Circumcision In The
United States of America

The alternative, ethnographic explanation for circumcision appeals to  circumcision's symbolic function as a permanent, dramatic and public  demonstration to all parties involved of the loyalty and subordination of the father and the son to the interests of a fraternal interest group.

In this concluding section, I will clarify how these two, seemingly  antithetical explanations, are in fact intimately connected and  pertinent to understanding the issue of circumcision in our own society.

The ritual of circumcision results in exposure of the glans penis to  permanent public view, set off by an irreversible, and highlighting,  frame of scar tissue. This is a mark of more than just a biological  transformation; biologically it is, in fact, irrelevant. Rather  circumcision is a powerful, multimessage, therefore symbolic, and only  symbolic, statement of social and cultural transformation.

Circumcision creates a biological boundary and simultaneously a  sociocultural boundary; the scarring separates males of a society into  two categories, into dichotomously opposed categories: the circumcised  and the uncircumcised. Circumcision simultaneously creates a social  boundary, creates two opposed social groups, and creates a specified  relationship between these two groups. The scar is emblematic of this sociocultural division, and of the  proper relationship between the categories it creates. We can discover  more of the cultural meaning, and the implications og circumcision by  identifying the significant and contrasting features of these  dichotomous social categories.

The circumcised belong to the group which is fully male, dominant,  public, and legitimate. The uncircumcised belong to a group  characterized by the opposites of these traits; they are other than  properly male, subordinate, private and not yet legitimate.

The circumcised are tame and domesticated in the sense that they  conform to the established cultural order. The uncircumcised are, by  contrast, potentially wild, aggressive, rebellious and insubordinate of  the established cultural order.

The circumcised are defined, set apart in their proper cultural place,  hence, controlled and predictable. The uncircumcised are not so defined;  they remain amorphous, unpredictable, indiscriminate, promiscuous, and  without proper place, hence, potentially polluting and dirty, where the  circumcised are clean.

These contrasts appeal to more than a merely social boundary; this is  one expression of the boundary that distinguishes everything that is  culture, man=82made, public, orderly, domesticated, sane and clean, from  everything that is not culture, from nature that is disorderly, wild,  insane and dirty. And circumcision moves the boy, irreversibly, from  uncontrolled private nature into controlled public culture, into the  role of legitimate participant. The individual's actual behavior is irrelevant. The categories are a priori  characterizations, stereotypes, of a kind a person. The ritual and scar  of circumcision imposes and communicates this distinction and meaning in  every culture.

It is this symbolic significance of circumcision that explains why  circumcision in so closely associated with the ban against masturbation,  masturbation results in putting one's seed somewhere, anywhere other  than into a culturally controlled and approved sexual, economic and political  alliance. It explains why that "elsewhere" is categorically and  unalterably dirty .

It explains why James, Peter and John so opposed Paul's version of  Christianity. In rejecting circumcision, Paul openly rejected the  legitimacy and authority of Judaism, particularly of the fraternal  interest group that included Jesus' own kin, in proselytizing the new  religion.

And it explains why the uncircumcised and the masturbators are  stigmatized as prone to wild, rebellious, disruptive, generally  improper, dirty and likely insane behavior. The ritual of circumcision  removes this stigma and, symbolically though not at all practically, the  potentials of such antisocial behaviors.

It is pertinent to note that this stigma is the stereotype that  dominant American society has projected on ethnic minorities; that is,  not only on Blacks, American Indians, Hispanics and other immigrants,  but also on the born-at-home, rural, breast-fed and typically  uncircumcised, as opposed to hospital=82born, urban, bottle-fed and  typically circumcised. These distinctions illustrate continuation in our  own society of the cross=82culturally invariant meaning of circumcision  which ethnographically and historically has been used to set apart  classes and ethnic groups to establish and maintain dominant and  subordinate relations, both within and between societies.

The boundary imposed on nature by circumcision is an expression of  man's effort (and here I use the gender specific term advisedly) to  impose his control on nature, in particular on the natural tendencies of  society. When man, and the fraternal interest group, perceives any loss  of control of the part of nature, of that valued resource, of their own  authority and legitimacy, the typical reaction is to attempt to  intensify the traditional modes of control, in this case the desired  control is moral commitment to the propriety and the social category  distinctions drawn and reinforced by circumcision.

