Conscientious Objectors at War: The Vietnam War's Forgotten Medics

by Gary Kulik

186 pages, Paperback

Published April 11, 2025

Reviews

[Lisa]

I wanted to read this book because my husband’s first cousin is featured. He was killed in Vietnam while serving as a medic and my husband who was born later that year was named after him. Kulik’s personal experience is definitely on display here—he wants people to know about those folks who served as medics because is their religious or moral objections. Not all were pacifists and Seventh-day Adventists were disproportionately represented. He relies heavily on oral histories and interviews to share snapshots of diverse men and to demonstrate how they showed the range of viewpoints on the war. While Kulik attempts to give as much data as possible, few scholars have pulled together data on Vietnam medics or the COs. So Kulik is attempting to draw attention to these men who included both those against all wars and those who didn’t like the Vietnam war for moral reasons. The changes in public opinion and policy made it easier for later men to declare their objections. This is a compassionate story and should whet our appetite for more such narratives.