The attitude towards combat medics during the war varied depending on the combatants and the theatre
The attitude towards combat medics during the war varied depending on the combatants and the theatre. There was no universal code of conduct or respect for the medics who tended the wounded in the battle zones. Some soldiers saw them as humanitarian heroes, while others saw them as easy targets or even enemies.
In some cases, both sides agreed on a temporary truce to allow the medics to help the wounded and evacuate them from the battlefields.
For example, in 1945, three US soldiers from the 9th Infantry Division encountered a German doctor who had 43 members of his medical team stranded in the woods because their truck had no gas.
The Americans gave them gas and handed them over to the Germans, even though they were low on medics and needed medical attention.
In other cases, medics were deliberately shot at or killed by enemy fire, especially by SS soldiers who used wounded soldiers as bait to lure more victims.
One incident involved a US medic who tried to rescue a wounded soldier under a machine gun fire. He took his Red Cross flag and went to help him, but he was instantly cut in half by a burst of bullets from an SS soldier, who kept on firing at him and the wounded soldier.
The treatment of medics also depended on whether they were armed or not. Allied medics were usually unarmed, while German medics were allowed to carry a pistol with them.
This made some Allied soldiers distrustful of German medics and shoot them on sight, while some German soldiers respected Allied medics for their bravery and non-combatant status.
The Pacific theatre was even more brutal and ruthless for medics. Both US and Japanese forces considered anything from the enemy side a legitimate target and often shot at medics and war journalists. The Japanese also had a culture of not surrendering or accepting medical help, which made it harder for medics to do their job.
So, US WW2 medics did get shot at, but not always, and not by everyone. It was a matter of chance, circumstance, and choice. Medics faced the same dangers and difficulties as regular soldiers, but they also had a unique role and responsibility that sometimes earned them respect and gratitude from both sides.
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