A LOOK BACK: KAPPA HISTORY
Due to his military flight service and rank as a chief surgeon, Marchbanks joined the Project Mercury space program in 1960. he served as a medical staff member at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Tuskeg- ee, Alabama, and was one of two Black doctors to complete the Army Air Corps School in Aerospace Medicine. In 1941, he was commissioned as a first lieuten- ant in the Army Medical Corps which subsequently became part of the newly formed U.S. Air Force.
falo Soldier, Vance H. Marchbanks Jr. was born at Fort Washakie, Wyoming in 1905. He lived in numerous loca- tions during his childhood years but spent majority of these years in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. He attended the University of Arizona in nearby Tucson and his days as an undergraduate student were not easy. He was pro- hibited to live in a dormitory and had to live a boarding house off campus. The only place he could eat was at the local railroad station. This, however, did not discourage him. During his sophomore year, Marchbanks applied for and received an appointment from President Calvin Coolidge as an at-large competitor for entry into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Unfortunately, he was rejected twice to West Point. After graduating with a B.S. degree in 1931, Marchbanks entered medical school at Howard University graduat- ing in 1937 with an M.D. degree. Marchbanks completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Freedman’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. After completing his residency,
War II, 1 st Lt. Marchbanks became one of the Tuskegee Army Air Field Medical Officers. He was the first African-American medical officer in the Air Corps. He flew B-29 combat missions and was stationed in Japan and Italy. In 1944, he served with his old friend Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. and became one of the unit’s flight surgeons and earned a Bronze Star for his service with the Tuskegee Airmen– the all black flying unit that won fame and legend in the war. During the Korean War, Marchbanks shifted from combat to research and analysis in aviation and medicine. In 1957, he took part in a 10,600-mile nonstop flight from Florida to Argen- tina to New York in a B-52 jet bomber. His collection of medical data and flight observations were subsequently published in numerous research publications and military manuals. Studying crew comfort and fatigue during the flight, he discovered that the adrenal hormone content in blood and tissue was an indicator to the Korean War
World War II
Called to duty in 1941 to serve in World
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