Dr. Hassan | Vietnam & Iraq

November 10, 2007

 
icon for podpress  Interview with Dr. Allen Hassan [12:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We had the honor of speaking with Dr. Allen Hassan this week, physician, surgeon, attorney, veterinarian, and educator. His book “Failure to Atone” is riveting, honest, and very powerful in this time of elections, wars, and political obsession. He spoke to us of his patriotism, and of his disappointment with decisions that sometimes take far too much human life.

In a particularly poignant moment, Dr. Hassan told us about his recent visit to Vietnam, so many years later, to see what the reactions of citizens there would be now.

Dr. Hassan’s new book, Failure to Atone, is available from his website here, and wherever books are sold.

“A haunting read, every page poignantly real, and a cautionary tale against the worst that nations at war are capable of.”
— The Midwest Book Review

“A beautiful, extraordinary, and important book! Every American should read Dr. Allen Hassan’s Failure to Atone.”
— Ron Kovic, author, Born on the Fourth of July

The following biography is excerpted from Dr. Hassan’s website www.allenhassan.com:

As a physician and surgeon, the author of Failure to Atone: The True Story of a Jungle Surgeon in Vietnam served two tours of duty in Vietnam — the first as a representative of the American Medical Association’s Volunteer Physicians for Vietnam program, and the second as a representative of the Committee of Responsibility. After two tours in Vietnam witnessing civilians wounded and traumatized by war, Dr. Hassan has devoted much of his life to humanitarian service.

Dr. Hassan is an active member of the Flying Samaritans, doctors who volunteer their services to provide free medical help to the people in Baja, Mexico. A diplomate with American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, Dr. Hassan is also an expert evaluator of traumatic stress disorder and other war-related injuries that afflict American veterans.

One of only a small number of Americans to hold both a medical and legal degree, in addition to a degree in veterinary medicine, Dr. Hassan served as president of the local Academy of Family Physicians in 1977, and president of the Academy of Law in Medicine in 1983. He is a diplomate with the American Board of Family Practice, the American College of Legal Medicine, the American Board of Forensic Examiners, and the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. Dr. Hassan is also board-qualified in sports medicine. He was a clinical instructor in family practice at the University of California-Davis medical school in Davis, California from 1976-1986

Dr. Hassan served in the US Marine Corps from 1954-1957. In the Marine Corps, he achieved the rank of sergeant, and received an appointment to Annapolis. Dr. Hassan received a DVM from Iowa State University in 1962, an MD from the University of Iowa in 1966, and a JD from Lincoln University in 1978. He became a full Commander in the US Coast Guard in 1986.

Dr. Hassan’s publications include the medical text, Evaluation, Treatment and Prevention of Head and/or Spinal Injury Problems, edited by Gervase Flick, MD, JD. He is at work on a new book on the medical and psychological evaluation of veterans injured and traumatized by war, tentatively titled Invisible Wounds.

Dr. Hassan has also started a fund to raise money for Vietnamese war victims. The Failure to Atone Fund was begun in Vietnam on April 30, 2007, and is co-chaired by Dr. Allen Hassan and Lt. General Nguyen Viet Thanh, a war hero in Vietnam. Both Dr. Hassan and First News-Tri Viet Publishing made substantial donations to initiate the fund. Donations to the Failure to Atone Fund may be made via credit card through his distributor at (800) 431-1579.

Posted by admin | Filed Under Medicine, Politics, AUTHOR INTERVIEW, PODCAST 

Comments

One Response to “Dr. Hassan | Vietnam & Iraq”

  1. David Drum on November 21st, 2007 3:33 pm

    Finally had time to check this out. Very nice, professional presentation. Thanks for including us. David Drum

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