Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 Fredrick Louis Detrick, MD

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 (April 21, 1889 in New Market, Maryland

New Market, Maryland

New Market is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 427 at the 2000 census. The town bills itself as the "Antiques capital of Maryland".-Geography:New Market is located at ....

 – June 3, 1931 in Baltimore, Maryland), was a U.S. Army physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, flight surgeon

Flight surgeon

A flight surgeon is a military medical officer assigned to duties in the clinical field variously known as aviation medicine, aerospace medicine, or flight medicine...

 and pilot

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

. He is the namesake of Fort Detrick

Fort Detrick

Fort Detrick is a U.S. Army Medical Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland, USA. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center for the United States' biological weapons program ....

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 (formerly, Detrick Field and Camp Detrick). Detrick, who was a teaching surgeon on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, served in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 during the First World War and was a member of the Maryland National Guard when he died of a heart attack in 1931.

Biography

Although born in Frederick County, Maryland

Frederick County, Maryland

Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....

, where his family had lived for five generations, Detrick lived a portion of his childhood in Orange, Virginia

Orange, Virginia

Orange is a town in Orange County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,721 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Orange County...

, where his grandfather owned Montpelier, President James Madison

James Madison

James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...

’s former home. He graduated from the Rockefeller Institute and completed his medical internship at Bellevue Hospital, both in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. He was appointed a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the Medical Reserve Corps

Medical Reserve Corps

The Medical Reserve Corps is a network in the U.S. of community-based units initiated and established by local organizations to meet the public health needs of their communities. It is sponsored by the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States...

, U.S. Army in April 1918. His first brief assignment was to the installation hospital at Camp Wadsworth, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, followed by a tour of duty with the 28th Aero Squadron, 3rd Pursuit Group in France. He supported the major American offensives at the battles of Saint-Mihiel

Battle of Saint-Mihiel

The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a World War I battle fought between September 12–15, 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Force and 48,000 French troops under the command of U.S. general John J. Pershing against German positions...

 and of Meuse/Argonne

Meuse-Argonne Offensive

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...

. He was discharged at Camp Dix, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, in July 1919.

Detrick returned to Baltimore and opened a private practice on Linden Avenue, eventually earning a teaching position on the staff and faculty of Johns Hopkins University Hospital. He joined the Maryland National Guard in 1923 and was appointed a captain in the Medical Reserve Corps

Medical Reserve Corps

The Medical Reserve Corps is a network in the U.S. of community-based units initiated and established by local organizations to meet the public health needs of their communities. It is sponsored by the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States...

 with an assignment to the Medical Department Detachment, 29th Division Aviation, which included the 104th Observation Squadron. (The 104th still exists as part of the Maryland Air National Guard

Maryland Air National Guard

The Maryland Air National Guard is the air force component of the militia of the U.S. state of Maryland. As a dual-status organization, it is also considered a reserve component of the United States Air Force.-Mission:...

.)

Detrick died at home on June 3, 1931, after a series of heart attacks. His unit, which each summer conducted annual training at Langley Field, Virginia, then had orders to conduct its next encampment at a new site: Frederick Airport at Frederick, Maryland

Frederick, Maryland

Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...

. Squadron members had great affection for their flight surgeon. The 104th, in consultation with the Maryland National Guard Adjutant General, Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Milton Reckord

Milton Reckord

Milton Atchison Reckord was an important figure in the history of the National Guard of the United States. He also served as Adjutant General of the State of Maryland-Early life and family:...

, resolved to name the airport “Detrick Field” in his memory. Reckord also issued orders posthumously promoting Captain Detrick to the rank of Major.