Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: A special man with exceptional courage

Saturday, Aug. 23, 2003 | 1:42 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

Did you ever call up a friend you heard had a terminal illness and have them cheer you up? That's exactly what happened when I called Dr. Jim Pitts in Carson City. Despite my long years of dealing with friends in pain, I paused before dialing his number. Within minutes Jim made me happy about making the call.

It was 47 years ago that Jim was senior class president at Basic High School and I was designated as the teacher-sponsor for the class. That same year the student body president was Jim's classmate, Harry Reid. They were both students in government and economics classes I taught. Their success in the classroom was exceptional and both were good leaders.

I'm sure that Jim put on the most extravagant senior prom held at Basic. We had orchids imported from Hawaii and the cost would have been taken out of my hide if our principal, John Dooley, hadn't been such an understanding person. That was the only time that he allowed me to oversee anything that might cost money. Afterward, I was restricted to taking tickets at ball games, acting as a chaperone at dances, monitoring the lunchroom or conducting study hall after school hours.

During the next four years Jim was attending the University of Oregon and upon graduation was accepted into medical school at Oregon University in Portland. The high school kid who always had time for a joke and was very popular with his classmates was on his way to becoming a respected and successful surgeon. After two years as an intern at Fresno General Hospital, he joined the Army and volunteered for training with the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Benning, Ga. Like buying orchids for the senior prom, Jim went the distance. Being he was in the Army, he wanted to be as close to the action as possible and Airborne was the answer. Following training, he kept his jump status active during the rest of his time in the service.

He served with the 101st Airborne Division during the bloodiest years in Vietnam, 1967-68. Although he received the Bronze Star and other ribbons, his Combat Medics Badge stands out. Like the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Combat Medics Badge is worn with special pride. His experiences in a battalion aid station and at the forward tactical command post guaranteed Jim the opportunity to do the most good where it's needed during combat. A skilled surgeon in the middle of combat makes the difference between a soldier being listed as wounded in action (WIA) instead of killed in action (KIA).

Upon returning from Vietnam, he went back to Fresno to complete his residency in general surgery. The next time I saw Jim he was with his wife, Carol, when they moved to Carson City to start his surgical practice in 1972. It was at Carson-Tahoe Hospital where he performed the first repair of an abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Carson City.

In 1980 this column noted Jim's election as president of the Nevada State Medical Association. Later he was selected as Distinguished Physician of 1984. His friends knew he had the mental capacity to be a fine doctor and then we learned that God had given him the steady hands needed to save the lives of others. Serving beside him for the past six years has been his son, Todd, another fine surgeon.

Although, because of cancer, Jim is no longer practicing surgery, he continues to show the rest of us his love for humanity. Friday, Sept. 5, there is a dinner in Washoe Valley to honor his retirement from an exceptional medical career. The funds raised that night will benefit the Carson-Tahoe Cancer Center Capital Campaign. As always, the good doctor is thinking about others who will need help in fighting cancer. Right now he is in the middle of that fight and win or lose, Jim will always be a winner to those who know him best.

Jim's combination of skill, patriotism, courage, sensitivity, hard work and dedication as a man and surgeon makes him a very special person.