Who is William Gorgas in the nonfiction book, The Great Influenza?

William Gorgas was the surgeon general for the U.S. Army. Despite his title, he had little influence in the operations of the military. Military leaders would not listen to him on topics of overcrowding, quarantine for new troops, or disease control. After an outbreak of the measles should have been a wake-up call for the military, Gorgas hoped he would get more cooperation, but he did not.

Hoping to prepare for the sickness Gorgas believed would come with the war, Gorgas tried to encourage the training of practical nurses. Current nurses who were trained in scientific nursing refused to help with this training. Even though he tried his best to prevent an epidemic outbreak in the army and keep this epidemic from spreading to civilians, Gorgas was unable to prevent the flu pandemic.