Name: Surgeon Tells How He Saved Lives Under Enemy Fire in Vietnam
Uploaded: 2026-07-08T03:30:59.000Z
Description: “I wound up volunteering to go up to Khe Sanh. I didn’t have any idea what I was going to encounter,” says retired Lt. Col. Allen Davies MD, recalling how he ended up in one of the most intense battle zones of the Vietnam War.

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“I wound up volunteering to go up to Khe Sanh. I didn’t have any idea what I was going to encounter,” says retired Lt. Col. Allen Davies MD, recalling how he ended up in one of the most intense battle zones of the Vietnam War.

Watch our exclusive episode, only on <a href="https://www.ntd.com/vital-signs" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">NTD</a>.

“There were about four Quad 50s [anti-aircraft guns] in my eyesight that were firing. Also, artillery and mortars going off. … The war was really going on. But we had 40 guys that needed to be taken care of,” he says, referring to the wounded Marines he would render life-saving care to.

Those four days of surgery under fire in Khe Sanh provide just one snapshot of a surgeon’s courageous and perilous struggle to save life amid unrelenting bloodshed, spanning two tours in Vietnam.

Lt. Col. Davies joins Vital Signs with Brendon Fallon to recount the life-and-death episodes of that time, including the baptism of fire that was his arrival at 2nd Surgical Hospital, Chu Lai, where he was immediately presented with a young female patient rapidly losing blood through a chest wound.

How did the behind-the-scenes medical heroes of the Vietnam War operate to bring soldiers and civilians alike back from the brink of death?

And how did Lt. Col. Davies resist the trauma of that experience to practice his surgical talent at its highest level, moving from the battlefields of Vietnam to the emergency room of Wilmington General, Delaware—his first position as a civilian surgeon after the war?

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Vital Signs’ host, guests, and contributors offer general information on improving health and wellness. This is not intended as diagnosis or medical advice. You should consult your medical doctor or holistic doctor before enacting any suggested strategies for health and wellness improvement, including those in relation to preventing or treating specific diseases featured on this program.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of NTD.

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