Vietnam vet ?Devil Doc? tells his wartime story

[thedrifter]

Vietnam vet ?Devil Doc? tells his wartime story
By maura dowgin
Staff Writer

HOLMDEL ? During this time of war against Iraq, a U.S. military veteran spoke at the Vietnam Era Educational Center about his experiences in a past conflict.

Albert Naar, who has lived in East Brunswick since 1977, spent a year, May 1968 through May 1969, treating wounded soldiers in Vietnam as a "Devil Doc." He was 21 years old.

"Marines are called ?Devil Dogs,? so we were referred to as ?Devil Docs,? " Naar said.

The Marines are part of the naval service and use the Navy?s medical facilities, Naar said.

There are many differences between the Navy and the Marines, he said.

"In the Navy, you march to the chow hall. In the Marine Corps, you run everywhere," he said.

Naar enlisted in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps in November 1965.

"My father and uncle were in the Navy. It?s a family tradition," Naar said.

Naar was trained as a surgical scrub technician and attended Field Medical School at Camp Pendleton, Calif., he said.

He also learned to use weapons and fight for his country, he said.

"Luckily, I never had to use my weapon. I worked in what you would call a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit," he said. Naar worked with the 3rd Medical Battalion, attached to the 3rd Marine Division, which had a "distinguished and remarkable history" during World War II, he said. While in Vietnam, Naar spent time in Phu Bai, right after the Tet offensive, he said.

"The medical battalion was logistically located in a bad place because most of the fighting had moved further north. It was hard to have the casualties come to us before bleeding out," Naar said.

He then traveled toward the fighting to Quang Tri combat base, "strategically located 6 miles south of the DMZ (demilitarized zone)," Naar said.

The wounded would be flown to the base by helicopter, he said.

"You can imagine the noise level with the choppers coming and going," Naar said.

The doctors treated many different kinds of wounds, such as shrapnel wounds, bullet wounds and head wounds, and performed amputations, he said.

When the choppers landed, the most seriously hurt patients were taken off first. The patients would then go to triage, which Naar described as "organized chaos."

"Everything was ready when these men arrived wounded," he said.

Serious wounds were rushed to the operating room. Less-seriously wounded people were sent to X-ray and treated, Naar said.

"When they?re in [the hospital], we calm them down. We tell them they?re OK, we?re going to take care of them," he said.

The wounds seen during the Vietnam War are the same as the wounds that are being seen by doctors in Iraq during today?s war, Naar said. "So much has changed, but so much has stayed the same," he said.

"We took care of everyone, whether they were VC (Viet Cong), the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the U.S. Marines or Army. We took care of them all," Naar said.

"They didn?t rocket us as much as we thought they would. I think they knew that we were taking care of their wounded," he said.

Naar?s presentation included a slideshow that contrasted the beautiful countryside of Vietnam and graphic pictures of soldiers? wounds. He prepared a background soundtrack to play under his presentation that included songs from The Doors and Simon and Garfunkel to set the mood of the 1960s.

"In Vietnam, whenever you can, you use your camera," he said. "Whenever we went anywhere, we brought a camera because you never knew what you were going to see."

He showed pictures of the country during his ride up to Quang Tri combat base. He showed pictures of native Vietnamese and aerial shots of the bases.

"All along the way [to Quang Tri combat base], there were little kids waving and wanting to sell us a can of Coke for a dollar ? which back then was highway robbery," Naar said. "If you see the TV today and look at the shots from Iraq, where you see kids waving at trucks as they go by, it?s the same thing. It brings back a rush of memories."

The photos depicted what life was like during the war. There were photos of living spaces with places for weapons, mosquito nets over the beds, and in some shots, electric fans. "The fact that we had a fan was a luxury item. For those in the field, the fact that we had electricity was a luxury item," Naar said.

Some of the more graphic, and some would say disturbing, shots were of head and shrapnel wounds, and amputations.

Some of Naar?s photographs are on permanent display at the Vietnam Era Educational Center on the grounds of the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.

The presentation was only the second time Naar has spoken in public about his experiences and the first time at the Vietnam Era Educational Center, he said.

Even with his knowledge of what war is like, he said he would "absolutely" go back to war for America.

"I support our president and our troops 100 percent. I know that we will prevail. It just takes time," he said.


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