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The Price of Healthcare in Combat

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The Price of Healthcare in Combat Chapman University Chapman University Digital Commons War and Society (MA) Theses Dissertations and Theses Summer 8-2020 So Others May Live: The Price of Healthcare in Combat Robert Del Toro Chapman University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses Part of the Asian History Commons, Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, European History Commons, Medical Humanities Commons, Mental Disorders Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Del Toro, Robert. "So Others May Live: The Price of Healthcare in Combat" Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2020. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000187 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at Chapman University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in War and Society (MA) Theses by an authorized administrator of Chapman University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. So Others May Live: The Price of Healthcare in Combat A Thesis By Robert S. Del Toro Chapman University Orange, Ca Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Master of Arts in War and Society August 2020 Committee in Charge: Charissa Threat, Ph.D., Chair Alexander Bay, Ph.D. Gregory Daddis, Ph.D. The thesis of Robert S. Del Toro is approved. Charissa Threat, Ph.D., Chair Alexander Bay, Ph.D. Gregory Daddis, Ph.D. July 2020 So Others May Live: The Price of Healthcare in Combat Copyright © 2020 by Robert S. Del Toro III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As my time writing this thesis comes to a close, I have had the opportunity to reflect on all those who have helped, assisted, and guided me on this three-year journey. I would first like to thank my family who encouraged me through every step of this writing process. From discussing my findings over morning coffee with my Dad, to scrambling to find the appropriate medical definitions from my Mom who is a registered nurse. Both of you were vital to helping me gather my thoughts and help me communicate what I was struggling to say. I would like to especially thank my younger brother who had to bear hours of me explaining my research and always checking up on me to ensure I was staying focused. I would also like to thank my Nana and Papa, who fostered my love of history from a young age with their stories. I would like to extend my gratitude to the faculty of the Chapman University History Department and Stacy Laird. From my first day in History 101 they pushed me to be a better scholar, writer, and person with every assignment. Without their dedication I would never have been able to write this thesis. I would also like to thank the many friends I have gained through my time at Chapman. I was never alone while writing, I relied on the efforts of many individuals to assist me from sounding boards to last minute editors. I even gained a few I would call “sisters,” who have become part of my family. From basic course work to preparations for national conferences to finally forming strategies for defense, they had my back every step of the way, and for that I will always be grateful. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my panel, my advisor Dr. Charissa Threat, who guided me through the writing process and encouraged me through long days and even longer nights. I was not an easy student to work with, but your high standards and even tougher expectations are the cornerstones of this work and for that I am honored to have had the pleasure IV of being your advisee. To Dr. Alexander Bay I would like to say thank you for guiding me through the research process, I have never forgotten the lessons you taught me in the historian’s craft. I am also thankful you constantly pushed me past what I thought possible. Lastly I would also like to thank Dr. Gregory Daddis, without whom I would not be here. From my first day in the program to my last, you guided and mentored me to be the student I am today. I will never forget the lessons you taught me over the three years I was in Chapman War and Society program. Lastly I would like to thank three teachers who are responsible for my love of history and who have always been there for me. Dr. Robert Slayton, who somehow always knew when I was at a crossroads in life. Without fail, when I saw no way to move forward an email was always in my inbox offering dinner and a guiding presence. Dr. William Cumiford who is single handedly responsible for making Chapman home for six years. From insane study guides to grueling tests and a few bad puns in between Dr. Cumiford always kept me on my toes and demanded no less than the best I was capable off. Lastly I would like to thank the women who start me on this path, Laura Sampson my middle school history teacher. She not only started my love of history but her constant love and support over those years long ago has come to define me not only as a student but also as a historian. To this day no one else has left such an imprint on my schooling or me as a person. I have not forgotten your words of wisdom. V ABSTRACT So Others May Live: The Price of Healthcare in Combat by Robert S. Del Toro “Medics carried more responsibilities than dry feet, salt tablets, syphilis, and puncture wounds,” U.S. Army Medic Ben Sherman stated after reflecting on his tour in Vietnam. On the battlefields of North Africa, Italy, France, and Vietnam, the medics of the U.S. Army Medical Department faced the difficult duty of preserving life while death surrounded them. Their patients were not strangers but, men they had grown close to, they were comrades and family. Analyzing the memoirs and letters of forward medical personnel from the Second World War and the Vietnam War, this thesis analyzes how a medic’s care went beyond the battlefield. Medics were not just the frontline healers that have dominated popular memory but, were men who were responsible for keeping the unit at fighting strength both mentally and physically. This thesis argues that examining caregiving during war allows us to understand the complex nature of the job of a combat medic, the psychological and physical impact of war on those who sought to make spaces of healing surrounded by death. Before battle medics took care of their unit’s everyday health needs. After battle, many medics listened to the fears and confessions of their friends, as if taking on the role of a priest when none could be found. They quickly learned the signs of a traumatic mental break that could cripple a soldier. The men of the Medical Department saw the infantry they supported as more than just patients, with every death or evacuation taking a greater toll on the medic. These factors created an environment where the medics own mental and physical health were pushed to the limits of the human condition. In a military occupational specialty where the casualty rate was more often than not at100%, a medic VI faced the reality that he would either leave the battlefield from an enemies’ bullet or because his own body and mind had reached their limit. VII Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... IV ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. VI Introduction: “So Others May Live”............................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 Stop the Bleeding ......................................................................................................... 18 Combat and Caregiving in the World War II Era ............................................................... 19 Combat Care in the Vietnam War Era ................................................................................. 33 Chapter 2: Stabilize ....................................................................................................................... 47 Embedded with the Infantry ................................................................................................ 50 Priest when none can be found ............................................................................................ 62 Battlefield Psychologist: treating unseen wounds .............................................................. 67 Chapter 3: Move on ...................................................................................................................... 76 Contact ..................................................................................................................................... 77 Mass Casualties ....................................................................................................................... 83 The Stress of treating men under fire.................................................................................... 87 Treating those caught in the middle ...................................................................................... 91 Coping on the Battlefield ........................................................................................................ 97 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 102 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 106 VIII Introduction: “So Others May Live” “I felt like I was walking on a cloud,
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