This control crisis reaction explains the `Onania mania' that  accompanied the social transformations of the industrial Revolution. It  was an effort, albeit an effort in vain, to control behaviors such as  the break-up of the patrilineal, patrilocal rural household, that could  not be otherwise effectively policed. And the argument was couched, not  in terms of sin and taboo, but In their modern, more `rational' but  still symbolic equivalents, insanity, conformity and hygiene.

It does not matter that the effort to intensify the traditional modes  of control is counter-productive, that typically it more rapidly erodes  the credibility of its proponents. The proponent's argument is about the  symbolic propriety and cultural appropriateness of a gesture, and the  particular kind of social and cultural order that gesture represents.

No amount of empirical, statistical evidence will dissuade the  proponents. Statistical evidence argues from the position of, indeed it  is, a description of nature. The intent of the circumcision argument is,  antithetically, cultural. The argument over circumcision is, then,  another face of that irresolvable argument that rages between religious  fundamentalists and biological evolutionists, one is talking culture,  the other nature.  

I recently met a man that was circumcised on a ship during the Viet  Nam war.  The surgeon was a closeted gay and he inspected the cock of
each man on board.  He noted on the records who was cut or uncut, hung  or not.  He started with the hung guys and had them report to sickbay
and only there did the uncut man find out that he was to be  circumcised that day.  Some had fits about it.  Some went along with  the program.  A friend of mine who has a huge uncut dick told me the  same happened to his brother. 

Brian (USA)

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When I joined the army in 1948 one of the humiliating things we had to endure was an inspection of the penis for venereal disease. Typically the order would come down in the morning when the platoon sergeant would come into our barracks at 5:30 in the morning, turn on the lights and tell us to fall out in the company street in our rain coats and combat boots. This meant you wore nothing else - no underwear, socks, shirts just naked. You lined up and walked up to a station where the medics had a table and company roster. When you got up to the table you opened your raincoat and the doc would check you for sores. He would then tell you to "skin it back and milk it down" which meant that you had to retract the foreskin then squeeze your penis then slide the skin forward. This was supposed to expell pus from the urethra indicating the presence of an infection. The poor guys who had had a healthy morning erection would have pre-cum come out and were immediately suspect. It was even scarier for those who had been visiting the prostitutes who lived in the area. The army took a dim view of people who got VD and reinforced this by showing horrible movies of penises that had huges sores and were half rotted off. I was an impressionable 18 year old and it scared me so bad I was afraid even to masturbate.

When I went overseas the army used this as an excuse to check for those who had not been circumcised. At our port of debarkation they circumcised about 20 men and put them in a special compartment aboard the ship. You could always spot these guys in the messhall by the way they walked. A medic told me some of the men tried reading erotic literature (this was prior to Playboy) and much to their dismay wound up pulling stitches. The doctors told them too bad that the wound would eventually heal.

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I went into the Marines when I was 17, and was circumcised at 19, but not at the request of the Corps. It was my own decision. As far as I know, no service requires circumcision to be performed after induction. I went into the Corps in 1978, and that policy certainly wasn't in effect. They didn't even suggest that I get circumcised at any point in my Marine Corps career, it was my own curiosity about circumcision and its imagined benefits that eventually led to me going to Sickbay and getting my foreskin removed. I was much more popular with the ladies after that!

While I'm sure some of the young men entering the US Armed Services were forced into circumcision, I think this is not a common happening.

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When I was aboard the USS Hancock in 1976 for a reserve tour, circumcision was a common operation in the Sick Bay. The diagnosis was: REDUNDANT PREPUCE. When the ship went to sea, the doctors and corpsmen were busy. Circumcision was not forced on anyone. However, there were many uncircumcised sailors who wanted it done.  Since we were out to sea, they had time to heal before returning to port.  As the doctors stated, "It is good OR practice for the corpsmen. Someday there may be a disaster aboard. This surgical practice is good training for all concerned."  The method used was the Gomco Clamp. Usually there were three Gomco's in the surgical pack (adult sizes, of course) and the correct size selected as the procedure began.  Circumcision was the most most performed operation in the United States Navy during World War II, and also during the Korean War and the conflict in Vietnam.

Mark
HMC, USNR
Retired

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I will repeat a story told to me by a close friend. He went into the service intact and it was planned that when he was discharged he would marry. Well the time came for the discharge but upon talking things over with his wife to be who was a nurse, they decided that he should be circumcised because it would be better for both of them. He had the army surgeon do the job but the doctor must have wanted an extremely high and tight cut made because the friend had troubles with the stitches. He broke the stitches three times and had to go to the local hospital twice since he had by then been discharged. Finally, he had had it with the problem and went to his college football coach who he knew bandaged up many a wound for those hurt on the football field. The former coach did the bandaging and it was left for nearly three weeks. When the bandages were taken off, he was in good shape and he was very pleased with the results. Of course, the wedding was delayed util he healed but he still maintains that it was worth it. What does it look like today? I one time saw it in the shower room and it is very tight when flaccid (about 1 1/2 inch back) but don't know what it would be erect.

