Vietnam 1968-1969: A Battalion Surgeon Journal

Rating:
Summary: The human side of hardcore
Review: I first became aware of the importance of the Battalion Surgeon when I read Dr. Larry Dossey's own Vietnam Memoir and had the honor of communicating with him subsequently. Like Doc Holley, Larry was a decorated Battalion Surgeon in Vietnam, and like Doc Holley, he was in the absolute front line of the medical treatment of wounded GIs.

Doc Holley's book is a blow by blow account of the daily workload of one of the most important people in any army. Holley and his personally-trained medics had to do emergency fixes on wounded soldiers, often so that they could at least the survive the air medevac or Dustoff to the nearest surgical or evacuation hospital.

Patch 'em up and dust 'em off was the order of the day, for the men who took as many risks as the troops they were assigned to serve. If not more so. As the book shows, many medics gave their lives trying to reach wounded soldiers who had been seriously injured in the middle of active minefields, which were often covered by enemy snipers. Doc Holley took the same risks as his men.

One of the many things that keep this stunning record of yet another insane war so real and so reader-involving is the way it is written in the form of a journal. Most of the book is taken from Holley's many letters home to his wife Sondra and his folks back in the USA. You cannot help but care about this man and the soldiers he served so unflinchingly and so courageously.

Doc Holley was David Hackorth's Battalion Surgeon, and Hack's beautiful Foreword and the references to Hack during the book serve to inform the reader of just how important the medical care of the soldiers was and how the troops themselves appreciated such devotion.

Like Hack, Doc Holley refutes the idea that the war was winnable in his Conclusions, and for much the same reasons as the Colonel. In terms of the way the war was actually conducted, they are both correct. After all, they were right there in the thick of it.

I agree that a final victory over the North Vietnamese, whereby the South could have been preserved in the way S. Korea was, simply could not have been attained. The North would have to have been literally wiped out for that to have been possible. But like any army, the VC/NVA weakness was that on a strategic level, they relied on modern weapons - assault rifles, grenades, barrage rockets, RPGs, artillery pieces, SAM-7s and higher altitude SAM family.

For this reason alone, a well-coordinated unrestricted strategic air offensive against every target of value in the entire country - not pointlessly bombing the Ho Chi Minh Trail (actually a mess of hundreds of trails) could have made it impossible for the enemy to launch large-scale coordinated attacks of the type that caused so much heavy loss of life in the field and political embarassment back home.

The only such large scale air offensive, Linebacker II, did not take place until December, 1972. At the very least, the US could have extricated itself after decimating the North's ability to make war, way earlier than it did. How do you win a war when the enemy's capital isn't even on the target list?

Doc Holley was a true blue American hero, like his Medics, like the dustoff helicopter crews and like the staff of the surgical evac. and field hospitals, who included many of the 15,000 women who served in Vietnam. This is war, in all of its filth, brutality, tragedy and heartbreak. Yet through it all, the triumph of the human spirit shines like a beacon for anybody who is insightful enough to listen to the stories of the three or four MILLION American personnel who served in Nam during the course of the conflict.

This book should be compulsory reading for anybody who is considering a military career. Not to put them off, merely to prepare them for the reality of war.

Outstanding.

Rating:
Summary: Poor Baby MD
Review: I'm a Vietnam Veteran. The book would be much better if the good doctor didnt whine so much. He's whines about everything. And when he isnt whining he's kissing David Hackworth's butt. I mean, I wanted to cry when the poor-baby doctor was compelled by the evil army to treat grunts rather than continue his medical education in a rear-area hospital. And when Doc Poor-Baby finally became a REMF, he whined about that, too.

Poor-Baby, MD whines about the endless hours of work yet has the time to write long, detailed letters to his girl-friend every day. This makes me suspicious of his veracity.

Officers of every stripe had lives of comparative ease and comfort in Vietnam. And they pulled 6 months in combat zones, not 12 like the grunts.


Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This awe-inspiring book reminds us of a war that some of us may have forgotten and other would like to. The words that Dr. Holley uses to describe his fears,concerns, and disgust with the war is a chilling reminder to us all. Dr. Holley tells his story in 1968-69 real-time by incorporating letters to his sweetheart and his parents. The book begins with Dr. Holley receiving that wonderful letter from Uncle Sam stating that his medical services are needed so that his country maybe served, through his one year tour-of-duty including his experiences with Col. Hackworth. You will hear this story from a man, a true man, who has saved countless lives and lives to tell about it. Dr. Holley captures his audience in this must-read for any person that survived his or her nightmares. This is simply a must-read.

Rating:
Summary: A Book to Remember
Review: This awe-inspiring book reminds us of a war that some of us may have forgotten and other would like to. The words that Dr. Holley uses to describe his fears,concerns, and disgust with the war is a chilling reminder to us all. Dr. Holley tells his story in 1968-69 real-time by incorporating letters to his sweetheart and his parents. The book begins with Dr. Holley receiving that wonderful letter from Uncle Sam stating that his medical services are needed so that his country maybe served, through his one year tour-of-duty including his experiences with Col. Hackworth. You will hear this story from a man, a true man, who has saved countless lives and lives to tell about it. Dr. Holley captures his audience in this must-read for any person that survived his or her nightmares. This is simply a must-read.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This book by Dr. Byron E. Holley is a must-read for anyone who is interested in learning about the soldier's personal experiences in Vietnam. His personal accounts of nearly everyday ocourances while on his Tour Of Duty is so insightful. When I read this book it was like being there or being the relative who received the letters home from Vietnam. This book and its account of daily events on Dr. Holley's Tour freezes ones mind in time. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.