In Vietnam, the medic's job was to treat and evacuate. There was a 98% survival rate for soldiers who were evacuated within the first hour. Vietnam was the first time medics were armed and carried firearms and grenades into combat. Red crosses on helmets and arm bands were no longer worn.
The following is a personal experience from John D. Dennison, a combat medic with the 1st Cavalry, in Vietnam. "A call for stretchers came down. I left the safety of the fallen tree, grabbed a stretcher and proceeded to the C.P. As I made my way forward while exposed to enemy fire, I watched grunts seeking cover behind fallen trees and ground banks. We all know the grunts took the brunt of the hardships in Vietnam and it was only after the grunts spilled their blood, that the medic’s job became a little riskier. As I reached the C.P., I asked Captain Hottell for a guide to take me up to the wounded (one thing you do not need in a firefight is someone advancing forward without knowing where he is going). We went about one hundred yards further when we started to receive fire from the opposite island. The guide said that I should go straight-ahead and that he was going back to the C.P. Straight-ahead was a wood line with no one in sight and no visible trails. I laid on the ground with my back against a sand bank deciding if I should go straight forward as the guide said or should I listen to my instincts and go to the left. As another burst of machine gun fire came in my direction from the other island, I heard a voice call to me 'Doc… Doc come over here.' The voice was a sergeant calling for me to come to his location on my left. I later found out that there were enemy bunkers straight-ahead and no American troops."
This medic carries the M5 medical bag on his back. "The packs kicked ass, but you just got used to it and it became a part of your life." This rectangular canvas rucksack contained a large internal space for storing various assorted medical equipment that a platoon would need including a set of emergency surgical instruments. The long external pocket contained splints. The towel helped to keep the pack straps from cutting into the shoulders. It also helped to keep the mosquitoes off at night. As a medic he carries 2 canteens, some medics carried up to four, sometimes hanging from the M5 bag.
Special thanks to John Dennison, a real GI Joe, for allowing me to share the above info. I recommend his website for more details on the 1st Cav medics in Vietnam. |
