Battle Field Angels (33 page)

Prisoners of war, such as these marching to a jungle work camp in the Philippines during World War II, presented unique challenges for the military medical corps.
(U.S. Navy, Bureau of Medicine & Surgery Archives)

Some medical corps personnel allowed themselves to be captured during World War II. They established a hospital ward for thousands of prisoners of war who fell ill while confined in a dilapidated prison in downtown Manila.
(U.S. Navy, Bureau of Medicine & Surgery Archives)

Corpsmen like George Wahlen exhibited extraordinary poise and focus under horrific battle conditions. But when President Truman presented the Medal of Honor to Wahlen, the corpsman suffered stage fright, forcing the President to step forward to shake his hand.
(U.S. Navy, Bureau of Medicine & Surgery Archives)

Extended and extreme starvation suffered by American POWs in World War II led to epidemics of deadly disease. Medical personnel who also were prisoners had neither food nor medicine for most patients.
(U.S. Navy, Bureau of Medicine & Surgery Archives)

Corpsmen and medics in combat often are confronted with a shortage of medical supplies. Battlefield ingenuity has saved countless lives when medical supplies have been exhausted.
(USMC)

Shock from loss of blood on the battlefield had always been a major cause of death in war. Improvements in air transport during the Korean War greatly improved the availability of whole blood for transfusions in the battle against shock.
(USMC)

The development of mobile army surgical hospitals, or MASH units, in the Korean War enabled wounded soldiers to receive sophisticated medical care more quickly than they had during World War II.
(U.S. Army)

Brutally cold weather in war can become as lethal as enemy fire. The Korean War became infamous for its harsh winters as it was fought well to the north of where much of the American fighting in World War II had taken place.
(U.S. Army)

Wounded soldiers who were ambulatory sometimes faced a rugged hike to the nearest aid station.
(U.S. Army)

Corpsman Joe Keenan (left) and a friend relax during a break in the fighting. Corpsmen rotated between front line assignments, reinforcement unit duty, and off-duty time away from the battlefield.
(Keenan Family)

In Vietnam, special operations forces relied on their corpsmen deep in enemy territory with little or no prospect for additional medical assistance or emergency evacuation.
(U.S. Army)

Field medical personnel in Vietnam knew that if they could keep a wounded soldier alive on the battlefield, he stood an excellent chance of survival due to increasingly efficient evacuation to sophisticated military hospitals nearby.
(USMC)