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Name:	Merritte Weber Ireland Major General
Spouse:	Elizabeth Liggett Ireland
Address
	Washington, DC
Phone Number
Email Address
Personal Website
Class of	1884	Attended from through
Graduated Here?	Yes
If graduated elsewhere, graduated from:
College Attended:

Birthdate:	May 31, 1867
Date of Death:	July 5, 1952

Current Occupation:

Notes:	From biography at Arlington National Cemetery website: MERRITTE WEBER IRELAND (May 31, 1867-July 5, 1952), The Surgeon General, October 4, 1918 - May 31, 1931, was born on May 31, 1867, at Columbia City, a town in the upper end of the Wabash valley in Whitley County, Indiana. His father, Dr. Martin Ireland, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, and graduated in medicine in Cincinnati in 1849, settling in Columbia City in 1855. The Ireland family originated in the west of Scotland, coming to Ohio by way of Maryland. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Fellers, came from Waynesboro, Virginia. After finishing the high school course in his native town, he entered the Detroit College of Medicine where after three years (1887-1890) he received an M.D. degree in the latter year. The following year was spent in Jefferson Medical College where again he was given an M.D. degree in 1891. He immediately took the examination for the medical service of the army and was commissioned an assistant surgeon from Indiana on May 4, 1891. His first assignment took him to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, where he served from May to September of 1891. At the end of that time he was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, to serve under Major John Van R. Hoff and to have direct charge of the first company of instruction of the Hospital Corps organized by Captain Hoff. This early contact with one of the most forceful characters the medical department has produced was bound to have a lasting influence. The friendship of the two remained a close one until Colonel Hoff's death. During this tour at Fort Riley he had terms of temporary duty at Fort Yates, North Dakota, in 1892 and at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. He was transferred to duty at Fort Apache, Arizona, in April 1893 and remained there until November of the following year. While at this post he returned to Columbia City, his old home, and was married on November 8, 1893, to Elizabeth Liggett of that place. ...In his obituary note on MG Ireland in the Annals of Internal Medicine (1952), MG George A. Armstrong, then The Surgeon General, wrote: "General Ireland was largely responsible for the development of modern concepts of field medicine during World War I and his accomplishments made possible many of the later medical achievements of World War II and Korea. . . . Both in his position as Chief Surgeon of the American Expeditionary Forces in France and, later, as Surgeon General of the Army for many years, General Ireland proved himself one of the great leaders of the Army Medical Service, and an unequaled administrator in the field of military medicine. His example while on active duty and his wise counsel following retirement were a source of constant inspiration to those who succeeded him as Surgeons General of the Army." For the full biography, go to http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/mwireland.htm

Last Updated:	06-13-2018		Alumni ID:	11

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