Death became a daily reality, as we zipped our fallen comrades into body bags," Matos wrote. "Our job now was to tend multiple gunshot wounds, apply tourniquets to the stumps of legs amputated by mines, and bandage shrapnel-mutilated bodies. They followed the soldiers into battle, fixed up the injured as much as possible, and tried to get them to safety. Writing in The New York Times, Vietnam combat medic Rafael Matos of the First Armored Division explained that during the Tet Offensive, he and his fellow three medics were constantly on duty. This was followed in January by multiple surprise assaults on south Vietnamese cities and government buildings and bases belonging to South Vietnam's Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the American armed forces. troops stationed in the highlands, near Laos. In fall 1967, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) - the army of North Vietnam - began artillery bombardments against U.S. This was especially true during the brutal and deadly Tet Offensive. perfect a rescue platform for wounded soldiers that would fundamentally change civilian emergency response systems in the U.S. But when I was in combat I was tainted by this blood lust and I, too, became a combat soldier." The well-equipped medevac helicopters that transported injured troops in Vietnam became the model for today's air ambulance services in the U.S. Vietnam combat medic Wayne Smith admitted that the heat of battle got to him. Medics weren't supposed to fight, although Matos says he was ordered to perform at least one infantry-related task. ![]() military members lost their lives and 153,000 were wounded. Approximately 2.7 million American men and women served in Vietnam. ![]() casualty in Vietnam occurred on July 8, 1959. Although dependents and embassy personnel still in-country used the hospital for outpatient care, the patients were primarily military. Vietnam combat medic Rafael Matos wrote in The New York Times that they didn't have to worry about their appearance, and they didn't have to take orders that conflicted with lifesaving care. United States military involvement in the Vietnam War officially began on Aughowever, the first U.S. Medics were also distinct from infantrymen in some ways. Like the infantrymen, they didn't have body armor or bulletproof helmets. According to We Are the Mighty, most had an M16A1 rifle, a. Unlike in other wars, Vietnam medics carried weapons. After that, the medics worked at base clinics until receiving their orders to deploy to Vietnam. ![]() Not a word.Vietnam combat medic Stephen Dunn recalled learning "how to give shots, bandage and carry the injured, apply tourniquets and morphine." Fellow Vietnam combat medic Roger Buchta said medics also learned how to treat shock and administer an IV, as well as basic anatomy. The well-equipped medevac helicopters that transported injured troops in Vietnam became the model for todays air ambulance services in the U.S. Nobody who was gardening there commented about what we saw. The strong surge of guilt I felt was easily put down: who wanted to wind up like that? Yet it is a sight and moment that has haunted me all my life. The poems and photographs in this collection reflect. ![]() The second group was missing hands and arms, but the guys were still ambulatory. Candelaria served as Executive Officer of the 45th Surgical Hospital. The first group was made up of five kids our age who were all blind. After I had been in country (at the hospital) six or seven months, I (very illegally, we nurses were supposed to stay on the. Typical outdoor covered walkway of a military hospital is seen at Camp Dong Tam, in Mekong Delta of South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. Cuc was stationed at the Vietnamese hospital in Saigon. They were apparently segregated by injury. The United States 3rd surgical hospital at Camp Dong Tam, in Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. While we were on our knees pulling weeds, we saw two groups of smiling patients out for a walk. One weekend, we had light gardening duty near Kelly Air Force Base and its extensive medical facilities. By this time we had all heard about the booby traps and landmines and life-altering injuries, and the body count was multiplying every day. I had joined the National Guard before the government deployed the National Guard or Reserves so it was a legal form of draft dodging. “I was in Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas in the fall and winter of 1967. The call sign VAMPIRE was used for communications between the. Main gate of Kelly Air Force Base via the National Archives Australian Army: 1st Australian Field Hospital was raised in Vung Tau during the Vietnam War.
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