“It was a phenomenal system. It’s still a phenomenal system.” — Dr. Dale Smith, Uniformed Services University Historian
From the Civil War battlefield to the skies over Vietnam, military medical evacuation has continually evolved to get wounded service members the care they need.
In the third episode of the Military Medicine 250 video podcast, Peter J. Graves, from Military Health System Strategic Communication and Public Affairs, continues his conversation with Dr. Dale Smith, military medical historian from the Uniformed Services University. Smith explores the evolution of military medical evacuation, from Major Jonathan Letterman’s Civil War innovations to the helicopter evacuation systems that transformed care in Vietnam. He also considers what military medicine must do next as drones, missiles and contested airspace threaten the “golden hour” standard.
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2026 13:10 |
| Category: | Interviews |
| Audio ID: | 93552 |
| Filename: | 2608/DOD_111933784.mp3 |
| Length: | 00:14:35 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 3 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 0 |
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