Wizard 6: A Combat Psychiatrist in Vietnam (Texas a & M University Military History Series)

Book Description

In 1969 six psychiatrists were assigned to combat divisions in Vietnam, charged with treating soldiers showing psychiatric symptoms in order to get them back into battle. Doug Bey, whose radio call name in the 1st Infantry Division was Wizard 6, was one of those psychiatrists.

Drawing on graphic detail gleaned from a journal Bey transcribed when he got back stateside, this psychiatric specialist describes the daily life of a military support unit, the boredom and mind-numbing routine, but also the social issues and psychiatric crises he confronted. In Vietnam he treated people with a range of coping mechanisms, including counter phobic reactions, self-medication with drugs and alcohol, and "gross stress reaction," as well as the gamut of psychiatric illnesses.

Each month Bey and his staff saw some four hundred men, including characters like the Vietnam equivalent of Klinger from M*A*S*H, a killer dentist, soldiers addicted to killing, and others who did not want to go home. He witnessed firsthand black pride, Vietnamese prejudice, racial conflict, and the Viet Cong's fear of mental illness.

Customer Reviews:

Wizard 6--Compelling Read.......2006-07-18

This book provides a unique account of the Viet Nam war seen through the eyes of psychiatrist. Doug Bey's account of treatment in the battlefields and the sidelines was compelling; I read it cover to cover and ignored all other demands until done.

I was captured by this journey of war that unfolds in stories both large and small with the insightful commentary that comes from the original experiences, tempered by long years in the field of psychiatry.

While this memoir is rooted in the Viet Nam experience it has implications for the current men and women in the armed forces and should be required reading for those involved in the treatment of mental illness and the trauma of war.

However, the heart of the story remains one man's voice telling us the stories of war with all it's characters, events, and personal change. It's a gem of a book.

'Nam from a psychiatrist's perspective.......2006-07-04

War memoirs rarely show up on my reading list. Therefore, my enthusiasm about this book is not based on widely comparative reading in this area, but rather on the merits of this book itself. I really enjoyed reading this book, viewing familiar material from a completely different perspective than I would ever have had from my own experience, and it is a darn good read as well. Bey was a young psychiatrist in his early 30s when his induction notice arrived. His time of military service included a tour of duty in Vietnam at the height of the war, 1969-1970, reflections on which form the heart of this book. Bey was one of a small group of psychiatrists assigned to combat divisions (Wizard 6 was his radio handle). Each of these divisions had one psychiatrist, one social work officer, and several social work and psychology techs. These teams of mental health specialists found themselves in the strange position of helping others adjust to an environment that was itself plainly bizarre. Bey relates these initial impressions in a masterful chapter, "Stepping Through the Looking Glass," drawing the comparison to the Lewis Carroll classic. As just one example among many of the young doctor learning the rules by which this strange world was governed, Bey relates a time early in his tour in which he was requested by a military court to evaluate a prisoner charged with criminal offenses. Bey dutifully wrote a lengthy evaluation, stating in as many ways as he knew how that this prisoner suffered from a personality disorder, not a mental illness, and was therefore likely to repeatedly criminally offend. Surprised that the court let the man off, Bey found out that the court had not read his evaluation at all, but surmised from the heft of it that this man had genuine psychiatric problems. However, they were so miffed at having to let this criminal offender off the hook that they really threw the book at the poor guy following in the docket!
There are many very interesting features of this memoir. Bey deals very forthrightly with issues of racial, class and cultural differences in relation both to military justice and to psychiatric and mental health issues. He approaches these issues with a clear, personal point of view, but is refreshingly aware of the strengths and limitations of his own perspectives. He also recognized the peculiar position he and his fellow medics were in as relatively high-ranking officers who had no long-range military career goals. Their indifference to military protocol was sometimes comical, sometimes rebellious, sometimes useful in getting things accomplished outside of channels, but it was also always a position of privilege.
One of the things that surprised me in this memoir was the almost complete absence of any discussion of politics. Although Bey does suggest that he was politically very conservative (just to the right of Genghis Khan, he says...) and generally supported the war effort (albeit, with grave doubts about the way the war was being conducted) candid discussion of war politics simply does not come up, either in the direct talk among the officers or in Bey's own interpretive narrative. The nearest to it is one episode in which, at the behest of a black fellow officer with whom he was very close, Bey attended a meeting of black enlisted men and relates the speeches presented there, which focused on their anger and resentment at fighting for the freedom of Vietnamese while having freedoms denied to them in the USA. This episode is related, however, not in the context of discussion of the war itself, but of racial tensions within the military. The main sense one gets here is that, aside from brief episodes of extreme action, the war was experienced by the soldiers themselves as grindingly boring. I suppose this strikes me so strongly exactly because, as I remember those years, heated discussions about the war seemingly consumed us stateside, and this brings home again the chasm of difference in perspective between those who actively participated in the war and those, like me, who did not.

