The 24^th Evacuation Hospital
Experience
Begins HERE…

When the radio sounds off with, " Queen Tonic, Queen Tonic, this is Dustoff 31" And the A&D Clerk (in this case, Sgt. Brown, A&D Ch.) Answers, "Dustoff 31, Oueen Tonic…

The Dustoff aircraft advises the number and type of casualties he has on board and his ETA. A&D advises the pilot he has a good copy and will be waiting (and gives any special information such as wind conditions and visibility.)
THAT'S RIGHT, THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE WHICH IS TOTALLY UNIQUE TO THE CASUALTIES ARRIVING AT THE 24^th EVAC. BEGINS WITH THAT RADIO CALL TO "Queen Tonic"…..

When the Dustoff Pilot sees this, he knows he is delivering his casualties to the one location in Vietnam where they are going to receive the lifesaving treatment they are entitled to, where each patient is an individual, not a statistic…

As the Dustoff is landing, the A&D litter bearers are getting ready to do the Third Hardest part of their job; remove the casualties on board and bring them into the Emergency Room to begin the first stage of their lifesaving treatment. The patient's first contact with the 24^th Evac. is with the personnel of the Admissions & Dispositions Section (A&D) of Registrar.

Litter Bearers are on hand waiting for the Dustoff to land on the "Hot Pad"

Litter exchanges are made….. one fresh litter for each casualty on a litter… (no, it is not a common occurrence to see a nurse on the helipads). Now, those guys look like they are just taking it easy moving the casualties; well, they are not, too bad you cannot see the rapid pace these guys used. Then of course, there was always the "hot one" that required even faster movement…

The casualties are taken through A&D into the Emergency Room Where they are stripped down, identifying wristbands are placed on the patient, their clothing, valuables, and any armaments they have with them are collected and recorded on a deposit slip. Any arms or other items are placed in the Weapons Conex next to the A&D Office.

I know you are just dying to know why the casualties are carried through the A&D office into the Emergency Room….there are several reasons, the most obvious being, it is there that "traffic control" occurs; keeping unnecessary personnel out of the ER so the staff can take care of the patients. Also, the A&D area was used for litters when we had more casualties than litter stands.

Once the ER personnel have finished with the patient, the Litter Bearers then move them to X-ray, Lab, or Pre-Op to await the definitive treatment required by their wounds.

The Second Hardest part of their job was having to haul these guys into the ER..

When we got VC casualties in, usually they had already been stripped down and had VC and 24^th Evac. marked on their chest with a felt tipped marker. One thing we learned early on, just because the guy looked like he was either sleeping or maybe unconscious, don't take a chance. The guy at the back of the litter would always keep an eye on him, just in case it became necessary to suddenly "drop the litter", letting the VC get a sudden headache. I can truthfully say that it never became necessary to develop sweaty palms and "drop" the litter.

Not all casualties arrive by Dustoff, as attested to by this view of a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter from the 101^st Air Assault Div. which landed on our administrative pads, without calling on the radio and telling us they had casualties….It wasn't until we observed that something was obviously wrong that our litter bearers went charging out to remove the casualties…

Boy, that could have been embarrassing had the A&D guys not been on their toes…

Never fear, the A&D guys were near….

The A&D guys got them all ….. ambulatory and stretchers for those who should have been on stretchers in the first place…they had lifted them right out of a rice paddy and it was very obvious….they were the first batch we received from the 101st. Div., not the last however….seems as though after this first group went through the 24^th, our fame was spreading rapidly….

Not all the sick, hurt and wounded who were brought to the 24^th were G.I.s, we also received Local Nationals who were injured by either American operations or injured in traffic accidents that occurred near Long Binh Post were brought to either us or the 93^rd Evac. Often we thought we got more than our fair share…

It's feeding time for Baby-san!!

Well, you know how it is, at the 24^th, a patient is a patient as illustrated by Charlie….

Charlie is a Scout Dog, just another G.I…..

It's been a looong day!!!

Gee, I'm Tired!!!

Good Night, Charley…(shuuu!!), Tired Soldier

Yes, the working dogs of the army were considered soldiers and were authorized treatment at any medical facility that was available, we got Charlie's serial No. from his ear!!! Paperwork showed the next of kin as his handler…sorry, I do not remember the soldier's name!

Just doing one part of the job…it is easier in good weather.

It gets a little tougher during the monsoons, especially at night …

I realize you cannot tell much from this picture but that is a Huey setting down on our 'Hot Pad' during a driving rain at night. We had to talk him in on the radio (I know because I was the one standing outside, in the rain guiding the chopper to our pad).

Safely on the ground

The A&D guys got the casualties off the bird, out of the rain and into the ER!!!

Thankfully, we did not get this "Big Fella" in at night, it was enough of a problem to get the casualties off in daylight as it was during one of those 'delightful' monsoon showers and those big rotors really whipped you with the rain…..

You didn't dare try to wear a poncho, you stood the chance of "wind surfing" without the benefit of the board or the mast!!

This is what happened when we first built our "hot pad" and one of the 'big boys' landed next to it….

Needless to say, we learned quickly why the PSP (Perforated Steel Plating) comes with long stakes…we had the PSP re-laid and securely staked in short order!!

Yes, we really did get ambulatory patients as illustrated by this Sp.4, from the 9^th ID, waiting in A&D's "luxurious" waiting area for transport to his unit.

The ABSOLUTE HARDEST PART OF A&D's job was when we got in DOAs…

We had to go through the identification process, usually starting with removing any personal belongings from the pockets and seeing if there was anything there to identify the remains with. Then we called the man's unit and asked them to send two people to identify the soldier. Once we had gone through the identification process, we tagged and bagged the body, had a death certificate prepared and signed, and notified Graves Registration to come retrieve the remains. That was the HARDEST part of our job, the DOA and the soldier who just didn't make it even though we gave our all to try to save him.

Once the casualties are safely off the choppers, out of the ER, and into pre-op, the work of the A&D Clerks is not over, now the admission paperwork has to be done and the beginning of the patient chart has to be married up with the paperwork that was begun in the ER.

These are about the only types of helicopters that didn't bring casualties to the 24^th…

OH 58

Sikorski Flying Crane

Cobra Attack Helicopter

The guys in A&D were the first to make contact with the incoming casualty and needless to say, they were the last ones to make contact with them as they left the 24^th Evac.

These patients are waiting for their ride to the 21st CSF (Casualty Staging Flight) at Tan Son Nhut AFB in Saigon where they will be placed aboard a C-141 Med Evac flight out of country…

Fare Well 24^th Evac, we will never forget you!!!

And a last look at Long Binh Post from the rear of the Chinook…

Good bye Long Binh, we won't miss you!!!

Thus the patient experience with the 24^th Evac. Hospital has begun and ended with the silent dedication of the troops assigned to the A&D Section of Registrar.

So long, and as the old saying goes…

We'll leave the light on for ya…
Henry Powers
July 8, 2003

Updated: August 19, 2003