The squad's second medic is a man of action who does not always meekly accept his
non-combatant role ("Bridgehead", "The Hostages"). He speaks with a southern
drawl and claims in one episode to be from Arkansas. Five-foot, eleven inches tall, this
PFC has light brown hair and blue eyes. Before being drafted, he was a clerk in a grocery
store. He wanted to be trained as an army cook so he would have a good trade after the
war, but the army made him a medic. He drinks, has been seen to smoke only once in the
show, and doesn't gamble. He has an easy-going southern charm and good foxhole-side
manner. But don't take this good-natured man lightly; when he, Saunders, and Caje are
captured by Germans, it's his cunning, daring, and fists that save them (episode "The
Hostages"). By fifth season, Doc seems to have become a confidante of Saunders.
About his character on Combat!, Conlan Carter says, "He never had a name.
It was just always 'Doc.' It was always assumed that he was from the mid-West, but that
was because of the way I talked." Conlan researched medics for his role. "I
figured out how to bandage a little bit and things like that. I just practiced so it
wouldn't look like I was a total nerd. Mostly, you didn't see me doin' it, anyway. And the
only people I ever was able to save were the squad. But anybody that carried the radio,
you knew he was going to get killed. That was a given. I never could save those guys.
[...] On the balance, they didn't do a lot with the stuff that I did. Mostly I just stood
around, I'd say, 'Sarge. I don't think he's gonna make it, Sarge.' And, of course, the
look. You don't say anything, just shake your head. Everybody knows what you mean."
Character's biographical information:
Name: never stated in the show Rank: PFC Home Town:
Arkansas [The Hostages], might not be a valid reference, since Doc was lying about
everything at the time he said this
Family: unknown
Military Record:
Drafted [Cry For Help]
Vices:
wine, cognac (doesn't smoke or gamble)
Data from episodes:
Grocery Clerk before the war [Cry For Help and The First Day]
Drafted. Army was short of cooks and medics; he wanted to be a cook to learn a trade for
after the war. So they made him a medic. [Cry For Help]
never been to Nashville [The Long Walk]
never had any southern cooking [The Long Walk]
good at hand-to-hand combat [The Hostages]
Submenu:
Related Reading: By fellow COMBAT! fan Pat Sewell. She writes: Just thought you might be
interested in my book Healers in World War II: Oral Histories of Medical Corps
Personnel. I emailed Rick Jason before his death to let him know about the book.
His book was about to be released. He was very gracious when I told him how much Combat
and Conlan Carter's protrayal of a medic had impressed me.
Sincerely, Patricia W. Sewell(Pat)
Healers in World War II is
published by McFarland & Company, Inc.,
• To order online from Amazon.com click
here
• To order online from Barnes & Noble click here.
It is also available from Stone and Stone World War II book site.
Doc
Character's biographical information:
By fellow COMBAT! fan Pat Sewell. She writes: Just thought you might be
interested in my book Healers in World War II: Oral Histories of Medical Corps
Personnel. I emailed Rick Jason before his death to let him know about the book.
His book was about to be released. He was very gracious when I told him how much Combat
and Conlan Carter's protrayal of a medic had impressed me. 
