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.
2019.11.4 Side A: DeWitt General Hospital Chief of Surgical Branch, Col. Ambrose Storck.
2019.11.1 Side B: "Happy Storck."
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.
One side of this disc includes a recorded message from Colonel Ambrose Storck who was the Chief of the Surgical Branch at the DeWitt General Hospital. The other side of this disc includes a recording entitled "Happy Storck" which is a rendition of the Happy Birthday song for Lorraine Anderson.