This
should be required reading in every school and college in our country.
This Captain, an Army doctor, deserves a medal himself for putting this
together. If you choose not to pass it on, fine, but I think you will
want to, after you read it.
I
am a doctor specializing in the Emergency Departments of the only two military
Level One-Trauma Centers, both in San Antonio, TX. We care for civilian
emergencies as well as military personnel. San Antonio has the largest military
retiree population in the world living here. As a military doctor, I work long
hours and the pay is less than glamorous. One tends to become jaded by the long
hours, lack of sleep, food, family contact and the endless parade of human
suffering passing before you. The arrival of another ambulance does not mean
more pay, only more work. Most often, it is a victim from a motor vehicle
crash.
Often
it is a person of dubious character who has been shot or stabbed. With our
large military retiree population, it is often a nursing home patient. Even
with my enlisted service and minimal combat experience in Panama, I have caught
myself groaning when the ambulance brings in yet another sick, elderly person
from one of the local retirement centers that cater to military retirees. I had
not stopped to think of what the citizens of this age group represented.
I
saw 'Saving Private Ryan.' I was touched deeply. Not so much by the carnage,
but by the sacrifices of so many. I was touched most by the scene of the
elderly survivor at the graveside, asking his wife if he'd been a good man. I
realized that I had seen these same men and women coming through my Emergency
Dept. and had not realized what magnificent sacrifices they had made. The
things they did for me and everyone else that has lived on this planet since
the end of that conflict are priceless.
Situation
permitting, I now try to ask my patients about their experiences. They would
never bring up the subject without my inquiry. I have been privileged to hear
an amazing array of experiences, recounted in the brief minutes allowed in an
Emergency Dept. encounter. These experiences have revealed the incredible
individuals I have had the honor of serving in a medical capacity, many on
their last admission to the hospital.
There
was a frail, elderly woman who reassured my young enlisted medic, trying to
start an IV line in her arm. She remained calm and poised, despite her illness
and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. She was what we call a
'hard stick.' As the medic made another attempt, I noticed a number tattooed
across her forearm. I touched it with one finger and looked into her eyes. She
simply said, ' Auschwitz ..' Many of later generations would have loudly and
openly berated the young medic in his many attempts. How different was the
response from this person who'd seen unspeakable suffering.
Also,
there was this long retired Colonel, who as a young officer had parachuted from
his burning plane over a Pacific Island held by the Japanese. Now an
octogenarian, he had a minor cut on his head from a fall at his home where he
lived alone. His CT scan and suturing had been delayed until after midnight by
the usual parade of high priority ambulance patients. Still spry for his age,
he asked to use the phone to call a taxi, to take him home, then he realized
his ambulance had brought him without his wallet. He asked if he could use the
phone to make a long distance call to his daughter who lived 7 miles away. With
great pride we told him that he could not, as he'd done enough for his country
and the least we could do was get him a taxi home, even if we had to pay for it
ourselves. My only regret was that my shift wouldn't end for several hours, and
I couldn't drive him myself.
I
was there the night M/Sgt Roy Benavidez came through the Emergency Dept. for
the last time. He was very sick. I was not the doctor taking care of him, but I
walked to his bedside and took his hand. I said nothing. He was so sick, he
didn't know I was there. I'd read his Congressional Medal of Honor citation and
wanted to shake his hand. He died a few days later.
The
gentleman who served with Merrill's Marauders,
the
survivor of the Bataan Death March,
the
survivor of Omaha Beach,
the
101 year old World War I veteran,
the
former POW held in frozen North Korea,
the
former Special Forces medic - now with non-operable liver cancer,
the
former Viet Nam Corps Commander.
I
may still groan when yet another ambulance comes in, but now I am much more
aware of what an honor it is to serve these particular men and women.
I
have seen a Congress who would turn their back on these individuals who've
sacrificed so much to protect our liberty. I see later generations that seem to
be totally engrossed in abusing these same liberties, won with such sacrifice.
It
has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted medics
aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept.
Their response to these particular citizens has made me think that perhaps all
is not lost in the next generation.
My
experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an incredible
generation, and this nation knows not what it is losing. Our uncaring
government and ungrateful civilian populace should all take note. We should all
remember that we must 'earn this.'
If
it weren't for the United States Military, there'd be NO United
States of America!
And
now as you have finished reading this, our Congress enjoys their free medical
care, are in the process of charging these people for their medical care and at
the same time possibly reducing their retirement pay. A typical political "Thank
you" for their Service
If
you choose not to pass it on, fine, but I think you will want to.
In
God We Trust!
