norman bethune norman bethune (1890-1939) was a canadian thoracic surgeon. during the 1930s he became a convinced communist, and this led him to spain, where he joined the anti-fascist struggle. on the spanish battle fields he became aware that 75% of serious battle casualties would survive if operated on immediately. in early 1938, he arrived in china, and proceeded to yan’an, the revolutionary base area of the chinese communist party. mao zedong commissioned him to organize a mobile operating
