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A Marines Tribute to Corpsmen

Corpsman Up !!!

The ideal squad is 13 men and a Corpsman. The Corpsman is a Navy enlisted man who has medical training and is skilled enough to get you and what ever pieces that were left of you back to a hospital. Although he's a Navy man, he has the respect of the Marines and is thought of as one of them and is known to everyone as Doc.

He's the one that responds to the call Corpsman up! He is the one who'll run to you when you've taken one in the chest, the wind is knocked out of you and you're trying your damn best to move so the people behind you know you're still alive, yet not so much as to have Charlie pump more rounds into you.

He is there when there is complete chaos: automatic rifle fire, hand grenades exploding, M-79 rounds being lobbed into the brush a few meters in front of you and more noise than anyone ever hoped to make on the fourth of July. When it seems like you have been laying there for ever, he is the one that has exposed himself to enemy fire to run up to you to scream in your ear, WHERE ARE YOU HIT!!! If you're lucky, you can point to the place because you sure as hell can't talk. You're gasping for air because it's leaking out your lung like a tire with a hole in it. You're trying to stay out of shock and feel like your whole body is on fire. You're wrenching with pain. And bullets bounce all around your head and body because they are now trying to kill you and the Doc.

For some strange reason, God knows where the courage comes from, the Corpsman seems immune to or oblivious of all that is going on around you. His only focus is you. In the movies a guy gets hit once and that's about it, in Vietnam, there wasn't any limit to the number of times in one fire fight you could be hit. Hell, you could get hit a dozen or more times if someone possessed little else to do but try to nail your young butt. It should be easy for you to see how panic and fear can work on a guy that has been wounded and is basically helpless and the people keep shooting at him (it's not fair). Fear that every round that just misses you means the next one won't. And lying helpless and unable to move or breath can cause a panic that does it's damnedest to conquer your soul and leave you pissing all over yourself in fear.

The corpsman yells for a medevac to be called. One is called by a good radioman while someone else is calling in a fire mission that may take twenty minutes before the first round comes in. A lot can happen in twenty minutes, your whole outfit could be wiped out. If the ambush is big enough and you're caught in a cross fire it could take a lot less than twenty minutes.

The action is hot, bullets burn your skin. They get close enough to feel without actually hitting you and that's close. The dirt and sand are red hot as bullets kick it in your face. You think, God that was close!! Please God just get me out of this one. I promise to be good from now on!! Suddenly, someone is dragging you by your collar or some piece of clothing, you're not sure what is going on but you do know that the pain is bringing you close to unconsciousness, your whole body is shaking uncontrollably, your chest has a hissing sound coming from where you think your lung is, it's spouting air and filling up with this warm substance that makes it harder to breath, you're sure that blood is now filling your lung up to the point of collapsing. Fear and panic is gone and replaced with shear terror and shock.

Yet this Navy guy keeps miraculously dragging your body towards safety, while half the enemy force are trying to nail him. Mother Up! You hear through your fog, you know another one of your friends has just taken a hit and could possibly be worse than you are. Coming screams the Doc. He tells someone to keep pressure on the rag covering your chest and not to take his hand off of it. He turns and heads in the direction of the last caller, while the enemy continues to do their best to nail him before he can reach his next casualty.

Maybe this is why we considered the corpsman to be one of us, although they never went through boot camp at Paris Island or San Diego, they were Marines at heart, and damn good ones. Only a fool or a hero would leave a place of safety to throw his body in harms way for someone he may not even know. I never met a Corpsman that I thought was a fool. To me a hero does things that his logical mind is telling him not to do. His logical mind says to stay put, get further down, but above all don't get up and go where someone else just got shot!

The hero ignores what his mind is telling him and goes forward in the face of the enemy fire. His only thought is to get to the guy that has called for help. He will get to him!! He may get shot himself but he will not let that guy die by himself. Sometimes they aren't alive when he gets there, but he's there and exposed to the same fire that killed the man he came to rescue.

He goes from wounded to wounded doing what he can to save their lives, doing what he can to give them a little more time. Time to get them back to an aid station where they may be saved. Let me be point man any day over being a corpsman in a Marine infantry outfit. At least I can take cover and return fire.

The Corpsman is special. The Navy offers a lot of other programs that are a hell of a lot less dangerous. Corpsmen knew going in that they will be placed in harms way. They knew that they would be assigned to the heaviest fighting areas in Vietnam, yet they volunteer anyway. They cared about human suffering and wanted to do all in their power to aid, and were willing to give their lives to their calling.

