Dr. Gus Kappler served as a trauma surgeon during the Vietnam War at the 85th Evacuation Hospital ’70-‘71. His well-received 2015 memoir, Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally, describes his surgical experiences and personal transformation.
After graduating from Port Jefferson High School on Long Island, NY, he attended Cornell University ’61, MD ’65. He was drafted as an intern but was allowed to complete his surgical training at the Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA in ’70. Within a few months, he was in Vietnam. His wife, Robin, and two children remained in Wading River, LI, NY.
After his military service, Gus enjoyed a successful solo surgical practice in the small city of Amsterdam located in the majestic Mohawk River Valley in upstate New York. He and his family enjoyed hiking, camping, snowshoeing, hunting, kayaking, and photographing in the valley and the nearby Adirondack Mountains.
Upon retiring, he was an educator at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City for fifteen years and studied Global Politics through annual courses sponsored by NYU.
In 2015, Gus published "Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally, A Vietnam Trauma Surgeon's Memoir. Since his horrific Vietnam experience, he had, as the little teapot, relieved the pressure of his ever-present PTS by storytelling. The 2015 memoir is a compilation of Gus's real-life Vietnam War memories. At its conclusion, he comes to terms with his still present anger toward the Vietnamese people when encountering a brilliant Vietnamese woman, his student Mia, at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Gus’s current historical medical mystery suspense thriller, One Degree, reflects his real-life knowledge gained in Vietnam, during solo surgical practice, living and recreating in the Mohawk Valley, teaching at Weill Cornell Medicine, and in understanding global politics.
Through reading One Degree, he wishes to remind us of how morality, personal goals, and life choices may be complicated by the unique influences introduced by an unfamiliar environment. The reader is introduced to the development of PTSD, the condoning of corrupt practices, and the virulent pursuit of wealth and power.
All said and done, Gus ensures that in the end his fellow Vietnam veterans persevere and are triumphant.
Being isolated with his wife, Robin, in their New York City apartment during the peak of the Corona Virus threat created the positive of uninterrupted time to finally complete and publish One Degree.
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The videos below: Vietnam slides to reinforce the book's story, footage along Hwy 1 in Phu Bai showing the 85th Evac Hospital, and my "plea" to prevent PTSD instead of having to chase the diagnosis.