Medics in Vietnam

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Published: Monday, May 30th, 2016 @ 9:01 pm
By: Bobby Tony ( More Entries )

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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.

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Stan Deatherage said:

( May 27th, 2016 @ 2:17 am )

Good words my friend. I hope others find encouragement from them as I do.

Introspection leads to growth, and at 61 years, I still got some growing up to do.

Bobby Tony said:

( May 26th, 2016 @ 11:01 am )

Thanks Stan, but this old man spends way too much time now in the emotional past. I guess it is "payback" for the many years of denial and refusal to embrace the tender side of life. In addition, I am not just talking about war and trauma. I am referring to the thoughtless and inconsiderate actions that we all make during life.

I made a decision a few years ago that I did not want to carry those demons with me to the grave and it has opened up a different door for me. When they close the symbolic lid, I do not want to share the space with those demons anymore.

Perhaps some will say that it is just a part of the aging process, but I see it as a part of the growing up process and there is a difference in the two. As a Baptist preacher may say that it is the tortured soul of a sinner looking for repentance, but us Baptists have always used the club to bludgeon sinners when it was just as easy to use the rudder to make course corrections. Knowing how to be a believer is the easy part, living it is what my brother Ken has done most of his life. I'm still in training.

Stan Deatherage said:

( May 26th, 2016 @ 9:58 am )

I swear Bobby Tony, your good Christian perspective, coupled with your sense of humor, and your gold plated patriot status is treasure to our readers and America as a whole.

I will do all can to provide you a growing audience.

Bobby Tony said:

( May 26th, 2016 @ 6:42 am )

I will need to take a few moments to compose and maybe I can edit one of my Vietnam Diary articles. But for now here is an excerpt:

At the risk of beating the drum too loud and too long, here is another link to the story of Ken Blakely. It reminds me of the Jimmy Stewart movie when Clarence found his wings except that Ken has carried his wings with him his whole life. "Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel's just got his wings."

www.redding.com

"For the past 20 years, Blakely has made it his mission to find his men. He said a prayer and promised to make a cash contribution to church for each man found.

“I began to find them, of those who I knew their first and last name,” he said, describing the difficulty of finding someone when all you knew them by was perhaps a nickname. To date, he has found 80".

Stan Deatherage said:

( May 26th, 2016 @ 6:34 am )

What a beautiful story.

If you get the do an inspirational post on Ken, I would love to post it, and keep it fresh at times of the year such as this.

Bobby Tony said:

( May 26th, 2016 @ 5:28 am )

Here is a two-minute clip of medic KB. Ken has dedicated his after Vietnam life to making contact with as many of our Band of Brothers and continuing to offer healing on an emotional level even as he suffers from the after affects of his own service. I will note again that I did not know Ken in Vietnam even though we served in the same unit and did not make contact until 40-plus years later while I was trying to locate my medic TB discussed above. His example has been an inspiration to me in times of doubt. Truly John 14:3 is true for Doc KB and us if we choose to follow our savior.

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

If you do nothing, more this holiday week watch this video and remember the sacrifices made by others for our benefit.

Ken is the hero in the Blue shirt. The audio is poor but I encourage you to listen carefully. the Video link is below:

beaufortcountynow.com

Stan Deatherage said:

( May 26th, 2016 @ 5:05 am )

Thanks Bobby Tony for continuing TMc's historical discussion about some of the greatest patriots in American history: the Navy Corpsman and the Army Medic.

Their selfless valor is the ultimate expression of living in Christ while serving at war. My heart goes out to Doc TerryM, and others like him, that saw too much, know too much, and, in healing their broken comrades, loved too much.

They are such selfless heroes, and we all owe them our undying gratitude, our continued prayers.

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