Excerpts from the Hospital Corpsman 3 & 2, NAVEDTRA 10669-C

Vietnam

With the escalation of the Vietnam conflict between 1963 and 1975, hospital corpsmen were called to serve in Southeast Asia. They served in Marine Corps and Navy air/ground forces, naval support activity hospitals (Saigon and Da Nang), hospital ships (USS REPOSE and USS SANCTUARY), Riverine Warfare ("Brown Water Navy"), and Navy ships on the "Gun Line" off the coast of North Vietnam,. They served in Cambodia and supported troops from places like the Marine Corps Air Station ("Rose Garden") in Thailand. Like their predecessors, they performed emergency treatment in all kinds of combat conditions. They were assigned to small medical teams that provided care and health advice to Vietnamese civilians. Some were assigned as medical advisors to Vietnamese military units, which required that they live in small, poorly defended villages. Hospital corpsmen truly felt the brunt of the Vietnam conflict. Six hundred twenty were killed or mortally wounded and another 3,353 were wounded in action.

Awards for gallantry and intrepidity in action included :

5 Medals of Honor

30 Navy Crosses

127 Silver Stars

2 Legions of Merit

291 Bronze Stars

4,563 Purple Hearts