evacuation of casualties by air

From the islands of Japan itself, we shipped by air. Marked urgent priority, perishable rush. Out of the smells and sweat of the battle, bound for a cool, clean land called home. Evacuation of our casualties by air was SOP in all theaters of war. SOP means standard operating procedure. This was our airborne ambulance. the C-54 airplane cruising at around 180, flying 3,000 mi non-stop if need be. We had over a thousand C-54s crowding the Pacific airfields to fly the wounded home. No Argusy of Mercy like this was ever launched before or even dreamed of in the history of wars. This C-54 took off from Okinawa. Next stop, 7 and 1/2 hours southsoutheast, the island of Guam.