During his time at the Otago University Medical School, John Gillies was conscripted for National Military Service and served in the Combined Services Medical Company in South Vietnam between 1969 and 1970. During his tour of duty and in his spare time, John painted portraits of Vietnamese civilians and military personnel, some of whom were patients in the hospitals in which he worked. During his long medical career, John maintained an active art interest, exhibiting regularly since the late 70s. In 1989 he established the New Zealand Association of Artist Doctors with the aim of fostering creative activities among doctors. His first book, In My Chair, featured sixty-four portraits of Cantabrians, while his most recent, Skippers Canyon (published in 2023), is a beautiful collection of paintings and sketches interspersed with personal and historical notes that mark John's frequent journeys to this remarkable part of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Foreword 9 1 Youthhood 11 2 The rookie 15 3 Yellow Alert 19 4 Queue jumpers 25 5 Knock shop 27 6 Ambulance rescue 31 7 Agent Orange 37 8 The miracle 41 9 The French 45 10 Daily dilemmas 49 11 Hell breaks loose 53 12 Rocket attack 57 13 Bui Le 61 14 Hot zone 65 15 The Tet party 69 16 Let's face it 73 17 Riviera of the East 75 18 Rugby 77 19 The pox clinic 79 20 The butterfly 81 21 The orphanage 83 22 Off limits! 87 Afterword 89 Acknowledgements 91 Further Reading 93