Link to the post

link to the news

basically the reasons the doctor keep the arm was "I kept this guy's arm as a relic to tell myself I'm a good person!" like idk what to say

  • CarlTheRedditor [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Main part of the story:

    Nguyen Quang Hung fought during the Vietnam war and had his arm amputated by US army doctor Sam Axelrad in 1966 after his arm caught gangrene.

    Dr Axelrad kept the bones of the arm as a reminder of the good deed he had performed by treating an enemy soldier.

    He began a quest to track down the owner of the arm in 2012, meeting Mr Hung on Monday to return his bones.

    "I'm very happy to see him again and have that part of my body back after nearly half a century," Mr Hung said.

    "My arm bone is evidence of my contribution to the war. I will keep it in my house... in the glass display cabinet," he said, adding that he hoped the arm would help him claim a veteran's pension, as his army files had been lost.

    He also plans to be buried with his bones.

    • EthicalHumanMeat [he/him]
      1·
      4 years ago

      Ok, that's actually kind of wholesome given that he saved the life of a North Vietnamese/NLF soldier. I assumed it was like a war trophy or something.

      • thelasthoxhaist [he/him]
        1·
        4 years ago

        its like that, i post it because i founded kinda weird and creepy to be a doctor and think "im gonna keep the severed arm"

        • Chapo_Trap_Horse [none/use name]
          1·
          4 years ago

          Yeah but the war trophy idea is on another fucking level entirely, like the guy bent down and picked up a recently blown-off arm from the battlefield and stuffed it into his backpack next to his smokes and ripped out porn mag pages and somehow kept a rotting human arm around through everything and got it home.

          • CarlTheRedditor [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            Nguyen Quang Hung fought during the Vietnam war and had his arm amputated by US army doctor Sam Axelrad in 1966 after his arm caught gangrene.

            Dr Axelrad kept the bones of the arm as a reminder of the good deed he had performed by treating an enemy soldier.

            . . .

            "When I amputated his arm [in 1966], our medics took the arm, took the flesh off it, put it back together perfectly with wires, and then they gave it to me," he said.

            "When I left the country six months later, I didn't want to throw it away, I put it in my trunk and brought it home, and all these years it has been in my house," he added.

            But, that said, Nguyen agrees with you:

            "I can't believe that an American doctor took my infected arm, got rid of the flesh, dried it, took it home and kept it for more than 40 years," he said.

    • GnastyGnuts [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Fingers crossed for the Vietnamese guy to finally get his pension, that part was a bummer.

      • LangdonAlger [any]
        4·
        4 years ago

        nice to see that chapo.chat supports the troops; must be the bernie influence

    • CEGBDFA [any]
      1·
      4 years ago

      deleted by creator

    • GVAGUY3 [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Of things to have displayed at your house, your arm is one thing to make visitors do a double take. It's weird that the doctor kept the arm, but if it can give him his pension, I guess this can work out in his favor.