Page 13 - Delaware Medical Journal - November/December 2018
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CONTEMPORARY VETERANS PROJECT
For young physicians arriving in Delaware in the late 1940s, it became immediately evident that many of their preceptors, mentors and teachers were experienced in many new techniques, diagnostic skills and teaching from their experiences in “the war.”
This was particularly evident in Wilmington in that all four hospitals
had some form of teaching program. Programs varied from formal,
approved internships and residences, preceptorships, and medical school to other hospitals’ programs rotating their trainees through Wilmington hospitals. Those physicians who had maintained the health and welfare at home had learned many new diagnostic and therapeutic skills and techniques. However, there was a need to acquire, maintain, and
upgrade the diagnostic support “hardware” of medicine, and a need to modernize the hospitals.
It is safe to say that the scourge of disease at that time was infantile paralysis, most notably in children, but also in adults. The
for both immediate and long-term care. The hospital had a ward of patients in iron lungs. Salk and Sabin vaccines were on their way.
Similar circumstances prevailed for those young physicians arriving in the 1950s. However, there was one major difference.
active duty for the “Korean Police Action” by virtue of service obligations from scholarships, the draft, remaining WW II service obligations and a myriad of other reasons that had also created
a service obligation. This group improved their skills while
on active duty. The scourge beginning in this period was the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant organisms, rheumatic fever, and limited ability to treat hypertension, heart disease, and strokes. carcinogenic effect of cigarettes was beginning to be recognized.
I believe, though infantry at the time, that I may be the “last one standing” of the Delaware physician veterans of the Korean War. The legacy of Delaware physicians serving in the military has been noted even before the Revolution and has continued to date, for 242 years.
This paper is an effort to document this continuous legacy and to highlight it by two distinct periods, the Vietnam Era and the
and after the Vietnam War, such as Grenada and Panama. As
Vietnam Era and 44 for Southwest Asia, a number that will undoubtedly increase.
Today the situation is somewhat different. The military medical services continue with their extensive research and development. But now much development of diagnostic tools and procedural techniques has been in the civilian community and subsequently adopted for military use. This does not preclude learning through wartime experiences, and best-practice advances are adopted. Physicians called to active duty today are usually well versed in techniques and diagnostic skills they have learned during their civilian medical training and experiences. HIV now is a treatable condition. The current scourge (is it a disease or public health problem?) is opioid addiction and deaths attributed to it, as the headlines report.
As to the military services themselves, that has changed dramatically. There is no longer a doctors’ draft. It was abolished in 1973. The military services have their own medical school as well as continuing to provide more scholarships and seeking voluntary enlistments. The services have contractual relationships with medical schools and hospitals to expand internships, residences, and fellowship opportunities for the active-duty service member. Some of these incentives are abated by the current tempo of multiple overseas deployments. Many physicians continue to acquire military obligations similar to those outlined above.
Physicians on active duty may be subject to immediate deployment for combat service or to assist worldwide in natural disasters, but also for epidemics or other disease prevention or care. The Ebola epidemic in Africa is the most recent visible activity of this kind. These physicians may be given 72 hours to pack and deploy. At the same time, a National Guard physician, Army or Air, or a Reservist or other obligee is also called to active duty, but usually given 30 days to report to replace the
There will be no footnotes or references in this paper. All military physicians noted are eligible for the National Defense Service Medal. No badges will be included in the text except for those awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the Combat Medical Badge or the Combat Action Badge. All text and photographs are personal or with occasional use from public domain material, as well as personal interviews. They represent the personal experiences of physicians presenting their views and commentary, their thoughts and feelings for a Their Own Words.”
Bill Duncan 030618
Del Med J | November/December 2018 | Vol. 90 | No. 8
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