Scott McGaugh: Battlefield Angels: Saving Lives Under Enemy Fire

In some ways, it was the kind of surgical procedure that doctors handle every day — a sudden case of acute appendicitis, requiring an emergency appendectomy.

But there were a few things most of those doctors have that Pharmacist's Mate Wheeler B. Lipes didn't: standard medical equipment, surgical training, or an operating room that's not aboard a submarine on patrol in enemy waters.

In every one of America's wars, there have been men and women who knew how Wheeler Lipes felt that day in 1942, and Battlefield Angels is dedicated to their stories. Caspar Wistar never knew if he'd have enough dressings for the wounds of General Washington's army.

Jonathan Letterman had to create a battlefield evacuation system from scratch after the Battle of Bull Run. And before Pfc. Monica Brown could treat her fellow soldiers, she had to rescue them from a disabled Humvee in the midst of am ambush — becoming only the second woman in sixty years to receive the Silver Star.

Through these stories and many others, McGaugh traces the evolution of battlefield care, finding cases of remarkable courage and resourcefulness that saved lives on the battlefield and beyond.

Scott McGaugh is also the author of Midway Magic and Midway Memories, an historic photo essay self-published for visitors to the USS Midway Museum. Midway Magic became the basis for a History Channel program, "Hero Ship: The USS Midway", featuring the author. McGaugh is the marketing director of the USS Midway Museum, which in two years became the most-visited floating ship museum in the world.