As the 1918 flu pandemic raged, Navy doctors preached that the rawest recruits and most senior flag officers needed to wash their hands often and to isolate the sick from the healthy, medical historians told USNI News. Despite its best efforts, Navy medicine had mixed success containing the epidemic, the service’s reports from the time show. In 1918, Naval medical facilities admitted 121,225 Navy and Marine Corps patients with influenza. Of these patients, 4,158 died of the virus. Sick patients spent more than one million sick days in these facilities worldwide. Navy medical personnel were familiar with smart practices, like … Continue reading Navy, Marines Struggled With 1918 Influenza Pandemic