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I was born in the Midwest to strict Catholic parents. Sex was never discussed in our house. What little bit I did learn about sex was in biology class in school one year. My father was born on a farm and was uncut. I did manage to see his penis one day while we were at an amusement park and we shared a urinal next to each other. He did not retract the foreskin to urinate. I was not taught how to retract the foreskin to clean it as a child.

One of the first times I had the skin retracted when soft was during a "short arm" inspection in the Navy boot camp in preparation for food service week we all went through. Myself and several other uncut guys were found to have "dirty dicks" and we were sent back to the barracks to clean them and then report back to the corpsman for re-inspection. After that, I learned to retract the foreskin in the shower at night. I became very faithful about keeping my foreskin clean.

After having sex with some prostitutes while the ship visited ports in the Far East, I contracted a minor infection under the foreskin. The corps man and doctor on the ship treated me for several weeks to get rid of it. At that point in time, the doctor recommended that I think about getting circumcised upon the ship's return to San Diego. I decided that it was time to get it done. I did not enjoy fucking because the foreskin was tight on my cock. I might add at this point that I have the type of cock that is very small when soft, but enlarges about two to three times its size when hard. My cock head is much larger than the shaft. I think that is why the foreskin would not return to cover the head without much difficulty.

When the ship returned to San Diego, I was sent to the Naval hospital, and the doctor there arranged an appointment for me to be circumcised. At the appointed time, I reported to the ward. During that afternoon, the doctor examined each one of us who was there to be cut. He wanted to insure that we were not infected under the foreskin. That evening, a corpsman came around and took each one of us into the head (bathroom) and laid us on a table and shaved all of our pubic hair off. It was difficult not to get a hard-on while the corpsman was handling my cock and balls. After that was done, I did enjoy one final jack-off with my foreskin that evening. I knew it was going to be a little while before I was going to be able to jack-off again.

The next morning, a nurse came around and gave each one of us a shot to numb us. It put us on a trip where we were not too caring about what was going on around us. One at a time we were wheeled into a small operating room and placed up on the table. A corpsman was going to be doing the circumcision. He examined my cock and got it just a little bit hard. He then gave me a shot at the very base of my cock. It hurt for a very little bit. In a minute or so, my cock was numb. He then erected a small tent over my chest so I could not watch (I did not want to anyway), and proceeded to cut the foreskin off. He was done in about 20 minutes or so. He showed me my cock and it was puffed and swollen. It was bandaged and taped up toward my stomach to stem the flow of blood. It remained that way all through that evening.

Upon return to the ward, we were encouraged to drink anything we wanted, and I opted for beer. The object was to keep the urethra open and the urine flowing in case of swelling. I passed the piss requirement with flying colors. The next morning, the doctor came around and took the bandages off and inspected the work. We were discharged and sent back to our ships. I remained in bed for a couple of days to allow the scar to heal up. I guess that was not really necessary, but I opted for the rest. The head of my cock was very sensitive at the time. When I finally put my shorts on, it felt like the incisions were bleeding, but they were not. The head of my cock peeled like a mild case of sunburn after several days. It was difficult to keep it soft and not think about sex. I did manage to jack off about seven days after the operation. It did stretch the skin, but I needed that relief. It took about three or four weeks before I felt comfortable getting a hard-on and not being afraid of busting something open.

When I arrived in Korea at the 121 Evac, I found that my previous boss at Bragg had called ahead to arrange for the Urology doc to meet me at the door. By day 2, I was dropping them left and right but not in the same quantity as at Bragg. With this duty came many privileges usually reserved for officers and I ate it up.

I really never counted but I rarely did less than 12 a day and sometimes 20 or more. I was not the only one performing the circs - but the only non-physician that was doing them. We were a big preparation center for soldiers going overseas to S.E.Asia and many were done to prepare them for jungle survival.

I did do some experimenting just to break the boredom. I would cut looser sometimes but that was frowned upon. Mostly I experimented with pain control and how much local to inject and how slowly to close the clamp and different topical applications. I also did a lot of study on different guys "threshold of pain" and how they reacted differently to the same procedure. I really didn't like the Green Berets because they treated anyone not a Beret as inferior, so I like to shame them in to taking their cut "like a man" without any anesthetic. I was not being mean or sadistic, because they really liked the challenge. They would grip the table and tears would run down their cheeks before they would admit they needed some local anesthetic injected.

