29 Sep Dr. Thurman Shuller, 306th Bomb Group Surgeon
Dr. Thurman Shuller, from his own personal collection, the 306th BG Historical Association
One of the most dedicated and beloved officers to serve the 306th Bomb Group was Dr. Thurman Shuller.
A graduate of the Class of ‘39 University of Arkansas School of Medicine at Little Rock, Arkansas, Dr. Shuller attended the School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph Field in preparation for assignment with an air corps combat unit. Assigned to the 306th, he went overseas with the group when they first traveled from Wendover Field, Utah, to Thurleigh Airfield in England.
During his time with the 306th, Dr. Shuller treated his airmen not only for their physical wounds, often devastating ones. He also fought for their mental survival. In those years, no one talked about PTSD, but Dr. Shuller knew which of his men were suffering.
As quoted in Russell Strong’s book, First Over Germany, Shuller wrote in his diary:
“They were so terribly tired …they had to get up at 1:30 this morning and I doubt that some of them had slept at all. The maintenance crews are tired too and they can’t keep the planes in shape for so much combat … It’s all a vicious circle resulting in poor flying by the pilots, poor bombing by the bombardiers, and high losses. There is a human element to this thing that Bomber Command seems to fail to consider.”
Earlier this year I wrote about Dr. Shuller’s strong recommendation that the number of missions each airman was required to fly be limited. He suggested 20, and soon afterward, General Eaker announced that after a tour of 25 missions, crew members could go back to the States. The crews were thrilled. In reality, the life expectancy of a bomber crew in 1943 was fifteen missions, but the twenty-five rule was enough to give air crews the hope that they would survive.
Without a doubt, many lives were saved with this ruling.
After the war, Dr. Shuller practiced pediatrics in McAlester, Oklahoma where his patients loved him as much as did the young men of the 306th. He retired from medical practice in 1989 at the age of 75.
In 1983, Shuller spoke to a 306th BG reunion, and his sense of humor came through. “This is the first opportunity I’ve had to talk to you together since we gave those VD lectures in Wendover. We are now in the third stage of life. If you want to know what the stages of life are: youth, middle age, and you’re sure looking good.”
Shortly before Dr. Shuller’s death in 2012, the board of the 306th Bomb Group Historical Association authorized the establishment of THE THURMAN SHULLER AWARD in honor of the widely recognized outstanding achievements of Dr. Thurman Shuller to the men of the 306th Bomb Group and his lifetime of achievement. His memory will live on in the hearts of the many people he touched.
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