Percy L. Jones Army Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan-- Part 3: It Was Huge!

The hospital grew as the flow of casualties continued to increase.  In 1944, Dr. John Kellogg donated his mansion of the nearby Gull Lake to the Army, which assigned it to the Percy Jones as a convalescent center.  The Fort Custer Reception Center was also used by patients on "casual duty."

The Percy Jones Hospital  complex was massive, self-contained and fully integrated.  It had its own water supply and power generation.  In addition, it had its own bank, post office, public library and even a radio station, "KPJ."

The Percy Jones Institute was an accredited high school with dozens of  educational and training programs for patients ranging from photography to business and to agriculture.

At the height of the war, more than 2,000 people visited the hospital on a daily basis.  Entertainers like Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart, Ed Sullivan, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers put on shows there.

In 1945, Percy Jones became the largest medical installation of any kind in the world.

Following V-J Day in 1945, the population of the hospital peaked with 11, 427 patients assigned to its three area sites.  One of those patients, of course, was Bob Dole.

Percy Jones specialized as an Army center for neurosurgery, amputations, handicapped rehabilitation, deep x-ray therapy and plastic artificial eyes.  In one month alone, 729 operations were performed.

In the decade it was open,  the hospital made an impact on the City of Battle Creek which was the first American city to install wheelchair ramps in its sidewalks to accommodate Percy Jones patients when they visited downtown.

--GreGen