THE FOLLOWING report deals with experiences in the early management of battle casualties at the Second Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the Republic of South Vietnam during the period from Oct 1, 1966 to July 31, 1967. During this time 1,011 casualties were treated as a result of hostile action against American, South Vietnamese and South Korean forces.
Experience gained during World War II and the Korean Conflict has added immeasurably to our knowledge of the care of acute battle casulaties.1 We owe much in our approach to the management of such injuries to our predecessors. It is hoped that a review of recent experiences in the Republic of Vietnam will further enhance the basic understanding of war wounds, the treatment of which is so often vastly different from wounds encountered in civilian practice.
Battle Casualties
During the latter stages of the Korean Conflict, helicopter evacuation of patients directly