Erastus Edward Strobino Journal
When Major Erastus Edward Strobino served at the 109th Station Hospital on New Caledonia, he kept a travelogue/nature journal of his time there. The journal records his voyage to New Caledonia and his stay on the island, from January 1942 to March 1943, though some later entries are undated. Although the journal started as a travelogue of his journey from the United States to New Caledonia, the content of the journal focuses on observations and discussions of star constellations viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, New Caledonia's flora and fauna and their adaptation to the environment, the island's landscape, its indigenous diseases and medicine, and its seasons and weather. His journal entries also describe his visits to a plantation, a farm, and one of his hikes up one of the island's mountains. His journal entries are illustrated with pencil drawings and photographs.
The journal is preserved as black-and-white photocopies and printed color scans held in a binder. A photograph of Major Erastus Edward Strobino in uniform from 1942 accompanies the journal.
Dates
- 1942-1943
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet
Abstract
Major Erastus Edward Strobino, M.D. kept a travelogue/nature journal while serving with the Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division) at the 109th Station Hospital in New Caledonia from 1942 to 1943. In the journal, he describes the native flora and fauna on the island, and writes about the indigenous diseases and medicine, constellations, and other scientific and nature-related topics.
Biographical/Historical Note
Erastus Edward "Ed" Strobino was born in Bethel, CT on May 3, 1906. He earned his medical degree from the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York, NY (now the New York University School of Medicine) in 1933. Strobino completed his internship and residency at Bellevue Hospital in New York, NY. He established his medical practice in the Charlotte community of Rochester, NY in 1939. Strobino married Ida Teresa Ciaccia (1915-2006) on September 18, 1940 in Rochester. The couple had four children: Antoinette (1941-), Emily (1942-), Mary (1946-), and Jane (1947-).
Ed Strobino served as a doctor in the Army for five years during World War II. He was stationed in the South Pacific for three and a half years. From April 1942 to July 1943, he served at the 109th Station Hospital in New Caledonia, a French territory that became an Allied base and headquarters for the United States Army and Navy in the South Pacific during the war. The 109th Station Hospital was attached to the Americal Division, an unnumbered Army division that activated in May 1942 in New Caledonia. When Ed was discharged from the Army, he had attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
After his service in the war, Ed Strobino returned to his practice in Charlotte, serving the community as the sole physician for more than 50 years and as an active attending physician at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester until his retirement from medical practice in 1988. Strobino died on July 19, 1993 in Rochester, NY.
Arrangement
The collection consists of one journal and one photograph in one oversized box.
Acquisition Note
This journal was donated to Special Collections by Antoinette Strobino Ewell through the University of Tennessee's Center for the Study of War and Society.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository