To recognize the 80th anniversary of D-Day in June, Mayo Clinic Press has republished Dr. McConahey’s memoir, “Battalion Surgeon.” It is the latest edition to the series of Mayo Clinic Heritage Books.

Dr. McConahey wrote “Battalion Surgeon” on a U.S. Army typewriter in the summer of 1945, soon after World War II ended. It conveys the immediacy of his experience with the 90th Division of General George Patton’s Third Army: the Normandy landing, fighting across occupied Europe, the Battle of the Bulge, the liberation of death camps and the surrender of Nazi Germany.

After his honorable discharge, Dr. McConahey began advanced medical training at Mayo Clinic. He joined the Mayo staff in 1949 and served as professor of medicine and chair of the Division of Endocrinology. Dr. McConahey retired in 1985 and died in 2004.

Pictured with his litter jeep, Dr. McConahey served with General George Patton’s Third Army from D-Day through the Battle of the Bulge and the surrender of Nazi Germany.