Major Frank Howard. Doctor. Surgeon. Army officer. 1971. At the 95th Evacuation Hospital, Da Nang, South Vietnam, he learns there is a difference in the moral code of war and peace. A conflict between a doctor’s Hippocratic Oath and his duty as a soldier. To allow some to live while others die. A balance depending on varying factors. Would he lose his soul, trying to live with his wartime decisions, stuck between the fluctuating moral compass of the military and civilian world?
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2022
If you want a book to make you think about the dilemmas of war and medical treatment, you will like The Jackson MacKenzie Chronicles, "Torn Horizons", by Angel Giacomo. Set during and after the Vietnam War, it relives the life of one doctor who is faced with some very difficult decisions about treating the wounded, dealing with post-traumatic stress disorders, and the military cover-ups of the War.
Franklin Howard is a doctor at the front of the fighting. As the wounded come in, he must decide which can receive emergency treatment before being shipped out to a hospital and which are too injured to treat. These are placed in a special unit to die, the KIA shack. When his college friend, Jake Landry, comes through with half of his skull missing, Frank decides to try to save him. But later in the story, he finds Jake is nothing but a vegetable and will be in a nursing home the rest of his life. Frank struggles with his decision to save Jake.
When Frank is injured during a mortar attack on the hospital, he is shipped out. During the flight, he meets Jackson MacKenzie, a Special Forces Lt. Colonel who had survived a POW camp. Jackson has severe injuries and starts to bleed. Because he is a prisoner, the guards do not want Frank to treat him. This starts the mystery part of the story.
As Frank continues to treat Jackson despite the Army’s wishes, he finds himself in a letter-writing campaign to save Jackson from dying. He is warned to back off and not pursue the situation when Jackson is moved to a prison cell against medical advice. They say Jackson is a traitor and deserves to die but no one can say why and Jackson does not know either.
Frank is now state-side but still working in the Army hospital. He cannot relate to his co-workers because they do not understand or approve of the Vietnam War. He panics at fireworks, thinking he is under attack. He has nightmares. But no one seems to care.
He keeps track of Jackson and is relieved when Jackson escapes with several of his buddies. He risks his life to help Jackson via doctor friends and eventually ends up meeting him at a ranch in the mountains where Jackson is recuperating.
If you served in any military combat or have friends or family who did, you will understand the issues these men have with post-traumatic stress and how it affects their lives. The writer really brings out the emotions as if you were right there. Add the mystery of Jackson. Will the Army continue to hunt him? And why? All this together makes a great book. I look forward to reading the next volume!
I was given an advance copy of this book to read by the author. This book gives a straightforward look into what it was like as a wartime surgeon. Dr. Frank intersects with Jackson MacKenzie and helps save Jackson's life despite other parties wanting to put Jackson away for good. It was a "strong" read because there are some gory parts but that goes with the territory.