A Review of Wizard 6.......2006-06-29

"Velcome Captain. You are the new Vizard-Ya?" "Ya. I mean, yes sir." "Vell, I must tell you dat I don't know if I believe in psychiatry." "That's okay, sir; I'm not sure I belive in colonels." This interchange took place in 1969 when Doug Bey M.D. aarrived at the base camp of the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One) in Di An, Vietnam, to begin a one year tour of duty. His reponses to the U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with the German accent are vintage Doug Bey. They show his quick wit and his way with words, his irreverence and his college-wrestler toughness.
I write with familiarity because Doug and I took psychiatric residences togther at the Menninger School of Psychiatry in Topeka, Kansas. We were goth in the Berry Plan, in which the Army allowed us to complete our training but then expected us to go on active duty for two years. Doug and I both ended up in Vietnam. I was hospital based at the 67th Evaucation Hospital in Qui Nhon.
Being assigned to a division meant that Doug had a Jeep and the freedom of movement to get a good pulse of the whole unit. His radio call sign was Wizard 6. He and his talented techs took care of all kinds of emotional problems but found the so-called combat fatigue of previous wars less prevalent in Vietnam. Instead were acting up personality disorders, racial issues, communications problems between officers and the often quite young soldiers, alcohol and drug problems, and anti-establishment attitudes reflective of the anti-warm movement in the U.S.
In Topeka Doug had studied the psychology of organizations under Dr. Harry Levinson. Doug applied the techniques of organizational case study to the 1st Infantry Division. His goal was to find stress points, such as abusive officers or nonsensical regulartions, and to try to deal with such problems before they became major. This emphasis prevades the book and provids exceptional insights of a unit at war.
Doug also writes of his own coping devices in an unpopular war far from home. He tried to forget about home, immersed himself in his work, developed relationships with his colleagues, observed and kept notes, isolated negative feelings and stayed away from war politics.He also admits that he overused alcohol to self-medicate. He reports one frightening experience when he was to intoxicated at the time of a Red Alert that he mistook a friend for the enemy and pointed and pulled the trigger on his .45. What saved a tragedy was that he forgot to remove the safety. Throughout the book he is unsparing in presenting his own failings, which makes his story ring true.
He writes of how his Vietnam experiences affect him even to this day. He has a lifetime of things to ponder, such as the obviously battle-hardened infantryman who barged into Doug's office and announced that he wanted the doctor to know that he was gay and who then ran off; or the grieving crowd around a Vietnamese boy who lay next to his mangled bicycle, the victim of a US military truck that didn't stop.
Doug also compares and contrasts Vietnam with Iraq. His disquieting conclusion is that the two conflicts are becoming more and more similar.
This book has value not only for the people with military interests but also for mental health workers. The descriptions of the smells and noises of the country and of the people and their sad plight rang so true to me. I found myself nodding my head in agreement as I read. Doug really got it the way it was. My biggest disappointment is that I didn't write this book. But I'm glad somebody did.

Ed Colbach M.D.

A Must-Read for Boomers.......2006-06-26

We all know, or knew, someone in Nam. An easily readable, enlightening chronicle of the time with touches of humor. I highly recommend this book.

