PRINTER'S NO. 1945
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
360
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY MENSCH, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life of Dr. Frank Erdman Boston as a World War I
veteran, military surgeon, community doctor and founder of
the Elm Terrace/Lansdale Hospital and the Volunteer Medical
Service Corps (VMSC) ambulance corps.
WHEREAS, Frank Erdman Boston was born March 10, 1891, in
Philadelphia to Charles A. Boston, a Civil War veteran who
served in the 12th Regiment, Pennsylvania Calvary of the 113th
Pennsylvania Volunteers and was in the battle of Winchester, VA,
in 1864, and Julia M. Boston, who was part French and Native
American, who worked as a hairdresser, taught Dr. Boston at a
young age, of the healing powers of herbs and natural remedies
which would influence his career path; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Boston attended Lincoln University, originally
established as The Ashmun Institute, the nation's first degree-
granting Historically Black College and University; and
WHEREAS, Subsequently, Dr. Boston attended the Medico-
Chirurgical College, an outgrowth of the Medico-Chirurgical
Society of Philadelphia which merged with the University of
Pennsylvania Medical College and Jefferson Medical College; and
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WHEREAS, When World War I began, Dr. Boston enlisted and was
immediately given the rank of first lieutenant in the Army
Medical Reserve Corps; and
WHEREAS, African-American recruits, including Dr. Boston,
were sent for medical training at the Medical Officers Training
Camp, Fort Des Moines, Iowa; and
WHEREAS, After completing his training, Dr. Boston was
assigned as a medical officer with the 317th Engineers Regiment
of the 92nd Division of the American Expeditionary Forces; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Boston's division fought bravely across France
and in the bloody Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the largest operation
of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I; and
WHEREAS, The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the deadliest
campaign in American history, resulting in more than 26,000
soldiers killed in action and more than 120,000 total
casualties; and
WHEREAS, During his tour of duty, Dr. Boston treated soldiers
while under aerial and gas attack; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Boston served in France with the rank of captain
and ended his military service as a major; and
WHEREAS, After the war, Dr. Boston returned to work in
Philadelphia and later settled in Lansdale where he opened the
Elm Terrace Hospital, which was later renamed North Penn
Hospital and subsequently became part of the Abington Jefferson
Health Systems; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Boston also formed a First Aid Emergency Squad
in Lansdale, eventually known as the Volunteer Medical Service
Corps of Lansdale; and
WHEREAS, As a Boy Scout official, Dr. Boston served as
chairman of Health and Safety for the General Nash District,
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Valley Forge Scout Council; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Boston was a member of the Reserve Officers
Association of Military Surgeons, the Montgomery County Medical
Society and the American Medical Association; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Boston died February 8, 1960, at 69 years of age
and was buried in Lansdale; and
WHEREAS, Jefferson Health and Abington Lansdale Hospital,
along with the Borough of Lansdale, are honoring Dr. Boston and
a mural is being planned for the Lansdale Borough Hall;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate honor the life of Dr. Frank Erdman
Boston as a World War I veteran, military surgeon, community
doctor and founder of the Elm Terrace/Lansdale Hospital and the
Volunteer Medical Service Corps (VMSC) ambulance corps.
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