DR. KATHOLI'S NEWLY RELEASED BOOK!
Foreword
After two weeks of orientation and basic training, a 27-year-old physician Dr. Richard Katholi arrives in the early morning hours at his first active-duty assignment for the United States Air Force: 377th USAF Dispensary/Hospital at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. Fifty years later, he describes his experiences during his year (1970-1971) caring for patients in a war zone. He received love and support from his fiancée, family and friends and thought of them when walking back to his hooch at night, reflecting his thoughts to them off the Moon.
The reader gains insight of the day-to-day outpatient care of troops, but also an understanding of the superb overall comprehensive military network of medical care provided with MASH units, subspecialty care and transport back to larger hospitals as needed. Although the narrative describes this general medical officer’s experiences over the year, the book is constructed with many short chapter headings which allows readers of various backgrounds to focus on topics of interest to them. Background of the conflict in Vietnam is outlined but not intended to replace Stanley Karnow’s Vietnam: A History. This physician was stationed on a large, busy, well-protected air base…, if one wishes to experience descriptions of grunts on search and destroy missions with firefights out in the bush, they should read Larry Heinemann’s Close Quarters. Medical students and other healthcare workers will find the real-world experience of dealing with venereal disease, animal bites, malaria and lightning strikes interesting, and it likely would make reading about these problems in medical textbooks more enlightening, hence, case-based learning. The author also describes infectious diseases he treated in Southeast Asia that are not found in the continental United States. Finally, he lists the long-term consequences for Vietnam Veterans of coronary heart disease and cancer due to exposure to the contaminant dioxin present in the herbicide Agent Orange sprayed from planes to defoliate forest canopy.
In a way, the book covers much history over the last 50 years, much like the movie Forrest Gump. The author cites many literature references to amplify his thoughts about a topic. The book also includes local expressions used by the troops and many serendipitous occasions of his crossing paths with people and places.
In summary, Reflections Off a Vietnamese Moon: In Country or Boots on the Ground represents a varied and fascinating collection of memories by a physician who spent a year in Vietnam.
Foreword by Boyd E. Hess 2022 Springfield, IL
