George Ronald Hornig MD

Military
Captain George R. "Doc" Hornig, flight-surgeon of the 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group. Passed for publication 29 Nov 1943. Printed caption on reverse: '"Ace" Flight-Surgeon Is Combination Family Physician, Foster-Father And Chaplain. One of the "ace" flight-surgeons in the European Theatre of Operations is Captain George R. Hornig, 32 of Glen Head, Long Island, New York, a combination family physician, foster-father and chaplain to the pilots, he "looks after" the men who fly the single-engined media-401236.jpg FRE 2484 Captain George R. "Doc" Hornig, flight-surgeon of the 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group. Passed for publication 29 Nov 1943. Printed caption on reverse: '"Ace" Flight-Surgeon Is Combination Family Physician, Foster-Father And Chaplain. One of the "ace" flight-surgeons in the European Theatre of Operations is Captain George R. Hornig, 32 of Glen Head, Long Island, New York, a combination family physician, foster-father and chaplain to the pilots, he "looks after" the men who fly the single-engined P-47 Thunderbolt fighters which escort the big bombers into Germany. Officially, it's his job to keep the combat men in tip-top physical condition; see that their equipment, particularly their oxygen appartatus, is functioning properly , and treat their wounds when they come back shot up. To prepare for this, he studied aviation medicine - including psychology, psychiatry and plastic surgery - at the Army Air Corps School at Randolph Field, Texas.' On reverse: Associated Press and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps]. Roger Freeman Collection

Associated person

Object Number - FRE 2484 - Captain George R. "Doc" Hornig, flight-surgeon of the 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group. Passed for publication 29 Nov 1943. Printed caption...

George R ‘Doc’ Hornig was responsible for the wellbeing of the pilots he worked with, administering medicine and conducting health checks to keep them flying.



Doc was ‘a combination of family physician, foster-father and chaplain to the pilots’, according to a press photographer who shadowed him on his daily duties at Halesworth, Suffolk. ‘To prepare for this, he studied aviation medicine – including psychology, psychiatry and plastic surgery.’



Doc returned to the United States in October 1945 with souvenirs of his time in Europe, including a Nazi flag and an SS sword. He worked at the North Country Community Hospital in Glen Cove, New York, and died, aged 43, in June 1954.



Awards: WWII Victory, EAME.

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Units served with

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Brooklyn, Kings County, NY 10 March 1911 Son of Leighton and Gertrude Hornig.

Died

Glen Head, NY, USA 2 June 1954

Buried

Mount Lebanon Cemetery Glendale, Queens County, NY 5 June 1954 Mount Lebanon Cemetery Glendale, Queens County, New York

Other

Practised Medicine

Glen Cove, NY, USA Worked in North Country Community Hospital.

Based

Halesworth Assigned to 61FS, 56FG, 8AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Roger Freeman, 'Wolfpack Warriors', p.240
Obituary in 'Brooklyn Eagle' 4 June 1954 : https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/53868916/
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=98891227

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

George Ronald Hornig: Gallery (14 items)