Norman was a Navy Corpsman during the Korean War. I had him as my 11th grade History teacher (1972-73). He was a strange mix, he cared deeply for all the students. He could care less about the rules like; dress code, hair length, and chewing gum. He cared deeply about The Constitution & Bill of Rights, and that we knew the words, but also the meanings! One of my classmates and I were on a military career path, he saw to it we learned about the lessons of Gettysburg, Appomattox C.H., & the Grant administration. (the last one was not for everyone, just the 2 of us), He kept our eyes on the ball & and made better Citizens of all 155 in my class. BTW, somehow he never mentioned how he got his Navy Cross!
Cameron was a Navy Corpsman in the 80's and Desert Storm. His Med Cruise is nothing but tales of fine dinning, pretty girls, and mostly understanding Chiefs. He was called up for Desert Storm (in civilian life he had become an surgical RN) They assigned him to a Marine Anti-terrorist unit. His medical skill were never the question! When he reported, the first question wasn't "Will you fight with us?" it was "Will you fight FOR us?" They weren't just interested in Band-aides, they needed someone to be their brother, to never give up on them. They were happy with what they got!
Jeromy, like my oldest son is a Veteran of the current Iraqi war. He unlike my sons has had 4 combat deployments. I can't get over the man, the boy I knew became! I would sit with his mom as she would relate where he was, and the burden of loosing men to IED's, having his CO die in his arms, of feeling that he'd let the unit down. The battalion XO took over the company, saw what their Doc was made of, and helped the rest of the company realize how good their Doc was! Last time we talked, he was in college, and waiting tables part time. I know from Cop friends, he's saved one person from a "café coronary" and pulled 2 people from car wrecks!
My second son is a Marine, he isn't real fond of most Navy personnel, but he is very adamant; "WE Love our Docs!"
Thank you for you service!
Ivan
Cameron was a Navy Corpsman in the 80's and Desert Storm. His Med Cruise is nothing but tales of fine dinning, pretty girls, and mostly understanding Chiefs. He was called up for Desert Storm (in civilian life he had become an surgical RN) They assigned him to a Marine Anti-terrorist unit. His medical skill were never the question! When he reported, the first question wasn't "Will you fight with us?" it was "Will you fight FOR us?" They weren't just interested in Band-aides, they needed someone to be their brother, to never give up on them. They were happy with what they got!
Jeromy, like my oldest son is a Veteran of the current Iraqi war. He unlike my sons has had 4 combat deployments. I can't get over the man, the boy I knew became! I would sit with his mom as she would relate where he was, and the burden of loosing men to IED's, having his CO die in his arms, of feeling that he'd let the unit down. The battalion XO took over the company, saw what their Doc was made of, and helped the rest of the company realize how good their Doc was! Last time we talked, he was in college, and waiting tables part time. I know from Cop friends, he's saved one person from a "café coronary" and pulled 2 people from car wrecks!
My second son is a Marine, he isn't real fond of most Navy personnel, but he is very adamant; "WE Love our Docs!"
Thank you for you service!
Ivan