A twentieth century Angel of Mercy treats the wounds of a Private of H Company, 2nd Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, during Operation Hue City. Photo taken 02/06/1968. (National Archives)

Check out the Wall, you'll find a lot of corpsman on that wall. They gave their all. Many of us, who were fortunate enough to return home, did so because of their unselfish acts of heroism. In many cases they did so without any medals or rewards except the personal feeling of having done their job and done it well. Because of them, thousands of Marines today can greet each other and say welcome home.

When you go to see the Wall, a tribute dedicated to the Vietnam Serviceman who paid the ultimate price for their country, you will see a statute dedicated to the grunts. You will see an area dedicated to the nurses who served their country. What you won't see is a tribute to the Corpsman. A tribute to the men who risked their lives by exposing themselves to tremendous enemy fire, by running, by crawling, and by inching their way into the thickest of the thick of fighting, to answer a call for help. They sacrificed their safety to save others lives.

I wonder why there are no special honors awarded to these individuals. These men who prevented so many of us here today from having our names on the Wall.

Medivac Gunship Vietnam 1966

There is a place where a statue could and should be placed. A statue of a single individual, loaded down with his medical gear. A statue representing those that were always ready and willing to give their lives in the hopes that they might save a life. Corpsman are a special and distinct breed of men who stand out proud and strong. Their everyday acts of bravery and heroism deserve to be recognized by their brothers in arms. They gallantly served, and were unselfishly willing to give their all. Because of them, many of us were given the opportunity to make a difference in the world.

There may never be a statute in honor the Corpsman who served our country so well. And who were so important to the Marines in the field. Statute or not, I would like to personally salute you and to say to you: Semper Fi. Marine, as the title is well earned, and the honor long overdue.

Thank you for your willingness of service, and self sacrifice, so that many like myself today are able to say, welcome home Doc, a job well done.

By: Bob Hingston and Carl King
UNITED STATES MARINES 1968-1969
Hotel Company 1st Plt. 2nd. Bn. 1st. Marines, 1st Marine Division.

Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:
www.vnh.org/HospitalCorpsman14295/14295_ind.pdf
www.bluejacket.com
www.thirdmarines.net

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on February 08:
412 St Proclus patriarch of Constantinople
1291 Afonso IV King of Portugal (1325-57)
1577 Robert Burton writer, Anglican clergyman (Anatomy of Melancholy)
1612 Samuel Butler England, poet/satirist (Hudibras) (baptized)
1795 Friedlieb F Runge German chemist (Chinoline)
1811 Edwin Denison Morgan Secretary of War (Confederacy), dies in 1883
1817 Richard Stoddert Ewell Lieutenant General (Confederate Army), dies in 1872
1820 William Tecumseh Sherman Major General (Union Army), dies in 1891 (War is hell)
1824 Barnard Elliot Bee Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1861
1828 Jules Verne France, pioneered sci-fi (From the Earth to the Moon)
1878 Martin Buber German/Israeli philosopher/theologist (Ich und Du)
1883 Joseph A Schumpeter Austria/US economist/minister of finance
1886 Charlie Ruggles Los Angeles CA, actor (The Ruggles, Aesop-Bullwinkle Show)
1895 King Vidor director (War & Peace, Stella Dallas)
1905 Truman Bradley Missouri, TV host (Science Fiction Theater)
1913 Betty Field Boston MA, actress (Kings Row, Bus Stop)
1913 John Grandy British Royal Air Force-marshal
1920 Lana Turner Wallace ID, actress (Survivors, Falcon Crest)
1924 Audrey Meadows Wu Chang China, actress (Alice-Honeymooners)
1925 Jack Lemmon Boston MA, actor (Days of Wine & Roses, Missing)
1931 James Dean Marion IN, stage/film actor (Giant, Rebel Without a Cause)
1933 Jack Larson Los Angeles CA, actor (Jimmy Olsen-Superman)
1940 Nick Nolte Omaha NB, actor (Under Fire, Lorenzo's Oil, Teachers, 48 Hours, North Dallas 40)
1942 Terry Melcher Rip Chords, Doris Day's son
1944 Jim Capaldi rocker (Traffic)
1948 Dan Seals McCamey TX, vocalist (England Dan & John Ford Coley-I'd Really Love to See You Tonight, Nights Are Forever Without You, Meet Me in Montana)
1952 Nancy Lord Libertarian Vice-President candidate (1992)
1955 Ethan Phillips actor (Neelix-Star Trek Voyager)
1955 Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart wrestler (WWF/WCW/NJPW/CWFI/Calgary)
1955 John Grisham writer (Client, Firm, Pelican Brief)
1958 Barry Miller New York NY, actor (Joe & Sons, Szysznyk)
1960 Dino Ciccarelli Ontario, NHL right wing (Minnesota North Stars, Washington Capitals)

