On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story by Richard Jadick, Thomas Hayden (With)

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Not the least remarkable aspect of Cdr. Richard Jadick's Iraqi saga is that he didn't have to go. The Navy physician whom Newsweek's cover dubbed "Hero, M.D." was 38, too old to be called -- but not too old to volunteer. In November 2004, Jadick did just that. Responding to a shortage in combat surgeons, he left his Stateside desk job for the front lines of Fallujah. Duty with the "1/8" (First Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment) was hectic, sometimes crazy, with casualties coming quick and hard. In one battle alone, he saved 30 lives. Of the hundreds of men Jadick treated, only one died after reaching a hospital. After he returned to this country, he was honored with the Bronze Star with a Combat V for valor. To date, he is the only Navy doctor to have been so decorated for service in Iraq. On Call in Hell is his story. It transcends politics but gives us an indelible view of one healer's war.

From the Publisher

A riveting memoir from the Navy doctor praised as "Hero, M.D." on the cover of Newsweek.

Cdr. Richard Jadick's story is one of the most extraordinary to come out of the war in Iraq. At thirty-eight, the last place the Navy doctor was expected to be was on the front lines. He was too old to be called up, but not too old to volunteer. In November 2004, with the military reeling from an acute doctor shortage, Jadick chose to accompany the First Battalion, Eighth Marine Regiment (the "1/8") to Iraq. During the Battle of Fallujah, Jadick and his team worked tirelessly and courageously around the clock to save their troops in the worst street fighting Americans had faced since Vietnam. It is estimated that without Jadick at the front, the Marines would have lost an additional thirty men. Of the hundreds of men he treated, only one died after reaching a hospital. This is the inspiring story of his decision to enter into the fray, a fascinating glimpse into wartime triage, and a compelling account of courage under fire.

Publishers Weekly

Blood-and-guts accounts of Fallujah are not in short supply, but Jadick—a career Marine officer and brigade surgeon who took a demotion to battalion surgeon to volunteer for service in Iraq in 2004—tells the story through the eyes of a doctor. Unlike colleagues who remained in battalion aid stations behind the lines, Jadick and his medics accompanied their unit in makeshift ambulances as it battled through the streets. This was not bravado, he writes, but a calculated strategy to reach, stabilize and rush wounded troops to hospitals more quickly. He makes his case many times over, with dramatic accounts of catastrophically injured men from his unit and others who would not have survived a journey to the aid station. This remarkable man's story is well worth telling, although his writer should have discouraged him from frequent pauses for memorial essays on every soldier who died, and to remind readers of the Marines' bravery, of the dedication of the medics, and how much he loves his wife, the Marines and America. Readers who can skim past these segments will find the book a memorable experience. (Mar. 6)

Product Details

• ISBN: 0451220536
  
• ISBN-13: 9780451220530
• Format: Hardcover, 288pp
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Pub. Date: March 2007
• Sales Rank: 351,095

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents