U.S. Medical Care and Related Factors in the Vietnam War

By John A. Emery MD FACS

Dr. Emery completed his tour of duty in Vietnam in July 1968. His son was born when he was in Vietnam. He completed his urology residency, under the guidance of Doctor Clarence Hodges, in 1973. He practiced urology for over thirty-seven years. Thirty-three of these years were in San Diego.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483674292

John A. Emery MD FACS

Dr. Emery was born in Niagara Falls, New York. He grew up in West Virginia outside the city of Charleston. He and his family moved to Torrance, California, in 1956 when he was a junior in high school. He attended UCLA on a football scholarship and a partial academic scholarship. He is a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He attended the University of California Medical School at San Francisco from 1961 to 1965. He interned at Los Angeles County Hospital in 1965 to 1966. He served as a US Navy doctor assigned to the First Marine Air Wing in Chu Lai, South Vietnam, in 1967 and 1968. He completed his urology residency in 1973 and practiced in San Diego for over thirty years. He was married to Victoria for over thirty years. His daughter, Colleen, is a part-owner of a communication company (PRR) in Seattle, Washington. His son, Scott, is a lawyer and a general surgeon. He practices general surgery in Seattle. He has six grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2014 by John A. Emery, MD, FACS.

Library of Congress Control Number:     2013913407

ISBN:    Hardcover    978-1-4836-7428-5

Softcover    978-1-4836-7427-8

eBook            978-1-4836-7429-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 04/03/2014

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CONTENTS

BIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

1.   HISTORY LEADING UP TO THE CONFLICT IN VIETNAM

2.   MEDICINE IN THE UNITED STATES

3.   HOSPITAL BASED MEDICAL CARE

4.   A SECOND TYPE OF MEDICAL CARE

5.   OUR MED CAP PROGRAM

6.   THE TET OFFENSIVE OF 1968

7.   OTHER FACETS OF THE VIETNAM WAR

Image10264---.jpg

The dedication and professionalism of our medics and corpsmen

was reflected in their willingness to do any task they were given.

We are forever grateful to them.

IN DEDICATION TO:

-Those men and women who served in the Vietnam War and especially to those who did not return from that war (you will not be forgotten).

-To my mother and father. I am eternally grateful to have had them as parents.

-To my wife, Victoria.

-To my daughter, Colleen, and her family.

-To my son, Scott, and his family.

-To Mali Sharveh, RN, MSN. Mali is an exceptional surgical ICU nurse. She was very helpful in the writing of this book.

-To Dr. Clarence Hodges, my mentor in urology. He and his professor, Dr. Huggins, at the University of Chicago were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1941. He was a long standing Professor and Chief of Urology at the University of Oregon Medical School in Portland, Oregon.

-To my Medical School class president, Dr. Anthony Sebastian, and his wife, Dr. Patricia Sebastian. They are an inspiration to all members of our class. Tony has a slowly progressive neurologic disease and is currently confined to a portable bed. Despite this serious handicap he is a professor of nephrology at UCSF Medical School and has provided extensive knowledge to the field of nephrology through the medical literature. His wife, Pat, is also a professor at UCSF Medical School.

-To my coaches: Bob Jameson, Dick Montague, Jack Miller, John Johnson, and Bill Barnes.

hodges_001.jpg

Dr. Hodges is a urologist of world renown whose interest in prostate cancer goes back to his days as a medical student at the University of Chicago in the late thirties. Indeed, his first three published papers provided the definitive description of the hormonal effects on cancer of the prostate. These papers published with his mentor, Dr. Charles Huggins, led them to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine. This work is extensively referred to in the urologic literature.

Dr. Hodges was a long time Professor of Urology at the University of Oregon Medical School Hospital in Portland, Oregon. All his residents have a deep appreciation for his teaching.

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This photo was taken in 1958 on the UCLA football practice field.

Dr. Emery (age 19) is seen with UCLA head coach Bill Barnes.

Coach Barnes was a highly decorated major with the famous Army unit, the Alamo Scouts, which fought the Pacific in World War II. This unit is believed to the first Special Forces unit in the Army. Major Barnes was awarded a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, the Legion of Merit, Unit citations and Campaign citations. He was a very inspirational person to Dr. Emery.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Emery was born in Niagara Falls, New York. He grew up in West Virginia outside the city of Charleston. He and his family moved to Torrance, California in 1956 when he was a junior in high school. He is very thankful for the many friends he had in these two cities.

He attended UCLA on a football scholarship and a partial academic scholarship. He is a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

He attended the University of California Medical School at San Francisco from 1961 to 1965. He is a member of the Phi Chi medical fraternity. He interned at Los Angeles County Hospital in 1965-1966. He was an intern there during the Watts Riot of the summer of 1965.

He served as a U.S. Navy doctor assigned to the First Marine Aircraft Wing in Chu Lai, South Vietnam, in 1967