Percy Moreau Ashburn (July 28, 1872 – August 20, 1940) was a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and medical officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. With then Lieutenant Charles Franklin Craig, Ashburn made the link that mosquitoes were involved in the transmission of

Dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characterist ...

. As a major, he served as the sixth commanding officer of the

Walter Reed General Hospital The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and reti ...

, and as a colonel, he served as the first commandant of the Medical Field Service School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Early life

Ashburn was born on July 28, 1872 to Allen W. Ashburn and Julia M. née Kennedy in Batavia, Ohio. Ashburn graduated from Batavia High School in 1890. He then attended Jefferson Medical College.

Personal life

Ashburn married Agnes Davis on July 6, 1896. Together they had three children. Major General Thomas Q. Ashburn was his brother. Brigadier General

Julius Penn Julius A. Penn (February 19, 1865 - May 13, 1934) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of brigadier general during World War I, and commanded 170th Infantry Brigade, 85th Division and 76th Infantry Brigade, 3 ...

was his cousin.

Career

Ashburn was appointed a contract surgeon with the

on May 30, 1898. He accepted a

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

commission as an assistant surgeon on January 9, 1899, and was promoted to captain 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 ...

in December 12, 1903 and Major on June 24, 1908. He was effectively promoted directly from Major to colonel on May 15, 1917, as his date of rank for lieutenant colonel and colonel were both on the same day. Unlike many other officers who would be offered temporary promotions in the National Army, only to return to their regular rank after the end of the First World War, as a Regular Army colonel Ashburn would hold his rank until he retired in 1932. From 1906 to 1907, Ashburn presided over the Army board for the study of tropical diseases in the Philippines. The board's findings were released as ''Experimental Investigations Regarding the Etiology of Dengue Fever, with a General Consideration of the Disease'' with Ashburn and Craig as the co-authors. In 1913, he was detailed to preside over the Army board for the study of tropical diseases in the Philippines and at Ancon, Panama. Afterwards, Ashburn wrote ''Mosquito-borne Diseases''. He commanded the

in Washington, D.C. from September 1915 to October 1916. He commanded the Medical Officers Training Camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana in 1917. Ashburn served as the first Commandant of the Medical Field Service School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania from August 1, 1920 to August 1, 1923. Then, Ashburn served as the professor of military hygiene at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

from 1923 to 1927. He then served as the librarian at the

Army Medical Library The Library of the Surgeon General's Office, later called the Army Medical Library, was the institutional medical literature repository of the U.S. Army Surgeon General from 1836 to 1956 when it was transformed into the National Library of Medic ...

in Washington, DC from 1927 to 1932, when he retired. He authored the following books: ''The Elements of Military Hygiene'' (1909), ''History of the Medical Department of the United States Army'' (1929), and with his son Frank Davis Ashburn ''The Ranks of Death, A Medical History of the Conquest of America''.

Awards and honors

Ashburn was made an officer in France's

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

for his services during World War I.

Death and legacy

Ashburn General Hospital McKinney, Texas

Ashburn died on August 20, 1940. His wife, Dorothy, died on December 14, 1946. They are buried in Section 3, Plot 2075 in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, Virginia. The Ashburn General Hospital, a 500 bed cantonment hospital in McKinney, Texas which opened on May 1, 1943, was named in his honor. The hospital was declared surplus to the needs of the Army on December 12, 1945 and was taken over by the Veterans Administration on January 15, 1946. The Ashburn Gate at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania is named in his honor. His papers are held by the History of Medicine Division of the

National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. Its ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashburn, Percy Moreau United States Army Medical Corps officers 1872 births 1940 deaths United States Military Academy faculty Military personnel from Ohio United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army colonels