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Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally: A Vietnam Trauma Surgeon's Memoir Paperback – February 28, 2019
Is the Hippocratic Oath rewritten in a combat zone when abiding by the moral code of war, not peace? The fact is warriors, corpsmen, nurses, and physicians usually existed and functioned within a moral limbo, vacillating between both the moral codes of peace and war. In Vietnam, when I triaged a mass causality in the ED, I condemned the very most seriously wounded, who may have been salvageable, to death in order to treat others with a better prognosis.
Is it intellectually honest for the public to apply and therefore judge a warrior’s actions by the moral code of peace, while safe at home, as the warrior is fighting to stay alive and being guided by the moral code of war: the concept of justified killing versus murder?
For years I attempted to rationalize my actions in Vietnam, some of which were immoral by the stateside moral code of peace, and to modify my complete disdain for the Vietnamese. Time did soften my war-zone feelings. A chance meeting with a brilliant Vietnamese medical student completed my exoneration.
Today, I’m finally home. Not welcomed by our ungrateful citizens but by the steadfastness of my wife’s support and my self-generated efforts to become resurrected from my mental morass.
My wish is to relate a truthful accounting of war and equip the reader in their better understanding of its aftermath and how easily we in recent years have ignored these historical lessons.
- Print length214 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTablo Pty Ltd
- Publication dateFebruary 28, 2019
- Dimensions6 x 0.49 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101925880672
- ISBN-13978-1925880670
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Welcome Home is a riveting and biting memoir by one of the corps of unsung heroes of the unpopular Vietnam War: the medical professionals who struggled to save the lives of America's gravely wounded young soldiers. Dr. Kappler's gripping account of the daily life or death challenges facing Army medical teams working in remote and difficult conditions makes for compelling reading. His commentary about the inadequacies of PTSD treatment are still very timely now that America is involved in even more conflicts around the globe."- CAPTAIN CHARLES CONNOR, USN (RET)"Excerpt From: Gus Kappler, MD. "Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally." Apple Books.
"One of the best books I have read about Viet Nam. I was a Navy combat Corpsman (8404) with the 1st Marine Division in VN. I am a 2-time Purple Heart recipient. I got to see both sides of the story as a first responder and as a patient. The parallels between Dr.Kappler's experience and that of mine and other Army medics and Navy Corpsmen are similar but different in the stages at which we became involved with patients. My job was to keep them alive long enough to evac them to Dr.'s like Gus so he could get them stabilized and on to more definitive care."- DAVE DEVRIES - USMC CORPSMAN (HM2) '65 - '72 Excerpt From: Gus Kappler, MD. "Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally." Apple Books.
From the Author
About the Author
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite (5 Stars)
"...explores strong medical themes...dealing with an epidemic, political intrigue, and human greed." "... narrative is psychologically strong... characters... genuinely vulnerable... easy to connect to." "... prose is crispy, littered with terrific descriptions."
"... fast-paced and engaging... story filled with action... to entertain fans of the genre."
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite (5 Stars)
Product details
- Publisher : Tablo Pty Ltd; Second edition (February 28, 2019)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 214 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1925880672
- ISBN-13 : 978-1925880670
- Item Weight : 11.2 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.49 x 9 inches
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
ONE DEGREE, an historical real-life medical mystery suspense thriller.
“… complex and highly enjoyable medical thriller…” “… engrossing and fascinating medical mystery work… plenty of thrills and spills as the pages continue to turn.” “…a realistic mystery…” “… highly recommend One Degree to fans of medical mystery thrillers.”
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite (5 Stars)
“… a lot to enjoy in this novel…” “… pulled in by the vividness with which the author captures the plight of veterans…” “The writing is highly descriptive and the plot strong. It is fast-paced and it features characters that I cared about.” “… a psychological thriller…
strong plot points and characters that win the sympathy of readers.”