Deaths which occurred on February 08:
1124 Stefanus of Thiers/Muret founder of order of Grammond/saint, dies
1245 Johannes de Rupella/de la Rochelle French theologist, dies
1587 Mary Stuart Queen of Scots (1560-87), beheaded at 44
1676 Aleksei M Romanov Czar of Russia, dies at 46
1725 Peter I "the Great" Romanov czar of Russia (1682-1725), dies at 52
1740 Clement XII [Lorenzo Corsini], blind Pope (1730-40), dies at 87
1874 David F Strauss German theologist, dies at 66
1924 Gee John US mobster (1st executed in gas chamber-Nevada), dies
1932 Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll mobster, killed by Dutch Schultz gang
1956 Connie Mack baseball manager (Philadelphia A's, 1901-50), dies at 93
1957 John Von Neumann astronomer, dies at 53
1959 William J "Wild Bill" Donovan Office Strategic Services, dies at 76
1963 Abdul Karim Kassem PM of Iraq (58-63), assassinated in Baghdad at 48
1974 Fritz Zwicky Swiss/US astronomer (supernova), dies at 75
1987 Harriet MacGibbon actress (Mrs Drysdale-Beverly Hillbillies), dies
1990 Del Shannon Coopersville MI, rock vocalist (Runaway), shoots self at 55
1995 B G Hooghoudt radio-telescope builder (Dwingeloo/Westerbork), dies at 70
1995 William Fulbright, US politician, dies

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1968 CHENOWETH ROBERT P.---PORTLAND OR.
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE AND WELL IN 1997]
1968 GEORGE JAMES E.---FORT WORTH TX.
1968 HAMMOND DENNIS W.---DETROIT MI.
1968 LENKER MICHAEL R.---ROCKFORD IL
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 LAPHAM ROBERT G.--- MARSHALL MI.
1968 PURCELL BENJAMIN H.---COLUMBUS GA.
[03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG, (AUTHOR LOVE AND DUTY)ALIVE AND WELL 98
1968 ROSE JOSEPH III---MORGANTOWN WV.
[03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 ZAWTOCKI JOSEPH S. JR.---UTICA NY.
[REMAINS RETURNED 08/14/85]
1968 ZIEGLER ROY E.
[03/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]
1969 CLARK THOMAS E.---EMPORIUM PA.
1969 FRITZ JOHN J. JR.---WILLIAMSTOWN NJ.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED]
1969 KALIL TANOS E.
[06/69 DIC ON PRG LIST]
1969 MAC PHAIL DON A.---CHELMSFORD MA.
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 1998]
1969 NEWINGHAM JAMES A.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG]
1969 WILKINS CALVIN WAYNE---WACO TX.
1971 STEWART PAUL C.---BEUENA PARK CA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0421 Flavius Constantine becomes emperor Constantine III of West Roman empire
1587 Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded
1601 Earl Robert Devereux of Essex armies draws into London
1622 King James I disbands the English parliament
1672 Isaac Newton reads 1st optics paper before Royal Society in London
1690 French & Indian troops set Schenectady settlement New York on fire
1743 Comet C/1743 C1 approaches within 0.0390 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1744 French/Spanish fleet leaves Toulon
1775 Leidse University 400th anniversary dinner
1802 Simon Willard patents banjo clock
1807 Napoleon defeats Russians in battle of Eylau
1809 Franz I of Austria declares war on France
1837 1st Vice President chosen by the Senate, Richard Johnson (Van Buren administration)
1861 Confederate States of America organizes in Montgomery AL
1862 Battle of Roanoke Island NC, Federals gain control of Pamlico Sound
1865 1st black major in US army, Martin Robinson Delany
1883 Louis Waterman begins experiments to invent the fountain pen
1887 Dawes Act passed (Indians living apart from tribe granted citizenship)
1887 Aurora Ski Club of Red Wing MN became the 1st US ski club
1894 Enforcement Act repealed, making it easier to disenfranchise blacks
1895 Tchaikovsky/Petipa's "Swan Lake" premieres in Petersburg
1896 Western Conference forms of Midwestern U, later renamed Big 10 Conference
1898 John Ames Sherman patents 1st envelope folding & gumming machine (Massachusetts)
1904 Outbreak of hostilities in Russo-Japanese war
1905 Cyclone hit Tahiti & adjacent islands, killing some 10,000 people
1910 Boy Scouts of America incorporated & chartered (William D Boyce-Chicago)
1911 US helps overthrow President Miguel Dávila of Honduras
1912 1st eastbound US transcontinental flight lands in Jacksonville FL
1915 "Birth of a Nation" opens at Clune's Auditorium in Los Angeles CA
1918 "Stars & Stripes", weekly US armed forces newspaper, 1st published
1920 Swiss men vote against women's suffrage
1922 Radio arrives in the White House
1923 Coal mine explosion at Dawson NM kills 120
1924 1st coast-to-coast radio hookup General John Joseph Carty speech in Chicago
1925 Marcus Garvey enters federal prison in Atlanta GA
1926 Walt Disney Studios is formed
1926 German Reichstag decides to apply for League of Nations membership
1928 1st transatlantic TV image received, Hartsdale NY
1928 Scottish inventor J Blaird demonstrates color-TV
1930 "Happy Days Are Here Again" by Benny Mereoff hits #1
1933 -23ºF (-31ºC), Seminole TX (state record)
1933 1st flight of all-metal Boeing 247
1934 Export-Import Bank organizes in Washington DC
1936 1st ski jumping tournament, Red Wing MN
1936 Pandit Jawaharlal follows Gandhi as chairman of India Congress Party
1942 Congress advises FDR that, Americans of Japanese descent should be locked up en masse so they wouldn't oppose the US war effort
1943 Red Army recaptures Kursk
1944 1st black reporter accredited to the White House, Harry McAlpin
1946 Premier Salazar of Portugal forbids opposition parties
1948 5th Winter Olympics games close at St Moritz, Switzerland
1949 Hungarian Cardinal Mindszenty sentenced to life in prison
1955 Malenkov resigns as USSR premier, Bulganin replaces him
1957 San Francisco Public Library's bookmobile initiated in front of City Hall
1960 Boston Celtic Bill Russell becomes 1st NBAer with 50 rebounds (51)
1963 AFL's Dallas Texans become Kansas City Chiefs
1965 Supremes release "Stop In the Name of Love"
1968 Officers kill 3 students demonstrating in South Carolina State (Orangeburg)
1969 Meteorite weighing over 1 ton falls in Chihuahua, México
1969 Last edition of Saturday Evening Post
1971 Pedro Morales beats Ivan Koloff in New York, to become WWF wrestling champion
1971 South Vietnamese troops invade Laos
1973 Senate names 7 members to investigate Watergate scandal
1974 "Good Times" debuts on CBS TV
1975 1800 Unification church couples' wed in Korea
1977 Earthquake in San Francisco CA, at 5.0, strongest since 1966
1978 Crown Prince Sad Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah becomes PM of Kuwait
1983 Champion thoroughbred Shergar kidnapped in Ireland; never found Lloyds of London pays $10.6 million insurance
1983 Eric Peters sets transatlantic sailboat record (E-W)-46 days
1983 Baseball orders Mickey Mantle to sever ties with Claridge Casino
1985 Bruce Morris, Marshall University, makes a 92' 5¼" basketball shot
1985 Opposition leader Kim Dae Jung returns to South-Korea
1986 5' 7" Spud Webb of Atlanta Hawks wins NBA Slam Dunk Competition
1989 5 cm of snow falls in outskirts of Los Angeles
1990 "60 Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney suspended by CBS for racial remarks attributed to him by a gay magazine
1992 Ulysses spacecraft passes Jupiter
1993 GM sues NBC, alleging that "Dateline NBC" program had rigged 2 car-truck crashes to show that 1973-87 GM pickups were prone to fires

