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Tulsa, Oklahoma
May 31, 1927
Dear Mrs. Reed:
Having been apprised of the wonderful
work your hero-husband did for America and
the health of its people, I feel that it is my
duty and that of every appreciative American
citizen to offer thanks for his splendid service
my appreciation has been heightened by the
fact that I, myself, have loved ones living in
the region once infested by the health destroying
pest-the stegomyia. America has been called "the land of the
free and the home of the brave." The former appellation
has not in every case, been accurate. For, although
we have political and religious freedom, we have not
been free of disease and ill-health except by the
efforts of such men as Walter Reed and others
who put [the rest of] humanity before self. The last part of the
phrase of our national hymn which has already
been mentioned is most certainly appropriate for
America. For was it not America who furnished
the brave doctors who rid tropical America of
its disease? Let us then hold utmost reverence
for the plucky Americans who gave their lives that
others might live. This being the Memorial season
during which we pause to honor the dead, it is on-
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ly fitting that we include the brave men who died
on a worse battlefield than any of our recent war-
the men who voluntarily gave their lives that disease
might be exterminated. We laud the mythical heroes. Hercules, Ulysses,
etcetera- for their feats, but would it not be more
fitting to honor real men who are real heroes? Why
talk of fabulous heroes when America has furnished
so many real ones like the renowned Major Reed? It is my most cherished ambition to become
a learned surgeon and accomplish at least one thing
for the betterment of humanity. In my striving to-
ward that goal, I shall always keep as an inspi-
ration the vision of a little group of men who braved
death in the tropics that America might continue
to go onward and upward. Yours most sincerely,
Hugh Cunningham
1824 East 16th St.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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