1901 Walter Reed 1.080 oz Sterling Silver .925 High Relief Medal

Major Walter Reed, M.D., was a U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact.

In 1896 Reed distinguished himself as a medical investigator. He proved that yellow fever among enlisted men stationed near the Potomac River wasn't a result from drinking the river water. He showed officials that the enlisted men who got yellow fever had a habit of taking trails through the local swampy woods at night. This was unlike their yellow fever-free fellow officers. Reed also proved that the local civilians drinking from the Potomac River had no relation to the disease.

The obverse of this medallion depicts Dr. Walter Reed with his name above his picture administering medicine as well as 1901 below him. This year marked when the theory of how yellow fever is transmitted through a specific species of mosquitos. The obverse reads, "The medical profession has had no finer hero than Dr. Walter Reed. Almost single-handedly he erased the dreaded yellow fever from the list of diseases that have plagued mankind."

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