HE GAVE MEN A FIGHTING CHANCE... TO SURVIVEDan Evans arrived in Vietnam on October 7, 1968, a 21- year-old Army medic who couldn't stand the sight of blood. Thrust into the cauldron of combat, he soon became a seasoned veteran of emergency medicine and the brutal realties of war. Before his time was up, he would master the skills of a surgeon, acquire the patience of a saint, and demonstrate the courage of a lion... Here, in his own words, is the gripping true story of Dan Evans, the highly decorated soldier whom the men of First Platoon, Bravo Company, called the "fighting medic." Experience the rage, the sorrow and the remarkable spirit of Dan Evans - the PLATOON MEDIC who became a true American hero.
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About the Author
Daniel E. Evans Jr., D.V.M. was born in Mineral Ridge, Ohio. He attended Northern Michigan University and Youngstown State University before serving in the U.S. Army as a combat medic. He received his D.V.M. degree from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1975. Dr. Evans is co-owner of a small animal hospital in northeast Ohio. Married to Sandra Lawrie Evans, they have two children, Ryan Evans and Kelly Evans Wood. Charles W. Sasser has been a full-time freelance writer /journalist/ photographer since 1979. He is a veteran of both the U.S. Navy (journalist) and U.S. Army (Special Forces and Green Beret), a combat veteran and former combat correspondent wounded in action. He also served fourteen years as a police officer im Miami, Florida and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sasser now lives on a ranch in Chouteau, Oklahoma with his wife, Donna.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Al Santoli once wrote, "See what we saw, feel what we felt.",
By
This review is from: Doc: Platoon Medic (Paperback)
In November of 2001 I traveled to Nashville for a reunion of David Hackworth's old 4/39 Battalion. I got to meet Doc Evans and shake his hand. He's a wonderful man and a wonderful Soldier.His book is one of the best personal accounts of Vietnam service and Vietnam combat I've ever read. As Al Santoli wrote in his 1981 book, EVERYTHING WE HAD, if one wants to truly see this conflict as a Troop saw it, you have "to see what we saw....feel what we felt." Dan "Doc" Evans vivid and personal account does just this. Stay Alert, Stay Alive Doc!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE STORY IS TRUE! I WAS THERE,I SHOULD KNOW!,
By doc_sondra_H@compuserv.com (florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Doc: Platoon Medic (Paperback)
I was Doc Evans Battalion Surgeon. His book is very accurately written. I assisted Dan in his early efforts to write his book. I personally witnessed much of what is discussed in the book and read copies of many of his letters home. Dan is a true American hero who no doubt would have the courage to sign his name to any critique he wrote. Doc Holley
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doc Evans still bandages the wounds of his brothers,
By Joni Bour (Florence, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Doc: Platoon Medic (Paperback)
Have you ever just known something you can't explain knowing? I have. I knew this book was going to be special before I even opened it. It has a vibe that I don't expect you to believe, but it does. Maybe it is because I share a sort of kinship with Mr. Evans. He was a corpsman who served in the Vietnam War. I was a medic myself for several years and though I have never felt a bullet whiz over my head or feared for my life, I have known the shame of not saving the life I had tried so hard to save. I have stood at a sink and kept scrubbing at the blood on my hands that had long since been scrubbed away and I can remember the screams of a father begging me to not let his child die. I have seen some things in my dreams that I do not need to share, but suffice to say Mr. Evans might understand. Sometimes only someone who has seen what you have seen can understand. I guess that is how I knew this book was for me. This is a very good book. As it turns out, it was way better than "just" a good book. To say that implies that it is merely flat and plain and words on paper, as if it is something to pick up or put down at your leisure. In fact, it is none of those things. Mr. Evans' recollections have a life of their own; they pull you in to his thoughts and feelings, take you back to a place where you can feel the mud, imagine the leeches and sense the suffering. The young soldier's story is so real you will feel it brush across your face like a cobweb in the darkest corner of the attic. You will be leery to look into the attic for all the forgotten memories, lost souls and pain packed away in boxes. You would prefer to walk away or pretend you don't care. But that won't work. It is time to unpack. And you do care, or you would not be at this website, or looking at this book. It isn't going to be John Grisham or Danielle Steele. It is about a war that still divides opinion in this country and touched the lives of generations before and after those who served in it. Even though you may know the history of the war in Vietnam, you will find yourself wanting a second chance to do the right thing and to stand up to honor those who served our country - not just for Mr. Evans and the men he served with, but for America itself. The author weaves his story the way a spider weaves its web: first one thread and then another, somehow tying each end together, forming a piece of art that is different than any other web. His web is strangely beautiful and a little scary at the same time. He is diligent, drawing each corner of his web to a proper angle, adhering it firmly to the doorway we must cross through to learn more. We are lucky indeed to find a man so willing to bare to the world what is so deeply, personally his. Imagine being a girl-chasing, car-loving, movie-going young man one moment and a hunted soldier the next? One moment being squeamish at the sight of blood and the next trying to treat a sucking chest wound. How can you explain to someone why something horribly and ghastly is hysterically funny? Do you tell them the truth - That laughing is the only way you can cope with such devastation and loss? How do you tell people that killing a man might be easy, when one moment it seems as if it is and the next it isn't? Can ordinary people understand how it comes to be that you don't recall what you had for dinner three days ago but you have instant and total recall of one single moment in your life in the jungle of Vietnam in 1968? Can they understand how the man you call your brother is no blood relation at all? I think Mr. Evans answers every question when he puts words to his story and little pieces of his life on every page. He is a teacher, whether he knows it or not. I believe that anyone who reads this book will feel as if Mr. Evans has given them some tiny little bit of something they never had before. It could be they will learn that the Corpsman is probably the bravest, most selfless creation ever touched by the hand of God, just like a firefighter, because no matter what, when everyone else is running away from danger, they are running or crawling toward it. Or maybe the reader will find out that the Vietnam War was neither won nor lost. That it is not really over for most of the men and women who served there. Or maybe they will change their minds about something they used to believe was true. After all, that is what a teacher is supposed to do: open hearts and minds. I believe Mr. Evans wanted to reach out to his veteran brothers to tell them he is still here, that he understands what they have gone through, because he went through it too. Maybe he is telling them they are not alone and there can be strength in knowing there are others to support them through a kinship and brotherhood. It seems to me Doc Evans is doing what he has always been destined to do: bandaging the wounds of his brothers.
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