Bring Our Baby Home

By Leon Rodriguez

BRING OUR BABY HOME

This is a powerful story that must be shared. It is about Heros, the best of human deeds, of caring, and unwavering morality despite destruction and chaos. Above all, this story is a story of humanity and grit that shows what heroism is about.
Linda Quan, M.D.
Bellevue, WA

A riveting, true story, told by a former U.S. Army Medic Sergeant (a scrounging-Houdini) about a brilliant young military surgical team that saved hundreds of American troops lives before, during and after the blood-ridden 1968 TET Offensive; as well as that of a newborn Montagnard girl, who returned to the U.S. with that war weary sergeant to live a free, full, productive life as his daughter, and to become an American citizen.
Sgt. James C. Hudson
Kelseyville, CA
Reporter-Photographer, Green Beret Magazine, 5th Special Forces Group, RVN 1969-70

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477263198

Leon Rodriguez

Author — Leon Rodriguez: Born 17 January 1938 in Mesa County, Colorado Graduated High School June 1955 Enlisted in The U.S. Army in August 1955 at age of 17. Military service overseas; France, Germany, Japan & Vietnam (Vietnam service, June 1967 thru June 1968 & September 1969 thru September 1970). Retired after 20 years of service August 1975. Was awarded numerous awards and decorations to include: The Soldiers Medal (Valor), Two Awards of The Bronze Star Medal, two awards of The Meritorious Service Medal. Licensed as a Physician’s Assistant/Surgical Assistant September 1975 in The State of Washington. Worked as a First Assistant to Surgeons for 32 years. Retired from work July 2007. Most important and best day of my life was 25 October 1963 when I married Else Heidimarie Muller in Ludwigsburg, Germany. Other important dates: adoption of my daughter Barbara and son David, and the natural births of my daughters Patricia, Lisa and my son Nick. My greatest joy is spending time with my kids and grandkids.

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PROLOGUE

BRING OUR BABY HOME is a true accounting of the challenges I faced as a U.S. Army Sergeant helping my Unit, The U.S. Army 24 th Evacuation Hospital, achieve its mission of saving lives of patients that had been seriously wounded in The Vietnam War during the time period of June 1967 through June 1968. This story also tells of the challenges I met in trying to save the life of a newborn Vietnamese baby girl that had been deserted by her parents and left at the 24 th Evacuation Hospital.

TUESDAY

26 SEPTEMBER 1967

@ 2000 HRS.

The Viet Cong (V.C.) are working an area north of Bien Hoa searching the small hamlets around the rice paddies for suspected Republic of South Vietnam and American sympathizers and supporters. The V.C. happened upon a tiny village and began threats and interrogation. The villagers are very poor and their living conditions are more basic than you can imagine. These people do not care who is in charge of Vietnam, all these primitive souls want is to be left alone in peace. Unfortunately for the villagers the Soldiers of The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was right behind the Viet Cong and a firefight quickly erupted.

The V.C. not only fired at the ARVNs, but also upon the defenseless villagers. The ARVNs called in American Army Air Support and the U.S. Soldiers quickly arrived in UH-1 Helicopters (Huey Gunships) to support the ARVNs. The battle lasted only a few minutes as most of the V.C. were killed or ran away. There were no injuries to the U.S. Soldiers or the ARVNs, but several of the villagers were killed or wounded. One of the injured was a very pregnant woman who had sustained a gunshot to the abdomen. The U.S. medics administered immediate care and loaded the woman, her husband and young son onto the helicopter for transport to the 24th Evacuation Hospital for treatment. At the 24th Evacuation Hospital Emergency Room the injured lady was given more pain medication and another I.V. was started. She was moved quickly through x-ray & lab and had the usual pre-op care. She was taken into the Pre-op ward where she had to wait for the availability of an open operating room table and surgical crew. The 24th Evacuation Hospital is a very busy treatment facility and the policy is to treat all Americans before anyone else. The wounded lady got into surgery after 2200 hrs. (10 P.M). The 24th Evacuation Hospital had most surgical specialties, but did not have an OB/GYN specialist. The available General Surgeon assessed that before he could repair her bowels she must have a Caesarean section in able to have room to work. The C-section was quick and produced twin baby girls. The two babies are non-reactive to stimulus, are not breathing, are cold and blue. The Surgical Nurse placed the babies on a chux pad on a wheeled stainless steel utility cart to be bagged and sent to the mortuary. The surgeon closed the woman’s uterus and began the job of finding the bullet perforations and removing the damaged intestines and doing an anastomosis (reconnecting the bowels) of the guts so that they would once again function in a normal fashion. Meanwhile, a surgical technician, Specialist Bill McGillivary, walked into the operating room area and thought he saw movement of one of the babies. McGilivary stopped and flipped the toe of the baby and it moved, so he flipped the toe of the other baby and it moved.

McGilvary said, Hey Doc, I believe these babies are alive!

The Surgeon replied, Get them to the Recovery Room the nurses know what to do!

McGillivary wheeled the babies into the Recovery Room and the Nurses began cleaning off the blood and Vernix Caseosa on the babies. They found two cardboard boxes and cut a white cotton blanket for padding in the boxes and to cover the babies. The Nurses covered the boxes with clear perforated food wrap and inserted an oxygen line into each box and they placed warm irrigation containers in the boxes to help warm the babies. The babies began moving and appeared to be breathing normally. The cardboard boxes were labeled Baby #1 and Baby #2. A little later the Nurses named the babies Sandy and Cindy. The Nurses definitely did not like the babies being labeled with numbers. The Mom was out of surgery at midnight and all settled in for a nights rest with the lady’s husband and son sleeping under her bed and the two new babies at each side in their cardboard boxes.

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WEDNESDAY

27 SEPTEMBER

@ 0600

I left the Senior NCO (non-commissioned officer) tent (the hootch where I slept) and walked through the lightly falling rain over to the complex of Quonset huts which is the 24 th Evacuation Hospital. I walked into the central surgical Quonset hut and my night shift NCO in charge, Sergeant Trimble, warmly greeted me and said there