First link in the life-chain: infantry combat medics in Europe, 1944-1945

Abstract

World War II combat medics of the U.S. Army served the forward elements of the infantry units fighting in Europe. Platoon-level medical soldiers initiated front line treatment for combat wounded, which was quickly followed by battalion aid station caregivers. The purpose of this study is to gain a fuller understanding of combat through an examination of the experiences of the medical soldiers and through an analysis of their role in the combat structure. This investigation utilizes official records and interviews to explore the medical soldier's war. Combat medics entered war profoundly under-prepared to deal with the ghastly reality of combat wounds. Their medic's baptism of fire exposed the critical gaps in training programs and forced the medical soldiers into continual on-the-job training. The spear-point of first echelon medical care, platoon aid men continued their on-the-job training, working alone and encountering wounds for which they were not prepared, while operating under conditions which compounded an absurdly difficult job. Litter bearers and battalion aid station medics also assumed tasks for which they had not trained, aiding and moving the wounded. Field medics' tasks reached beyond the combat wounded. They aided German prisoners of war and civilians, while remaining primarily committed to the care of the men of their combat unit. Even in battle, medical soldiers treated ailments at a daily sick call, meeting their troops' broad spectrum of health care needs. While battalion aid station medics worked with like-tasked personnel, aid men labored alone, surrounded by infantrymen and the enemy. Although the combat unit accepted the aid man as a unique and vital part of the fighting team, several factors worked to disconnect the medical man both physically and emotionally. The aid man emerged as the most isolated of the combat soldiers. The role of the front line medic has received little more than anecdotal appreciation in World War II's broad historiography. An examination of the experiences of the front line infantry medical soldiers, the essential first link in the wounded soldiers' medical life chain contributes importantly to the development of a fuller understanding of combat.