Colonel John M. Swan papers

John Mumford Swan was born in 1870 and graduated from college in 1893. He set up practice in Rochester, and became a frequent speaker on public health issues. In September of 1915, Swan met the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, William Gorgas, at an American Public Health Association conference in Rochester, where Gorgas asked him to form a reserve base hospital in Rochester. This unit became Base Hospital 19, and Swan served as its commander. After the First World War, Swan returned to civiian life, ultimately becoming director of the YMCA's Department of Physical Education in the 1920s, along with working on other public health initiatives. Swan also retained a keen interest in U.S. Army medical reserve service, being asked to recruit a new unit, General Hospital 82, from the Twelfth Army Corps area (New York, New Jersey and Delaware) in 1924. Swan would remain involved with this unit, along with other Army recruiting and funding intiatives, throughout the 1920s and 1930s. He was also a member of the American Legion and the Lions Club, eventually serving as President of the latter organization in the 1930s. John M. Swan was married to Sarah Raymond Swan, with whom he lived at 457 Park Avenue and attended the First Presbyterian Church. He passed away on November 22, 1949, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.