Читать книгу Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally - Gus Kappler MD - Страница 23

The quality of anesthesia reflected Casey Blitt’s high level of academic and practical expertise. Back “in the world,” he eventually chaired that department at the University of Arizona. In Vietnam, he was a fully trained anesthesiologist and as chief of service supervised Bill and Mike who with just one to two years of medical residency experience were exposed to three months of army anesthesia training and sent to Vietnam. They were the typical OJTs, i.e., on the job trainees, and learned quickly, one had to, and were totally responsible and dependable.

Casey checking the level of spinal anesthesia

“Phu Bai” Fred

“Phu Bai” Fred, then a captain, was an army nurse anesthetist who was an extraordinary professional and kept me out of trouble in and out of the OR. Fred was also at our reunion, having retired as a full-bird colonel.

It may have been a side effect the anesthetic gases they were exposed to, but both Casey and Mike married women who also served during that terrible time at the 85th Evac. Casey married Kathy, who represented the Red Cross for our patients. Mike married Carol, a medical ward nurse. Robin and I just visited with both couples at our recent reunion.

Casey and Kathy in Vietnam

Casey and Kathy are currently organizing our 85th Evacuation Hospital ’70–’71 reunion for 2016 on the West Coast.

Casey, Bill, and Mike are retired from active anesthesia practice. I see them at our reunions.

The expression tempus fugit becomes a reality when we admit serving together in 1970, forty-five years ago.