Reviewed By Gobi Jane for Readers’ Favorite (5 Stars)
Gus Kappler, MD was born in 1940, grew up in Lake Ronkonkoma, LI, NY, and attended Port Jefferson High School. He earned his BA in Chemistry from Cornell University in 1961 and his MD from Cornell University Medical College in 1965. Gus completed his surgical training at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond in July 1970. Having been drafted as an intern, that September he left his wife, Robin, and two children to serve as an Army trauma surgeon at the 85th Evacuation Hospital, Phu Bai, Vietnam. He retired in 2000, following his surgical career in Amsterdam, NY, about 30 miles west of Albany in the beautiful Mohawk River Valley. As a Lecturer in Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, Gus taught first-year medical students for fifteen years and was awarded two Excellence in Teaching Awards. He is an expert in military PTSD, substance abuse, and suicide and has lectured extensively on that subject. Gus has been a veteran advocate for almost fifty years and is sickened by the rising incidence of active duty and veteran suicides. He was honored to be the keynote speaker at the Navy's first 21st Century Battlefield Medical Care Symposium in February 2018 in Quantico, Virginia.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book well-written and easy to read. They find it enlightening and eye-opening, providing an insight into the life of a soldier on the front lines. The narrative style is described as first-hand and gut-wrenching, offering a different perspective on the American war.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book easy to read and well-written. They appreciate the honest approach and concise writing style.
"One of the best books I have read about Viet Nam. I was a Navy combat Corpsman (8404) with the 1st Marine Division in VN...." Read more
"Excellent book...." Read more
"...had no idea about what all I learned about his tour of duty .. it’s a must read!" Read more
"A concise and gut wrenching account of the life of a surgeon on the front lines during the Vietnam War...." Read more
Customers find the book enlightening and well-written. They appreciate its first-hand account of a soldier's life in Vietnam. The book is described as an important addition to books explaining the tragedy.
"...The author interestingly explores such subjects as anesthesia, battlefield weapons, ballistics and their relevance to the Vietnam War operating..." Read more
"This is a first hand account of a physician and his experiences, life and death, in Vietnam...." Read more
"...to face war time trauma on a daily basis like Gus has, this book was a real eye opener. His harrowing stories are both touching and disturbing...." Read more
"Extraordinary first-hand account; A unique contribution to our History in Vietnam; His book is a close as..." Read more
Customers find the narrative style gripping and insightful. They appreciate the first-hand account by a skilled surgeon on the front lines. The book provides a different perspective on the American war, covering topics like anesthesia, battlefield weapons, and ballistics.
"Welcome Home From Vietnam Finally by Gus Kappler is a first-hand narrative by a skilled surgeon of his service with the 85th Evacuation Hospital..." Read more
"...His harrowing stories are both touching and disturbing. War changes the lives of its participants forever...." Read more
"A concise and gut wrenching account of the life of a surgeon on the front lines during the Vietnam War...." Read more
"Excellent book with a different perspective on the American war. Very good read. I highly recommend this book." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2016Welcome Home From Vietnam Finally by Gus Kappler is a first-hand narrative by a skilled surgeon of his service with the 85th Evacuation Hospital during the Vietnam War. The book is a quick read, 167 pages in total.
The author received his medical degree from Cornell Medical College, and he then completed a rigorous surgical residency at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He was drafted into the army and served in Vietnam in 1970-1971. Following his Vietnam service, Dr. Kappler had a successful surgical career. Now retired from medical practice, he teaches at Weill Cornell Medical College.
This book educates. We learn of Vietnam's demographics, its climate and social dynamics during the war. The author interestingly explores such subjects as anesthesia, battlefield weapons, ballistics and their relevance to the Vietnam War operating room.
Kappler paints a varied picture of the South Vietnamese: from the many who were displaced by their government from rural villages to urban areas, to some corrupt government and ARVN (South Vietnamese army) leaders. Kappler describes that when the U.S. Army turned the author's former hospital over to the South Vietnamese, ARVN officers demanded it be renovated before the transfer, knowing they would personally profit from the additional expenditures. He tells of the covert Vietcong agent who worked in the author's hospital as translator till he was found out and quickly dealt with. He also tells of the 10 year old boy who attempted to gun down an American soldier, not because of any allegiance to the Vietcong or the North Vietnamese, but to steal the soldier's camera.
