Jacksonville, Fl. – Shands Jacksonville will host Legacy of Heroes, an award-winning exhibit and unique project completed by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons to commemorate the contributions of orthopaedic surgeons during the Second World War. The multimedia exhibit heralds the stories of orthopaedic surgeons who served in World War II. A reception and formal presentation of The Legacy of Heroes exhibit will take place Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Health Science Building Atrium on the Shands Jacksonville campus located at 653 W. Eighth St. The exhibit is open for public viewing Monday through Friday, Sept. 16 through Sept. 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This never-before documented history of orthopaedic surgeons and their wartime experiences shares personal, detailed accounts of individuals and chronicles the great strides made in the treatment of orthopaedic trauma as a result of developments from World War II.
More than 100 Academy members – also World War II veterans now in their 70s and 80s – were interviewed to record and preserve their individual stories, many of which are included in the book Legacy of Heroes, documentary film Wounded in Action, and all of which are featured on the website, www.legacyofheroes.aaos.org. Some of these veterans were taken back to the beaches at Normandy and Pearl Harbor where they served, to reflect on tragic memories, heroic moments, and the impact these experiences had on their lives.
It has been said that World War II created an obscene training ground for surgeons, but despite the gruesome and tragic nature of their training, these present-day orthopaedic surgeons have taken the positive from the situation. As veteran John T. Hayes, M.D., stated, “…from wartime experiences, we’ve learned to rebuild the broken bodies, and we’ve learned to take care of the terrible wounds that we now see on the highways; that we once saw in the war. The joy of orthopaedic surgery is that we rebuild people. It’s a wonderful, optimistic branch of surgery.”
Many of the veterans entered the war as medics or litter-bearers and then were pushed forward as necessary to treat the wounded. They then received formal training as orthopaedic surgeons after the war. The sheer numbers of the wounded created opportunities to attempt bold new surgical techniques. The intricacies of hand surgery, prosthetics and spine surgery were developed and refined as orthopaedic surgeons treated tens of thousands of casualties. Internal and external fixation, prosthetics, joint replacement, bone fusion, the use of antibiotics, etc., were also further developed as a result of the war.
More information about the Legacy of Heroes project can be found at www.legacyofheroes.aaos.org.