title: The making of the air surgeon: the early life and career of David N. W. Grant.
abstract: Few individuals have left a more indelible mark on the history of aviation medicine than the wartime Air Surgeon of the U.S. Army Air Forces, David N. W. Grant. In spite of having built an incomparable air evacuation service, created the Flight Nurse Corps, instituted psychological evaluations for aircrews, and a host of other achievements, little is known about Grant the man, or about how he came to be the Air Surgeon. This paper will describe Grant's early life and military career, and will focus on his gradual accumulation of the knowledge and personal qualities that made him an outstanding, if virtually unsung, leader of World War II.
mesh_terms: D000337:Aerospace Medicine / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000266:history; D014481:United States