Combat medics have long served in one of the most demanding roles on the battlefield. While often working under the same dangerous conditions as the soldiers around them, their primary mission was saving lives rather than taking them. From the battlefields of World War II through the conflicts of the late 1900s, these men and women provided emergency care in situations where every second could mean the difference between life and death.
The images collected here highlight the courage and skill of combat medics across several decades of military history. Some show them treating wounded service members in the field, while others capture quiet moments between missions. Taken together, these photos offer a powerful look at the heroes who carried medical supplies into harm’s way just to help others survive. Let’s take a look at 20 vintage photos of combat medics from the past.
1. 11th Airborne Army combat medic, 1940s
2. 82nd Airborne Combat Medics, 1943
3. Desmond Doss, the combat medic who saved 75 people during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945
Doss was a conscientious objector who didn’t carry a gun but served as a medic.
4. A combat medic in Vietnam, 1970
5. A combat medic rescuing a dog in Vietnam, 1971
6. Airborne combat medic, 1993
7. This is a French combat medic from WWI, 1914
8. Medical instructor Gonzales of the Special Forces in Vietnam, 1960s
9. WWI combat medic with his trusted dog
10. A Vietnam medic on a fire base near the DMZ, 1970
11. These are all U.S. Army medics in Frankfurt, Germany, April 1945
12. Staff Sergeant Waverly Woodson Jr. was an American Army combat medic during the Battle of Normandy
13. A combat medic stationed in Italy, 1955
14. Off-duty combat medic in Vietnam, 1971
15. Captured German medic helping Americans transport a soldier with a broken foot, WWII
16. An exhausted American combat medic returning from the Battle of the Bulge
17. U.S. combat medic administering first aid to a GI in the woods in Germany
18. British combat medics from the RAMC training with their anti-gas suits, WWII
19. A medic and an infantryman from the 70th Infantry Division taking cover from German artillery, 1945
20. Corporal Donald Sell, a Combat Medic from WWII
Want to see more military content?
Check out 16 Military Photos From the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), or take a look at 20 Military Photos From The Eighties. Finally, if you want to see the Civil War in color, check out 20 Colorized Photos From the Civil War That Bring it to Life.