Cleaveland: The quiet courage of Dr. Wassell

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Twenty-year-old Walter Joyner knew that his ship was in trouble. The light cruiser USS Marblehead took extreme, evasive action to avoid Japanese bombs in action off Bali on Feb. 4, 1942. The ship shuddered from near misses. As a fireman, Joyner worked below the waterline to tend the ship's four steam turbines. A sudden explosion knocked him unconscious. Suffering head and back injuries, he awakened on the deck of his badly damaged ship.

Four days later, Joyner and 54 other wounded sailors from his ship and USS Houston, many with severe burns, were transferred ashore at Tjilatjap, on the south coast of Java. The sick bay aboard USS Marblehead had been destroyed. Despite extensive damage, USS Houston had been ordered back into combat and had no space for wounded sailors. USS Marblehead departed on a lengthy voyage to repairs in a U.S. shipyard. A train transported the injured men to a Dutch hospital in the inland town of Djokjakarta.

photo Dr. Clif Cleaveland

Dr. Corydon McAlmont Wassell had previously worked as a small-town general practitioner in Arkansas, missionary to China and physician for a Civilian Conservation Corps camp before accepting a commission in the U.S. Navy in 1936 at age 52. Following the attack at Pearl Harbor, Lt. Cmdr. Wassell was assigned administrative duties at a naval base on Java's north coast. On Feb. 4, he was ordered to Djokjakarta to supervise the care of the wounded sailors. Only one sailor subsequently died from his injuries.

Walter Joyner described the daily bedside visits by the doctor, who tended the sailors' physical and psychological injuries. He described the Dutch nurses as angels. A Chinese surgeon removed shrapnel, treated fractures and meticulously cared for burns. Ambulatory sailors assisted nurses in their work. Walking wounded carried bed-fast patients to shelter when enemy bombers attacked the town. In the chaotic atmosphere, Wassell somehow located beer and ice cream for his patients. The effect upon their morale was dramatic. Joyner compared the doctor to a shepherd.

In mid-February, with the approach of Japanese invaders, Wassell organized the transfer of the Americans by train to the port of Tjilatjap. Ambulatory patients, including Joyner, departed by submarine and two ships. Ten stretcher-bound patients could not be accommodated on the crowded vessels. They were to be left behind. Defying orders, Wassell remained with these patients. He accompanied them aboard a freight train that would return them to the inland hospital. He continued to address their daily needs.

Finally, with enemy forces close by, Wassell negotiated space for his patients with a British convoy that took two days to reach the southern port. Two ships remained in the severely damaged harbor. The doctor bought deck space for his patients aboard a crowded passenger steamer. He ministered to his patients whose stretchers rested on exposed decks. Enduring an air attack and traversing submarine-infested waters, the ship reached the safety of Fremantle, Australia, two weeks later.

Wassell received the Navy Cross for his dedication to his patients and his refusal to abandon those unable to walk. Following additional treatment, Joyner returned to active duty.

"The Story of Dr. Wassell," a celebrated movie, opened on D-Day in 1944. Gary Cooper played the title role. The movie gave me my first clear concept of a hero, a person who selflessly protects the welfare of others. Wassell became the first member of my personal pantheon of heroes that has steadily expanded.

Almost 60 years later, I saw the movie on a cable channel. Aided by the internet, I located three of Wassell's patients from Java. Joyner was the only one I could visit. He urged me to hurry because he sensed that his health was failing. In a morning-long interview in his Maryland home, this kind man expanded the range of heroes on Java. In addition to Wassell, the honorees included shipmates who refused to surrender to despair and who looked out for one another, Dutch and Javanese nurses who worked tirelessly to care for the wounded in harrowing circumstances and a surgeon who blended exceptional skill and gentleness.

In uncertain times, I return to my heroes for comfort and inspiration. They become fixed points by which I can navigate.

I welcome your reminiscences of first heroes.

Contact Clif Cleaveland at ccleaveland@timesfreepress.com.

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