Tag Archives: Vietnam

Comments on Dr. James Franklin’s article on George Orwell and the Spanish Civil War

January 25, 2023

Stuart Poticha Chicago, Illinois, United States   In 1966 as a young surgeon who had just completed his residency, I was drafted into the United States Army. Following basic training at Fort Sam Houston, I was sent to Vietnam, where I became the Chief of Surgery of the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi. The […]

Scar

July 8, 2022

Michael Loyd Gray Kalamazoo, Michigan   Photo by Min An on Pexels. Alice ran a finger along the scar on his arm and he slowly woke up, his eyes focusing in the dark. She had been watching him sleep. He rolled over to face her. “Can’t you sleep?” she said. “I had a bad dream.” […]

“The trial” of Dr. Spock

February 25, 2022

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Spock Behind G.W. Library. Photo by Warren K. Leffler, October 15, 1969. U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress. No known restrictions on publication.   “Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing else but medicine on a large scale.”1 — Rudolf Virchow, M.D. (1821-1902) […]

The significant contributors to the history and development of Vietnam’s medicine sector

August 11, 2021

Tran Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam   A drawing of Master Tue Tinh. It was made when Vietnam still used ancient Vietnamese with characters similar to Chinese. Unknown original. Source Physicians have long held a high position in Vietnamese society. Among many who have improved the health of their local communities, five […]

Prisoners on leave: Vietnam veterans and the Golden Age Western

September 18, 2020

Edward Harvey  Missoula, Montana, United States   Vietnam War – Hue, 17 Feb 1968 – US Marines Approaching Movie Theater Displays – Photo by Nik Wheeler. Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS. Via Flickr. “I think we all died a little in that damn war.” – The Outlaw Josey Wales   “So…what have you been up to?” When […]

Letting go of logic

February 18, 2020

Nimisha Bajaj Columbus, Ohio, United States   Last Supper by Leonardo DaVinci. Photo by Paris Orlando. November 2019. Public Domain “He’s here for aspiration pneumonia. He doesn’t want a G-tube even though we tried to explain to him that if he continues to eat and drink by mouth, this will keep happening and he will […]

Where the unusual was usual: The Cook County Hospital blood bank

December 10, 2019

Jayant Radhakrishnan Chicago, Illinois, United States   Surgical resident, Dr. Bohdan Iwanetz, trying to coax a recalcitrant little girl to drink her bottle. May 1977 Pediatric Surgery Ward 46 in the Cook County Children’s Hospital There are those who claim that the first blood collection and transfusion services were started by Percy Oliver of the […]

Resolution

March 20, 2019

Gaetan Sgro Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States   Looking Back: Vietnam War Memorial by Ann Stuurman. 2002. Windfield Photographic Collection, Ontario Canada. noun 1. an expression of will or intent; a commitment In June 1965, Edward White, one of two astronauts aboard the Gemini IV mission, becomes the first American to walk in space. He floats […]

White coats

June 7, 2017

Ken Williams  Cambria, California, USA   Image of Phan Thi Kim Phuc burned by napalm during the Vietnam War. Photo by Nick Ut. The Devil’s Breath: Napalm explosion Waiting White coats hustle by nurses of compassion their gentle, sideway smiles frozen combating war’s legacy Blood counts fall Platelets White cells Red cells M.I.A. Agent Orange […]

The veteran’s hospital

January 23, 2017

Helen Foster Richmond, Virginia, United States   Poet’s statement: Before I went to medical school, I followed doctor’s orders to hold my toddler son down and force on him more eye-drops than he needed to dilate his pupils. He panicked, and the atropine drops made him hallucinate. The incident I describe in my poem “The […]