Memorial Day 2009, My personal reflection.
May 25, 2009 by Da-Chief
Filed under Air Force News, Army News, Coast Guard News, Corpsman.com News, Marine Corps News, Military Information, National Guard News, Navy News, Retired Veteran News, Seperated Vets News, Vets Issues
Memorial Day
This is the hardest holiday for me to celebrate.
If you ask anyone they will tell you I become quiet and withdrawn.
If you’re a Doc and are able to look at our list on our Memorial Page, and don’t know anyone on our Iraq or Afganistan list, you’re lucky and have probably just joined.
Since last Memorial Day Weekend 2008, we have lost 4 Brothers in Arms, (Navy Doc’s). All were lost in Afghanistan.
For the first time since 2003, we did not lose anyone in Iraq last year. This is a blessing, but things are ramping up in Afghanistan now.
I have lost shipmates in both areas.
HM3 Youngblood in Iraq, and HM2 Carbullido in Afghanistan. These were people I knew and served with . I have sent Students off to serve out of Corps School to see their name on a list a year later.
1 of which I actually put his name on the list to serve in harms way. I selected him for the mission overseas. It is one thing to know someone who was lost over there, it is another when you were the one who sent them. I would lie if I said I don’t think about it each and every day of my life. The mission had to be done. He did it to the end.
Please, while during the barbecue or while watching the game or the race today, please take a moment to remember those who gave so much for us. Who went willingly into harms way, who volunteered to serve their country.
Please also remember those who stood the watch before us as well, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, 1st Gulf War, and those who gave their all training for the nations call.
I have, and I hope you do to.
This time of the year is the hardest time for me also, and it keeps getting harder each year that goes by. I lost a lot of my buddies over there too. I saw so many of them leave only to read their obits in Navy Times later. I even saw one of my instructors obit there. He lost to a grenade booby-trap. It's hard for me, because I didn't go. I'll never forget that night when, as Mate-of-the-Day, I walked over to the teletype to see who's orders had just printed out. The letter read: ” The following personell are hereby ordered to westpac.” My name was at the top of the list along with six others. I was the senior man. There was no date, no destination, nothing. We all figured it was going to be to Nam. We started preparing our things, our wives and families for the inevitable. We had started preparing ourselves mentaly for what we were about to face. We had seen all the films that we were being shown almost daily about why we were there. WE knew that the films were to help in preparing us so the we would not be as shocked when we got there. As the weeks went by with no further orders the men were getting anxious as to what was going on. I called westpac about our orders. It turned out that they had made a mistake and sent out orders for more people than they had billets. We were relieved, we had been spared. Now is my problem. Who were the ones that went in our place? What was the fate of those corpsmen? I will never know, but to this day it still haunts me. Did some one die in my place? I'll never know. I later went on to become a Clinical Pharmacist at a couple of Unniversity Hospitals. I always let everyone know that I owed my passion as a practioner to being a Corpsman. I will never forget my buddies. My son-in-law served in the Marines in the 80's so he continues to let me know the high regard that the Marines have for the FMF corpsmen. Please forgive my rambling, God this day gets so hard. Ross
Thanks Chief. I am a wife of FMF HMC. Survived physically Phantom Fury, Fallujiah. The memories you speak of are live here daily too! We will never forget any of our men/women.