Wizard 6 - Loved it!!.......2006-06-19

Great narration of life in a support unit in Vietnam, the problems faced when returning home and the lasting effect on the lives of those who served. Very much enjoyed and appreciated.

A Vietnam Experience: Ten Years of Reflection (Publication Series: No. 315)

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The inner way of a warrior
Important book that deserves a very wide reading
A remarkable book by a remarkable man

A Vietnam Experience: Ten Years of Reflection (Publication Series: No. 315)
James Stockdale
Manufacturer: Hoover Institution Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0817981527

Book Description

In September 1965, then navy commander James B. Stockdale was shot down while flying a mission over North Vietnam. He was to spend the next seven and a half years in a Hanoi prison, four of them in solitary confinement. As a senior officer among the prisoners, he was responsible for defining rules of conduct and maintaining morale. It was a task that, despite torture, intimidation, and isolation, he fulfilled with intelligence and courage. For a specific act of risking his life to protect his fellow prisoners, Admiral Stockdale was award the congressional Medal of Honor. Admiral Stockdale survived because of his character and his values. Both were honed and strengthened during his imprisonment, and their refinement under adversity represents a personal victory for him. His reflections on this experience and the reasons for his survival form the basis of the essays reprinted here. Ranging in subject from methods of communication in prison to military ethics to the principles of leadership, the thirty-four selections contained in this volume are a unique record of what their author calls a "melting experience," a pressure-packed existence that forces one to grow.

Customer Reviews:

The inner way of a warrior.......2007-04-27

These are the reflections of a well-educated leader for any age, yet an experienced Navy pilot in his post-captive years as a POW during the Vietnam War.Jim Stockdale makes clear throughout this book the differences between enlightened leadership and the business ethos permeating the Pentagon after Eisenhower.He even reveals early censorship and manipulation of "facts" by TV and print media decades ago. Throughout this philosophical lecture-filled book, this decorated Vice Admiral sprinkles historical naval decisions to underline his points.This is recommended for those who believe in the careful study of history and the wisdom of those who pass them down.

Important book that deserves a very wide reading.......2005-09-22

I read Vice Admiral Stockdale's obituary and became interested in his writing, given what I learned about him in the outline of his career. It was truly tragic that his moment in the national spotlight made him seem a confused old man, as anyone reading any of his writing will quickly discern.

This book could well serve as a 150 page handbook on the true meaning of manhood and ways of attaining it. Stockdale had a classical education and put it to excellent use during a long public career and an unbelievably difficult eight year period as a prisoner of war. He has important things to say about character and courage and leadership and adversity and history. The breadth of sources from which he draws his observations is breathtaking.

A remarkable book by a remarkable man.......2005-07-19

It is an honor to review this book. Vice admiral Stockdale reflects on his personal experience as senior officer in a POW camp in Vietnam during 8 years. This is one of the most remarkable example of human fortitude I have ever heard of told by a man of supreme intelligence and culture.

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Driving Adventure
This book was good.
GREAT BOOK!
Jake's Review
This book is really ok

The Car
Gary Paulsen
Manufacturer: Harcourt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0152058273

Book Description

Neglected by his parents, fourteen-year-old Terry Anders is used to taking care of things on his own. He even manages to assemble a car kit by himself. When the car is finished, Terry sets off from Cleveland to Portland in search of an uncle he barely remembers. Along the way, he is joined by a wise Vietnam vet who turns his journey into an adventure in learning.

Each book includes a reader's guide.

Customer Reviews:

Driving Adventure.......2007-04-23

Fourteen-year-old Terry's parents have always fought with each other a lot. Finally, though, they've had enough. One day neither one comes home, and in the evening Terry gets two phone messages--one from his mother, telling him to tell his father that she has all of her stuff and isn't coming back, and one from his father, telling him to tell his mother that he has all of his stuff and isn't coming back. Terry is left alone.

Terry doesn't mind at all the fact that he is by himself. His parents have always ignored him, so he doesn't really miss them. He thinks they will probably eventually figure out he is alone and one of them will come back home. And now he has the opportunity to do what he's wanted to do for a long time--build the car out of the kit his father has in the garage, the car kit his father has refused to build himself and has forbidden Terry to build.

