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In 1966, Dr. Richard Carlson, two years out of medical school, embarked on a year-long tour in Vietnam to treat the many forgotten victims of the war: the civilians. During medical school he was introduced to the Los Angeles County General Hospital, the huge institution that served LA's socially and medically deprived. When drafted, he applied to work in a Vietnamese civilian hospital. His tenure at the LA hospital was the best training for what he would encounter in Vietnam.
His arrival coincided with a bloody escalation of the conflict. But like many Americans, he believed South Vietnam desired a democratic future and that the U.S. was helping to achieve that goal. He diligently chronicled his efforts to save lives in the Mekong delta province of Bac Lieu and detailed the stories of the AMA volunteer doctors, USAID nurses and corpsmen that he worked with to treat the local citizens, many of whom were Viet Cong.
He gives a glimpse of the emerging understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder and his team's development of a pioneering family planning clinic. With more than 80 photographs, this book relates hi efforts, including the competition among civilians for medical services. The facilities and equipment were primitive, and the doctors' efforts were often hampered by folk remedies and superstition.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
¿1.¿November 1966: Prelude to Bac Lieu, Finding My Footing
¿2.¿Saigon: Pearl of the Orient
¿3.¿Getting Familiar
¿4.¿Welcome to Bac Lieu
¿5.¿December: Bombs, Gifts, and Baby Soup
¿6.¿January 1967: MDs, Mudfish, and Monkey Brains
¿7.¿February: Tet, Typhoid, and Tetanus
¿8.¿March: Terror, Birth Control-Bac Lieu Style
¿9.¿April: Trash, Tokyo, and Hepatitis
10.¿May: Fear, a Round in the Whore House
11.¿June: Drinking Songs, VD, and Dalat
12.¿July: Drugs, Diphtheria, and Dowling
13.¿August: Daily Triumphs and Failures
14.¿September: Paving the Future, Reflections
15.¿October: Midnight Madness, Medals, and Adieu
Epilogue: Healing the Wounds
Index
About the author
Richard W. Carlson, MD, PhD, is a retired academic internal medicine and intensive care physician. He remains active in teaching and research and has published more than 300 scientific manuscripts and abstracts, edited or written eight medical textbooks and served in leadership roles in university and teaching institutions. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Summary
Dr Richard Carlson was an obstetrics-gynecology resident in inner city LA when he received his call to Vietnam. He served as chief medical officer with a unit of American doctors, nurses and corpsmen in Bac Lieu Province 1966-1967. With more than 80 photographs, his detailed account chronicles his team’s harrowing work under primitive conditions.