Even better was watching their face turn red with embarrassment when I would prep them with warm Phisohex water and they would get an erection. They certainly didn't want anyone to think they were enjoying having another guy wash their dick! But actually it was easier to scrub it when it was hard, and it went down immediately when the insturments came out (or the syringe).

I started to save the skins in a jar of formalin solution, but the doc got wind of that and said it was sick and made me get rid of them. I thought maybe I'd save them up and take them to the leather shop and have something made. I had thought about a wallet - that turned into a suitcase when you rubbed it.

Randy

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Until a few weeks ago, I thought I was the first member of my family EVER to be circumcised (at age 13). I made that comment to my dad and he said "ask your Uncle Bob about HIS circumcision". I was really surprised because I had seen photos of dad and his four brothers skinny dipping at the pond on the farm in Michigan and I knew none of them had met the Moyel on day 8 (we're not Jewish). I got Bob off to the side and asked him "what about this?" I thought I was first! He's a little hard of hearing from "the big guns" on the ship in WWII.

As a 17 year old kid, grandma had signed consent and Bob went into the Navy just before the War. He was a nice looking blond kid who, in his Navy picture, kind of looks like a Brad Pitt. Bob was a little reluctant to part with this story and I have a feeling not too many people know about it. On his first assignment, he was on a large ship (I forget which one) and was headed for the southern hemisphere. As they were about to cross the equator, all hands were called on deck for a "crossing ceremony". One of the officers called Uncle Bob up to the front to a sort of stage that had been put together for the occasion. There were guys dressed in various costumes including one as King Neptune. Neptune told Bob that he had been selected for a real "honor". In front of hundreds of other guys, he was told to strip and lay on the table. Neptune (who turned out to be the ships surgeon) told Bob that he was about to be circumcised as a ritual of crossing. Knowing how my dad and uncles were raised, I have no doubt that Bob was the virgin boy they were looking for. The doc told him not to cry out as everyone on ship was watching for his reaction. Without further ado, and with a little anesthetic locally at the base of his penis, Uncle Bob became THE first in our family to shed his baby skin. Amongst cheers from the multitude, the foreskin was placed in some sort of a chalice and passed overhead, and thrown overboard to "appease Neptune" for a safe crossing. The surgeon then completed the job and dressed the circ.

Unc was confined to his bunk for a couple days but interestingly, was treated like royalty for the rest of the voyage. He had none of the regular duties (kitchen, watch etc) and even at his own assignment with the guns, was not allowed to do anything "physical". He never had to buy a drink - everyone wanted to show their appreciation for his contribution for their safe trip. He reports no problems with the circ, no bleeding, infection etc. He's not sure what the doc used to perform the circ as he "couldn't look" but remembers "shiny instruments" clicking around his genitals in the bright sunlight. The only problem (and the reason for his silence over the years) was the embarrassment of being circumcised in front of hundreds of guys. I told him I though it was neat. He was aware that I had done many in the Army, but still couldn't talk about it with me. I'm sure this was the most unusual of the thousands and thousands of military circumcisions done during that era.

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Foreskin A Closer look is very informative and is one of the best books available on Circ. It is published by Alyson Publications. The title is "Foreskin A Closer Look" ISBN 1-55583-212-1 and it cost $9.95 as a quality trade paperback in 1993.

In Chapter Two: Casualties of War, on page 79 is the following indented true account:

A few days before the crossing the pollywogs [men who had never before crossed the line] were ordered to go through a short arm inspection. Those who were uncircumcised had to write their name and serial number on a piece of paper and put it in a barrel. As the ship approached the Line all sorts of punishments were meted out to the pollywogs, but the star attraction was the fellow whose name was pulled out of the barrel. He was circumcised by King Neptunus as the ship crossed over the Line and all 1500 shipmates watched atop deck. This passage comes after accounts of surgeons circling sailors to use the skins as fishbait; and of a biggest penis contest in the which the winner with a long foreskin was circed because a fight broke out between those who said the skin overhang didn't count and those who said it did. The latter story having appeared in Argosy magazine as the article "A Foreskin Is Missing." There follows the story of the surgeon advertising for sale in the "East Village Other" his jar of skins he had circed as a navy doctor.

