2019.11.1 Side A: DeWitt General Hospital Commanding Officer, Colonel William H. Smith.
2019.11.1 Side B: DeWitt General Hospital American Red Cross Administrator, Lorraine Anderson.
One side of this disc includes a recorded message from Colonel William H. Smith who was Commanding Officer at DeWitt General Hospital. The other side of this disc includes a recorded message from Lorraine Anderson who was Director of the American Red Cross at DeWitt General Hospital.
Disc, Phonograph: (1944-1945)
Direct-cut lacquer "Recordiogram" disc containing a personal message recorded using a facility provided by the American Red Cross at the DeWitt General Hospital during World War II.
The sprawling DeWitt General (Army) Hospital complex sits on over 220 acres in Auburn, California. It was one of sixteen "Type A Pavilion Style" military hospitals constructed in the United States during World War II and is where 9,741 wounded military personnel were treated between 1944-1945. Today, this site is the Placer County Government Center. It is home to the DeWitt History Museum and is listed on National Register of Historic Places.
The American Red Cross was instrumental at the DeWitt General Hospital during World War II for supporting the morale and well-being of troops recovering at this facility. The opportunity to record a personal message onto a disc which could then be mailed or shared with military service personnel is one example of the morale-boosting efforts by the American Red Cross at the DeWitt General Hospital.