here, with the postscript that in earning its “well done” the Hospital Corps is assured no other unit in the Navy did better in the degree  of  essential  duty  inspiringly performed. WORLD  WAR  II  AND  THE  YEARS FOLLOWING During  World  War  II,  a  total  of  15  Navy enlisted  men  were  awarded  the  Congressional Medal   of   Honor;   of   this   number,   seven   were hospital   corpsmen.   Members   of   the   Hospital Corps  received  820  major  awards  and  citations (an  honor  of  unique  distinction  since  none  of  them bore  arms).  Other  personal  medals—the  Navy Cross,  the  Silver  Star,  the  Bronze  Star—were awarded  to  hospital  corpsmen  by  the  tens  and hundreds,   almost   too   numerous   to   count.   On February  22,  1945,  on  the  summit  of  Mount Suribachi,  Iwo  Jima,  along  with  six  marines, pharmacists   mate   John   Bradley   proudly   par- ticipated  in  the  raising  of  our  flag,  a  scene reproduced  thousands  of  times.  The  Marine  Corps memorial  symbolizes  this  event. Women  were  first  brought  into  the  Hospital Corps during World War II. On 12 January 1944, the  first  Hospital  Corps  School  for  Women  Ac- cepted   for   Volunteer   Emergency   Service (WAVES)  was  commissioned  at  the  U.S.  Naval Hospital,   National   Naval   Medical   Center, Bethesda, Maryland. The first class consisted of 230  enlisted  women. Public Law 625 of the Eightieth Congress, ap- proved  12  June  1948,  made  the  WAVES  an  in- tegral  part  of  the  Regular  Navy. On  2  April  1948,  the  nomenclature  of  the Hospital  Corps  ratings  were  changed  to  read: Hospital   Recruit; Hospital   Apprentice; Hospitalman;  Hospital  Corpsman  Third  Class; Hospital  Corpsman  Second  Class;  Hospital Corpsman First Class; Chief Hospital Corpsman; Warrant  officer  and  Commissioned  Warrant  of- ficer,  Hospital  Corps. In  June  1956,  the  Warrant  and  Commissioned Warrant   officer,   Hospital   Corps,   were redesignated  as  Medical  Service  Warrant  and Chief  Medical  Service  Warrant. Also   in   1948,   those   Hospital   corpsmen classified as dental technicians were changed to that  rating.  The  rating  structure  outlines  the  dental rating as follows: Dental Recruit; Dental Appren- tice; Dentalman; Dental Technician Third Class; Dental Technician Second Class; Dental Techni- cian  First  Class;  Chief  Dental  Technician. 2-5 Medical  Service  Warrant,  Chief  Medical  Serv- ice  Warrant  and  Medical  Service  Corps  officer, so  qualified  and  assigned,  performed  adminis- trative and technical duties in dental activities. At this same time, the rating insignia of the Hospital Corps was changed from the Red Cross so long familiar, to the caduceus. Dental techni- cians   have   the   “D”   superimposed   over   the caduceus. KOREA  AND  THE  YEARS FOLLOWING With  the  advent  of  the  Korean  conflict,  the Hospital Corps once again responded to the call of  duty.  Members  of  the  corps,  individually  and collectively, added a brilliant chapter to the history of the corps. During the Inchon-Seoul operation, for  example,  medical  units  attached  to  the  1st Marine  Division  cared  for  2,844  casualties  dur- ing the period 15 September to 7 October 1950. Hospital corpsmen were at the forefront of all the fighting, saving lives on the beaches as the Marines stormed  in.  They  performed  on-the-spot  emer- gency and first aid treatment, as Secretary For- restal   described   it   “***   while  shell  fragments ripped  clothing  from  their  bodies  and  shattered plasma  bottles  in  their  hands.”   indeed,   the percentage of casualties among Medical Depart- ment personnel in Korea, as in World War II, was greater than that of the Marines they supported. These highly trained technicians played a vital and demanding role in the care and treatment of those evacuated to the hospital ships of the U.S. Navy serving in Korean waters. These ships han- dled  some  20,000  battle  casualties,  30,000  non- battle casualties, and around 80,000 outpatients. To  narrate  the  individual  exploits  of  the  many who  were  cited  for  valor,  resourcefulness,  and courage  would  require  a  separate  volume. It  is  a  great  tribute  to  the  corps  that  of  the seven  Congressional  Medals  of  Honor  conferred upon Navy personnel during the Korean conflict, five  were  bestowed  upon  hospital  corpsmen. The years that have followed Korea have also proved to be eventful. For example, in 1954, ap- proximately   190,000   Vietnam   refugees   were transported  from  North  Vietnam  to  South  Viet- nam on U.S. Navy ships. The corpsmen assigned to this operation had ample opportunity to dem- onstrate  the  ability  and  initiative  that  has  always characterized  them.  In  1957,  hospital  corpsmen served  in  Mexico  during  the  hurricane  and floods  at  Tampico.  In  1961,  in  Texas  and  Loui- siana,  they  aided  victims  of  Hurricane  Carla.