...in the Army now.
U.S. ARMY MEDICAL CORPSMAN
7NOV67 to 7NOV69
Click the Bugle Boy to set the mood.
I set out to prove: Patriots don't have to kill people.
I didn't get to demonstrate it in Viet Nam. My plane overseas landed in Europe, NOT in Southeast Asia. I served most of my time as a field medic in the 3rd Armored Division 1st Batallion/32nd Armored Recon Platoon.
I was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Dispensary for my last six months of active duty. There, I was put in charge of the Emergency Room and the (Friedberg am Hessen) post Ambulance Service. I left Germany with the respect of even the "lifers." I showed them a draftee could be a perfect soldier - even without a gun:
- Reached the rank of Specialist 5th Class....
- Earned Europe's 3rd highest score for the Expert Field Medic Badge - EFMB test...
- Won dozens of commendations...
- Lead the rescue of nearly 40-school kids overcome with carbon monoxide...
- Sewed up lots of drunks and talked down a lot more guys on drugs...
- Delivered a couple babies - the last on my birthday in 1969... and...
- Lived hundreds of other war stories that are still fun to tell:
The Fort Campbell Reception Station
"To Swallow A Dove"
Getting the royal treatment at the Officers Club
Proving the "Never Volunteer" law is bogus
Fort Sam, San Antonio, the Alamo, and Hemisphere
Carrying LBJ from a helicopter to the Brooke General ER
The consequence of sleeping through the Child Birth Class
Volunteering for 'Nam & getting orders for Germany. . . ACTIVE LINK
Trapped at Fort Dix, New Jersey - So this is Hell?
Going camping with Recon
Staring down the barrels of Soviet cannons and tanks
In an old Nazi bunker when a 155mm artillery round hits the roof
Save a Life - Face a Court Martial
Smuggling hash in a Tom McAnn shoe box & and a VW Bug?
Mass casualty case: Three dozen kids get gassed
"Jump Doc!" "I can't see the ground!" "So?" I get pushed...
"You lost your shot record? Awww geeehehehe...."
The medic wounds the lieutennant with a grease gun
And many, many more...
Some of those war stories came while I was out of uniform.
One time I got a three day pass and hitchhiked to Amsterdam. I saw a sign over a restaurant like place called "The Drugstore." It was promoting that they would have TV coverage of the moon landing... the first moon landing. I went inside and joined about a hundred Europeans - all with their eyes glued to the tiny grainy little picture. They cheered when they heard, "The Eagle has landed."
Then, everyone in the place made an effort to shake my hand and congratulate me, as though I was their U.S. envoy.
I tried to tell them I had nothing to do with the mission, and they corrected me by reminding me I pay taxes to Uncle Sam. Things calmed down a little, and we started watching again when Neil Armstrong got ready to leave his space capsule. You can relive that moment in history by clicking the astronaut's picture.
I survived all of those episodes and Uncle Sam sent me back to the U.S. with a G.I. Bill in my pocket. Unlike most bills, this was NOT a past due notice. No, this was an education ticket. Click the university SEAL to find out what happened when I cashed in that ticket at I-U.
Click ICON to switch to DC Home Page.
Copyright © 2001 by Duffey Cybercations
Duplication and Distribution with Attribution Encouraged