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Iraq : Ramadan Revolution
Norway : Narvik Sun Pageant Day
World : Boy Scouts Day (1910) (Sunday)
US : New Idea Week Begins
US : Future Homemakers of America Hero Week Begins
Great American Pies Month

Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of Bl Jacoba (Bl Jacqueline)
Methodist : Race Relations Sunday (2nd Sunday in February)
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St John of Matha, confessor/ransomer of captives
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Jerome Emiliani (opt)

Religious History
1693 The College of William and Mary was founded in Williamsburg, Virginia for the purpose of educating Anglican clergyman. After Harvard, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in America.
1744 Colonial missionary to the American Indians, David Brainerd wrote in his journal: 'I find that both mind and body are quickly tired with intenseness and fervor in the things of God. Oh that I could be as incessant as angels in devotion and spiritual fervor.'
1851 Death of Alexander Haldane, 83. In 1797 he founded the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home, after discovering that the Church of Scotland was as little interested in home missions as it was in foreign missions.
1865 Birth of Lewis E. Jones, American YMCA director. Jones was also a writer of hymns, and his most enduring contribution (which he both wrote and composed) was "Power in the Blood."
1950 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'Sin in a Christian makes God seem distant, deaf. In the body, sin saps animation, as cancer. In the soul, sin stifles the affections; as corrosion in the spirit, sin solidifies the attitudes, as a callous.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message."

Question of the day...
What do people in China call their good plates?

Murphys Law of the day...
You never run out of things that can go wrong.

Amazing Fact #29,784...
The ashes of the average cremated person weigh nine pounds.