Water on the Moon

After struggling through a challenging childhood afflicted with asthma, overcoming dyslexia, and dealing with an abusive father, Frederick “Skip” Burkle was determined to become a physician. Despite the odds, he achieved that goal and then entered the Navy as a draftee. His first assignment was deployment to a combat base in South Vietnam close to the DMZ, one of the most violently contested areas in that war-torn country. Besides treating combat casualties, Dr. Burkle provided humanitarian medical care to local civilians, many of whom were suffering from the wounds of war plus living with a host of tropical diseases. That deployment not only introduced him to Vietnamese culture but also to the type of medicine he would continue to practice for the rest of his career.
In this memoir, Burkle shares his story as a pioneer in global disaster medicine. He served in three major wars and multiple country conflicts, and escaped assassination attempts during his position as the Interim Health Minister of Iraq. Burkle’s story reveals the challenges of practicing medicine in war-torn areas; he dealt with complex political and power struggles, negotiations, and the poverty-stricken aftermath of conflict. He also shared his skills with health care professionals around the world, earning him a legacy as the “father of disaster medicine.”

Frederick M. Burkle, Jr.’s, MD, career spans more than half a century as a physician with qualifications in pediatrics, emergency medicine, psychiatry, public health, and tropical medicine. As a pioneer in the field of global disaster medicine, he has taught and mentored countless health professionals, and is often referred to as the “father of disaster medicine.” He has published more than 550 articles, multiple abstracts, 80 book chapters, and authored four books, three on disaster management. He lives in Kailua, Hawaii. Jan K. Herman is the former chief medical historian of the U.S. Navy. He has written and produced documentaries for the Navy, highlighting its medical service during World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. He has authored more than 50 articles and five books. Now retired, he resides in Takoma Park, Maryland. Megan Snair is a science writer and public health consultant for SGNL Solutions. Previously she was a senior program officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, leading consensus studies and workshops on global and U.S. health policy. She lives in Evergreen, Colorado.

Frederick M. Burkle, Jr., MD
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 298
Bibliographic Info: 45 photos, appendices, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9664-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5435-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH 1
Introduction 5

Part I: Planting the Seeds

1. Crossing the Street 9
2. Fulfilling a Dream: Frederick Martin Burkle, Jr., MD 19

Part II: In the Heart of War
3. How Did I Get to Vietnam? 1968–1969 33
4. A Moon for the Souls: 1969 53
5. Homecoming and Readjustment: 1969–1975 61
6. Operation Babylift: April 1975 66

Part III: Building a Humanitarian Career
7. Becoming a Global Health Professional: 1975–1990 85
8. Back to War—Iraq: December 1990–March 1991 103
9. Operation Provide Comfort: Spring 1991 119
10. On Call in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Balkans: 1990s 134
11. The Center of Excellence: 1994–2000 150
12. Baghdad: April 2003 166
13. Sleuthing in Liberia: August 2003 183

Part IV: Bringing It All Home
14. A Wound Forever 199
15. Hard-Earned Lessons 209
Epilogue 221
Appendix 1: Tributes 223
Appendix 2: Four Perspectives on the World’s Challenges and Concerns 233
A Physician in Peril 234
Sowing the Seeds of Global Autocracies 243
Politics and Public Health: An Explosive Combination 259
The Untold Cost of War on Civilians 266
Index 279