Medics in Vietnam | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Ted Mcdonald posted a Medic article ( TMc –Military Medical)  recently and as usual it reminded me of one of my Band of Brothers, Doc TerryM (TM). Here is my extract edited from my Vietnam Diary with some of the gory details omitted.

    The medics were our heroes in the field. Here is my medic Doc TerryM. This picture was early in my tour and Doc already knew what was ahead even if I did not. His look of disdain for a FNG clicking pictures should have been a clue to me. You can see his 1911 45 Pistol and medical kit in the picture on the right. Below that is a rare moment in base camp at the snack bar. Old Doc was a "life saver" and that ain't no lie.If you ever see a veteran with the Combat Medic Badge (above), you know that he was where the metal meets the flesh. Two of the most prized Army badges are the Combat Medical Badge (CMB) and the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). They are only awarded if the soldier is assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat and in the case of the CIB actively engage the enemy in ground combat.
1968 Doc Terry
    Naturally, I have a story about Doc TM. Below is an excerpt from my Vietnam log in 2010 of a phone conversation I had with another medic, Doc KB.

    I sent Doc KB a picture of Doc TM prior to our phone conversation. He says when he saw the picture it was a sort of divine occurrence.   (Another God Wink)  Doc KB was a 'CO' but served as an infantry medic facing the same danger and enemy fire as a combat infantryman. He was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Hearts for his dedication to his men. He had just participated in an honor guard about three weeks ago early Oct 2009 and met a veteran with a combat medic badge and a 25th infantry badge on a jungle hat. The guy had long hair and beard and lived in Oregon on 20 acres of land. He was very stoic Doc KB says and did not talk much. After much talk Doc found out that they guy was TM. Doc TM served with me in Bravo. TM did not talk much and told KB that he did not remember many of the names of the other medics including the battalion surgeon. Doc KB thinks that Doc TM is in PTSD treatment. This is not unusual as many medics have PTSD because of constant contact with dead and dying soldiers. They saw much more than most infantry soldiers and never knew many of their names or what unit they were in. Doc KB will try to contact Doc TM and see if he wants to revisit his time. Many veterans do not want to revisit or remember their time and that is okay. (KB eventually did make contact with TM and they spent some time together but I have not included that in this article because TM is still battling his demons)

    Combat medics went thought 16 weeks of medical training prior to deployment in Vietnam.

    Doc TerryM is currently living in an Oregon cabin tending to his own wounds.