Converted from a small cargo vessel to a specially equipped floating clinic, Whidbey's medical technicians "surveyed" thousands of islanders—men, women, and children—conducting parasitology tests, providing dental care, and taking blood tests and X-rays. Her medical teams not only provided those services on board ship, but also ashore as well, visiting the sick and the aged. Whidbey's performance of duty enabled the Navy to ascertain a complete picture of both the common and the rare diseases that occurred in the territories.
