Kanjorski Presents Flags Honoring Service of Local WWII Combat Surgeons

WASHINGTON - Two local doctors, believed to be the oldest surviving World War II combat surgeons from the greater Wyoming Valley, were honored for their wartime service by U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11), who presented the physicians with U.S. flags that were flown over the nation's Capitol.

"Both of these doctors have performed remarkable service, first to the men who defended liberty and overcame the tyranny of dictators who spawned the Second World War and then to generations of local residents who sought their medical expertise. We are genuinely grateful for their contributions to our community," Congressman Kanjorski said.

Dr. Charles Burns, 89, Kingston, and Dr. Robert Anderson, 95, formerly of the Parsons section of Wilkes-Barre, now a guest at the Veterans Medical Center Nursing Home in Plains Township, both served with the U.S. Army in Russia in 1945.

Dr. Burns related how both men graduated from Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre and Bucknell University. Dr. Anderson went on to study medicine at Temple University while Dr. Burns obtained his medical degree from Jefferson University.

Both men enlisted in the U.S. Army although neither knew where the other was stationed.

Eventually, Dr. Burns became division surgeon for the 104^th Division. Dr. Anderson became division surgeon for the 69^th Division.

Both units wound up in Russia toward the end of the war in 1945. Both Dr. Anderson and Dr. Burns attended to wounded soldiers on the front lines of battle. Dr. Burns said the MASH units (Mobile Army Surgical Units), made famous by the television series of the same name, were located well behind the front lines where the combat was taking place.

At the end of the war, Dr. Burns asked his commanding general if he could visit the neighboring division surgeon. When he did, he found his friend, Dr. Anderson. Neither knew they were attending to the medical needs of divisions fighting next to each other.

"There were only 104 American divisions (15,000 soldiers to a Division) in the entire Second World War. What are the chances that two doctors from the Wyoming Valley would rise to become division surgeons at two of them," he mused.

Neither Burns nor Anderson was ever wounded in action. Dr. Burns went on to become a prominent area urologist while Dr. Anderson spent nearly 40 years in the Army before returning home to pursue a career in psychiatry.

 -  30 -