Medics,
A Brief History
During Ancient times if a soldier was wounded, he laid in the field where he had fallen. There was no one to come to his aid.
Napoleon's Army was the first to assign people to help the wounded. They were called the litter-bearers, made up mostly of inept and expendable soldiers. The American Colonel Army lead by George Washington, also had litter-bearers during the Revolutionary War.
In 1862, due to the unexpected size of casualty lists during the battle of Manassas where it took one week to remove the wounded from the battlefield, Dr. Jonathan Letterman, Head of Medical Services of the Army of the Potomac, revamped the Army Medical Corps. His contribution included staffing and training men to operate horse teams and wagons to pick up wounded soldiers from the field and to bring them back to field dressing stations for initial treatment. This was our Nation's first Ambulance Cops. Dr. Letterman also developed the 3 tiered evacuation system which is still used today.
Field Dressing (Aid) Station - located next to the battlefield. Dressings and tourniquets
Field Hospital - Close to the battlefield (during the Civil War it would be Barns or Houses, today they are known as MASH units). Emergency surgery and treatment.
Large Hospital - Away from the battlefield. For patients' prolonged treatment.
Dr. Letterman's transportation system proved successful. In the battle of Antietam, which was a 12 hour engagement and the bloodiest one day battle in the entire Civil War, the ambulance system was was able to remove all the wounded from the field in 24 hours. Dr. Jonathan Letterman is known today as the Father of Modern Battlefield Medicine. Unfortunately, amputation was the primary method of treatment for wounds to extremities during the Civil War with over 50,000 resulting amputees.
During the Spanish American War in the 1890's Nicholas Sin stated: Fate of the wounded soldier is determined by the hand which applies the dressing. Field dressings are now applied by litter-bearers in the field.
World War I required millions of casualties to be treated at the front. Unlike previous wars, battles did not stop to retrieve the wounded or the dead. World War I saw, for the first time, medics rushing forward with the troops, finding the wounded, stopping their bleeding and bringing the wounded soldier to the aid station. In World War I medics were no longer expendable and were well trained.
After World War I, Military Medicine advanced. Training became a priority both in fighting and medical care. Medics were trained along side infantry soldiers, learning how to use the lay of the land for their protection and that of their patients. Medics were also trained in the use of pressure dressings, plasma IV's, tracheotomy, splints, and administering drugs.
During World War II a wounded soldier had an 85% chance of surviving if he was treated by a medic within the first hour. This figure was three times higher than World War I survival statistics. The red cross worn by medics on their helmet and arm bands became visible targets for enemy snipers during World War II and Korea.
Korea saw the advent of the helicopter being used to bring men from the front lines to M*A*S*H units (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital).
In Vietnam, the medic's job was to treat and evacuate. Medevac helicopters now could bring medics on board to continue treating the wounded while transporting them back to the Field Hospitals. 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.
Combat Medic Training
During the
Vietnam War
I received the following training in 1968 when I joined the Army and became a medic:
Basic Training - Fort Knox, Kentucky - All soldiers received Basic Training together for 8 weeks, regardless of their future MOS (Military Operating Specialty). The only exception was made for conscientious objectors who received their basic training at Fort Sam Houston for 6 weeks.
Advanced Individual Training - Fort Sam Houston, Texas - 10 weeks training for Combat Medic. The training consisted of the following:
Basic health care and hygiene for self and others
We learned how to give shots (practiced on each other using saline)
Drawing blood (practiced on each other)
Starting IVs (practiced on each other)
Use of Splints for broken bones
Treatment of gunshot wounds
Treatment for Amputations
Head wounds
Shock
Burns
Shoulder dislocations
C.P.R
Tracheotomy
VD
Seizures
Suturing (taught by a surgeon in Vietnam)
Field Training: in stretcher usage, correct procedures for moving and carrying patients, techniques for approaching and treating patients under combat situations, Setting up different types of tents, Air medevac (this training may have been completed in Vietnam)
Training films were heavily used during the training process.
Hospital Duty: Most of the training was geared toward combat situations, however some general medical training was included for hospital duty such as making beds, bed pans, setting up and giving catheters and enemas to patients. I am sure there were a lot of other topics, which I do not recall today.
Medics who received the Medal of Honor
1st Cav Medics who died in Vietnam
(Featuring 60's music and AFVN snippets)
