1922
Again we are glad to present another in the series of profiles of outstanding 1922 men. Stan Miner is the author of this month's sketch, and it is with pleasure that we turn command of this column over to him.
COLONEL JOHN WILLIAM MCKOAN JR.
Worcester (Mass.), the home of our athletic rival of many years, Holy Cross, has sent to Dartmouth many men whose deeds in the world to which Dartmouth sent them, have been outstanding. Not the least of these was a matriculate with the class of 1922 with the name JOHN W. MCKOAN JR. Dartmouth, the class of 1922, and Worcester now point with pride to Colonel John W. McKoan Jr., U. S. Army, Commanding Officer of a 750-bed Evacuation Hospital, located somewhere behind the front lines in Italy, as the same man who entered Dartmouth in the fall of 'lB.
Some upper class Phi Delt, with sagacity rarely seen among that group, induced Jake to join that choice gathering and it was there that the writer first met Jake. He was then a pre-medic, which meant that the brothers saw much too little of him, but he always turned up in the goat room on Wednesday nights. The writer's best remembrance of him, and this, too, he will recall, was during an interfraternity ball game, probably against the Betas for we always were playing them at something, in which Jake was the Phi Doodle catcher and a good one at that. There was a Beta man on third base waiting to score, with one out in the ninth inning and one run needed to tie and two to win. A fly ball hit to deep left was caught by the fielder and Jake got the throw-in for the final put-out as the runner was one step from home plate. Even if Jake had not had the ball that Beta would have had a hard time finding the plate for Jake was all over it with his 175 pounds of muscle. But that was many years ago, so let's hear from the Colonel himself as he replies to a recent letter asking him to account for himself for the benefit of his classmates and others who read this column.
Jake pleads guilty to the fact that he was graduated from Dartmouth with our class getting his degree magna cum laude. Then to Harvard Medical School where he was graduated in 1926. Promptly he started his interneship at Worcester City Hospital and on the QT married Pat Yates of that city in January, 1927. The Phi Doodle brothers approved of this selection, for Pat attended Commencement in June, when they had the opportunity of looking her over.
His father died suddenly in May, 1927, and at once the responsibility of the entire family group fell upon Jake. During the succeeding years he supported his mother and seven younger sisters and a younger brother, providing his sisters and brother with the means to secure their educations. To Pat and Jake two children were born, Joan in August, 1929, and John 111 in July, 1931. Two days before John's fifth birthday his life was taken in a tragic fire and our sympathy went to Pat and Jake at their loss which was "an awful blow from which it took a long time to recover." Joan, now almost 15, is described as quite a deb, although her Dad has not seen her for almost two years.
In 1927 he became school physician in Worcester, a part time affair, leading the Civil Service list in qualifying. That year also saw him as assistant medical examiner for the Metropolitan Life in Worcester, all in addition to his work as a general practitioner and sometime surgeon. In June, 1928, he went into the 26th (Yankee) Division of the Massachusetts National Guard as first lieutenant in the Medical Corps and was assigned as battalion surgeon, 181st Infantry Regiment. In December, 1930, he was promoted to Captain M.C. and then to major and regimental surgeon in March, 1935, still with the 181st. During this period the Metropolitan made him Chief Medical Examiner.
On January 16, 1941, Jake was called up for active duty with his regiment reporting to Camp Edwards, Mass. On March 17, 1941, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He acted as Chief Medical Umpire for the IV Corps in the 1941 Carolina maneuvers where his observations at that time concerning the evacuation of "casualties" led him to suggest the use of advanced ambulance loading posts. These posts are now being used .in Italy and they have "aided tremendously in more rapid evacuation of battle casualties." Jake, with customary modesty, believes "that at least partly due to my suggestion they are being used."
In February, 1942, he was transferred to the 16th Medical regiment, a regular Army outfit, in command of its Ist Battalion. As they sailed for England in the summer of 1942, he became its executive officer. With the North African invasion Jake went in at Oran and while still in Africa was promoted to Colonel M.C. on December 15, 1942, and became commanding officer of an Evacuation Hospital in February, 1943, located then at Casablanca. Last September he brought them "across the beach" to "somewhere in Italy"—the outfit including 52 nurses and 2 female Red Cross workers. Here is how he describes it—"The first night we slept on the ground, without any blankets, ate K rations like they were turkey sandwiches. Reason, of course, was that everything else was getting a permanent pickling. So for weeks we lived in pup tents, went through a 3/4 hurricane one night, but finally got ourselves enough equipment to function again. Moved up only to find our hospital site a scant four miles behind the front lines. However, we set up and went to work. So for three months we have been running a 750-bed hospital, all in tents and once or twice have been just too close to the action to make for comfort. That is part of the game and my gang take it swell and in stride. Yesterday I saw an abbey get it on the chin and it was really something." (Letter dated February 19, 1944.)
The picture of Colonel Jake accompanying this article is through the courtesy of Pat, to whom we extend our thanks for it as well as for other facts concerning her famous husband. To Jake we all send our very best, for the pride we feel in having him as a classmate, a friend and an outstanding leader in his chosen field, and for the responsibility with which he has been entrusted in the toughest of all mari's activities—War.
May our 25th Reunion find us all together in Hanover where we can greet Jake in well known Twoter fashion.
Good luck, boy!
COL. JOHN WILLIAM McKOAN '22
Secretary, 1837 Arlington St., Bethlehem, Pa. Treasurer, 16 Sunset Hill Ave., Norwalk, Conn.
