Free Republic

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va(Aug. 22, 2005) -- Throughout the annals of Marine Corps history, inspired quotations have framed the heroics of great Marines, transforming passing moments into epic legends to be forever retold and celebrated by the generations of warriors who follow. Never to be forgotten is the rallying cry of Gunnery Sgt. Dan Daly at the Battle of Belleau Wood, France, on June 4, 1918: “Come on you son’s of bitches! Do you want to live forever?” [snip] So too will a contemporary Marine be remembered, not only for his extraordinary act of courage and composure under...

In battle, one of the hardest challenges is saving the wounded. Medical professionals encounter injuries not normally seen in peacetime, and many times see multiple life-threatening injures requiring immediate treatment on the battlefield. Another problem is moving patients across hot desert sands on bumpy roads in Iraq, which can be logistically challenging and uncomfortable for the patient. And there is always the danger of roadside bombs. To solve these problems, military aeromedical planners developed what is now an efficient medical evacuation system that moves patients from where they were injured to definitive care quickly and safely. Along the way, patients...

TAHOUA, Niger — Heat exhaustion, dehydration, diarrhea. “Stuff” happens when soldiers spend days in 120-degree desert heat in Third World conditions. That’s one reason soldiers from the 160th Forward Surgical Team were brought to Niger for Flintlock 05. There might still be dust from Iraq on their medical tent, one said, because that stuff is hard to get out. But inside it’s nearly as clean as a hospital. One week into their mission in Niger, the doctors and medics of the 160th FST had treated three cases of heat- or food-related misfortune. Flintlock 05 is a monthlong training exercise for...

BAGHDAD , Iraq – Task Force Baghdad Soldiers provided medical treatment for two Iraqi children injured when a roadside improvised explosive device exploded in northwest Baghdad May 27. The children were hurt when a bomb targeting the Soldiers' patrol detonated prematurely near an Iraqi vehicle. The Soldiers tended to the children's injuries and sent them on their way. While the medics were helping the children, an Iraqi man brought his 4-year-old daughter to Soldiers providing security at the site. The little girl was bleeding from shrapnel wounds. The girl's father told the Soldiers his daughter had been playing with some...

Perched on a tree stump stool, Sam Ross grinned and cocked his head in the direction of the concrete slab dangling from the enormous crane parked in his newly laid gravel driveway. Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette Sam Ross sits in front of the handicap-accessible home being built for him near Dunbar, Fayette County, by Homes For Our Troops. Click photo for larger image. Moments later, the rectangle of prefabricated concrete swung past Ross' face, then slipped into place in the muddy pit in front of him. "What's happening?'' Ross asked yesterday, anxious for assurance that work truly had begun on the...

Sunday, May 01, 2005 The Battle For Mosul The Deuce-Four Fighting for Mosul Mosul, Northern Iraq As the new map of Iraq unfolds, a picture of progress emerges. The Iraqis who want freedom and democracy are gaining ground. From what I hear about the news back home, this might sound unreal. Nightly tallies of roadside IEDs and suicide car bombers driving headlong into crowds, like the Vietnam body counts on the Huntley-Brinkley Report, are the main summary of events, while most of this country is peaceful. There are seventeen provinces in Iraq, and more than ten are quiet. They are...

The sergeant stationed just west of Baghdad was once again recounting the dangers of being on the front line - sometimes with dark humor. He referred to how the "muj" (mujahideen or insurgents) were the gang that couldn't shoot straight, but still represented a considerable threat. "They're horrible shots," he wrote in an e-mail to his family, "but every once in awhile they get lucky. We lost another Marine the other day." This is the first war in which American GIs and military families can communicate freely and in real time via e-mail and cellphone, while gathering endless amounts of...

WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, WASHINGTON - Members of the NFL's Denver Broncos football team and the team's cheerleader squad came to visit recovering war wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. and National Navel Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. on April 7. "We came to show our support for our heroes," said one player. He was speaking of the same group of "heroes" that former NFL football player Pat Tillman belonged to before he was killed while serving in the Global War o Terrorism in Afghanistan — the United States military. "This has been a very...

Michael Paterson was 45 years old when his Navy Reserve unit arrived in Iraq. He was virtually at the end of his Navy career. Paterson was more than a little surprised when he discovered he wouldn't be based at some rear area hospital where he could practice his advanced skills. He was headed to the front lines. His brothers in arms were the same age as his children. The other hospital corpsmen called him "Grandpa," and it was true. He had young grandchildren at home. When Paterson deployed into Iraq in 2003 with "follow-on" forces just behind the main invasion...

Soldiers that were severely wounded, lost limbs, but are going back to Iraq

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. - One generation of war heroes paid tribute to another March 20 at the 16th annual Bataan Memorial Death March. After 26 miles through gravel, sand and wind-blown dust, Sgt. 1st Class Michael McNaughton sprinted toward the finish line. He was one of five men, all amputees, sponsored by Walter Reed Army Medical Center, who participated in this year's march. "I wanted to do this for the Bataan survivors," McNaughton said. "The sacrifices they made were incredible." McNaughton knows first-hand about the sacrifices Soldiers are called to make during wartime. He was wounded while deployed...

A Black Hawk helicopter pilot had a surprise visit four days before Christmas, receiving an Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal and promotion to major. Maj. Ladda “Tammy” Duckworth, of the Illinois National Guard’s 1-106th Aviation, is recuperating from injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a rocket-propelled grenade hit the helicopter she was piloting in Iraq Nov. 12. “I hope this is the worst thing that happens to anyone in the 106th during this deployment,” said Duckworth. “This is not so bad, there is always somebody worse off than you are. I’m just glad it was me and not...

Healing hands welcomed home(staff photo by Steven Georges) LOS ALAMITOS — As a rifleman in Somalia and a sniper protecting former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Army Spc. Salvador Romo had empathy for the wounded soldiers he helped treat at a U.S. Army hospital in Germany. ***************************************************** Healing hands welcomed homeMembers of 349th General Hospital cared for service members hurt in Iraq.By David RogersStaff writerLOS ALAMITOS — As a rifleman in Somalia and a sniper protecting former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Army Spc. Salvador Romo had empathy for the wounded soldiers he helped treat at a U.S. Army hospital in Germany....