There was no such thing as a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War… or in Vietnam. Instead, every Marine unit that ventured out on patrol was accompanied by a U.S. Navy corpsman universally known as “Doc.”
Although unarmed, the willingness with which these field medics risked their lives to save the riflemen beside them made them widely respected as “honorary Marines.” Their sacrifice on the battlefield often took the form of throwing their bodies over enemy hand grenades, for which many received posthumous Medals of Honor. One such corpsman, Donald “Doc” Ballard, typified that sacrifice… with a rare twist.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri on Dec. 5, 1945, Ballard attended North Kansas City High School and then set his ambitions on dentistry and surgery. Unable to afford the higher education in the civilian world, he enlisted in the Navy on Dec. 27, 1965…