28/07/2026
To all my dear followers:
As many of you have seen, I had the privilege of meeting Mr Daniel McDonnell last Friday.
Daniel and I have been exchanging regular emails over the last few years after I reached out to him enquiring about his mother, Evelyn Grace McDonnell (nee Garis), who served as a nurse at the 65th at Redgrave during the war.
Through talking to Daniel, I discovered Evelyn's story was quite unique, as not only was she a Nurse at the hospital, but Daniel's father, Captain John 'Jack' McDonnell, a soldier with the U.S 88th Division, was a patient too. A truly rare occurrence.
Over the years I have gotten to know Daniel well, and we have shared some intimate memories together, and our meeting Friday last, I believe, was everything we expected it would be.
From the moment we saw each other, we smiled and laughed at the terminality of the moment of which we always said we would 'have a pint together'.
We met each other not as strangers but as friends, and I feel lucky to have been able to have spent time with both Daniel and his fabulous wife Maggie.
Daniel has shared some of his feelings upon our meeting, and I would like to share them with you all, as I feel that they best elucidate the tone and demeanour of the project from its inception.
I would like to state that I have not altered his words in any way, shape or form. Thank you.
Daniel McDonnell.
A BELATED LETTER Of THANKS: “Back to Bury St Edmunds”, sentimental journey.
After graduating, my mom joined the Duke University 65th General Hospital unit of the US Army. She was shipped out first to Scotland, then eventually sent to Redgrave Park, Suffolk, England, to a make-shift hospital campus made up of Quonset Huts (insulated only with tar paper), and converted agricultural & light industrial out-buildings. When our family lived in Harrow-on-the-Hill in 1968+, mom took our family on a road trip to see her old stomping grounds.
Fast forward to early 2025. A gentleman named Stuart Buxton, a local resident, got in touch with me regarding a commemorative service he was planning to honor the 65th.
Stuart is the Ambassador Extraordinaire of Redgrave Park. He has collected much information, memorabilia, and many of the surviving photographs of the 65th. He graciously invited me to the July 2025 tribute service. For who knows what reason, I just couldn’t make that happen. Stuart then offered the idea of my writing down what I could of mom’s memories, and then have them read aloud, along with others, at the service. I put together what I could, and Stuart made the arrangements for the reading, read aloud by a woman in the Redgrave Park community (Sophie Green?).
The service itself, held in the old Redgrave Chapel, bedecked with floral arrangements and featuring a piper in full regalia, RAF Honour Guards, The Royal British Legion, featured testimonials by the local stewards of the magnificent 65th.
All of this alone was quite an admirable tribute to a time and place that, over 80+ years, is slipping into history. But it doesn’t stop there.
Stuart’s boundless energy and limitless interest has he & I staying in touch. When later I was arranging a trip to see Owen in London, I made sure there would be time for a first-time meet-up with Stuart. And it happened. We met at The Old Cannon Inn, in Bury St Edmunds, on July 24, ‘26, and We had a magnificent time.
We met in the afternoon out on the shady patio. We exchanged some gifts, then Stuart, aided by a backpack full of photos & documents, and a head bursting with stories, told of the heroics of the legendary 65th. It was a colorful story of marriages, special missions, super-human endurance, sad events, plot twists, and an undying pride, and an everlasting camaraderie. The hospital became a center of excellence for Thoracic, Craniofacial, and Orthopaedic surgery. One surgeon performed a nonstop 36 hour shift without sleep. Six days a week, and 14 hours a day (because what else is there to do when war is raging in your backyard and casualties are arriving fast and furious?). In total, 17,000 patients were treated.
Stuart’s comprehensive illumination of the 65th had me riveted to my seat. He is a natural historian and has shone a light on a time in my mother’s life that was very memorable for both mom and the entire world.
My endless thanks, Stuart. You are truly a joy and a treasure. Your work lifts the spirit of those who are left carrying the legacy of the 65th General Hospital “Best care anywhere” Dream Team!
*Until we meet again*.
