Starting with a brief history of western naval medical care from the ancient Greeks and proceeding to modern times this book chronicles the evolution of the Navys first west coast hospital the Mare Island Naval Hospital as it grew from a palatial but primitive facility in the 1860s to the Navys premier amputee center for Marines and sailors returning from the brutal Pacific war. Located in the Navys largest California shipyard the hospital benefited from healthful California weather that permitted creation of a tent hospital to care for Spanish flu victims. Navy Yard engineering and mechanical skills helped create the Navys first ambulance boats and in World War II the best limb prostheses available.