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Roger
Marshall joined the RAF after growing up during and in the aftermath of
the second world war. But a strange change came over him, and he informed
his superiors that he wanted to save lives instead of taking them.
After
he left the RAF, he began the long study to become a prosthetist. He treated
many veterans of both world wars, Korea, and also civilian amputees of
the Blitzkrieg. During the 1950s he became somewhat of a history buff
and began to learn more about war and peace. He became an active member
of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and helped organize peaceful demonstrations.
This brought Roger into contact with the British Campaign for the End
of the Vietnam War. Many of the activists were politically motivated;
many others, like the Quakers, were motivated by spiritual convictions
that war was not the answer to conflict. As a veteran with many memories,
he became interested in this concept. He began to study the history of
Vietnam and how and why the war had evolved. In the late 1960s he learned
that the Quakers needed someone with his qualifications to help the civilian
casualties of that 
dreadful
war. He never thought twice. It was obvious to Roger that he had to go
help. He had to put his body where his mouth was. It was not an easy experience
over the next three and a half years. After many interviews and language
training, he joined a medical team of dedicated individuals.
Project manager, Roger Marshall, C.P(E) Prosthetist0Orthotist, a former British Royal Air Force Medical Corpsman, has worked as a prosthetist/orthotist for forty-one years, including twenty-one years in Bangor, Maine, United States of America. From 1968 to 1972, Roger worked as a volunteer for the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) at the Quang Ngai province Quaker Rehabilitation Center, training Vietnamese students and serving civilian war casualties. Now partially retired, Roger spends his free time visiting Vietnam, teaching and fund-raising for this project, which he envisioned to carry on the work of the original Quaker center, which closed at the end of the war. Roger is a member of Orono Friends Meeting, Orono, Maine, which supports his mission in spirit.
© 1999 Roger Marshall, Completing the Circle
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