Overview

For many surviving military veterans, the Vietnam War is an indelible part of their lives. That they survived is due in many cases to the heroic, life-saving actions of combat medics like Bill ""Doc"" Strusinski. Being a frontline medic was, and still is, one of the most dangerous jobs in the Army. Medics were targeted by the enemy and often called upon to aid fallen soldiers in the line of fire. In Strusinski's riveting book, Care Under Fire, Strusinski thrusts the reader squarely into moments of terror during firefights, the exhaustion of endless patrols, the anguish of losing friends despite best efforts to save them, and the intimate bonds created during times of desperate need. This is a book about war, yes, but even more about how one man was transformed by his ""sacred duty"" to offer care under fire to the young soldiers he fought beside.

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9781959770305

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Reviews

Bill Strusinski did his duty and then went on to be the kind of citizen we wish we had more of in our country. He is not asking for thanks or anything else except, after 50 years, the chance to tell this remarkable story. We owe him, and his combat colleagues our thanks, our apology, and our respect. The hundreds and hundreds of us who have known him in the fifty years since he became a civilian have known that he is an exceptional man. Now we know what he has been through. Our respect for him was high before we knew his story. Now we continue to respect and enjoy him on a whole new level. Everyone who respects America and what we stand for will benefit from this book and will get an understanding of the warriors who have made our country great. -Harry Sieben, Jr., Major General (ret) (bvt), Minnesota National Guard

"""Bill Strusinski did his duty and then went on to be the kind of citizen we wish we had more of in our country. He is not asking for thanks or anything else except, after 50 years, the chance to tell this remarkable story. We owe him, and his combat colleagues our thanks, our apology, and our respect. The hundreds and hundreds of us who have known him in the fifty years since he became a civilian have known that he is an exceptional man. Now we know what he has been through. Our respect for him was high before we knew his story. Now we continue to respect and enjoy him on a whole new level. Everyone who respects America and what we stand for will benefit from this book and will get an understanding of the warriors who have made our country great."" -Harry Sieben, Jr., Major General (ret) (bvt), Minnesota National Guard"

Bill Strusinski had a very ordinary and uneventful upbringing. He was brought up to respect God, the Flag and our everyday institutions. He was a good student and had the makings to be a solid citizen. Vietnam pushed him into a highly elite (and small minority) group of people that were called on the do what few others could do. He was a combat soldier. After his brief Army training in combat technique and ten weeks of medic training he was called on to serve one year of constant combat. He performed surgery, psychological counseling, and all type of medical treatment to the soldiers he served with. He was constantly shot at and returned fire while saving lives of colleagues. He did things doctors with over eight years of training would have trouble doing. He saved lives and he still mourns the soldiers who died in his arms because he could not save them. He treated enemy POW's and civilian non-combatants who were injured in the horrors that were faced in Vietnam. Several million Americans wore the uniform of the United States during the Vietnam years. But a small minority were ground combat soldiers engaged in ground combat. His book is remarkable in telling the story of average young people who our country called on to fight for us. His talking about everyday problems of soldiers will bring back to our heroes who did the fighting the problems they faced and the pride they felt in serving honorably. The way Sergeant Strusinski tells the stories will remind his fellow heroes that their cause was just and that they did their duty. He does not dwell on the reception at home when he went from the jungle to civilization in America, but his recollections remind all of us the dishonorable way our heroes were treated when they returned to America. Bill Strusinski did his duty and then went on to be the kind of citizen we wish we had more of in our country. He is not asking for thanks or anything else except, after 50 years, the chance to tell this remarkable story. We owe him, and his combat colleagues our thanks, our apology, and our respect. The hundreds and hundreds of us who have known him in the fifty years since he became a civilian have known that he is an exceptional man. Now we know what he has been through. Our respect for him was high before we knew his story. Now we continue to respect and enjoy him on a whole new level. Everyone who respects America and what we stand for will benefit from this book and will get an understanding of the warriors who have made our country great. -Harry Sieben, Jr., Major General (ret) (bvt), Minnesota National Guard

Author Information

Bill Strusinski has 49 years of state government lobbying experiences. Early in his career, he served in a variety of positions in the Executive Branch, including Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of Administration. He served three Governors, including Wendell Anderson, Rudy Perpich and Al Quie. He was also responsible for the day-to-day operation of the agency and was the Governor's lead advocate to secure legislative funding support for over $1 Billion in state capital investment projects. Since his early days in State Government, Strusinski has developed expertise in building and construction regulations, government finance and tax policy, public health policy, capital investment (bonding projects) and business regulation. He continues to work extensively with the major business regulatory (commerce), legacy, environment, finance, capital investment and tax committees in the legislature and understands their impact on small business and individuals. Strusinski formed his own public policy firm in 1981 and has been advocating on the behalf of good public policy development as a lobbyist since that time. He has received numerous awards recognizing his professional abilities, including being named as one of the top ten lobbyists in Minnesota by the Star Tribune newspaper. He says what he enjoys most about lobbying is empowering people and using his rich experience and contacts in the public and private sectors to successfully represent his clients. Bill Strusinski and his wife, Kirsten Libby, make their home in Scandia, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities.

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