"Vic Edwards, an Ohio farm boy and college drop-out, was seven years older than the average Marine in Vietnam. About to be drafted, he joined the Navy, went to Hospital Corps School, and was later assigned to the Marine Corps. Destination Vietnam. Though the cause seemed noble at the time, he was hardly prepared for the challenges that lay ahead. Leaving the nurturing support of family and community, he would face physical, moral, and spiritual challenges on a scale never before experienced. Where there are soldiers, vices follow. Confronted with such temptations in seemingly secure areas, he was confronted with trepidation to do as taught and trained, or to give up and give in to the new situation. His spirit reminded him to be faithful to his family and community and to the creed of the corps, "Simper Fidelis," always faithful to God, country, and the Marine Corps. Vic Edwards takes you with him through the crucible of the Vietnam War as he faces the challenges of battle, the mental and emotional roller coaster of grief and loss, and the spiritual struggles with God's claim on his life. He shares with you the humor and pathos of young men sent to a foreign land to bring stability and peace while his own country is rocked with riot and turmoil." --page [4] of cover

This is the touching story of a young lady's search for her biological father. It is also a compelling story of the Marines who took in Stephanie as one of their own because her father was a Navy Corpsman. There is no person more respected and loved by Marines then their "Doc"--Their Corpsman who shares the hardship and misery of combat to save Marines lives, sometimes sacrificing their own. Stephanie's dad is a true hero to all of us who wore the Marine uniform. LtGen Micheal A. Hough, USMC(ret) Former Deputy Commandant for Aviation (taken from the back cover of book)

Are you interested in wars? Want to learn about them from an insider's perspective? In first-person narration, this book will take you on intense adventures. This book is a series of vignettes about the Vietnam War by a corpsman (medic). You will find few accounts of heroic exploits here. This is not the memoir of a decorated hero but rather a frank disclosure of one who held on by a thread.

"A US Navy Hospital Corpsman with a US Marine Corps Reconnaissance Patrol Team in the 1950's on covert Korean missions." I could add that "The five missions made by 'Doc Gentry' (assumed name for covert missions) with the Recon Patrols were all successful but, sadly, they suffered casualties on each mission."

The captivating individual stories of 17 U.S. Navy corpsmen who served in Vietnam, told in their own words. Their accounts relate why they joined the Navy in wartime, why they became corpsmen--the enlisted medical specialists of the Navy and Marine Corps--along with many day-to-day, sometimes minute-to-minute recollections of caring for both the wounded and the dead under fire. They also reflect on the long-term effects the war had on them and their families.

"Corpsman Up" is the cry that echoes across the battlefield whenever a Marine is wounded in combat. The book tells the story of men at war from a unique perspective; that of a medical specialist assigned to a Marine combat platoon. It is 1969; Hospital Corpsman Mike Lombardo arrives in Vietnam determined to follow in the footsteps of his Dad and Grandfather in war. He quickly discovers there is nothing glamorous or heroic about war. Through Mike's eyes you go on a journey into a living hell and experience the thrills and horror of combat, the agony of the wounded and dead and see foxhole relationships develop between blacks and whites, farm boys and city kids. Experience the anguish, and concern with Mike, when friend after friend is wounded and he knows that their lives are in his hands and then wonders for the rest of his life if he did the right things.