During World War I, the United States aided the Allies’ fight by setting up Base Hospitals in Europe.
Base Hospital 31 was organized in Youngstown, OH in the beginning of 1917. The $50,000 needed to supply the hospital was funded by donations from the citizens and staffed by 300 volunteers from the local medical community (50 officers, 50 nurses, 200 enlisted men). The unit was mobilized in September. After 3 months of training, they sailed from New York to Liverpool, England and finally docked at Le Havre, France on December 26th, 1917.
You can see a Google Map of their journey here: http://www.bit.ly/BH31yo. The map also contains home addresses for the personnel with biographical information about the members from the Youngstown area. There are contemporary photographs of people and places in the map as well.
Base Hospital 31 was located in Contexeville, France. Before the war, it was a summer health resort with many hotels. Eight of these hotels were assigned to become Base Hospital 31.
The Base Hospital operated from March 23, 1918 to February 3, 1919. The normal combined capacity of the buildings was 1,200 beds. It could be expanded to 2,000 beds to handle emergencies. It treated 3,413 medical cases and 4,585 surgical cases. The Youngstown staff treated American, French, Italian, Russian, and British troops for wounds, tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza, poisonous gas, and psychiatric problems.
The Melnick Medical Museum had a collection of approximately 75 glass lantern slides containing images taken throughout the training and operation of Base Hospital 31. Most likely, the photographer is man pictured below. This summer, the glass slides were cleaned and scanned. The originals were donated to the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, where they join other documentation on the Base Hospital.
The entire collection can be viewed in the Youngstown State University Archives Facebook photo album. It contains pictures of the staff, their training, the hospital facilities, the Contrexeville area, war destruction, and the local residents.
Melnick Medical Museum 
My father Paul C Meyers went to France with this group. I have no other information.??
I have researched the Youngstown area personnel using the City Directories and the Ohio Soldiers Sailors and Marines in WWI. Paul C Myers lived at 114 W. Federal Street and was employed as an advertising manager for the Stambaugh Thompson Company in 1917. He was 25 years old. His military record says that he enlisted from the Reserve Corps May 20, 1917. He served in the Medical Dept of BH 31 to his discharge. He was promoted to Sergeant Oct 4, 1917. In March 1918 he was assigned as ward master of Hotel Souveraine within BH 31. AEF Dec 15, 1917 to April 30, 1919. Honorable discharge May 13, 1919. Called to active duty Sept 8, 1917.
I also have a nurse Miss Minna Theckla Meyer from Columbus, OH on the roster. She was 40 years old and born in NYC. I’m not sure if they’re related or not. She was part of a few surgical teams that were sent to the front lines. She received a citation for heroic conduct on Nov 2, 1918 when she helped evacuate patients from a field hospital being shelled.
I made an interactive GoogleMap of all of BH 31 personnel. You can click on their home address pins to see more information about them. The web address is http://www.bit.ly/BH31yo
I was delighted to learn about these plates and look forward to seeing the entire collection. My father,Harold B. Ellis, served with B. H. No 31 from Sept., 1917 until May, 1919. Part of that time he was on detached duty with Dr. Ralph R. Morral on orthopedic operating teams. I’m in the process of writing a story about his experiences during that time and would welcome comments.
It’s wonderful to hear from you John. I am glad that these photographs might help with your story.
The rest of the photographs can be found on the Facebook page of the Archives and Special Collections of Youngstown State University. The photo album on that page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151023883866846.416413.39883136845&type=3
I’d love to have a copy of your story.