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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-01765 to 363-01769.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-01765 to 363-01769
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Title
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Col. Ray Lambert Miller on US Army hospitals
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Description
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Original title: "US Army Hosptials and H.C. Interview with Col. Ray Lambert Miller", Interview with Col. Ray Lambert Miller on US Army hospitals
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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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3.4.5. Flamy Hospitals
&
H.C.
Interview with Col. Ray Lambert Miller (S. Dinwiddie St., Arlington, Va.).
He is head of the directorate of the medical services for the Army 1st Log.
Command and serves jointly as the commander of the First Log Command's
44th Medical Brigade (under which are all the U. S. Army med evac and field
hospitals. In short this brigade handles all the in-country evacuations
and the distribution of patients within Vietnam.). Miller was assistant
White House physician during the Truman Administration.
During World World II, he was an arrtillery officer in Europe,
participating in Normandy, Ardennes, central Germany, northern France,
Rhineland and Italian campaigns. He holds the French Croix de Guerre with
gold star and U. S. Army Commendation Medal. In 1949, he interned at
Walter Reed Army Hospital.
Under the 44th Medical Brigade are all the hospital medical depots,
laboratory work, helicopters (air ambulance), preventative medicine and
dental-have more than 100 units in the brigade with 7000 peronn personnel
in the Brigade.
If one takes a wounded GI, there are several routes of medical
care for him. 1. He can be evacuated from the forward aid station to the div.
by hoor the ho., if he's serious, can overfly the div. clearing station and
carry him directly to the nearest hospital. 2. Or he may go from the aid
station back to the division clearing station, if he's not too serious.
The most forward hospital is the MA SH, where they stop bleeding so can be
evacuated to the field hospital where he the patient can get definitive care.
Or he can overfly the MASH (surgical hospital) to the evacuation hospital.
During the Tayninh battle, for example, the wounded were picked up and
then sent to Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, Cu Chi, Saigon, Long Binh or Bien Hoa
the flexibility in sending the patients to various hospitals is because of the
air ambulance ho--they can move freely from the battlefield to the
hospital. In most cases,
the patient movement is regulated, generally to
preclude one hospital getting a backlog, for example of four hours, of patients;
if this happens the patients are shifted to another hospital.
In addition,
the hospitals nearest the front are regulated to be sure that the hospital
and the beds are as free as possible, with the patients being moved to the
rear just in the event sathing some big inflow of patients develops.
This is the definition of the various ARMY hospitals. The field hospital
is in the rear--not close to the battlefield-classically it is behind the corps
rear area. Each field hospital is composed of three separate hospital units,
which can be separated and sent forward if necessary as a self-contained unit.
Each hospital unit has 100 beds. The 8th Field hospital in Nha Trang, for example,
th cam into Vietnam w in 1962 and was called a field hospital, but actually
had only one hospital unit of 100 beds; today it is a genuinine field hospital
with three hospital units. The surgical hospital (called MASH) has 60 beds;
it is mobile
it has more surgeons than any other type of medical personnel;
(classically) and is able to follow the troops.
The mission of the MASH is to
get a patient and to prepare him for movement to the rear.
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2.
C
The surgeons do not do detailed surgury-they give blood, patch chest wounds-
then patient is sent to evac hospital, which is much more sophisticated
and can provide definitive care, such as sewing up intestines--more detailed
surgury. The evac hospital has 400 beds.
The field hospital can provide emergency surgery, but in general it is
more medical than surgical-this is the classical distinction. But, these
Blassical distinctions "don't work here," Col. Miller said. because the ho.
can put a patient directly into evac or field hospital from the battlefield,
if the case warrants it.
The above description worked in Korea and World War II; there were
not MASH hospitals in World War II--they first came in Korea, but there weren't
es many MASH hospitals in Korea as in Vietnam. The MASH in Korea was
truly mobile--in Vietnam they aren't. H "Here we are fighting a mobile war
from fixed medical bases--the hospitals aren't tents; the field and evac
hospitals are in quonsets, which are air-conditioned and dust-proof. We
have augmented them with much more sophisticated equipment--which one would
ordinarily have with a US hospital-equipment such as a pace-maker, which
stimulates the heart; or another apparatus which shocks the heart into a
regular beat when it is chaotic, or respirators which breathe for the patient
when he is unconscious. Hence, from this fixed medical base we can do
Stateside medicine." The reason the mobile hospitals can be fixed in
Vietnam is "the country is narrow--this is not a war in depth with a solid
frontline, as in the case of Germany. The air ambulances within 15 to 45
minutes can have the patient in the nearest hospital; we have hospitals in
most places. We can provide the patient with the most sophisticated medical
care ever provided in a theatre of war.
8
There is also a 1000 bed convalescent center in Cam Ranh--but they do
not consider it a hospital; it takes care of malaria where the treatment
is continued.
The malaria patients are put into three categories: Category 1
means confined to bed; Category 2 meaning ambulatory; they get light physical
training and Category 3-"The tiger company," in which they get intensive
physical therapy, swimming; one-mile run and then they are ready for combat
ON THE HELICOPTER-The heart of the medical program is the he.
"This is the agency that gives us flexibility to this or that hospital in a
fixed position. The hc. is the distribution means to shift casualtiesaround.
fast. Through the use of the ho., we can divert casualties from one particular
hospital to another. In world war II, we had only ground ambulances."
It important to remember that
C-fi
III
the UH-1 was developed first at the request of the barget off Korea--and then
to fulfill medical requirements--then later the ho. was used as a tactical weapon
by the commanders of fighting units. But, the medical branch first envisioned
This Was
the ho. for medical casualties.
