Evacuation to 93rd Surgical Hospital – Long Bien
Last post had me wounded, got over to Tay Ninh Hospital, triaged, and ready to be evacuated to 93d Surg in Long Bien.
They carried me out to the medevac on a stretcher, then discovered all the medevac stretcher hangers were full, so told me I had to wait until next chopper. I saw the jump seat open and got off the stretcher and mounted the jump seat. Leaned forward and told the pilot “Don’t screw up or I’ll have to climb up there and take over”, I was just a little high on pain killers.
Years later while an instructor at the WO Career Course, heard a pilot in the hall talking about evacing a crazy patient from Tay Ninh who thought he was going to fly the chopper. I went up and introduced myself as that crazy patient. Sometimes its a small world.
I must add at this time, I was “happy” to be wounded and evaced. I had come to the conclusion that I might not live through my tour. By this time we had lost 19-20 crewmembers KIA and more than that WIA and evaced to the states. I knew that at a minimum I would get the schrapnel removed and get a week to 10 days recovery with clean sheets and flush toilets prior to being sent back to the unit.
Got to 93d Surg and at triage they told me I would get into surgery when practical, I was not a high priority patient. Moved me off to the side to await my turn, which would come hours later.
Needless to say medevac after medevac continued to land and off load wounded. The work was intensive and continuous. The sights, sounds and smells of the time spent in triage remain with me always. I don’t dwell on them, by this time (10 month in country) I had seen my share of damaged people and enough blood to last me a long time. But this was a constant flow of severally wounded. US, ARVN, and NVA were all being treated by the staff. What amazed me is that this went on for hours, just watching made me tried, and the intensity was insane. How they decompressed from this I’ll never know, but they certainly earned my respect.
It also made me feel very fortunate. There I was wounded… but not life threatening, due to good drugs not too much pain, I would be “fixed” and eventually back to “normal”. I considered myself very lucky at this point.
Got into surgery, Doc told me they would remove as much schrapnel as possible and then see what needed to be done. Which I assume they did since I went to sleep and woke up in the recovery room. Doc visited me late afternoon, said they got out some and have to leave some in that was lodged in the bone. Needed to recover and then see if additional surgery was necessary.
The patient in the bed next to me was NVA, they had him handcuffed to the bed, not that it mattered he was definitely out of it anyway.
Got moved out to the ward and was visited by a very nice and lovely nurse. She informed me she was dating a officer on our battalion stff and through him, my unit had asked her to make sure I had everything I needed. She continued to come by 2-3 times a day to check on me. I felt special. Wish I coul remember her name, but at this point in my life I am lucky to remember my own name.
Next episode, discovering my wound was a little more serious than I thought and the beginning of an evacuation odyessy.