Actually the technology isn't really a whole lot better, there has just been a lot more practice at it. Emergency Medicine as a unique medical specialty didn't exist until the 70s, and trauma surgery not until even later. Even since the GWOT began we've learned a ton. There are some "new" cool tricks and tools (REBOAs, rapid infusers, smaller and cheaper freestanding ultrasound machines) but at the institution I am training at we have a higher than average survival rate for penetrating trauma s/p
emergent thoracotomy not because the technology is new - they just don't hesitate to crack open the chest.
It's also worth mentioning to that there are some definitions of "alive" that I personally would not care to choose if I was given the option...
anyway, sorry for the tangent.