From Student to Surgeon General : Louisville ’ s Most Notable Graduate
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became interested in Dr . Heaton at the suggestion of Dr . Morton Kasdan , our longtime Louisville hand and plastic surgeon , who for many years has volunteered to teach suturing technique to UofL med students ( along with many pearls of wisdom ).
On Nov . 19 , 1902 , Leonard Dudley Heaton was born in Parkersburg , West Virginia to George and Emma Heaton . After graduating from Denison University in 1922 , he attended the University of Louisville School of Medicine and received his medical degree in June 1926 . On June 30 , he married Sara Hill Richardson from Glasgow , Kentucky . Heaton was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the Medical Corps Reserve on July 17 , 1926 , and assigned to active duty . This marked the beginning of his extraordinary career as a surgeon and military officer .
On Aug . 3 , 1927 , Heaton received his regular Army commission and completed his internship at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco before attending the Army Medical School in Washington , D . C ., ( 1928-1929 ) and the Medical Field Service School in Pennsylvania ( 1929 ). He was briefly assigned to the Station Hospital in Fort Knox , Kentucky in 1929 , before completing multiple tours of duty , including El Paso , Texas ( 1929-1930 ); Schofield Barracks ,
18 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
by ASHTON COLLINS , M2 AND MORTON KASDAN , MD
Hawaii ( 1930-1931 ); Tripler General Hospital , Hawaii ( 1931-1932 ); Fort Sam Houston , Texas ( 1932-1937 ); and Fort Warren , Wyoming ( 1937-1940 ). While stationed at Fort Sam Houston , their only child , Sarah Dudley Heaton , was born on Sep . 24 , 1933 .
In 1940 , Major Heaton was again assigned to Hawaii , now as Chief of Surgical Service , North Sector General Hospital , Schofield Barracks . When Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec . 7 , 1941 , Major Heaton was preparing to drive to a surgical conference in Honolulu with his assistant , Major Ball , when Japanese planes began shooting at them from a low altitude . Upon seeing the Rising Sun on the wings , he immediately reported to the hospital and began treating some of the first casualties . He continued to operate on the numerous wounded for over 24 hours straight , caring for 117 wounded soldiers from the two attacks on Pearl Harbor . As a result of the attack , all civilians – including Mrs . Heaton and their 8-year-old daughter – were ordered to evacuate the island and were placed on a ship headed to San Francisco . Due to the presence of Japanese submarines , the ship was forced to deviate from its initial direct route , sailing as far north as Alaska before finally traveling down the coast to San Francisco . It was 14 days before Major Heaton received word that his wife and child had safely arrived in San Francisco . For his skillful care of the mass casualties after the attack , he was awarded the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters .
Left to right : General Leonard D . Heaton , Prime Minister Winston Churchill , President Dwight D . Eisenhower . Photo courtesy of James D . Mayson ; President Eisenhower and General Heaton . Photo courtesy of James D . Mayson ; Lieutenant General Leonard D . Heaton , Surgeon General of the United States Army ( 1959-1969 ).