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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-01757 to 363-01760.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-01757 to 363-01760
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Title
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Col. Gerald A Champlin interview on MACV surgeon's office
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Description
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Original title: "Interview with Col. Gerald A Champlin, Deputy Surgeon." Interview with US Army Deputy Surgeon, Colonel Gerald A Champlin, providing insights into the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) surgeon's office
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AI Usage Disclosure
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Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.
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Transcript
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- Page 1
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1. MAGU
Briefing.
INTERVIEW WITH COL. GERALD A CHAMPLIN, DEPUTY SURGEON: attribution should not be
made to him personally, but can attribute to U. S. medical authorities, U. S.
military sources or to the MACV Surgeon's office.
This is the "big picture briefing," about U. S. troops and their
medical support.
"Most armies in this part of the world are decimated more by disease
than by combat injuries--such diseases as malaria, hepatitis and sleeping
sickness." Malaria ranks no. 7 as a cause for admission to mut military
hospital-but is no. 1 in work-days lost because it takes 30-35 days to recover
from malaria.
The current malaria rate, for Oct. 66, is about 30 per 1000 per year-
this is the medical rate commonly used, which means if 1000 troops were held
in one place for 1 year, 30 would get malaria. The worst period was Nov. 165,
when the rate was 50 per thousand per year. This rate is pretty meaningless
since many of the units outside of the central highlands do not get
however,
malaria.
On the new pill, DDS-"there's a hooker in this-only the units exposed
are on DDS-these units are in the central highlands, which is the bad
malaria place." He said they aren't finding malaria in great quantities there--
but he refused (said he didn't have) the rate of malaria for these specific
units in the highlands, such as First Cav, 25th Div. Brigade etc.
malaria.
He said the refugees from Viet Cong areas are heavily infected with
In Oct. 166, there were 870 malaria cases throughout Vietnam, but this
This is
includes Army, Air Force and Marines-including civilian contractors.
country ide total.
ON DDS, "It is not a cure-all-will reduce malaria by 50 percent of the
indidence. I think our malaria rate is down as much because of command
emphasis as by drugs--the command emphasises things like rolling down shirt
sleeves after dark, spraying with insect repellents etc. They are doing alot
of spraying from the air too. The C-123's can sprayxkx 10,000 acres in an
hour they once sprayed a whole valley twice where Vietnamese training camps
were based and the disease rate went down alot."
Of the 870 malaria cases in Oct. 66, most of them were in the First
Cav, 3 Brig. 25th Div. and the new 4th Infantry Divsio Division-all of which
operate in the Highlands.
In the Southwest Pacific during World War II, the U. S. Marines had
3000 men per 1000 per year who got malaria, he said that is if 1000 men were
put in one place per year, three each would get malaria three times--i.
e.
the malaria incident rate was so high. (RON: I SUGGEST CHECKING THESE FIGURES
IN WASHINGTON; I'VE HEARD A DIFFERENT WORLD WAR II RATE USED AND THIS ONE SEEMS
TOO HIGH).
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2.
MACV has confirmed that three types of malaria exist and possibly a fourth
ORDER OF CAUSES FOR HOSPITALIZATION. From Jan. to Sept. 1966.
1.
2.
Hostile action injuries. rate of 91.8 (rate is per 1000 men per year).
Non-battle injuries. Rate of 74.7
3. fever of unknown origin (some of this might be malaria, but not diagnosed
for sure) 55.8 rate. Also includes dengue fever, colds, influenza.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Demmatologic conditions-all skin conditions, including fungus.
Diarrheal diseases
acute respiratory diseases
Malaria 25.7
neuropsychiatric
eye disoradors
eer diseases.
1 14.5 (much lower than Korea, he said).
Malaria is the leading oause, however, of days lost-excluding a hostile
He wouldn't give the VD ratef
action injuries and non-battle injuries.
amongst the troops; he said it wouldn't be listed as CAUSES FOR HOSPITALIZATION
because persons are rarely hospitalized with VD; it has has a low
days-
lost
rate it only takes one day lost to get to the hospital for penicillin
and
back to their units." "The VD rate isn't bad-it's probably lower than
in
some big population centers. Sygkukan. Syphilis is low; gonorrhea is
di difficult to treat, but it is over-played. VC has been
higher in
other
areas where there are U. S. troops-this speaks well for the
people here.
expect an increase when people are separated from their families and
He said
fungus is
bad in Vietnam,
normal surroundings. But it's not that bad."
which makes domatological conditions no. 4 in the list.
