Customer Reviews

Medics at War: Military Medicine from Colonial Times to the 21st Century

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I started reading this book thinking it was a kind of encyclopedia, a reference work of facts and dates explaining the evolution of military medicine. If it were only that, it would still be a useful book for a military writer or health soecialist. But soon into it, I found one surprise after another describing events, discoveries, personalities and even trivia suitable for inclusion in Guinness Book of Records. It's probably a stretch to say this book reads like a thriller, but it does record the genius, exertion and good luck of a lot of smart and brave men and women of all walks of life. It's a splendid gift for someone who likes to read and understand how we got from there to here. And it takes in a lot more than just military medicine, trauma and disease. It captures the whole field, including personality clashes, innovation and invention.

Medics at War provides a succinct and impressive overview of US military medicine from the Colonial era to the present. With 214 pages and numerous photographs, the book includes the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War and operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both Army and Navy medical corps are well represented and coverage of Air Force medicine can be read in later chapters.

Authors Greenwood and Berry should be commended for inclusion of WWII amphibious medicine during the 6 June 1944 Normandy landings. Few military historians write of the Navy's vital role during combined operations. Previous authors often identified Navy surgeons and corpsmen on Omaha Beach as Army personnel.

It is important to clarify the 6th Naval Beach Battalion casualty rate reported in the book. Four officers, all Beachmasters, and 18 enlisted men were killed in action 6 June 1944. Twelve battalion officers and 55 enlisted men were seriously injured. Dr. John F. Kincaid, USNR survived the invasion but was killed in action less than a year later during a kamikaze attack off Okinawa. Dr. J. Russell Davey, USNR was injured on D-Day, continued his humanitarian duties on the beach, but unfortunately died at home in 1948.

Definitive, though including much more than "medics." I am still not sure which was created first, Army medics or Navy hospital corpsmen. Good read.

the book was well researched. it is a great platform for those who wants to know the role of combat medics in war.

This moving account of the history of the role of medics in our wars down through the decades would be a treasured gift to every serviceman and historian.

With an interest in american combat medics particullarly from WW2 and Vietnam I was a bit disapointed with the book. The quality is excellent and the information contained within the book is informative however I am still only giving it three stars for two reasons. First I had hoped that a large part of the text would be filled with personal accounts and stories from actual medics who had served. Unfortunately that is not the case. I was also hoping to view at least some interesting and seldom published photos of medics in action. Unfortunately this is not the case either, the majority of the WW2 and Vietnam era photos are ones you've probably seen a hundred times before. How many times can they show the WW2 medic in Sicily holding a plasma bottle over his head while the concerned Italian family behind him looks on? There was one or two good WW1 photos and a great shot of medics in Korea patching a soldier up however the majority of the others were either ones published way too many times or photos that are only marginally interesting. Time spent searching for new photos in the national archives would have elevated the status of this book and unfortunately too many publishers rely on using the same shots over and over which diminished the book in my opinion. If you have an interest in military medicine history it is still a recommended buy however.

...who is currently stationed in Iraq, as a chaplin with the Vermont National guard. Need to get it in the mail by 10/15/05. His wife said he would like this book. Perhaps he will send a review along, once he has it.