“The techniques of dentistry as practiced in the United States Army do not differ significantly from those in civilian life. The task and problems, however, involved in applying these techniques in providing dental care to some 8,000,000 men and women, under such trying conditions as existed in a global war, stand unique and unparalleled.”

– Armstrong, George F., Foreword in A History of the United States Army Dental Service in World War II, 1955.

World War I required the emerging organization of the Dental Corps to quickly establish their structure and place within the U.S. Military’s Medical Department, while also establishing their importance in treating and maintaining the health of the soldiers at war.

Once the war was over, the Army Dental Corps refined its organizational structure, and significantly increased their training programs to ensure any enlisted dentist was prepared for war. However, even with this preparation, no one expected the total number of individuals needed to support the war effort.

On December 7^th, 1941, Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor leading to the deaths of over 2,400 Americans, including Hugh R. Alexander, a member of the Navy Dental Corps stationed on the U.S.S. Oklahoma. This attack pushed the U.S. to join the global conflict, sending the Dental Corps to Europe, Mediterranean/North Africa, and the Pacific.

Having the proper number of dentists per soldier was one of the greatest administrative struggles during the war. During the largest influx of new recruits to the military that occurred in 1942, an estimated 30,000 dentists would have been needed to fully provide the necessary services to the entire U.S. Military. The enlisted members of the Dental Corps would reach its highest amount of 15,293 in 1944, however, which was later estimated to be a sufficient number for the majority of the war, other than in 1942.

Depending on where dentists were stationed and which units they were assigned to, the service of a Dental Corps member could be vastly different. For dentists assigned to smaller units, they were just as likely to do administrative tasks as they were to take care of teeth, while dentists assigned to larger units were likely overwhelmed with the number of patients they would treat day in and day out.

Of the 15,293 dentists who served, 116 dental officers died from various causes throughout the war. 20 of those dental officers were killed in action, including the third Medal of Honor recipient Benjamin Lewis Salomon, along with Wadsworth C. Trojakowski, Herbert Friedberg, and Gilber F. Gorsuch, among others.