24th
Evac Home Guest
Book Reunions History Recollections
I've been spending some time reminiscing about my time in Vietnam, all of which was spent, fortunately, at the 24th Evac Hospital. I was caught up in the first draft lottery (#60) and assigned an MOS of 91D20 - Operating Room Technician. The training I went through at Fort Sam Houston, Texas in 1970 didn't begin to prepare me for what was in store for me. I will attempt to put down a few memories as best I can remember them, dropping as many names as possible.
Tom Holland, November 1970
Courtesy of Tom Holland
Click on photo for larger version.
I remember the first day I showed up for duty. I was basically given a set of scrub clothes to put on and although it wasn't said out loud, I was to shut up and stay out of the way. As I recall, we were running at least 4 of the 6 rooms that day. I couldn't circulate much, since I didn't know where anything was, And there was no way they were going to let a raw rookie scrub in and assist on a case!!! Capt. Jim DeLoach, Head Nurse, was very nice and did what he could to put you at ease. The same can be said for Lt.'s Glenn & Rhonda Ross, Lt. Rose Carroll, Capt. Karolyn Skov, and Sp4's John Passeno & Ron Engel.
Anyway, I slowly started to pick up the nuts and bolts of the job. Pat O'Toole, Gil Yee & Hugh Leahy were among those I tried to look at with the most attention; they were the best in the business. I started scrubbing in on some of the minor cases -- debriding a few frag wounds, the odd appendectomy.
Tom on the left, assisting Dr. Lynn Whelchel with an appendectomy, September
1971
Click on photo for larger version.
Courtesy of Tom Holland.
Being left-handed I had to learn to thread the suture and clamp it into a needleholder for a right-handed surgeon. That went fine until we got in a left-handed doctor, who would take the needleholder from me and turn the needle around so he could use it properly. Guess I should have stayed with him full time!!!!
I remember once a soldier came in who had a live round -- a mortar shell maybe -- lodged in his abdomen. They operated on him out on the chopper pad. Can't tell you who the surgeon was, but Sp6 Baker volunteered to assist. I don't recall his first name, but he was a good guy; older than most of us enlisted guys but we got along great.
I can remember a 14 hour marathon case on a soldier who had a gunshot wound to his face. I scrubbed in to relieve Phil Calvi, I think, who had been in there for a few hours. I assisted from 7am to 12 noon, and was relieved myself by Tom Hamilton. Also involved at various times -- there was more that one procedure going on at once -- were Lt. Anita Mullen, Capt. MJ Heffernan, Steve Castro, Ralph Bistodeau & Lt. Lana Feldhusen. You might wonder how I knew all the names on this particular case. Well, I photographed the OR log for that day. Thought it would have been an all-timer, and it sure turned out to be. Wow, were we beat after that one!!!
I saw quite a few surgeons work in my year there. While I'm no expert, here are a few I'm sure you'd have been in good hands with: Dr. Charles Middleton. Dr. Roy 'Rocky' Reid. Dr. Roger Z. Thurman. Dr. ? Barcia. The last one was very intriguing. He was all of 6' 7 and wore size 9 gloves. He jacked the table up so high the rest of us needed stepstools! But somehow, he could do the most delicate work with those huge hands. I would not have believed it if I didn't see it with my own two eyes. There were also other good ones, but remember, it's been 30 odd years, and I apologize to those I've omitted.
We worked 12/6 most of the time. When we were off duty we were known to party as hearty as we worked. There's absolutely nothing like being in your very early 20's like I was. At $3 a case (no ring tabs!), the Bud & Schlitz flowed (& flowed & flowed), but at that age you have incredible recovery powers. Three hours of sleep, a shot of coffee and back at work - no shakes. Now THAT I really miss as I get ready to say good-bye to 50. I miss most of those I worked with during that year. It was tough being away from my family and friends all that time. But the people I worked with became like a second surrogate family I've never forgotten. A few names may be hazy, but I carry the memories around in my heart. Here are a few more I've got to mention:
Tom Kohn, Dan Boren (he took all the surgery photos I have that I appear in), Ken Gross, Larry Chiara (the only one I've ever seen face to face back here in the world), George Mason, Clyde Byrge, Bob Braun, and many others. I eagerly hope to see one and all in San Antonio next year.
Updated: July 7, 2003