Introduction
In this paper we will discuss the first documented use of helicopters for the primary purpose of Air Ambulances in World War II. During 1943, the United States, British Commonwealth and the Chinese faced the armies of Japan, Thailand and Indian National Army. The Burmese Independent Army started off on the Japanese side, but later switched sides fighting with the allied forces. Under the control of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States made a decision to support the Chinese during the war with aircraft.1 With Japan controlling much of the Chinese territory, the main supply route for the Chinese was thru the Burma Road. This supply route was essential to operations in the area shaped a restructure for the way supplies would be delivered to soldiers fighting and patients being able to get the urgent care they extremely needed. The only logical and expeditious way to do all of this would be through the use of aircraft flying a supply route known as “the Hump.”2
History
Commanders from all units across the world have thought about how to take care of their troops in times of war. Maybe one of the most heavily weighed thoughts is how much risk I am willing to take if I can’t provide my men immediate medical care at the time when they most need it.
Dated back as far as 1866, the idea of an “Air Ambulance” has been on the minds of certain individuals across the world. Paris, France first used the hot air balloons in order to evacuate more than 160 soldiers from the besieged city to medical care facilities.3 In the beginning, using a hot air balloon to rescue shipwrecked sailors seemed logical since the balloons where already delivering mail and supplies across the area of operations. This action dire...
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...pter Evacuation, http://olive-drab.com/od_medical_evac_helio_ww2.php
Ed Holmes, MEDEVAC Flight in WWII, http://www.helis.com/stories/burma45.php
History of Air Ambulance and MEDEVAC, Mercy Flight, http://www.mercyflight.org/content/pages/medevac
Map Of Burma, BBC, Animated Map: The Burma Campaign, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/wwtwo_map_burma/index_embed.shtml
Mark W. Bielauskas, Imphal, The Hump and Beyond, http://www.comcar.org/Air%20Commando%20Group/1st_air_commando_group_beginings.htm
Peter Dorland and James Nanney, DUST OFF: Army Aeromedical Evacuation in Vietnam, CMH Publisher, 90-28-1, page 9
U.S. Army Medical Department, Call Sign – DUSTOFF “Chapter 1” http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/other_pub/dustoff/Dustoffch1.pdf
World War 2 Burma, History Channel, http://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/ww2/burma.html
... of South Vietnam that resulted in the fall of Saigon on 30 April. In the previous month a RAAF detachment of 8 Hercules transports flew humanitarian missions to aid civilian refugees displaced by the fighting, and carried out the evacuation of Vietnamese orphans before finally taking out embassy staff on 25 April (Dudley 179).
In today’s world, the use of airplanes in wars or in everyday life has become a part of how we live as human beings. Removing the air forces of the world is like taking a step back in time when wars were only fought on land or sea. WWI began only eleven short years after the Wright brothers achieved powered flight in 19031 and yet aircrafts were being used for surveillance and eventually combat purposes. It is understood that these aircrafts were primitive, but they laid down the foundation for what we know today as fighter jets. The Fokker Eindecker “revolutionized air combat by successfully employing a synchronized forward -firing machine gun mounted on the engine cowling”2. Because this airplane became the first to successfully use a synchronized machine gun, it allowed its pilots to become the first aerial combat tactitions3.
Thesis. Air War College, 1987. http://www.airwar.edu//a>. Maxwell, Alabama: United States Air Force, 1987. DTIC Online -.
Medicine has developed so dramatically over the last century that it is difficult to imagine a world in which its many benefits did not exist. Even as humans manage to eradicate some diseases, a look at history reminds us that there was a time when these and other diseases were rampant, and good health was the exception rather than the norm. There are many comparable time periods that medicine was needed and was used. With each, there were drastic changes to medical procedures and medical rules. Of the many different time periods that medicine was used; the comparison of medical care during the American Civil War and medical care during World War I is the most interesting. How did Civil War battlefield medicine compare with World War I battlefield medicine? That's a question that cannot be simply answered, but can be broken down into the overall sanitation of individuals, medical techniques, and overall medical staff for armies.
In 1957, the army began developing a new fighting force based on the helicopter. ...
Johnson, it was time to change the way we were distributing our forces to help aid the Southern Vietnamese military forces (History.com, 2010). The use of aircrafts first started out to transport wounded off the battlefield, but quickly turned into the use of different chemicals such as agent orange, to destroy brush for troops to travel through easier. Operation Rolling Thunder started out as just a discussion among those of higher ranking command, but on March 1965 the talk became action (Pike, 2016).
Canadian military soldiers have been fighting for the country’s freedom and justice for many years. Soldiers have been dedicating their lives to protect the citizens of Canada by facing horrible circumstances such as killing, injuries, and new environments, which leave the soldiers’ well-being in a devastating condition. In recent years, the issue of soldiers’ health has become more apparent. Soldiers are coming back from deployment with poorer health statuses then pervious years and not getting the services they need, affecting the various strategies health care providers particularly nurses use. The government or military has not done enough to provide soldiers with adequate resources after deployment, mainly focusing on providing them with
Here at the Chelsea Naval Hospital, the influx of patients arriving home from the war inflicted with "battle wounds and mustard gas burns," has created a shortage of physicians and it is becoming increasingly difficult to fight this influenza. Even our own physicians are falling ill from the disease and dying within hours of its onset. Today I received a letter from Dr. Roy, a friend and fellow physician at Camp Devens, who describes a similar situation:
Anderson, D. (2002). The Columbia guide to the Vietnam War. New York: Columbia University Press.
i. Difficulties faced by soldiers due to the nature of fighting in the Vietnam War - Personnel had difficulties with transportation supplied with adapted vehicles back seat faced rear to provide additional fire power (Source A) – It appears as if the government didn't worry enough to supply men with safe and capable equipment - Threat of traps led to fear as vehicles had to be parked on street at night (Source A) o Check for traps each morning became a daily ritual particularly in fuel tanks (Source A) o A request for a locking fuel cap was denied because weren’t entitled to one” (Source A) • What circumstances would have needed to arise for them to be entitled to one? The Offensive full guard was set up (24hrs a day), personnel got no sleep and were constantly on alert (Source A) – How significant would this have been in the personnel’s mental frame of mind?
It was during this time that doctors and nurses, through experience also demonstrated that blood could be stored and then safely transferred from patient to patient saving countless soldiers’ lives.
Timeliness in medical care can be of the utmost importance. Letting things progress can result in a slippery circle, where a minor infection, untreated end up being life threatening. With increased damage caused by neglecting health care, or waiting on a health care provider, the physical damage, and costs associated increase, often exponentially.
Costello, Mary. "Vietnam Aftermath." Editional Research Reports 1974 1 (1974): 1. CQ Researcher Online. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
The EMS system goes back to the Crusades in the 11th century. The Knights of St. John were instructed by Arab and Greek doctors for first-aid treatment. The Knights were the first medical responders of that time, treating both sides of the war. The injured were taken to tents to be treated further. In 1792, the chief physician in Napoleons Army, Baron Dominique-Jean Larrey, designed and created the “flying ambulance”, which was a special type of carriage staffed with a group of medical personnel made to access every part of the battlefield. Then, in 1797, he also instituted the first pre-hospital system designed to triage and transport the wounded in the field to proper aid stations. Larrey’s actions and groundbreaking ideas helped increase the chances for survival among wounded soldiers and ultimately benefitted Napoleon’s conquest efforts.
The current active duty healthcare has dramatically different than it was in 2002. It is more involved with the service members and no one longer goes without medical treatments. All medical complaints must be addressed or the service member’s supervisor may receive a reprimand in their service record, which could their promotion standing.