Title: 2D Surgical Hospital – An Khe to Chu Lai South Vietnam
Author: Lorna Griess
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-5245-6303-5
Pages: 120
Genre: Biography & Autobiography / Military
Reviewed by: Matt Hurd
Pacific Book Review
2D Surgical Hospital is a quietly brilliant chronicle of one woman’s yearlong deployment as an Army nurse in Vietnam. While many books concerning war, be it Vietnam or another, seek to impart a grand, life-changing message by striking the reader over the head and informing them how to think, 2D succeeds by simply allowing itself to be what it is: the story of an individual.
As readers, we follow the autobiographical author Lorna Griess from an airport terminal in Denver, Colorado, to her station in An Khe, Vietnam, and later on to Chu Lai, Vietnam. The purpose of the work is simple: to show the realities of wartime living to those of us who may never have experienced them. This simplicity can be deceiving, almost mundane at first – but around the time of the first mass casualty event at Griess’ hospital, readers realize setting the pace of slow activity then having the triage change into hectic all out action was the literary intent of the author all along. Real war is not a movie, two hours of buildup and excitement, gunfire and outrageous heroism. Instead it is a reality of long stretches of mundanity with lots of hurry-up-and-waits, occasional bursts of activity, humor, friendship and homesickness, separated by moments of terror. In other words, it’s a very specific kind of living. Griess’ stories take readers deep inside her life and therein lies the genius of this book.
2D Surgical Hospital also features many photographs, mostly taken by Griess herself while deployed. As with the stories in the text, the photographs are notable for capturing the simple realities of life on the ground in An Khe and Chu Lai. These are not fancy, posed photographs. These are snapshots of moments, which are so alive on the page precisely because they’re not trying to be anything more than reveal what they are.
As I read this book in the eBook format, I would suggest it worth noting the placement and formatting of the photographs (full-page landscapes) made it difficult to enjoy and take in the photos as intended. Buying the paper edition and seeing the photographs laid out two to a page, vertically placed, would make them far easier to view.
2D Surgical Hospital will be of particular interest to those fans of boots-on-the-ground accounts of the Vietnam War as well as those liking historical and military autobiographies. However, the book is also very accessible to the layperson as Griess does excellent work explaining potentially complex arrangements and procedures. Once the reader learns the fact in which part of her job in Vietnam was to be a teacher to others with medical support, it becomes clear why such emphasis is placed on the details. Although this may be a book that falls into the Military History/Autobiography genre at its core it is a story about a person. A regular person, who followed her passions, her drives, her desire to do good – into a war zone. More than anything else, the detailing of events and emotions makes this an excellent and highly recommended read.
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