With healing hands. The untold story of the Australian civilian surgical teams in Vietnam. Gary McKay, Elizabeth Stewart. Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2009  (xvii + 286 pp). ISBN 9781741750744.

Even after the passage of more than 30 years, Australians retain a collective memory of the war in Vietnam. But the volunteer surgical teams, sent by the government to work in local hospitals and treat the civilian population, have largely been forgotten. From 1964 to 1972, about 450 doctors and nurses served for periods of 3 to 12 months in one of four locations — Long Xuyen, Bien Hoa, Vung Tau and Ba Ria. Some returned for a second or third term. They were exposed to considerable personal danger and, on occasion, were under attack by the Viet Cong.

Using diaries, letters and reminiscences of many team members, the authors (McKay, a Vietnam veteran, and Stewart, a historian at the Australian War Memorial) paint a vivid picture of the difficulties and frustrations of medical and surgical practice in primitive conditions with inadequate equipment, in the face of cultural indifference and lukewarm government support. This situation will be familiar to every doctor and nurse who has worked in developing countries in more recent times. More than half the patients treated were the victims of war; many others had been involved in road accidents. The stress under which the team members worked was unrelenting. Many have since suffered physical impairments to their health, with some developing post-traumatic stress disorder.

Unlike Vietnam veterans, members of the surgical teams have no entitlement to repatriation benefits. The government has acknowledged their service to Australia by awarding them the same campaign medals given to soldiers, but has withheld the same entitlements. It is not too late, the authors believe, to redress this injustice.

They conclude by posing the question, “Was it worth it?” Most of those interviewed seemed to think so, even if little of a permanent nature was achieved. After all, is not the relief of suffering the foremost of a doctor’s duties?