--- title: "This Vietnam War Veteran was reunited with his lost arm after 50 years" description: "Dr. Axelrad kept the lost arm for more than 50 years. In 2013, he returned to Vietnam determined to give Hung his arm back." date: "2021-03-29" modified: "2021-03-29" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/vietnam-war-veteran-long-lost-arm/" categories: - "Army" - "History" - "Vietnam War" - "War History" --- # This Vietnam War Veteran was reunited with his lost arm after 50 years ![]() Captain Sam Axelrad was a U.S. Army doctor in the [Vietnam War](). One day in 1966, a North Vietnamese soldier, Nguyen Quang Hung, was brought to Axelrad to amputate an arm because gangrene had started to spread in his wound. What happened to the lost arm next might surprise you. --- "When I amputated his arm our medics took the arm, took the flesh off it, put it back together perfectly with wires," Axelrad told [BBC World Service](). "And then they gave it to me." Dr. Axelrad kept the arm for more than 50 years. In 2013, he returned to Vietnam determined to give Hung his arm back. ![lost arm]() "I can't believe that an American doctor took my infected arm, got rid of the flesh, dried it, took it home and kept it for more than 40 years," Hung said, adding that he was very lucky to only lose an arm when so many of his fellow soldiers were killed. Hung, whose Army paperwork had been lost in the years since the end of the war, will use his arm as proof of service in an effort to get a veteran's pension. "I'm very happy to see him again and have that part of my body back after nearly half a century." ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()