Culture

Watch: Navy Trauma Surgeon Ranks the Most Realistic Movie Combat Wounds

March 4, 2022Mac Caltrider
trauma surgeon

Dr. Peter Rhee was among the first surgeons on the ground in Afghanistan. Wikimedia Commons photo.

War movies often contain some of the most intense scenes of combat trauma and battlefield medicine in cinema. There’s a fine line between realism and good drama, but several war movies stand above the crowd for their realistic depictions of grievous wounds.



In a video produced by Insider, retired Navy trauma surgeon Dr. Peter Rhee evaluates 10 of the most popular movie scenes depicting combat wounds. With more than 24 years in the military as a trauma surgeon, and as one of the first surgeons on the ground in Afghanistan, Rhee is no stranger to front-line medicine. After serving at Camp Rhino in 2001, Rhee went on to serve in Iraq, where he established the first surgical unit in Ramadi. He’s a bit of an expert when it comes to battlefield medicine, and in this video, he picks apart some of the best movie battlefield wounds.


Read Next: John Wayne and ‘Sands of Iwo Jima’: 5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know



Mac Caltrider
Mac Caltrider

Mac Caltrider is a senior staff writer for Coffee or Die Magazine. He served in the US Marine Corps and is a former police officer. Caltrider earned his bachelor’s degree in history and now reads anything he can get his hands on. He is also the creator of Pipes & Pages, a site intended to increase readership among enlisted troops. Caltrider spends most of his time reading, writing, and waging a one-man war against premature hair loss.

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