Peter van Agtmael's Journey Through War
Medevac
Private Wayne Baird, a soldier from the 173rd Airborne, is treated for a severed brachial artery damaged by a bullet at an outpost in Nuristan province. Van Agtmael writes, "Baird went into emergency surgery with a battlefield surgical team while the medevac crew and I ate in a small shack decorated with the names of dead soldiers. On the flight to the main hospital, he drifted in and out of consciousness ... A few minutes before landing at the base, his placid groggy features turned to panic as he realized he was unable to move the fingers of one hand. The flight medic stroked his face while Baird looked at his unresponsive one with deep concentration. At last the fingers stirred slightly. He dropped his head, exhausted and with an expression of enormous relief."