Blue 88 was a blue-colored pill that was a mix of calming drugs, mainly

barbiturate Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as we ...

s such as

sodium amytal Amobarbital (formerly known as amylobarbitone or sodium amytal as the soluble sodium salt) is a drug that is a barbiturate derivative. It has sedative-hypnotic properties. It is a white crystalline powder with no odor and a slightly bitter taste. ...

, used to treat American soldiers in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

who suffered from battle fatigue. In most cases, it was used to induce sleep.

Use during World War II

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

piece called "

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

" from the American Experience series which was broadcast in 1994 provided an overview of the use of this pharmaceutical. This documentary, produced by Boston, Massachusett's

WGBH Educational Foundation The WGBH Educational Foundation (also known as GBH since August 2020) is an American public broadcasting group based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1951, it holds the licenses to all of the PBS member stations in Massachusetts, and op ...

, reviewed the pivotal World War II German offensive in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

of Belgium in 1944–1945. The following is a summary of the transcript that relates to this drug. Because of increasing losses during the

Ardennes Offensive The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

, the Allied forces began to suffer from a shortage of soldiers. Those not severely wounded or suffering from battle fatigue were encouraged to return to the front lines. A 103rd Medical Battalion Special Troops dental officer of the 28th Infantry Division, Captain Ben Kimmelman, was active in the

medical corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

and witnessed the effects of the battle: One out of four soldiers wounded during the "Battle of the Bulge" were classified as " psychiatric casualties". Captain Kimmelman continues: Capt. Kimmelman was later captured along with parts of the 110th and 112th Infantry Regiments of the 28th Infantry Division.

References

* * * {{cite book , last=Marlowe , first=David H. , chapter=7. World War II , title=Psychological and Psychosocial Consequences of Combat and Deployment with Special Emphasis on the Gulf War , url=http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/library/randrep/marlowe_paper/mr1018_11_ch7.html , year=2000 , publisher=RAND , id=MR-1018/11-OSD Barbiturates Military medicine in World War II

Use during World War II

See also

References