Duty to serve, duty to conscience : the story of two conscientious objector combat medics during the Vietnam War / James C. Kearney and William H. Clamurro.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kearney, James C., 1946- author.

Clamurro, William H., author.

Series:

North Texas military biography and memoir series ; no. 21

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Conscientious objectors--United States--Biography.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Medical care.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American.

United States. Army--Medical personnel--Biography.

United States.

Kearney, James C., 1946-.

Kearney, James C.

Clamurro, William H.

Genre:

Personal narratives.

Autobiographies.

Personal narratives -- American.

Biographies.

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (257 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Denton, TX : University of North Texas Press, [2023]

Summary:

"Despite all that has been written about Vietnam, the story of the 1-A-O conscientious objector, who agreed to put on a uniform and serve in the field without weapons rather than accept alternative service outside the military, has received scarce attention. This joint memoir by two 1-A-O combat medics, James C. Kearney and William H. Clamurro, represents a unique approach to the subject. It is a blend of their personal narratives-with select Vietnam poems by Clamurro-to illustrate noncombatant objection as a unique and relatively unknown form of Vietnam War protest. Both men initially met during training and then served as frontline medics in separate units "outside the wire" in Vietnam. Clamurro was assigned to a tank company in Tay Ninh province next to the Cambodian border, before reassignment to an aid station with the 1st Air Cavalry. Kearney served first as a medic with an artillery battery in the 1st Infantry Division, then as a convoy medic during the Cambodian invasion with the 25th Infantry Division, and finally as a Medevac medic with the 1st Air Cavalry. In this capacity Kearney was seriously wounded during a "hot hoist" in February 1971 and ended up being treated by his friend Clamurro back at base. Because of their status as "a new breed of conscientious objector"-i.e., more political than religious in their convictions-the authors' experience of the Vietnam War differed fundamentally from that of their fellow draftees and contrasted even with the great majority of their fellow 1-A-O medics, whose conscientious objector status was largely or entirely faith-based"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Poems / by William Clamurro

Acknowledgments

Prologue / Kearney

Texas A&M: "Pray for War" or "dulce bellum inexpertis" / Kearney

You're in the Army Now; Training at Fort Sam Houston / Kearney

"I Don't Give a Damn, Next Stop is Vietnam" / Kearney

Things We Saw on the Ground / Clamurro

Cu Chi and Cambodia / Kearney

Cu Chi: R & R, Intensive Care, Morgue, and MEDCAP / Kearney

Reports from the Field, Vietnam '69-'71 / Clamurro

Medevac Medic / Kearney

Final Mission / Kearney

Nostos-Homecoming / Kearney

The Conscience that Was Lost: 1-A-O Medics in Vietnam / Clamurro

A Final Word / Kearney and Clamurro.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Kearney, James C. Duty to Serve, Duty to Conscience

ISBN:

1-57441-903-X

OCLC:

1394118408