Frank Adamo

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Frank Adamo (1893–1988) was an American doctor and army officer who served in World War II. He was born in Tampa, Florida, and as a boy worked rolling cigars. After the 1910 cigar strike, he moved to Chicago, finished school, and studied medicine at the Chicago College of Medicine and Surgery. He returned to Tampa in 1919 for his internship and joined the Army Reserve in 1923. He went on active duty in 1940 and served as a surgeon in the Philippines.

After the Japanese attacked Bataan, Adamo went to Corregidor to treat the wounded. Amputations were common because of gangrene, but he tried a different method: he opened the wounds, used sulfa drugs, and irrigated the areas hourly with hydrogen peroxide to expose oxygen. This approach saved many lives and limbs. Life magazine called him "Bataan's medical hero." He rose to lieutenant colonel and received the Legion of Merit for his service.

When Corregidor fell, Adamo became a prison camp physician. He treated beriberi, dengue fever, dysentery, malaria, and malnutrition. Dr. William N. Donovan credits Adamo with saving his life. Adamo was liberated in 1945 and returned home that year.

Tampa celebrated "Frank Adamo Day" on April 27, and a street was named after him—Adamo Drive, a seven-mile section of State Road 60 connecting downtown Tampa with the western edge of Brandon.

Adamo went back to private practice as a surgeon and, for a time, served as president of the county medical association. In 1960 he was honored as the "Most Popular Doctor" at a local hospital. He retired in 1973 at age 80.