113 years of Navy Corpsman

[GatorFarmer]

Yeah, I didn't know it either until the department gave my wife tickets to the ball. But this date in 1898 saw the creation of Navy Corpsmen. (Many women are now Corpsmen, yet the name remains the same.) It happened under the administration of then President McKinley as the Spanish American war was looming.

There was a rather nice ceremony on Parris Island, including the reading of a thank you from the Commandant of the Marines issued to commemorate the event.

I'd known about the events for the birthdays of other services, but despite having been a dependent for the past five years, this was the first time I'd seen one of these. An empty table for one was set for POW/MIAs which also seemed a nice touch.

 

[charlie sherrill]

When I went through boot camp in San Diego in 1967 over half of my company of about 65 recruits were sent to Balboa to train as corpmen. Most of them were then sent to survival school and then assigned to the Marines in Vietnam.

 

[Muley Gil]

Never mess with a Doc assigned to the Marines. We tend to get a bit "protective" of them.

 

[jimmyj]

A very quick method to get your "Butt Kicked" by the U.S Marines is to start "Dis-respecting" a Navy Corpsman.
Jimmy (Father of two Marines).

 

[Maximumbob54]

Favorite line told to me once by a Corpsman:

Don't worry, all bleeding eventually stops...

 

[wbraswell]

My little cousin is a Navy Corpsman, he's been to Iraq twice and A-stan. He gets out next week. He's a runt, but he said he never had to worry about trouble in bars, because he was always looked after by the biggest Marines in the place.

 

[Rangerpat]

We had a FNG in our platoon who called our corpsman a "Squid"... he was immediatly thumped in the head and kicked in the the *** by our platoon sergeant. God bless the Devil Docs!

 

[Kevin G]

I have tremendous respect for Corpsmen and their counterparts in other branches of the armed forces. Those guys have a record of exhibitting incredible courage.
It's no coincidence, rightfully so, that a disproportionately high number of Medals of Honor have been awarded to those who save lives on the battlefield.
I Salute Them, Kevin

 

[mkk41]

Many don't realize that one of the holiest of Marine icons , the raising of the flag at Mt. Suribachi , one of those holding the flag is a Navy Corpsman.

 

[Rangerpat]

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS by James Bradley is the story of the Navy Corpsman who helped raise the flag on Mt. Suribachi, his father, John H. Bradley.

 

[Old cop]

As a former Corpsman who served in Nam in '66 I can speak to the fact that I never had to lift a finger in a bar fight. The Marines protected me, and I'm a pretty big guy. Semper Fi!

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Hi Gator, long time!

 

[tripledipper]

A NYPD son was a Corpsman who chose FMF and was stationed at Camp Pendelton. He always thought he was a Marine at heart. His training came right back to him on 9/11. My newest SIL, a SGT, loves his docs and will do his best to protect them again on his 2nd Afgan deployment next month. They are right there at their Marines side when the SHTF. God bless and protect all our military in these times.

 

[labworm]

Anyone who has worn a military uniform understands how important these individuals are. God bless each and everyone of you fine men.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Proud traditions there. It would be nice if the current resident of the White House would learn how to pronounce "Corpsman." Hint: it's not "Corpse-man." Ah well. No further comment. Navy corpsmen are true heroes in anyone's book. It takes skill and guts to be one. God bless them all.

John

 

[yncrogers]

Hint: it's not "Corpse-man."

....it all depends on the skill level of the individual involved!

YNC(SS) (Ret)