A Ship Called Hope Author:William B. Walsh, M.D. A fascinating book telling in warm, human terms of the help brought by the ship Hope's dedicated team of doctors and nurses to the people of Indonesia and South Vietnam. Dr. Walsh created the Hope, the first peacetime hospital ship, in response to a request from President Eisenhower for a real international people-to-people health program. Afte... more »r months of dedicated work, backed by donations large and small in money, drugs, and equipment, an old World War II Navy hospital ship was re-activated, rechristened the Hope, staffed and made ready for a unique maiden voyage.
As fast as problems came up they were solved - somehow. And there were many problems - medical, mechanical, practical, human - before all could work smoothly between the teams of American doctors and nurses and their Indonesian and Vietnamese counterparts.
And there was the need - the thousands of people who had had little or no medical care all their lives and, until the Hope came, had been condemned to spend their lives with crippling deficiencies which modern medicine could alleviate or cure - tumors, cataracts, cleft palates, disfiguring growths, diseases of all kinds. Children learned to smile and walk straight. Nurses and midwives were trained in good antiseptic techniques. Milk (made on shipboard in a machine lovingly called The Iron Cow) and vitamins were distributed broadside. The Hope visited major cities of Vietnam and Indonesia; she also went to remote islands where Westerners had never been before. Everywhere her dedicated doctors and nurses made friends and created good will as they helped and healed. Their story is heartwarming and inspiring, reflecting the finest traditions of this country.« less