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Adult Circumcision in the US Navy

Detailed sceifitific discussion with photos of adult naval personnel being circumcised.

A scientific paper by:

Full text available at:  http://www.aafp.org/afp/990315ap/1514.html

This is excerpted from a book "Medical Department, United States Army, Surgery in World War II, Urology" published in 1987. Since this is a U.S. government document there is no problem with copyright; it may be freely reproduced. Items in square brackets [] are my abridgements and paraphrases of passages that were longer than I wanted to quote directly.

p. 52 under venereal disease, chancroid, chapter by John F. Patton, M.D.

"Hot soaks in the presence of a balanoposthitis were helpful in preparation for circumcision and reduced the time element.

A word should be said here about circumcision. Any penile lesion in the presence of a redundant prepuce may present a problem and also invites secondary infection. Phimosis was a common complication of chancroid, and dorsal slits were often necessary, followed by circumcision after the local infection subsided. Phimosis and paraphimosis unrelated to veneral disease were also encountered frequently. Soldiers in combat were seldom able to practice personal hygiene. Higher headquarters sometimes questioned the number of circumcisions performed in the theater, with emphasis on days lost from duty. But all were performed from medical necessity, and none were done electively, to the author’s knowledge. Many circumcisions, performed because of necessity in the active theaters, should have been done prophylactically before the soldier left the zone of interior."

p. 64, continuing the same chapter under Mediterranean Theater of Operations

"Of the 7318 cases of chancroid,...The problem of balanitis and secondary phimosis required dorsal slits and/or circumcision in many cases. Over 1000 circumcisions were performed at the center, approximately one-half of which were necessary in the chancroid group."

In chapter 6, Infections and Related Conditions, by Charles Montgomery

Stewart, M.D. p. 100ff

[several paragraphs about balanoposthitis. It starts out mild, but without facilities for personal hygiene it gets worse, can lead to gangrene, septicemia, and death. Recurrent attacks increase phimosis by local scarring.] "Treatment requires prompt, regular, strict personal clenliness... In advanced stages if there is phimosis or paraphimosis a dorsal slit must be done to permit intensive, direct local therapy. ... Finally, to prevent recurrence, circumcision should be mandatory when the local infection and inflammation have cleared." [repeated attacks can cause foreskin to attach to glans, which requires complete separation and circumcision. Erosive balanitis is a serious condition requiring immediate treatment. Then gets to ]

Preventive Measures

During the years 1942-1945, inclusive, 22,709 patients were admitted to Army hospitals for balanitis. Balanitis and the various types of balano-posthitis are extremely rare in the circumcised male. The ideal prophylactic would be routine circumcision. This recommendation would seem to present a task of insurmountable proportions should circumcision be required of all uncircumcised personnel. However, when the enormous man-hour loss from disease peculiar to the uncircumcised male is critically appraised in every World War II hospital record, routine prophylactic circumcision should require no greater argument to justify it.

Those personnel whose man-hour losses increased because of inability to change existing peronal hygiene conditions in the various fields of operation were eventually admitted to the hospital for intensive local treatment and, finally, for circumcision.

During intermittent periods, when combat casualty admissions were at a minimum, it was not unusual to schedule 10 or 15 patients for circumcsion in a single morning. This surgery ws performed under local anesthesia, and at times supplemented with vocal anesthesia.

Phimosis

The term "phimosis" denotes a congenital or acquired narrowing of the opening of the prepuce; it is often associated with a foreskin of unusual length which is sometimes adherent to the glans penis. The narrowed orifice of the prepuce sometimes causes retention of secretions, resulting in irritation and balanitis. It may interfere with forceful voiding. The relation between phimosis and venereal ulcers is well established, and the retention of local secretions may be a precursor to the development of epitheliomas and papillomas. Paraphimosis is a common complication of unrelieved phimosis.

Eventually the treatment is circumcision. Before circumcision, balanitis must be treated as previously described. Stubborn balanitis may require a dorsal slit before local inflammation can be controlled sufficiently to permit circumcision.

In the China-Burma-India theater, it was the author’s experience and belief that the patient with phimosis eventually developed balanitis. Daily personal cleanliness was an impossibility among field personnel. The soldier with phimosis invaribly became incapacitated from persistent or recurrent balanitis, with eventual loss of man-hours because of hospitilization for necessary local treatment and a final permanent cure by circumcision. Circumcision in the adult is not the benign procedure it might appear to be. These patients were incapacitated from returning to full duty for a minimum of 10 days postoperatively.

