Journal Of a Front-Line Surgeon

I was fortunate to meet one of the real heroes of the war, a Surgeon with the National Guard, who spent months saving the lives of countless soldiers, who in his words were still smouldering when they reached him.
At this stage I am unable to show any pictures of Dr. G, but he has given me permission to share an excerpt from his journal as a front line surgeon, and also as a survivor of a Mortar bombing.

My aim is show the human side of war and how it takes courage to do what these men and women do every day. To face death constantly, and still continue their daily missions is incredible.

SSG Oz.

2/25/05 - 1800 hours

I am in the chow tent with Cpt G, our Jag Lawyer (Officer), when we hear a "swoosh", shrill whistle and a very large explosion, that literally rocks the earth. We dive under the table. Aproximately 30-60 seconds later, a second explosion rocks me. As I scramble out the main door there are flames and dark smoke shooting up some 15 feet into the air from one of the plywood hut areas approximately 100 yards from me.

I run towards the fire as the Fire Department arrives and I see inside to see if I can find anyone. I traverse through the debris and feel the bitter smoke in the back of my throat as my eyes begin to water. I comeout at a backwall has been blown out and I take some fresh air. My medics have arrived and I take a second pass through the burning, splintered remains of this "Hooch". I hear moaning outside, and find that a marine wounded has been found - all together there are seven. I decide to muster the medics and direct arriving ambulances after we place dressings on the wounded marine's left arm.

I make my way to the Surgical center, and make my way into the operating room. We received a very wounded marine with shrapnel wounds so bad that it severed his right femoral vein, broke his tibia thru and thru, placed a large hole through his right foot and near amputation of his 3rd toe.

His right calcaneous (heel) is a mess of tiny bony fragments held together by the skin of his foot. His left leg has multiple fractures all the way to the foot. Most horrifically, the skin on both his legs is peeled off from his thighs all the way down and hanging by his toes. He has many shrapnel wounds, many are BB sized, but others range from the size of a nickel all the way to tennis ball size on his legs. These are the bone breakers and ones that tear the nerves and blood vessels.

We spend 4 and 1/2 hours in the OR stabilizing this patient and metering blood supply to his legs and feet so he doesn't get them amputated. Finally he is ready for air evac to Germany for futher treatment.

This was one mortar attack, a strike for the bad guys. There will be many more mortar, rocket and IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) casualties to follow.

Dr G