The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America's Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh
The inspiring story of the men and women who risked their lives alongside the soldiers fighting some of the most desperate actions in American history
Bataan, Anzio, Bastogne, Chosin, Khe Sanh: names that define the American spirit. They are synonymous with courage, resilience, and determination against great odds. At each of these battles American soldiers and Marines weathered desperation and fear to survive, advance, and triumph. Along with these heroes of the battlefield were no less determined and courageous providers of medical care. From the heat and disease-ridden jungles of Bataan, the precarious beachhead of Anzio, the encircled town of Bastogne, the frozen fields of Chosin, and the forsaken plateau of Khe Sanh, doctors and nurses worked under intense conditions with whatever means at hand, to staunch bleeding, repair damage, and resurrect the dying. In so doing they gave a glimmer of hope for the warriors facing possible death or capitulation. Often completely cut off from vital supplies and modern technology, and under the threat of enemy fire, these medical professionals—men and women—never lost sight of their passionate commitment to the sick and wounded. As noncombatants, this took extraordinary resolve to ignore the mortal threats of explosions and gunfire to focus on the mission of relieving pain, dragging from the brink of death damaged soldiers completely dependent on their resourcefulness. Some of these brave men and women would suffer the same fate as their fighting comrades, cut down by enemy fire in the prime of life, many times in the very task of rendering the bottomless compassion that was their hallmark and sometimes their only tonic. 
In The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America’s Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh, distinguished surgeon Thomas S. Helling relates the inspirational and compelling stories of the doctors, nurses, corpsmen, aides, and others who braved the most frightening conditions in order to save lives. Their experiences testify to the indomitable human grit that, when asked, transforms ordinary behavior into extraordinary achievements.
1130407052
The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America's Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh
The inspiring story of the men and women who risked their lives alongside the soldiers fighting some of the most desperate actions in American history
Bataan, Anzio, Bastogne, Chosin, Khe Sanh: names that define the American spirit. They are synonymous with courage, resilience, and determination against great odds. At each of these battles American soldiers and Marines weathered desperation and fear to survive, advance, and triumph. Along with these heroes of the battlefield were no less determined and courageous providers of medical care. From the heat and disease-ridden jungles of Bataan, the precarious beachhead of Anzio, the encircled town of Bastogne, the frozen fields of Chosin, and the forsaken plateau of Khe Sanh, doctors and nurses worked under intense conditions with whatever means at hand, to staunch bleeding, repair damage, and resurrect the dying. In so doing they gave a glimmer of hope for the warriors facing possible death or capitulation. Often completely cut off from vital supplies and modern technology, and under the threat of enemy fire, these medical professionals—men and women—never lost sight of their passionate commitment to the sick and wounded. As noncombatants, this took extraordinary resolve to ignore the mortal threats of explosions and gunfire to focus on the mission of relieving pain, dragging from the brink of death damaged soldiers completely dependent on their resourcefulness. Some of these brave men and women would suffer the same fate as their fighting comrades, cut down by enemy fire in the prime of life, many times in the very task of rendering the bottomless compassion that was their hallmark and sometimes their only tonic. 
In The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America’s Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh, distinguished surgeon Thomas S. Helling relates the inspirational and compelling stories of the doctors, nurses, corpsmen, aides, and others who braved the most frightening conditions in order to save lives. Their experiences testify to the indomitable human grit that, when asked, transforms ordinary behavior into extraordinary achievements.
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The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America's Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh

The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America's Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh

by Thomas S. Helling
The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America's Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh

The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America's Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh

by Thomas S. Helling

Hardcover(1)

$35.00 
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Overview

The inspiring story of the men and women who risked their lives alongside the soldiers fighting some of the most desperate actions in American history
Bataan, Anzio, Bastogne, Chosin, Khe Sanh: names that define the American spirit. They are synonymous with courage, resilience, and determination against great odds. At each of these battles American soldiers and Marines weathered desperation and fear to survive, advance, and triumph. Along with these heroes of the battlefield were no less determined and courageous providers of medical care. From the heat and disease-ridden jungles of Bataan, the precarious beachhead of Anzio, the encircled town of Bastogne, the frozen fields of Chosin, and the forsaken plateau of Khe Sanh, doctors and nurses worked under intense conditions with whatever means at hand, to staunch bleeding, repair damage, and resurrect the dying. In so doing they gave a glimmer of hope for the warriors facing possible death or capitulation. Often completely cut off from vital supplies and modern technology, and under the threat of enemy fire, these medical professionals—men and women—never lost sight of their passionate commitment to the sick and wounded. As noncombatants, this took extraordinary resolve to ignore the mortal threats of explosions and gunfire to focus on the mission of relieving pain, dragging from the brink of death damaged soldiers completely dependent on their resourcefulness. Some of these brave men and women would suffer the same fate as their fighting comrades, cut down by enemy fire in the prime of life, many times in the very task of rendering the bottomless compassion that was their hallmark and sometimes their only tonic. 
In The Agony of Heroes: Medical Care for America’s Besieged Legions from Bataan to Khe Sanh, distinguished surgeon Thomas S. Helling relates the inspirational and compelling stories of the doctors, nurses, corpsmen, aides, and others who braved the most frightening conditions in order to save lives. Their experiences testify to the indomitable human grit that, when asked, transforms ordinary behavior into extraordinary achievements.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781594163203
Publisher: Westholme Publishing
Publication date: 11/15/2019
Edition description: 1
Pages: 400
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

THOMAS S. HELLING, MD, is Professor of Surgery and Head, Division of General Surgery, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Medicine, he served in the Army Medical Corps from 1991 to 2000. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and member of the American Surgical Association. He is author of Desperate Surgery in the Pacific War: Doctors, Damage Control, and America’s Wounded 1941-1945 and author or co-author of over 110 scientific articles.

Table of Contents

List of Maps ix

Preface xi

Part I Bataan

1 America's Colony, Las Islas Felipinas 3

2 A Trembling Leaf 9

3 Invasion 27

4 Into Bataan 43

5 Jungles of Despair 67

6 Flickering Forlorn Hope 81

Part 2 Anzio

7 Fickle Antium 97

8 Codename Shingle 111

9 Hell's Half Acre 131

10 Stalemate 155

11 Breakout 171

Part 3 Bastogne

12 Arduennam silvam 179

13 Blitzkrieg in the Ardennes 189

14 Screaming Eagles 205

15 Airborne Surgeons 234

16 Relief 245

Part 4 Chosin

17 The Hermit Kingdom 261

18 The Ascent 269

19 The Descent 283

20 Massacre to the East 305

Part 5 Khe Sanh

21 Indochine 319

22 Khe Sanh Village 325

23 "Eye" Corps 329

24 Indian Country 342

25 Scotland 357

Aftermath 358

Notes 389

Bibliography 429

Acknowledgments 439

Index 441

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