Colonel (Dr) Richard C. Niemtzow was a veritable giant in U.S. military medicine and in the world of medical acupuncture, in particular.

Born in Pennsylvania, Richard started high school in Freehold, New Jersey and graduated from the Admiral Farragut Academy in Pine Beach, New Jersey–the first Naval honor school in the country, in 1960.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Richard attended medical school in France—despite the fact that when he first arrived he didn’t speak a word of French! Nonetheless, when the first set of exams took place, Richard ended up getting the highest anatomy grade of all 2,000 students and graduated from the Universite de Montpellier in 1976—one of only 6 Americans in a final graduating class of 200—a marked reduction from the original class of 2,000!

Sadly, neither of Richard’s parents survived to see him receive his medical degree, but he was deeply impacted by his mother’s battle with the intractable pain associated with advanced colon cancer—which is what likely led him to pursue residency training in Radiation Oncology, at the University of Texas, Galveston.

While in Galveston, an Air National Guard recruiter visited the campus, looking for a physician volunteer. Believing that he had a moral obligation to serve—particularly having received an earlier deferral during the height of the Vietnam War, Richard volunteered and was initially commissioned as a Captain in the Air National Guard.

By the time Richard completed his residency training, the needs of the active-duty force were such that there was an acute need for a full-time radiation oncologist, so Richard left the Air National Guard and transitioned to full time active-duty in the U.S Air Force, where his first assignment was at Travis Air Force Base (AFB), California–where he also trained and qualified as a Flight Surgeon.

It was around this time, that he attended one of the first UCLA -Medical Acupuncture for Physicians courses and a few years later, became Editor-in-Chief of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture’s (AAMA) flagship journal, Medical Acupuncture—a position he held for over 25 years–up until his demise.

During his illustrious career, Richard spent 13 years as a council member for the National Institute of Health’s National Advisory Council for Complementary and Alternative Health and represented the United States Air Force Medical Service at the NATO Committee on Integrative Medicine. He served as President of the AAMA from 2009-2011 and was responsible for coordinating and leading four different military-medical acupuncture exchanges with members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. In 2015, he was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of the People’s Liberation Army Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

A truly gifted clinician, and a consummate teacher and healer, Dr. Niemtzow will forever be renown for developing and promulgating the technique known around the world as Battlefield Acupuncture^SM — a simple but elegant technique for rapidly relieving pain, that he developed in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attack. This technique alone, has literally transformed the lives of millions of people all across the globe.

In addition to developing the Battlefield Acupuncture^SM technique, Richard also pioneered a series of life-changing acupuncture techniques for treating post-radiation therapy xerostomia (i.e. chronic dry mouth), macular degeneration, post-traumatic stress, tinnitus, weight loss, and even post-COVID anosmia (loss of smell).

A truly kind and gentle man, Richard Niemtzow had a gift for connecting with people from all walks of life all around the world. His demise cast a giant shadow on the world of medical acupuncture, but his legacy will endure forever, in the hearts and lives of the many individuals who have benefited from his innovative techniques.