When the foreskin is lengthy and the orifice is tight and narrow, treatment, in the absence of balanitis, may be dilatation of the orifice and freeing of adhesions. Dilatation can be attempted by gently stretching the orifice with forceps followed by gradual retraction of the prepuce. Adhesions may be separated by blunt dissection with the use of a blunt-tipped probe.

Dorsal incision may be mandatory when adequate retraction of the prepuce is impossible. A closed forceps is inserted between the prepuce and the glans penis on the dorsum, care being taken that the forceps is not in the urethra. With the forceps opened slightly, the prepuce can be slit with scissors. The prepuce should then be freed from the glans, and any retained secretions should be carefully removed by gentle swabbing with gauze soaked in saline or mild antiseptic solution. Bleeding points along the dorsal edges should then be adequately controlled. In the absence of balanitis, circumcision may then be performed. Details for proper circumcision are adequately described in any urological surgery textbook. However, the following important points regarding circumcision should be mentioned: (1) Excessive tissue should not be left about the frenum; this is to avoid formation of a fibrotic lump in this area.

(2) Extreme care must be exercised to avoid removal of too much skin.

Carelessness may result in partial denudation of the penile shaft.

(3) Sufficient preputial skin edge must be left to cover the sensitive papillae of the corona. (4) Hemostasis must be adequate.

Paraphimosis

By definition, paraphimosis obtains when the prepuce with its narrow orifice has been fully retracted and cannot be drawn back over the glans. Swelliing occurs rapidly in collar form, affecting the mucous membrane behind the corona. When uncorrected, ulceration of the constricting band occurs. Pain and anxiety increase, and difficulty in voiding may result. Gangrene of the glans penis is rare, but it may occur.

Treatment consists of reduction by manipulation which should be accomplished as soon as possible; it is a painful procedure that often requires anesthesia. [procedure described] If manipulation as described proves unsuccessful, a dorsal slit must be performed. Unless circumcision is performed after the swelling and local inflammation disappear, recurrence may be expected.

Hospital admission statistics for U.S. Army active-duty personnel during World War II list paraphimosis and phimosis admissions at 110,562. That these conditions combined run numerically second to nonspecific urethritis as cause for hospital admission is not so startling when the degree of incapacity caused by phimosis and paraphimosis is recalled. These disturbances occur only in active-duty personnel who have not been circumcised, and in the the author’s opinion, the enormous potential man-hour loss from diseases peculiar to the uncircumcised male would justify routine prophylactic circumcision."

pp. 120-121 about condylomas, or so-called venereal warts. paragraph concludes with "Circumcision may be necessary to obtain a permanent cure."

pp. 145-146, general discussion at end of chapter.

"During the 1942-1945 interval, 13,522 patients with a diagnosis of condyloma acuminatum were hospitalized. Armed forces urological historians should be impressed with the fact that the redundant prepuce again can be pronounced guilty as a consistent contributor to the etiology and high incidence of this disease. Hospital admissions for paraphimosis, phimosis, balanitis, and condyloma acuminatum during the 1942-1945 period totaled 146,793. Had these patients been circumcised before induction this total would probably have been close to zero."

chapter on Genitoruinary Neoplasms by Vincent Vermooten, M.D.

p. 183 under Neoplastic Diseases of the Penis

"Neoplastic diseases of the penis in the armed forces during World War II were, for the most part, confined to such lesions as venereal warts and condylomas, which were not malignant in the sense that they do not metastasize, but may be considered malignant if local destruction of tissue is considered. Carcinomas are so rare in this age group that they call for no comment.

Venereal warts were found in uncircumcised men, so circumcision leaving only a minimal amount of prepuce, together with local fulgurations or merely curettage of the wart, was all that was necessary. Very little progress in the management or diagnosis of this condition was made during the war except that the need for circumcision in a soldier was made very clear. Because keeping the foreskin clean was very difficult in the field many soldiers with only a minimal tendency toward phimosis were likely to develop balanoposthitis, and in the presence of venereal warts, inflammation would almost certainly develop."

chapter "Reflections" by Ormond S. Culp, M.D., and John F. Patton, M.D.

p. 488

"During 1942-1945 almost 150,000 soldiers were hospitalized for medical reasons with phimosis, paraphimosis, and/or balanitis; they were unable to maintain adequate local hygiene under combat conditions. The man-hours lost as a result of circumcisions and adjuvant therapy were costly to the war effort and exasperated the commanding officers. Time and money could have been saved had prophylactic circumcision been performed before the men were shipped overseas."

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