Vietnam: Where did you go from Bien Hoa?

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Sasaki: I stayed there for 10 days. I hated it! The food was terrible, and the mosquitoes were brutal. I brought two bags with me — one with my clothes and the other with my medical books. Well, they issued us combat gear — flak jackets, helmets, the works. Now I had three bags. Finally, I received my orders to Da Nang. A deuce and a half truck comes at 3 o’clock in the morning to pick us up. I’m only 5 feet 5 inches tall, and I was sick with a bad cold and extremely dehydrated. I couldn’t even throw my bags on the truck! So, one of the soldiers felt sorry for me and he said, ‘You climb in the truck and I’ll throw the bags up to you.’ Well, I couldn’t even get in the truck! I finally struggled aboard. Under tight security we went to the airstrip at Bien Hoa. They unloaded the bags and threw them in a big pile! I finally got my bags and someone directed me to a gate with a big eagle on it. I thought it was the 101st Airborne. I thought: I can’t even get on a truck; how will I be able to jump out of a plane! I boarded a C-130, and I was sitting near the tail. I prayed the tail wouldn’t open because I would’ve been a goner!

Vietnam: Your first two weeks in-country were miserable ones, and you haven’t even been assigned to your unit yet.

Sasaki: The plane finally landed in Da Nang, and it was beautiful there, as I remember. I went to the 64th Medical Group. It was located between China Beach and Monkey Mountain. I stayed in a Quonset hut, by myself, for five days, waiting. Finally, they announced where I was going — the 95th Evac Hospital — right across the street! I hoped it wasn’t like this for everybody. I settled in and began my duties. As I look back on my arrival, it was rather humorous.

Vietnam: How large was the 95th?

Sasaki: We had about 200 beds. It was a good-sized hospital.

Vietnam: What about the staff?

Sasaki: We had approximately 30 doctors and between 50 and 60 nurses. It was the main U.S. Army hospital in Da Nang in direct support of the Americal Division. Of course, we would treat other solders from other units as well.

Vietnam: Did the doctors ever work shifts?

Sasaki: Usually only the nurses worked shifts. When I arrived I hadn’t had any ENT (ear, nose and throat) training yet. I assisted a fully trained ENT surgeon. He taught me triage, among other things. He was a good surgeon. There was a lot of esprit de corps. The staff worked together well as a team. There was no infighting at all. Everybody was very well trained. So much, in fact, we didn’t have any general medical doctors with us. We took turns manning the emergency room.

Vietnam: Every doctor was a specialist?

Sasaki: Yes. There were chest surgeons, ENTs, dermatologists, even a dentist.

Vietnam: When an individual was wounded and brought in on a dust-off chopper, what were the steps taken once arrived at the 95th Evac Hospital?Susaki: It was an excellent system the military had. The 67th Med Group, the administrative office for several hospitals, for example, would receive a message that five individuals were coming in. They were told what type of wound it was — head, chest, stomach, whatever. They in turn would send some of them to us. So, we would be waiting for them. If a soldier was brought in with a fragmentation wound to the face, they would telephone my hootch (living quarters) — if I wasn’t on duty — and I would get over there to operate on him.

Vietnam: That was your specialty?

Sasaki: It was my area. If there was a chest wound, they’d get a chest surgeon.

Vietnam: What if they brought in five chest wounds? Would you perform surgery on one of those individuals?

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