Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum
October 2026
Wes J. Sheffield recently published a book, On a Train Leaving Texas The Journal of Charles T. Gettys, focused on medical treatment of German POWs at Camp Livingston in Central Louisiana during World War II. Sheffield met Gettys when he interviewed him about his time as Dean of Instruction for the former Decatur Baptist College (now Dallas Baptist University). Gettys mentioned at the end of the interview that he was a veteran who had worked in the Livingston hospital during the war, and Sheffield planned an interview with him to learn more about his experiences.
The interview never happened, but Gettys sent Sheffield a copy of his journal and granted permission to publish it before his death in September 2007. Sheffield also had access to letters and documents that Gettys collected at Camp Livingston that helped him round out the story.
Gettys was a pre-med student before the war with training in clinical and sanitary medical technology, and a specialty in microbiology, so he was assigned to work in the camp hospital laboratory.
That work brought him into the case of a German prisoner who was so sick that he was transferred from the small internment camp hospital to the main post hospital for America soldiers. He was diagnosed with furunculosis, a condition that results from hair follicles ibecoming infected with bacteria, leading to the formation of painful boils. He also had infection of his kidneys and bloodstream and carbuncles covering his back and neck. His pain was so severe that he could not wear pajamas and could barely stand to have a sheet covering him. His opinion of American medical treatment was low: “Des Americk doktors—nein goot,” he told Gettys when he collected samples for lab tests, all of which were positive for Staphylococcus infection that was spreading all through his body.
Gettys informed the doctors of his findings and was told that they had requested a small supply of a new drug that was reputed to be effective against such infections, but it was in short supply because most of production was sent overseas.
Nevertheless, he was sent to nearby Alexandria Army Air Field within a few days to pick up two small vials of the medicine that arrived by emergency shipment.
He received an unusual request from doctors on the case a day after starting treatment. They had read in the literature about the drug that when penicillin is injected intramuscularly about ninety per cent of it is excreted from the body. They asked if the patient’s urine could be sterilized without heating which would destroy the penicillin and the unused penicillin could be extracted. Gettys was able to do so using special technology and was thus able to stretch the supply available for treatment.
The POW changed his opinion of American medicine as his condition improved. “Amerik doctors, seir goot” he told Gettys
Gettys was later able to grow the mold necessary for penicillin production from a sample sent to him by Lederle Laboratories and could then produce a supply of the wonder drug for Camp Livingston patients before it was widely available even for Army hospitals. He hoped that American POWs were receiving similar care in German hospitals.
Sheffield’s book also contains photographs of Camp Livingston that Gettys took during his three years on post. It is a good read for anyone interested in World War II history. Contact wesheffield@gmail.com for ordering information.
