Being there . . . this time in South Vietnam, side by side, with nine U.S. combat medics whodiscuss their highly trained professional experiences battling the near deaths of Americansoldiers, including OFTEN those of the enemy and civilians. Today, “the Vietnam War” ascribesour political and military extension of the French Indochina Campaign that continued long afterthe signing of the 1954 Geneva Peace Agreements which divided Vietnam along the 17 th Parallelwhen the Chinese-backed Communist PAVN, People’s Army of Vietnam, occupied Saigon on 30 thof April 1975. A continuation of the Vietminh’s effort to free Vietnam from foreign controlresulted in the worst battles of the Cold War. Today, there are 58,000 American namesinscribed on the immensely but sadly-emotionally moving war memorial in Washington, DC,while over 2 million dead South Vietnamese lay buried, mostly forgotten, in the outer fields andrice paddies.A NEW McFARLAND & COMPANY’S WAR TEXT OFFERS NINE U.S. ARMY COMBAT MEDICS’PERSONAL ACCOUNTS OF THEIR ARDUOUS FIGHTS TO SAVE LIVES DURING THE VIETNAM WAR.THEIR STORIES DISCUSS WHY THE MEDICS JOINED THE ARMY DURING WARTIME AND WHYTHEY BECAME FIELD SPECIALISTS FOR THE WOUNDED. HEART-SEARING, EMOTIONAL-WRENCHING RETROSPECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS OF CARING FOR THE HURT ANDRESURRECTING THE DYING NEAR-DEAD WHILE UNDER HEAVY FIRE CAN’T HELP BUT MOVE,AFFECT, AND STIR. THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS THAT THE VIETNAM WAR HAS HAD ON THEMEDICS AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE ALSO HARD TO PONDER.Reviewed and highly recommended by Don DeNevi“ARMY COMBAT MEDICS IN THE VIETNAM WAR – – Nine Personal Accounts”, by Harry Spiller.McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina; 2024, 175 pages, 5 7/8” x 87/8”, softcover, well-illustrated, $29.95. Visit, www.mcfarlandpub.com; Email,customerser@mcfarlandpub.com.Of course, all-good VIETNAM, IRAQ, and AFGHANISTAN war readers know reputed HarrySpiller because the war correspondent, literally and deserving to be referred as such, hasdeeply touched the hearts and minds of military buffs all over America and Britain via his 18books and countless magazine articles. He has served for 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps withtwo tours in Vietnam. Furthermore, this man has also served as sheriff of Williamson County,Illinois, and later retired as an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice from John A. LoganCollege. Today, he lives in Marion, Illinois. Should you wish to know more of this fine guy, hecan be found in any dictionary, old or new, under “h” for “hero”. Meanwhile, check withMcFarland Publishers for the availability of the 10 other Spiller titles listed opposite the titlepage on page ii.Harry dedicated his mesmerizing, “Army Combat Medics in the Vietnam War – – NinePersonal Accounts”, in his words, “To all Vietnam combat medics of the U.S. Army and theirfamilies.”, which, of course, tells you how deep the author’s values of integrity, personal honor
and bravery, and love of America and her fighting men go. Equally impressive is Harry’s final
paragraph to his Introduction. “Of all the interviews I conducted, I’ve chosen the mostprovocative experiences to include here – – nine personal accounts of Army combat medics whodangerously risked their lives serving and caring for others in that malicious, arrant VietnamWar. From Dak To in the Northern Highlands to I Corps in Phu Bai and Quang Nai Province,these Army combat medics attended to sick and wounded soldiers and provided medical carefor thousands of Vietnamese villagers. Awards for and to them included the Bronze Star,Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star, Silver Star, Army Commendation Medal andPurple Heart. Their stories are gripping and often gut-twisting. In the medics’ minds, Harrylearned when interviewing them, they never did enough. There was always one more personthey could have helped, or one more they could have saved.” Warning: yield to your sad,
somber, often broken heart.
