Reviews of Wizard 6

In 1969, when Dr. Douglas Bey, a newly minted captain in the Army Medical Corps, arrived in Vietnam for a tour of duty as division psychiatrist to the 1st Infantry Division, he was greeted, as were so many before him, with catcalls, the kindest of which was "What a bunch of sorry mothers." Stumbling out of the plane and sinking into the dense heat stirred only by the insults of the happy, jeering men lined up for the return flight, Bey felt as though he were "going through the looking glass in Alice in Wonderland and entering a parallel existence." 
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-Maureen T. Moore Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts 
JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY 
THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

Dr. Douglas Bey's account of his one-year tour as the psychiatrist of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 is a good read. Military historians, veterans and officers can all find important insights and perspectives in his matter-of-fact account.

For military historians, Dr. Bey offers a view of the U.S. Army's experience in Vietnam that is rare indeed. Only six Army psychiatrists were assigned to combat divisions, all late in the war. This is the only first-hand account that group has thus far produced. On the advice of a mentor, Bey decided to be an observer and chronicler of his own experience, in part to hone his psychiatric skills, in part to have a project that would make the time pass. He had an eye for detail and consulted his notes, photographs, and journal closely in the preparation of this book. From "FNGs" to "stretcher sandwiches," his anecdotes provide a rich description of the daily life in Vietnam in the supporting echelons of a combat division.  Click Here to read entire article

- On Point The Journal of Army History Summer 2007 Vol 13 No.1
Paul Herbert Cantigany First Division Foundation Weaton, Il.

Douglas Bey had just finished a three-year residency at the Menninger School of Psychiatry studying under the famed Dr. Karl Menninger when he reported to Fort Sam Houston for Army basic medical training. Before that, he had earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. After a stint at Fort Knox, he arrived in Vietnam in May 1969. Bey spent the next year as a psychiatrist "helping men adjust to a crazy place," as he aptly puts it-at the 1st Infantry Division's headquarters in Di An. He provides the details of that year in his well-written, illuminating Wizard 6: A Combat Psychiatrist in Vietnam.

-The Vietnam Veterans of America Veteran July/August Edition

More than thirty years after the fall of Saigon, the Vietnam War still casts a long shadow over the history and culture of the United States. This conversation focuses on the legacy of Vietnam, particularly for its veterans and their families. Our guests are Tom Bissell, author of the recent book The Father of All Things: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Vietnam, and Vietnam veterans Douglas Bey, former combat psychiatrist for the 1st Division and author of Wizard 6: A Combat Psychiatrist in Vietnam, and Brian Mulcrone, president of Chapter 311 of the Vietnam Veterans of America. (03/28/07)

-WGN Radio Archives

"In the book you sound as if you're slightly surprised by how much of Vietnam you carried with you to civilian life." 
"I was. The people at home have been able to forget. The vets haven't."
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-By Juris Jurjevics Published October 12, 2006 San Diego Reader

"Serving in Vietnam challenged everyone’s mental limits, says Douglas Bey, a combat Psychiatrist during the war."
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-Interview with Douglas Bey by Rachel Parker UIC alumni magazine Sept/Oct 2006

". . . a rare, insightful, compelling, and excellent memoir of the Vietnam war. . . . [Bey's] presentation of army psychiatrist practices stateside and in Vietnam is informative and contravenes popularly held misconceptions about the extent and nature of psychiatric casualties in Vietnam."

—William M. McBride, United States Naval Academy

". . . deals with an important and insufficiently documented aspect of the American war in Vietnam. The stories he uses to characterize psychiatric work on his watch are always interesting, often touching, sometimes hilarious, and occasionally all of those simultaneously."

—Donald J. Mrozek, Kansas State University

"Doug R. Bey understands trauma and its long-range impact. In articulate and sensitive prose, he takes the reader along his own journey, from a family affected by mental illness into a world trauma of a much larger scope. By mirroring the personal on a larger scene, Bey communicates the impact of mental illness on its sufferers and all those who care for them."

—Clea Simon, author of Mad House: Growing Up in the Shadows of Mentally Ill Siblings

"The professional and personal observations, with case examples, are compelling. . . .The issues [Bey] had to deal with 35 years ago are equally relevant in today's world of continuing United States involvement in international conflict."

—W. Walter Menninger, M.D., CEO Retired, Menninger Foundation & Clinic

"I suppose this strikes me so strongly exactly because, as I remember those years, heated discussions about the war, for it or against it, more or less consumed us stateside, and this brings home again the chasm of difference in perspective between those who actively participated in the war and those, like me, who did not."
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—Daniel Liechty, PhD., DMin., ACSW, LCSW School of Social Work, Illinois State University

"I found myself thoroughly enjoying "Wizard 6".This book provides a far different glimpse into the Vietnam War and it's aftermath. Bey's comparisons between his Vietnam era experiences and that of today's troops both in the field and returning home bring up amazing similarities. Bey took-the extra effort to make. "Wizard 6" VERY easy to understand. In my opinion ,""Wizard 6" is 'a MUST read!"
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—Steve Zarley - Z Bits book review featured in "Adventure Sports Outdoors" April 2006 issue

This book has value not only for people with military interests but also for mental health workers. The descriptions of the smells and noises of the country and of the people and their sad plight rang so true to me. I found myself nodding my head in agreement as I read. Doug really got it the way it was. My biggest disappointment is that I didn't write this book. But I'm glad somebody did. 
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—Edward Colbach, M.D.

...well-written, illuminating ...
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—The VVA VETERAN
The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ® An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress