Samuel Blumstein

Samuel Blumstein was born on March 5, 1917. His parents, Benjamin and Minnie Blumstein, were Russian Jewish immigrants who ran a cigar and candy store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Blumstein finished high school, then attended the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy, graduating with the class of 1940.

When the war broke out, Blumstein joined the Navy. He landed a position at  the Naval Hospital in Glenwood Springs, Colorado helping servicemen recover from serious wounds–perfect for his degree and training. However, Blumstein was eventually transferred to Company B, Field Medical School at Camp Pendleton, California. His new station with the Fleet Marine Force would be a far cry from the sterile conditions of the Colorado hospital.

Doc Blumstein joined the First Battalion, 24th Marines in the winter of 1944, and landed on Iwo Jima February 19, 1945. He treated countless front-line casualties until he was himself wounded in the right hand by a piece of shrapnel on March 6 – the day after his 28th birthday. Blumstein was evacuated to a hospital ship; for him, the war was over.

For his participation in the battle, Doc Blumstein was awarded the Bronze Star while still in the hospital. He was eventually discharged for disability, and awarded the Purple Heart.

Following the war, Blumstein married and settled in Los Angeles. He received his license to practice medicine in California in 1946, joined the Los Angeles County Medical Association, and finally received his MD from California College of Medicine in 1962.

He died in 1967, at the age of fifty.