452d Combat Support
Hospital
Alumni Association
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Unit History
In November 1948, Lieutenant Colonel Leo R. Weinshel was requested by Fifth U.S. Army to initiate the organization of a 1,000 bed hospital in Milwaukee Wisconsin to be known as the 452d General Hospital. The 452d General Hospital was formally established on February 1, 1949 as a re-designation of the former 182d General Hospital, inactivated in 1945 at Camp Kilmer New Jersey. Many of the original 452d personnel had served with the 182d General Hospital while on active duty.
Command and Control of the unit was under the leadership of 14th Corp located at Fort Snelling MN. Shoulder patch shown above. The immediate higher headquarters was the 30th Hospital Center located at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. The 452d General Hospital held drills at the Buffalo Street Armory in downtown Milwaukee. The first unit training assembly was held on February 9, 1949, LTC Weinshel commanding.
During 1949, unit personnel attended summer camp at Camp McCoy Wisconsin, as individuals but not as an organization. The following two years, the 452d General Hospital performed its mission as a unit at Camp McCoy. Special commendation was earned by the unit from the regular Army. MOS parallel training, initiated by COL. Weinshel for the first time on extended active duty status by a Reserve Hospital unit in Fifth Army, stood out as the most successful and important phase of the 1951 training period. It led to a program used by all Army Reserve General Hospitals to train alongside their active duty training counterparts.
In August 1953, the 452d moved into new quarters on the north side of Milwaukee at the Richards Street Armory, a new reserve facility. Over the next several years, the 452d continued it’s outstanding performance during Annual Training periods resulting in superior ratings.with the highest score of 96.7 achieved during the 1956 training period.
May 1958 saw the 452d move into the US Army Disciplinary Barracks on North Hopkins Street in Milwaukee. The unit continued it’s superior ratings during Annual Training periods and the unit’s strength had grown to 301 personnel.
