Remembering Dr. Charles Rockwood

American Orthopaedics lost one of its brightest lights on February 1, 2022 with the passing of Charles A. Rockwood, Jr., MD.

Born in Oklahoma City on September 9, 1929 to Charles A. and Dorothy Rockwood, he attended Classen High School and then Oklahoma City University for pre-med studies.  Ironically, the man who was to contribute so much to American medicine was not initially accepted into medical school, but after dedicating himself to graduate work in Norman for a year, he entered the University of Oklahoma Medical School and graduated in 1956.  He served a one-year internship at Gorgas Hospital in the Panama Canal Zone, then returned to Oklahoma City to complete an Air Force-sponsored orthopaedic surgery residency under the tutelage of Dr. Don O’Donoghue, pioneer knee surgeon and one of the fathers of American Sports Medicine.  He then spent five years at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, and remained in the USAF reserve, eventually retiring as a Full Colonel.