Asia Pacific Defense Forum ::

At first it was just a trickle of country folks, but soon a steady procession formed on the narrow, dusty roads dotted with elaborate ancestral tombs and massive water buffalos. People on foot were soon overtaken by rickety bicycles and noisy motorbikes. Just after sunrise, a huge crowd had assembled outside the clinic building. Propelled by television, newspapers and word of mouth, the excitement had spread quickly: American medical personnel had returned to help the Vietnamese people.

A tri-service, civilian-military project, called the Aloha Medical and Civil Engineering Mission, was conducted from 12 to 16 March 2007 in the ancient city of Hue. This unique humanitarian effort employed a special Hawaiian blend of warmth, compassion and respect to help over 3,000 disadvantaged people. Funded by Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Command as a high priority Asia-Pacific Regional Initiative, the mission was planned and executed as a joint venture by U.S Army Pacific, Pacific Air Forces, Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit-6, and two non-governmental organizations (NGOs): The East Meets West Foundation (EMWF) based in Vietnam and the Aloha Medical Mission (AMM) based in Hawaii.

The mission focused on capacity and relationship building. Medical care and engineering support was provided by a 45-member team consisting of surgeons, primary care physicians, preventive medicine and biomedical specialists, dentists and hygienists, nurses, civil engineers, and support personnel. Team members worked close beside Vietnamese counterparts to treat the people of Hue.

The mission commander, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mylene Huynh, emphasized that the civilians and military quickly formed an effective team, pitched in to do many tasks they don’t normally do at home, and put in long hours to perform over 10,000 medical procedures during a rewarding five-day period. Maj. Kinsey McFadden, a U.S. Army Pacific medical planner, stressed how the U.S. team benefited from having an opportunity to work in a high demand environment, under austere conditions, and in close collaboration with both active and reserve military forces and civilian volunteers from the NGOs.

Mrs. Thanh-Lo Sananikone, a native of Hue now living in Honolulu, Hawaii, and mission leader for AMM, noted the Vietnamese people appreciated the special emphasis directed at meeting the needs of the communities, especially boat people living along the Perfume River. Mrs. Sananikone relayed comments from local officials on how happy they were to see the U.S. team, and the need for future missions.

Extensive services were provided at seven dispersed locations. Care was provided at the existing Thuong Lac Humanitarian Dispensary in Hue, and temporary clinics in the nearby villages of An Truong and Thuy Bieu. A dental clinic was set up by Capt. Fritz Craft (U.S. Public Health Service) at the Phu Xuan Orphanage, where over 700 children were brought in by vans for tooth extractions, fillings, and scaling.

At Benh Vien Trung Uong Hue (Hue Central Hospital), joint U.S.-Vietnamese teams exchanged information on the latest medical and surgical techniques and performed numerous operations: pediatric urological procedures; knee replacement and other orthopedic procedures; 63 cataract surgeries; and facial reconstruction. A biomedical technician also helped repair medical equipment – some 30 years old. The hospital director remarked that this was a very productive exchange, since it provided both immediate and long-term benefits.

A successful village outreach effort also occurred. Mr. Paul Strona, an AMM volunteer, noted that U.S. military engineers partnered with local villagers to build restrooms, fix a septic tank and water lines, and provide concrete floors for elementary schools. He stressed how large crowds of school children came to observe the work, and how the Vietnamese and Americans used hand tools to perform excavations and pour concrete in sweltering heat and high humidity. He went on to say that privately donated medical supplies and instruments were provided to the Hue Central Hospital, and four orphanages received badly needed clothing, dental hygiene kits, toys and educational material.

Many Vietnamese health professionals and private individuals actively supported the mission. Their help was essential as they facilitated coordination with local officials; served as doctors, nurses, and translators; and assisted with setting up facilities and crowd control. Many local medical students volunteered and expressed great surprise at seeing themselves participating in the mission on Vietnamese television. Many commented favorably on how the Americans had identified dozens of patients with serious medical conditions and coordinated with local NGOs for further evaluation and treatment at no cost to the patient.

Dr. Doan Tran, a U.S. volunteer, related how he had the good fortune of treating a former South Vietnamese Airborne Division comrade during the mission and securing support for his comrade’s war-related disability from a Vietnamese-American organization in the United States.

U.S. Army Col. Dwight Shen noted the U.S. team benefited from exposure to the use of traditional medicines and herbs. He also stressed that the way a country treats wounded people on the battlefield has lasting impressions. He met a patient who sustained significant battlefield injury in the 1970s. At that time, she was transported to a U.S. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital where she received treatment by American doctors. She recalled the kind attention and respect that American doctors provided during her hospitalization even though she was at the time an “enemy combatant.” The experience left a long-lasting positive impression of Americans, and it brought her to tears to see American doctors in uniform come back to provide medical care to the people of Vietnam.

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[U.S.] Pacific Air Forces dental team work on patients at Xuan Phu Orphanage in Hue, Vietnam.
Photo by Capt. Fritz Craft, USPHS

U.S. airmen and non-governmental organization personnel check vital signs of Vietnamese patients.
Photo by Capt. Fritz Craft, USPHS

A Vietnamese-U.S. dental team works on a patient in Hue.
Photo by Mr. George O'Brien