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Boots of War

In 1991, at the start of the first Gulf War, I was as a 4th year medical student in Paris France on a general surgery rotation. Little did I know that fifteen years later, as I cared for Iraqi - civilians, military, terrorists who would have killed us given the chance, the words of Dr. Jean Louis Paille would echo in my mind – “Patient care trumps politics every time… Every time.” Under fire and under pressure in Balad, Iraq, Lt. Col Jay T. Bishoff, a United States Air Force surgeon, gives a first-hand account of the war in Iraq through unique photographic images and his personal encounters in his new book, Boots of War. Dr. Bishoff recounts true stories from the 332 EMDG Hospital in Balad Iraq when it was the busiest trauma center in the world. While insurgents launched mortar and rocket attacks onto the Balad, Iraq Air base an average of seven times a day, medical personnel continually cared for critically injured U.S. and coalition soldiers, Iraqi nationals and even the rocket firing insurgents themselves. Full of laughter and tears, these modern-day war stories are unforgettable accounts of Operation Iraqi Freedom, its human cost, and its moral lessons.