This book is dedicated to the men and women who served with the 1st Australian Field Hospital (1 AFH) during the Vietnam War in Vung Tau, South Vietnam, from 1 April 1968 when the unit was raised, until it returned to Australia on 25 November 1971. It honours them and the patients who passed through the hospital doors into their care.

The hospital comprised triage, operating theatres, pathology, pharmacy, X-ray, physiotherapy, psychiatry, outpatients, RAP, a six-bed intensive care ward and 50-bed medical and 50-bed surgical ward. Medical services provided by the hospital were of such a high standard that the survival rate, for soldiers arriving at the hospital alive, was 99%. This success rate still stands today as a truly remarkable achievement.

Call Sign VAMPIRE: The Inside Story of an Australian Field Hospital During the Vietnam War provides a window into the frenetic world of a military hospital in a war zone. It draws on accounts of hospital personnel remembering their work and environment, patients recalling their firsthand experiences, and helicopter pilots and medics describing the evacuation of casualties to the Vampire Pad at the hospital. This book is a celebration of the dedication of a unique group of Australians, thrown together to get on with the job of treating the injured and wounded.

Details: Non-fiction, published 2021.

Format: Hard cover, illustrations (photographs), 288 pages.

Dimensions: 30.0 cm (h) x 30 cm (w) / 2,000+ grams.