Saving Lives

Born on March 3, 1948, Major Bruce H. “Doc” Norton, USMC (Ret.) grew up in the rural township of North Scituate, Rhode Island. He served on active duty from 1968 to 1992. A combat veteran and a career Marine infantry and reconnaissance officer, he is a nationally recognized historian, playwright, and author of 15 books on the United States Marine Corps and other military subjects. Enlisting as a U.S. Navy Corpsman in 1968, he served with distinction in both 3rd Force Reconnaissance and 1st Force Reconnaissance Companies during the Vietnam War, participating in more than 20 long-range reconnaissance missions in 1969-1970. Both “Jump” (parachute) and Scuba qualified, he was the only Navy corpsman designated a Force Recon team leader during the Vietnam War and was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” Device, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, with Combat “V” Device, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Valorous Unit Award. Major Norton is the recipient of five San Diego Author’s Awards and the General Robert L. Denig Memorial Distinguished Service Award, presented to him by the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondence Association. He was the 2022 recipient of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg Heritage Award for distinguished service as an educator and military historian. Along with Dr. Harry J. Kantrovich, he has co-written the script for the play Voices from Vietnam, which premiered in Virginia in 2024, and has now co-written the script for a new play based on this book, Saving Lives: The Stories of Medics, Corpsmen, Nurses, Doctors, and Dustoff Pilots Who Served in the Vietnam War. This play will premiere in May 2026 at the Castaways Theatre in Woodbridge, Virgina.