Numerous cases from the war of soldiers being wounded in combat and undergoing those horrific amputations. They would survive the surgery, be discharged from the Army and return home, only to die a few weeks or months later from a post-op infection. In the days before antibiotics (and sulfa drugs were in short supply), there was little that could be done for those veterans, outside of something to ease their pain and final suffering.
The only good thing is they got to die in the company of their loved ones, not on some “God forsaken” battle field far from home.