11 Sept 2021 Garand Picture of the Day

[Mark in Rochester]

Seoul, 9/50, 1st Marines
Wounded Marine Evacuated under sniper fire

Information

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[Flying10uk]

Carrying another human being on a stretcher can be unbelievably heavy, depending on the size of the person on the stretcher.

[rcathey]

I’ve read that in a memoir of some fighting in the Pacific. Can’t remember which one but I think he was on Peleliu — hard to imagine handling a stretcher over that sharp coral surface.

[browningautorifle]

We used to do what we termed "Stretcher PT"...was a man on the stretcher and a whole rifle platoon changing up carrying. We developed drills for changing men on the trot and how long to allow carry before changing. Takes a lot of men to be effective. Worse with the encumbrance of fighting order.

[Flying10uk]

In WW1 images you often see just 2 men carrying a stretcher.

[browningautorifle]

In WW1 images you often see just 2 men carrying a stretcher.

Yep, you do...

[CINDERS]

They also enlisted the aid of prisoners to help evacuate the wounded in WWI due to the gluttonous mud it could take all day to remove a wounded person with 6-8 personnel helping, those stretcher bearers were a god send.
And wearing of a red cross arm band did not really make you immune from being shot or blown up, in recent conflicts they the enemy wounded personnel to thin the ranks as it took multiple members of the squad to remove that person for treatment.
Plus they could snipe at those trying to rescue the wounded person, I employed that tactic shooting parrots in an orchard once, winged one keeping it squawking for its mates and managed to clean up 23 from the one spot.

Couple of pics showing what they had to contend with, No.s of personnel involved and prisoners of war aiding in the bearing of the wounded duties.