This book can be appreciated on multiple levels. Those interested in the healing arts will be interested to learn of Dr. Kappler's skillful surgical techniques in treating horrifically wounded soldiers. Many will be interested to learn of the friction which developed upon superimposing a large U.S. military organization upon an essentially rural society. All will likely find interesting Dr. Kappler's experiences in Vietnam and their impact on him, his family and colleagues. Warning: This book includes graphic photos which help drive home Dr. Kappler's narrative. It is not for the squeamish.
Dr. Kappler voices disdain for political leaders who recklessly placed American soldiers in harm's way in Vietnam. Make no mistake: the author's first allegiance was to the bleeding American soldiers who were wheeled on gurneys into his operating room.
In its stark and candid portrayal, this book is reminiscent of another first-hand chronicle: Eugene Sledge's "With The Old Breed". Just as Sledge vividly described his marine combat experience in the Pacific during WWII, Kappler gives us a stark portrayal of what it was like to serve as a Vietnam War surgeon. This is an important addition to books which explain and inform us of the tragedy which was the Vietnam War.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2016One of the best books I have read about Viet Nam. I was a Navy combat Corpsman (8404) with the 1st Marine Division in VN. I am a 2 time Purple Heart recipient. I got to see both sides of the story as a first responder and as a patient. The parallels between Dr. Kappler's experience and that of mine and other Army medics and Navy Corpsman are similar but different in the stages at which we became involved with patients. My job was to keep them alive long enough to evac them to Dr.'s like Gus so he could get them stabilized and on to more definitive care. In the field we made the same difficult decisions involved with triage and hoped that we made the right one. More often than not under very trying circumstances. I was an OR technician when I was stationed in the states and worked with many surgeons who had worked the trauma OR's in Naval hospitals in VN and they were some of the best. This is a real in your face account of what went on in the Hospitals throughout VN during the war. Well written and hard to put down. I am honored to know Gus. We shoot clay targets together as well as sharing this common experience in our lives. I would recommend that anyone who served in VN and especially those that didn't read this book. This is a perspective that is not the norm in books written about the VN war. Well Done Dr. Kappler!! Welcome home!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2016A collection of memories of, during and his life after Vietnam. Could relate since I spent 23 months in Vietnam.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2019This is a first hand account of a physician and his experiences, life and death, in Vietnam. It is important to learn as much as possible about what happened in Vietnam, from and about those who served, and also the decisions politicians made which contributed to the turmoil, chaos and ultimately, death! The author served his country, with honor and dignity, returned home and moved forward with his life, but never forgetting those who paid the ultimate price.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2018Excellent book. For those of us who have never been to war, let alone having to face war time trauma on a daily basis like Gus has, this book was a real eye opener. His harrowing stories are both touching and disturbing. War changes the lives of its participants forever. Gus shows us that it possible to survive and ultimate thrive if soldiers get the help they need.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2020This was a book I picked up snd couldn’t put down... I admit I know the author.. but had no idea about what all I learned about his tour of duty .. it’s a must read!
- Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2020Extraordinary first-hand account; A unique contribution to our History in Vietnam; His book is a close as
one can sit next to those who served and yet retained a larger perspective.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2021Since I was stationed for a view months in the same hospital as the author, I must say that the viewpoints of enlisted men was starkly different than those of the surgeons. The author never did mention by name any of the black corpsmen who worked at the 85th Evac. Hospital. He certainly did not mention Al Akins, a black corpsman, who was under house arrest for voicing his anti-war sentiments to Col. Sugiyama. This same 'camp commandant' was very much against drug treatment for affected soldiers. There was a distinct 'race undertone' to the entire compound. Black soldiers stuck together, as did white soldiers. If a 'black brother' interacted with whites, he was looked down on as a "Tom." Granted the surgeons mentioned in the book - did their best to save lives. The soldier who lost both lower limbs to a booby trap and who received over 100 units of blood - was known as "Smitty." Furthermore, I crossmatched all of that blood as a lab technician. I did not relish having to pull "KP duty" or having to set the tables in the Officers' Mess or being yelled at for not setting the silverware properly! Yes....the book was written by an officer, whose viewpoint on the hospital doings and the war were drastically different from those of a 'lowly' enlisted man.