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Historical warfare has often catalyzed a decline in an individual’s well-being. Scholars of historical medicine have documented upheavals of health consequences within individuals in combat. The cascades of concurrent wars and the discovery of infectious diseases introduced military medicine protocols to be administered. Modern protocols administered in the United States military services include routine vaccinations before entry and the establishment of a medical corps. The Library of Congress presents an interview with William M. McConahey, Jr., a battalion surgeon serving in World War II. Doctor McConahey describes sanitation within battle environments including resistance with psychological masculinity, intravenous injections with limited equipment, and motion sickness. The Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive provides an interview conducted by Kara Vuic and Sharon Alden. Sharon Alden, documents applications of public health measurements, unrecognized infections from wounds, and the rapid spread of disease within contact.
Adequate sanitation encompassing clean water, and proper hygiene within combat are rudimentary health precautions to prevent diseases such as dysentery and typhoid. Amid close-quarters combat, acquisition of clean water becomes scarce. To prevent dehydration, members of combat consume available forms of water. As a consequence, dysentery may result from consumption of contaminated water. Microbial parasites enter an individual’s body and stimulate the intestine to produce more water. As a result, dysentery occurs. Similarly, a scarcity of food in combat may result in a soldier consuming contaminated food. Furthermore, hand-washing before eating is absent, as soldiers are constantly defending themselves. As a result, typhoid can emerge, and impact an individual unfavorably. William M. McConahey comments “Some guys can stand this for six months in combat, seeing their friends killed, dirt, disease, mess, no food, digging foxholes, being shot at.” McConahey exemplifies notions of sanitary and implicitly suggests his military masculinity. Often traumatic experiences, and war, provide difficulties for soldiers to be upfront about their military troubles. McConahey further comments “Now, the real, a guy that had done his job, fighting hard, wounded, would lie on the floor on his litter, wouldn’t be complaining, might be some pain, wouldn’t say a thing.” Soldiers in combat may be prone to microbial diseases and may enact masculine attitudes to show minimal weakness as demonstrated by McChonaey, as well as treat individuals with limited medical equipment.
As combat increases in a particular location, medical supplies become limited, and various techniques are implemented by William M. McConahey. Upon wounding during battle, immediate attention is required. Blood loss is a major concern during imminent battle periods. Failure to attend to a wounded soldier who is suffering from blood loss, or a potential infection can lead to mortality. Documented throughout history, wounding, and blood, contribute to a large mortality rate. For instance, as documented in the Iliad, out of one-hundred-forty-six wounds, the probability of fatality rate is seventy-seven percent. Inclusive to past militaristic history, William M. McConahey mentions, “But we could do nothing and the hospitals often could do something but only IV’s and treating.” McConahey suggests that, during time spent as a military physician, intravenous treatments were a method of treating a wounded soldier. William M. McConahey states, “And that would get them out of a shock in a hurry and that’s what saved lives time and again, was the blood plasma we had.” A form of sulfur, recognized as sulfonamide, was an antiseptic that was utilized in military medicine. McConahey further comments “We’d sprinkle some sulfur in on the wound and put on a sterile dressing and pack it wide open and send them on back.” Motion sickness was also a documented difficulty faced by soldiers.
Motion sickness was a health concern for many soldiers involved in combat and strenuous journeys. Motion sickness is the tendency to become nauseous due to frequent motions. Oftentimes, a common form of motion sickness includes being on a boat. As a result, a plethora of military soldiers experienced unfavorable symptoms.
Sharon Alden, a Vietnam War veteran nurse, documents health complexities within individuals. Sharon Alden, a nurse during the Vietnam War, audibly documents the newly formed construction of a healthcare team. As systematic wars occurred throughout the United States, the development of a healthcare team became more prevalent during the Vietnam War. Alden comments “The concept of health care was new, really new.” As observed throughout history, the formation of new healthcare teams became more accepting, as public health regulations and theories emerged. The ground-breaking discovery of germ theory prompted diversity in the military and introduced intensive healthcare units. Public health movements introduced new hospitals, and precautions to take for individuals. In past accounts of history, particularly in Greece, there were no public health efforts transcribed. However, Athens and Sparta maintained hygienic environments. Alden states “They didn’t teach you how to be a nurse or a doctor or a vet or a pharmacist or whatever. They taught you how to do what you already had been trained to do the Army way.” Alden is suggesting, that the care of wounded soldiers may have not been as intensive, as an initiative was to treat soldiers as fast as possible and have them return to combat. The number of individuals deployed was limited, therefore, quick treatment was crucial during war periods. Identification of infections was difficult to observe among soldiers treated at military hospitals.
Hidden infections were difficult to analyze at first glance, and treat during the Vietnam War. Often during combat, a soldier may develop a wound. Being unaware of a wound during intense combat, it may go unrecognized for extended periods. As a result, microorganisms, such as pathogens enter the body through these wounds. Once in the human body, these pathogens often exponentially multiply and disrupt routine cell functioning. In turn, a small infected wound can turn into a larger medical issue, requiring greater treatment, as pathogens spread throughout the body. During the interview, Sharon Alden, claims “I mean, we had patients that came in that looked like they were in pretty good shape, and they would get an infection.” As exemplified by the remark mentioned by Sharon Alden, a common reoccurring theme in militaristic medicine is wounds and infections. For instance, Cornelius Celsus, an influential individual in Roman medicine transcribes a lot of similarities mentioned by Sharon Alden. One of the similarities noted by Cornelius Celsus involves infections and the spread of infections that go unrecognized which may develop into potential amputations. Contagious diseases were also an issue during the Vietnam War.
Sharon Alden describes contagious diseases that were prevalent within individuals associated with combat. Microbes particularly, can be air-borne transmitted, or through contact. Various forms of microbes exist, and each is indigenous to a specific region. As an unfavorable consequence, military soldiers deployed overseas are at risk of obtaining these microbes. Often once acquired, these microbes can result in a widespread effect.
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