My introduction to Army field sanitation came in June, 973 at Fort Knox, KY. We got water from a canvas bag that had been in use since 1910. Let me introduce you to the Lyster Bag.
Purification of drinking water by the use of liquid chlorine was developed in 1910 by Major Carl Rogers Darnell, Professor of Chemistry at the Army Medical School. In the same time period, Major (later Col.) William J. L. Lyster (1869-1947) of the Army Medical Dept. used a solution of calcium hypochlorite in a linen bag to treat water. Lyster's method became the standard for U.S. ground forces in the field and in camps, implemented in the form of the Lyster Bag (also spelled Lister Bag).
The bag had spigots around the base for filling canteens. I saw my final Lyster bag in 1998, long after they had gone out of general use. Our Battalion Sergeant Major had one, in which he had fitted a shower head to the bottom of the bag. The shower head had a pull-rope valve. We would hoist a convenient Private into a suitable tree to affix a block-and-tackle, then fill the bag with water, Taking a shower in the field is a simple pleasure not to be overlooked.
Our camp 'Lister' bag is a surplus Swiss Army 6 gallon water bag, hung from an eye bolt from an elevated sleep platform. Standard 5 gallon water jugs replenish it, two per weekend for three is about right.
ReplyDeleteNot the most pleasant taste, if memory serves.
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