Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally

Biographies & Memoirs

synopsis

Synopsis

I served as an Army trauma surgeon at the 85th Evacuation Hospital, Phu Bai, Vietnam, '70-'71. Into our emergency room were intermittently deposited the wounded, some grievous others not, by the daredevil Dust Off medieval pilots who risked imminent death with each mission. We routinely witnessed the devastation of war on the body, mind, and soul. The corpsmen, technicians, nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgeons explored every known and out-of-the-box technique to salvage life and limb. If the wounded arrived alive at the 85th, he had a 95% chance of survival. It was and still is that 5% whose injuries were so severe or whose blood loss could not be stemmed that haunt us today. That's PTS. By storytelling for fifty years since returning to the US in late August 1971, I have avoided the (D) and mollified my demons. The intense emotions during my traumatic experience have softened greatly but, I am back in Vietnam on a daily basis. In 2015 I compiled my stories into Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally, A Vietnam Trauma Surgeon's Memoir. It is gripping, honest, real-life, and disturbing. Then we realize that the 58,000+ lives lost did not change a thing. No dominos fell and Vietnam is now our close trading partner. They have been gracious victors.

bio

Author Biography

Dr. Gus Kappler served as a trauma surgeon during the Vietnam War at the 85th Evacuation Hospital ’70-‘71. His well-received 2015 memoir, Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally, describes his surgical experiences and personal transformation. After his military service, Gus enjoyed a successful solo surgical practice in the small city of Amsterdam located in the majestic Mohawk River Valley in upstate New York. He and his family enjoyed hiking, camping, snowshoeing, hunting, kayaking, and photographing in the valley and the nearby Adirondack Mountains. Gus’s current historical medical mystery, One Degree, reflects his real-life knowledge gained in Vietnam, during solo surgical practice, living and recreating in the Mohawk Valley, teaching at Weill Cornell Medicine, and in understanding global politics. Through reading One Degree, he wishes to remind us of how morality, personal goals, and life choices may be complicated by the unique influences introduced by an unfamiliar environment. The reader is introduced to the development of PTSD, the condoning of corrupt practices, and the virulent pursuit of wealth and power.

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Author Insight

#1) Leaving On a Jet Plane

It was September 1970. High school dating in 1957, Theta Xi fraternity parties at Cornell, our June 1963 wedding, receiving my MD degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1965, the birth of two children, and in 1970 completing an arduous five-year surgical residency at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond were history. I was drafted as an intern in 1965 and received a deferment to complete my surgical training. We were sure by 1970; the Vietnam War would also be history. No way! So in July 1970, Robin and I went back to Wading River, Long Island, NY, to prepare for a drive across the country to San Antonio, Texas, to complete basic training at Fort Sam Houston. The clock was ticking. Two weeks ahead of me at Fort Sam, Ed Kayser, my first roommate in medical school, who had trained as an orthopedic surgeon, said good to his family and left for Vietnam. Robin and I did our best to make the most of our remaining time as a family. My orders eventually arrived. I was to board my plane in Dallas, Texas, in early September 1970. The count down to separation was getting closer. We drove to Dallas and stayed with friends. Ben took me to the airport. Helen consoled Robin. My most devastating day! Ever!

Book Excerpt

Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally

Robin’s eyes were injected red and full of tears. Her pitiful expression on that sweltering Dallas morning at Ben and Helen’s in early September 1970 is forever burned into my memory. It conveyed panic, my desertion, loss, fear, and disbelief. Her eyes asked, “How could you do this to me?”

I had no choice. The US Army was sending me to Vietnam as a trauma surgeon for a year. The good-bye was as sad as attending the wake of a loved one.

Not to say we did not know this day would eventually challenge us. We had prepared, but there is nothing as devastating as having to experience that onset of separation.

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Gus Kappler MD FACS

Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

#1) Leaving On a Jet Plane

Book Excerpt

Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally

Comment on this Bubble