William Bertalan Walsh, M.D. (April 26, 1920 – December 27, 1996) was the founder of
Project HOPE (USA).
Walsh was born on April 26, 1920, in Brooklyn. He received a bachelor's degree from
St. John's University St John's University may refer to:
*St. John's University (New York City)
**St. John's University School of Law
**St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus
*College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...
in
Queens, New York. He graduated from medical school at
Georgetown University in 1943.
He served as a ship's doctor aboard a destroyer during World War II. He was the first U.S. physician on the ground in
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
, after the atomic bomb was dropped. He was moved by the poor health conditions he saw in the South Pacific. He envisioned a floating, non-military medical center that would bring health education and improved care to people around the world and established
Project HOPE.
In 1958, Walsh persuaded President Eisenhower to donate a U.S. Navy hospital ship. Within two years, the ship was transformed into the
SS ''Hope''.
On September 22, 1960, ''Hope'' set sail from San Francisco bound for Indonesia. The S.S. HOPE eventually completed 11 voyages traveling to Indonesia, Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, Guinea, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Tunisia, Jamaica, and Brazil. The ship was retired in 1974.
[
On June 23, 1987, Walsh was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President ]Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
.
Walsh died at his home in Bethesda, Maryland of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
in 1996 at the age of 76.
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
Sources
''Novelguide''Project HOPE
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, William B.
1920 births
1996 deaths
Deaths from prostate cancer
People from Brooklyn
United States Navy Medical Corps officers
Georgetown University School of Medicine alumni
Laetare Medal recipients
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
United States Navy personnel of World War II