The
H-13
Koren; the 124 Hueys
were made. He
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3.
In 44th Medical Brigade, there are two air ambulance companies plus
another air ambulance company that is organic to the 1st Air Cav Division,
is attacked to the medical battalion.
that
In the 44th Medical Brigade, all the crew, pilots and co-pilots are
supposed to be medical aid men-i. e. they have advanced first aid; the
officers have a medical service corps background. The he. crews can and do
give in-flight care to the patients enroute to the hospitals; the hc. carry
blood. The medical aid men can to simple things like applying bandages,
spl
plints he advises the hc. pilot in-flight about the seriousness of the
patients then the pilot might divert the pia aircraft to a closer hospital
etc.
some
The chief of a hospital or a hospital division are regular army officers;
but the non-chiefs can be two-year doctors in various stages of training;
of these have finished all their medical training and intership on the civilian
side; some are specialists and these doctors are given more responsibility.
Some of the nurses are army careerists; others came over under two-year program,
in which the nurse specifically volunteers for Vietnam for one year. One
nurse volunteered for Vietnam to be with her husband, for example, but by
the time she got here, her husband had gone home.
In another case,
two male majors, in thirties and forties, who had
finished their medical school and had civilian practices, volunteered for active
duty, specifically requesting Vietnam. One decided to remain on active duty
and continue as an army officer. And doctor.
20 per cent aréregular
Of the nurse, 60%
Of the doctors in the 44th Medical Brigade,
army and 80 per cent are two-year direct commissions.
are regular army; 40 per cent are two-year direct commissions. Many of the
young doctors coming to Vietnam on direct commission don't know much about army
life-don(t know how to wear their uniforms etc, according to miller, "but
the see a chance to serve and they really measure up. It's terrific what they
do within the hospitals and with the civic action programs."
On the nurses--"These girls want to get forward-like at the 18th MASH
in Pleiku 5 of the nurses extended because they can see what they are
accomplishing."
One doctor at the new 45th MUST hospital was killed in a mortar attack
before the hospital was even officially opened for use. This was in the Taminh
battle. Some of the nurses were wounded in VC sabotage of billets (like
during the Brink one), but none have been wounded in their hospitals yet.
Of the air ambulance crewst to
Six medical aircraft have been
Of the air ambulance amwwxxm/min.xnxhememizhkihom aviators, six have
been killed since 1962; 12 others wounded.
5 have
been killed and 15 wounded since 162.
hostile fire actions. (all wounded are those which required hospitalization-not
just scratches).
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4.
One man in the 18th air medical unit get DFC in Tayninh battle;
also Deputy, commander of 1st Infantry Division, gave a silver star to one pilot
for capabilit capabilities and willingness to answer any mission day or nite
even when nother nothing else was flying. Other choppers will use the hoist,
heh hovering 300 feet above the trees.
Miller said, "We abide strictly by everything of the Geneva Convention--we
haul only for medical missions--we won't carry combat troops or ammo or resupply
at all." Some of the medical ho, wait on the ground during an operation
in case their are casualties-then within 5 minutes they are on the frontline
to pick them up. Other choppers wait on call at the Saigon airport. "We can
tailor all our medical resources to fight fit the situation. We can augment
a hospital-we can concentrate our specialists, such as orthopedic surgeons,
neurosurgical teams, in one hospital, or we can move them between hospitals."
He said there were no shortages of any essential specialists; the
physical therapists are not necessary because if a man needs it, he is generally
already evacuated out of the country with a serious wound. One medical major
wants a physical therapist in an each hospital, but Miller said these
specialists were in the "nice to have category." Some physical thay therapy
is give by surgeons and orthopeidic specialists; they are currently studying
to see if more physical therapists are needed.
Lo
A
Outside the medical brigade, there e division clearing company with
each division--the medical bata battalion is also part of each division to give
direct support to that division-the most sophisticated medicine within each
division is the division clearing company.
In addition to the medical major killed at the 45th MUST hospital
in Tanyninh, the 7th Surgical hospital at Cu Chi was mortared, 2nd at N An Khe
was also mortared several times.
Six U. S. medical amh air ambulances at Soc Trang serve the Mekong Delta,
for us. casualties as well as those Vietnamese government casualtiest that the
VNAF can not handle.
About the new MD MUST hopli hospital concept, just set up in Tay Ninh,
Miller was very happy about it-they have inflatable shelters, surgical rooms;
the rooms are not only inflatable, but also expandable--by adding more steel
There is one
braces. The shelters can be unfolded; equipment re-arranged.
gadget that pumps water-either hot or cold water--and a jet engine that can
make the air hot or cold--depending whether iixis the hospital is set up in the
tropics or the arctic. (11 of the new hospital equipment is light; airmattresses
are inflatable, have folding cots etc. (see brochure on MUST hospitals).
The First Air Cav Div. also has the flying pod which is used under the
flying crane ho.
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5.
The Army hospitals under 44th Medical Brigade, serving all Army
units are:
18th MASH
2nd MASH
67th Evac
85th Evac
8th Field Hospital
36th Evac
Pleiku
An Khe
Qui Nhon
Qui Nhon
Nha Trang
Vung Tau
Long Binh (outside of Saigon near FF II HQ).
Cu Chi
93rd Evac
7th SX MASH
45th
MUST
Tay Ninh
3rd
MASH
Bien Hoa
3rd Field
17th Field
Saigon
Saigon
Two other evac hospitals--the 24th Evac at Long Binh and the 2 12th Evac at
Cu Chi-will be completed in December.
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Date
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1966
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975; United States. Army; United States--Armed Forces--Medical care; War--Medical aspects; Interviews; Miller, Ray Lambert; 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
