site used by all medical battlions
The 261st Medical Battalion was formed on June 15, 1942 at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts. The battalion was used to supply corps level medical support to the forces storming the Beaches of Normandy. It was part of the assault on the Beaches of Gela, but due to heavy fighting in the first eight hours it became the only medical unit to reach the shores and provide medical support. The battalion offered support in many other battles such as Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, and the Allied Invasion of Europe in Normandy. They trained in Port-aux-Poules, Algeria, which is pictured in the banner above.
The equipment used consisted of anesthesia, oxygen and suction apparatus, x-ray and fluoroscopic equipment, an extra generator, and an additional supply of tents. Wool blankets and litter and plasma were also available for use most of the time. They also had jeep like ambulances that were used to carry injured soldiers to the medical tents and surgical teams at the ready. There was lots of care used to prevent damage to the equipment if possible.
Picture of the ambulance-jeeps used by the 261st Medical Battalion.
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