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Using the authority of this 1902 Act, President Wilson militarized the PHS in anticipation of America's entry into World War I by an Executive Order issued on April 3, 1917. This order allowed the PHS to detail officers or other employees at the request of the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy to the military and made PHS stations available for treating sick and wounded military personnel and related purposes in times of war or threatened war. With the issuance of this order, the Service was considered to be a part of the military forces. In addition, Congress passed a joint resolution approved July 9, 1917 fixing the rights and status of PHS officers when serving in the Coast Guard, Army, or Navy.

The Executive Order of April 3, 1917 by which President Wilson militarized the PHS was later overturned. An opinion issued by the Attorney General on October 29, 1921, held that the power to create a military force out of a civilian one was a duty residing in Congress alone. The opinion stated that under the existing law of 1902, the President could utilize but not convert the Service to a military force within the meaning of the definition "military or naval forces of the United States."

During World War II, however, the President was given legislative authority for militarizing the PHS Commissioned Corps. The Act of Congress of November 11, 1943 that authorized military benefits for the commissioned officers of the PHS also gave the President the authority to declare the PHS Corps to be a military service in times of war. The Public Health Service Act of July 1, 1944, which repealed the 1943 Act, contained the same provision for militarization of the PHS Corps. On June 21, 1945, President Truman issued Executive order No. 9575 which declared "the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service to be a military service and a branch of the land and naval forces of the United States during the period of the present war."

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