It doesn't take Terry long to build the car, and with a set of wheels, he decides to go on the road, to drive from Ohio to Oregon to see an uncle he just barely remembers. Terry packs up the car and leaves, being careful to drive at the speed limit so he won't have to risk getting pulled over. Soon into his trip, he meets a hitchhiker who convinces Terry he would be able to help him on his journey. The man's name is Waylon and almost without intending to, Terry decides to bring him along.

Before long it is Waylon who is guiding the trip, advising Terry where to drive and teaching him many things he will never forget, about friendship, history, and himself.

I really liked the interactions among Waylon, Wayne and Terry. The three of them fit together really well and were able to learn from each other. I liked that Waylon was a mystery; Terry never quite knew what was going on with him, so the reader was never sure, either. I thought the ending left too much unresolved, though. I liked that the book was about a journey, but I also wanted to see the characters get somewhere.

This book was good........2007-04-03

I thought it was a good read. I have to say that it was not that that great but it was worth my time. I kept on thinking that it was going to pick up but it didn't really. It was still pretty good, just not great. Happy Reading!

GREAT BOOK!.......2006-11-24

Maybe I'm prejudiced. I love to work on cars. One of my favorite childhood books was The Red Car, with the MG TF and Frenchy. So maybe I'm prejudiced in favor of red cars that look like MG TF's and adult kids (like me) who are "car crazy."

Doesn't matter -- I loved this book. Done my truckin too, in my "Truckula", whom I have taken apart and put back together many times. Met some great people, saw some beautiful scenery outside -- and in my heart soul and my mind -- while truckin/travelin.

This is a great book of adventure and special buddies, wisdom and philosophy, the kind you find while travelin' thru the wide open spaces to the small towns.

Oh... PS -- How soon we forget history -- It's "Stirling" Moss.

Jake's Review.......2006-10-13

This is an awesome book to read. It starts out with a boy that is lonely and his family left him to fight for himself. He finds "the car" and figures he can build it. He ends up on a run cross-country and meets a lot of good people. He ends up running from people and the law. He is on a wild journey and he doesn't know where he is going or what he will find.
This is great book for people who like cars or action-adventure books. I advise you readers out there to read this book! Go to your local library and check out this book! I hope that you all like it!

This book is really ok.......2006-07-21

The car is about a young 14 year old boy name Terry Anders who has been abandoned by his parnets.The only thing that Terry Anders have from his parents that he can remember them by is a car that was in his father's garage that needs a lot of fixing on it so Terry tries to find ways make money to fix up the car to get it started. Then Terry gets the car parts that it needs and now the car is running. When he finishes the car known as the cat, Terry sets off from Cleveland to Portland to search for an uncle that he hardly knowns.Along the way Terry picks up a wandering Vietnam veteran who ultimately teaches him journey of discovery and survival. This is a brief letter of my book The Car.

A message to all who reads this letter: If you get abandoned or left because some one do not want you and you have done all you can to try to RESPECT them and LOVE them but they just don't want you let them go and when they leave they will come right back to you because they will miss the way you treated them with LOVE and RESPECT but own they will not have that to get and then they will come right back to you asking can they come back to you after they just said, "I do not want to be with you." Now it is your yurn to do your part will you take them back in your heart or just forgive them and say I do not want o be with you any more.I hope this letter have inspired you to do the right thing.

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NAM The Vietnam Experience 1965-75

Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1566199492

Aztlán and Viet Nam: Chicano and Chicana Experiences of the War (American Crossroads, 4)

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an excellent account of Vietnam and the Chicano community

Aztlán and Viet Nam: Chicano and Chicana Experiences of the War (American Crossroads, 4)
George Mariscal
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520214056