You
On malaria bgain, "We doubt that there's a drug you can take that will keep
you from being overpowered if you get enough man bites from the right
mosquito."
He said the fabulously good medical treatment for CI's-combat and non-combat-
"is not a medical revolution. The reason is because this is a
different
kind of war. It's a statio kind of war--there's not sweeping operations from
As we went up
and
one end of Vietnam to the other (as in the case of Korea).
But, here you can't find an evac
down Korea we took our hospitals with us.
We have
hospital under tents. All field hospitals are permanent places.
air conditioning in the hospitals-so it's a place you can
use
special
anesthesia--in axtar ordinary surgical hospitels with
the dirft you
wouldn't
take the chance."
They also use intravenous fluids and blood in great quantities. They
There's
a Blood Bank at third
are used very soon after the wound is incurred.
field hospital--get 9 or 10,000 units of blood. It's not uncommon to have a
We had this, ge quantity
, available in Korea
and
wia get 50-100 units of blood..
World War II, but we
didn't
have it distributed-
again the relationship
to the hospital being olustered in with the
fighting men.
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3.
And
"A wounded patient is splintered in a hospital receiving blood and intravenous
fluids in a matter of minutes. This keeps them from za
In World War II and Korea, many died from the shook."
He gave me statistics on a "small study":
going into shock.
FRAGMENTS BULLETS
MINES &
GRENADES
BOOBY TRAPS
World War II
61%
18%
3.1
1.6
Korea
50%
27
3.9
8.0
Vietnam
19
35
20.6
15.7
**
In world war II, 61% of wounds were from artillery fragments. The Spanaese
and Germans used alot of artillery. The Viet Cong don't have artillery, but
only morters. But in V, there's only 19% from fragments-almost all mortar
fragments. This points up this is an unconventional war-they used to throw big st
stuff at us--now they sneak around the back and throw little stuff at us.
"
This above table is a three-month sampling of wounds that occured in Vietnam; it
is "an official small survey,"
LO WER
This shows the type of wounds-50% of hostile fire wounds are offer extremity.
We can't find out here how many end up losing their lower extremity--because
they are generally evacuated right out of the country. You might check the
Surgeon-Gen. office, in Washington to get this statistic.
In general, there are fewer amputations than in other wars--proportionall
because first of the anti-biotics and U. S. surgeons do less amputation then
most nationalities they go into breeding the wound, which requires long-term
treatment. "We like to save limbs--we try to rebuilt that log-there's
more emphasis on repairing the wound; our young surgeons are trained to do this.
They do vascular surgery-this a saves alot of limbs. " Vascular surgery is
Also since the
popes repairing the arteries, veins, putting in grafts.
hospitals aren't moving around, they have a better supply of blood, fluids,
equipment such as respirators. They now, more than Korea or World War II,
give specific blood types-a patient with blood A gets that as a transfusions.
In Korea used 0 type blood for almost everyone. Had no frozen blood in
Korea. We aren't using alot of frozen in Vietnam except in Danang and the USS
Reposo only places still have the facility for it-frozen blood is still a
new thing. They can't supply the amounts we need. Frozen blood is easier
to keep for a long period of time-but it's still too new to evaluate if there
are other advantages to it. Frozen blood is "past the experimental stage-but it's
not a tried and proved thing yet."
There are also more portable resouitators than before-to keep the
air supply moving freely-some corpsmen carry it-more than they did
in Korea.
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SIDE
In Korean War, they started using the H-13 ho. putting pods on the said, or
as it spokesman described it, "A medical basiket on the runners like a little
coffin." Sometimes used the light airplane L-5 with room for one or two
litters in it.
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Date
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1966
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Champlin, Gerald A.; United States. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam; United States--Armed Forces--Medical care; War--Medical aspects; Interviews; Military hospitals; War--Relief of sick and wounded
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Location
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South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6297
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Size
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20 x 26 cm
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Container
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B83, F6
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Format
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interviews
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Collector
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections
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Language
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English
