Medic!: How I Fought World War II with Morphine, Sulfa, and Iodine Swabs

by Robert Franklin, Flint Whitlock (Foreword)

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Michel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Difficult to read, not a "flowing story".
Having been in the medical corps myself I read it to the end, but to be honest it was disappointing.

[Andrew McKamey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Medic!: How I Fought World War II with Morphine, Sulfa, and Iodine Swabs

This book is a wonderful selection for people who like to read about non-fiction World War 2 stories and like to look at war through the eyes of a medic taking care of fellow soldiers. He is a untrained medic for the 45th infantry division, I company. He learns things from other medics that have been actually trained. It is funny and exiting in my opinion. I would tag this to people who like the medical, nonfiction, or World War 2 category.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a tough read and if you look at the reviews from other people I would have to agree with them. The grammar, spelling mistakes and flow of the story was very poor. It is almost like I understood what he was trying to say, but it wasn't clean. It is a short book almost at about 125 pages or something. The font and single space line made it very hard to read. It is almost like they were trying to save money on the paper...

If you have the time I guess read it, since there aren't many books that have the perspective view of a Medic. It does have some new information on battles that I didn't know too much about, but it was more about caring for the injured as opposed to the overall battle. He did seem like a great guy and I wish there was more to the book.

[Anis Shivani · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a novel I'm writing (about a Hopi returning to the reservation after WWII service) I read most of the memoirs by American servicemen, particularly for the ETO, and I found this to be probably the best of the memoirs, one of the most honest and touching. It doesn't feel that way at the beginning, but this ends up being a searing indictment of the futility of war. Not didactic at any point, just an honest account of all the bad stuff, the terrible losses, this decorated medic saw in North Africa, Italy, France, and finally Gemany. Wonderfully well-written.

[Jwt Jan50 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad that people like Franklin took the time to write of their service. And that they served. Not many of them left now. If you enjoyed Kershaw's 'Liberator,' I think you'll find Franklin's memoir worthwhile. Particularly enthralled by the dream sequence on pages 106-107. If he and Betty's letter survived, it would be wonderful if the surviving kids were to publish them.

[Lars · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 2.5 stars.

Let me just start by saying that overall, this book is an interesting read and I'm glad I picked it up. The author, Robert 'Doc Joe' Franklin has an amazing story to tell and I'm very happy (and grateful) he did. That being said, it was really only the uniqueness of the story that really made me want to keep turning the page.

The writing overall was average and riddled with mistakes and general 'no-nos'. Within the first few pages there's a mistake between 'power' and 'powder', and throughout the book you'll notice within the first two chapters the author has words he prefers to use. Now, I fully understand that this is a non-fiction memoir, not a creative writing piece, but seeing uncommon words such as bivouacked and lee (amongst others) really takes you out of the story and ended up getting a little annoying after the fifth plus time he used them.

Another bothersome thing in this memoir for me was that you can really tell what parts were more thought out and planned (I use those terms rather loosely) versus when it just seemed more like ramblings. The amount of information the reader receives about something that happened in the last/previous chapters in the current chapter is honestly astounding. I gave up on trying to learn the names of anyone in this book and their relationship to him partially for this reason. Being informed that one buddy was in the last battle but not the one were currently invested in doesn't create good flow. Also, he had many interesting tidbits of information about himself like he lived in an orphanage for a time or that he was engaged to an actress , which he never expanded on which was more frustrating than anything else. Especially his name! He never once explained why he went by (Doc) Joe when his name was Robert.

One thing that particularly stood out to me though, was the fact that he focused a lot on the positives/great things he did throughout the war, which is fine, don't get me wrong. It's the lack of balancing it out with the bad--showing both sides of one person (and in-between)--that really makes a story more gripping, but seemed to be lacking in this memoir. There's no doubt he did incredible and brave things, especially for the situation he was in, but I can't help but feel that he boasted himself up a bit.

The great thing about this book though, was the things you learnt. If you look at this book as a tool for research, then it's very useful, which is why I ended up giving it a 2.5. The author explains some of the lingo in footnotes or parentheses, which, for someone beginning their researching journey, was very helpful. He also gives you great insight into the responsibilities and general life of an American combat medic. Although, if you're looking for in-depth explanations on combat medics and combat medicine during WWII, this isn't really the best book as it doesn't delve too deep, though it does have great information nonetheless.

If you love history on WWII, especially what it was like for a medic, then this book is a good, easy and quick read. I don't feel I wasted my time, nor do I feel like the information I learnt wasn't interesting or not valuable.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 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 into 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. His medical story, one of the first of World War II, 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 as never before the reality of war.

Though the experiences related are very interesting, sadly, this is a poorly written book. It reads like a interview transcript. If you can get past that it's worth reading for the historical value.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert "Doc Joe" Franklin served as a medic with the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Division during the invasion of Europe in World War II. His memoir documents how he moved from being a soldier totally untrained in treating battle injuries to a hero, who walked through any battlefield, under fire, to save another life. He followed the troops from the invasion of Sicily, through Italy, France and finally into Germany where his unit discovered the horror that was Dachau.

[Roadhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK. It was not the greatest, just ok

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, having been a medic myself i felt it very relatable.

[Brie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing man.