Book Description

Showcasing over sixty short stories, poems, speeches, and articles, Aztlán and Viet Nam is the first anthology of Mexican American writings about the U.S. war in Southeast Asia. The words are startlingly frank, moving, and immensely powerful, as they call to our attention an important and neglected part of U.S. history. Gathered from many little-known sources, the works reflect both the soldiers' experience and the antiwar movement at home. Taken together, they illustrate the contradictions faced by the traditionally patriotic Mexican American community, and show us the war and the grassroots opposition to it from a new perspective--one that goes beyond the familiar dichotomy of black and white America.
George Mariscal offers critical introductions and provides historical background by identifying specific issues which have not been widely discussed in relation to the war, noting, for example, the potential for Chicano soldiers to recognize their own ethnic and class identities in those of the Vietnamese people. Drawing upon interviews with key participants in the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, Mariscal analyzes the antiwar movement, the Catholic Church, traditional Mexican American groups, and an emerging feminist consciousness among Chicanas.
Also included are personal accounts: Norma Elia Cantú's remembrance of her brother who died in combat, Bárbara Renaud González's evocative poem about Chicanas on the homefront, Alberto Ríos's and Naomi Helena Quiñonez's moving poetry about the Wall, and the recollections of Abelardo Delgado and others on the August 29, 1970 Moratorium.

Customer Reviews:

an excellent account of Vietnam and the Chicano community.......1999-05-11

George Mariscal has done a wonderful job collecting information by Chicano and Chicana writers -- both Vietnam veterans, and anti-war activists -- who share emotions, insights, and experiences about the Chicano community's involvement in the war. So little has been written about the Vietnam war and the Chicano(a) experience. As a community college teacher, I assigned my own book, Shifting Loyalties, to the class. Shifting Loyalties also deals with Chicanos in Vietnam. I remember a Vietnamese student saying, "I didn't know there were Mexicans fighting in Vietnam." His statement reminded me how sad it is that the Chicano community has given so much for this country, including the lives of our men and women, and still, there is relatively little recognition for our efforts. George Mariscal's book does much to remedy this situation. He has compiled a strong representation of poetry, short stories, interviews, and essays. His own narrative moves the work along in a way that makes the entire book act as if it were one piece. Any teachers, students, or persons interested in the Vietnam war from an entirely new and fresh perspective must buy this book.

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The Army at War (Vietnam Experience)
Michael Casey
Manufacturer: Time Life Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0939526239

The North: The Communist Struggle for Vietnam (The Vietnam Experience)

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The North: The Communist Struggle for Vietnam (The Vietnam Experience)
Edward Doyle , Samuel Lipsman , and Terrence Maitland
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Flags into Battle (Vietnam Experience)

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ASIN: 0939526220

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A "must read" book
If Morning Never Comes
If Morning Never Comes

If Morning Never Comes
Bill Vandenbush
Manufacturer: The Old Hundred and One Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0972161341

Book Description

The powerful story of a young man's near death experience in Vietnam.

Customer Reviews:

A "must read" book.......2004-04-16

Being a senior citizen and an avid reader all of my life, I can unequivocally say that "If Morning Never Comes" is one of the greatest books I have ever read.

At a time when many young men were busy growing pony tails, fleeing to Canada, and staging protests, young 18-year-old Bill volunteered to serve in the unpopular Vietnam war. This decision altered his life forever. The way he portrays his experiences is both heart wrenching and heart warming.

The fact that Bill survived his massive injuries is unbelievable. His tale of what drove him to both survive and rehabilitate himself against all odds is amazing. This is a poignant, wonderfully written and awe-inspiring piece of work. I hope his book is a huge success----he deserves it!

If Morning Never Comes.......2003-10-31

This story of Bill's near death experience in Vietnam is an interesting melding of spirituality and the ravages of WAR. What a goose bump raising story! I have known Bill for many years and was no less enraptured with his words than I was tthe first time he shared the story with me. It should be required reading for anyone going to war, the families of those going to War, but most importantly for those politicians who have never been to War, but are very willing to send someone elses daughter or son. Write on Bill!

If Morning Never Comes.......2003-10-30

If you lived through the era of the Vietnam War you can relate to this book. I enjoyed the way VandenBush just told it the way it was. To many Vietnam stories are loaded with hyped up garbage. This book is straight forward and a joy to read. I hope he follows up with another one.

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Images of War (Vietnam Experience)

Manufacturer: Time Life Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0939526182

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