Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) is a major United States Department of Defense medical facility administered by 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, ...
in the state of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. It is the tertiary care hospital in the
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire.
List of ...
, serving local active and retired military personnel along with residents of nine U.S. jurisdictions and forces deployed in more than 40 other countries in the region. Located on the slopes of Moanalua Ridge overlooking the
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...
neighborhoods of
Moanalua and
Salt Lake
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre) ...
, Tripler Army Medical Center's massive
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...
pink structure can be seen from any point in the
Honolulu District. It also serves as headquarters of the Regional Health Command - Pacific.
The main hospital facility is within the Honolulu
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...
.
History
Tripler Hospital was established in 1907, housed in several wooden structures within
Fort Shafter
Fort Shafter, in Honolulu CDP, Page 4/ref> City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific, which commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region with the exception of Korea. Geographically, Fo ...
on the island of
Oahu
Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...
.
[ In 1920 it was named after a legendary ]American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
medic, Brevet Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
Charles Stuart Tripler
Charles Stuart Tripler (January 19, 1806 – October 20, 1866) was a United States Army brigadier general and surgeon. On March 8, 1867, he was posthumously promoted to brigadier general by President Andrew Johnson and the date of rank was back ...
(1806–1866), who made significant contributions to the development of military medicine.
Tripler Army Medical Center was commissioned by Lt. General Robert C. Richardson Jr.
Robert Charlwood Richardson Jr. (October 27, 1882 – March 2, 1954) was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on October 27, 1882, and was admitted as a cadet at the United States Military Academy on June 19, 1900. His military career spanned the ...
, who was Military Governor
A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...
of the Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...
during World War II. General Richardson hired the New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
based architectural firm of York & Sawyer
York and Sawyer was an American architectural firm active between 1898 and 1949. The firms' work is exemplary of Beaux-Arts architecture as it was practiced in the United States. The partners Edward York (July 23, 1863– December 30, 1928) and ...
to design the medical complex. The local landscape architect Robert O. Thompson designed the landscape to be "one of the great beauty spots of Hawaii", although his plans were never fully realized.
At the outbreak of World War II
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 opposing ...
, Tripler Army Medical Center had a 450-bed capacity which then expanded to 1,000 beds through the addition of barracks-type buildings. Plans for the new Tripler Army Medical Center on Moanalua Ridge were drawn in 1942 and construction was completed in 1948. The original hospital was demolished in 1959 to make way for expansion of Moanalua Road (now Interstate H-201).
See also
*List of hospitals in Hawaii
This is a list of hospitals in Hawaii (U.S. state), sorted by island and hospital name. According to the American Hospital Directory, there were 28 hospitals in Hawaii in 2020. There are hospitals on six of Hawaii's 137 islands.
Hawaii (big ...
References
External links
*
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United States Army medical installations
Military hospitals in the United States
Hospitals in Hawaii
Hospitals established in 1907
Government buildings completed in 1948
Hospital buildings completed in 1948
Installations of the United States Army in Hawaii
Buildings and structures in Honolulu
1907 establishments in Hawaii
1940s architecture in the United States
Hawaiian architecture
Trauma centers