Medic! - by Robert Doc Joe Franklin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Lt. Gen. George S. Patton remarked that the "45th Infantry Division is one of the best, if not the best division that the American army has ever produced." Such praise, however, came at a steep price, for the 45th saw some of the fiercest fighting in the European campaign--from Sicily to Anzio and from southern France to Germany--and racked up one of the highest casualty rates. Through it all, medic Robert "Doc Joe" Franklin--drafted in 1942 and thrust into combat with no specific training or knowledge for treating war wounds--soldiered on, fighting as hard to keep his men alive as the enemy fought to kill them. The story of his career as a frontline medic, one of the first memoirs written by an aid-man, is told here with simplicity, unflinching honesty, and grit.
Studded with memorable vignettes--of a friend who "smells" the Germans long before they appear, the dog that acts as an artillery spotter, the lieutenant who can't see beyond a few hundred feet--Franklin's memoir documents the almost unbearable drama of ground gained and lives lost, as well as the terrible human toll of battle on himself, his comrades, and civilians quite literally caught in the crossfire. A rare look at the fight for lives laid on the line, Medic! brings to life the reality of war.

Review Quotes

"[T]his account of Franklin's experiences during WWII brings combat to life. . . . His descriptions of horrific casualties and deaths of both Americans and Germans are vivid, and so are the more human moments."--Publishers Weekly-- (2/20/2006 12:00:00 AM)

"[Medic!] will undoubtedly rank with the classics of military literature as one of the finest, most heart-breaking, most brutally honest books ever written about men in war. . . . An absolute 'must-read.'"--WWII History

"[Franklin's] vignettes will help the reader understand what being in war is all about--the laughs, the pain, the sorrow, and most important, the pride of having served."-Military Heritage

"The spare and terse prose is vividly evocative . . . I have never read a better description of the mission and the work of a platoon medic in combat."--Robert J. T. Joy, Journal of Military History-- (10/27/2006 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Robert "Doc Joe" Franklin (1917-2006) served as a medic with the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Division during the invasion of Europe in World War II. Flint Whitlock, author of The Rock of Anzio: From Sicily to Dachau, A History of the 45th Infantry Division, is a former army officer and Vietnam veteran.