Kerry Purple Heart Doc Speaks Out

National Review Online ^ | May 04, 2004 | Byron York

[kennedy]

Recently discovered photograph of Kerry's war injuries:

[tet68]

When I was on check crew, post check powerup was something
that I was trained to do.
What a tremendous feeling. I often thought that I could certainly get an A-4 into the air, retract gear and fly
that only left that tricky part at the end.

Unfortuneately, being a structural mech, I often got to see
the results of how tricky that part was so never took the
temptation.

Chu Lai was a SATS system while it was all A-4s then they
tried flying F-4s off it, which they did but the Phantoms
didn't like it much, as the matting was not very good at
all the weight. It was rather interesting watching them
BOUNCE down the runway on take off, gave a whole new meaning to "Rock and Roll". Many times whole
racks of bombs would come off, most of the time they didn't explode. I did have a piece of a 500 lb that missed my head
by inches.

Phantoms were so overwhelming compared to Scooters, loved
them both, even had some Spads (AD Skyraiders)from the Vietnamese Air Force land there,
I think Nguyen Cao Ky was one of the pilots, wore a purple
silk scarf.

Later new runways were concrete and all manner of birds came in, even saw a super Connie there once.
For our part we mechs had perhaps one of the only gas powered model airplanes in the country. I still have the
engine from it and hope to leave it at the Wall someday.
We were marines, but kids all the same.

[Political Junkie Too]

It's the Kerry version of the Bimbo Eruption!

We already had one of those. She fled to Kenya.

-PJ

[TN4Liberty]

Curad Kerry?

I second this nomination for the new moniker.

(Although "Johnson and Johnson" Kerry has a certain quality as well.)

[new cruelty]

Wait a minute... this article says kerry was in Vietnam. That changes everything.

[4mycountry]

Uh... I'm pretty sure they'd rather keep the property blood-free. ^_^;

[AnAmericanMother]

A good friend of mine's husband was an Army doc in 'Nam.

You remember the malingerers, the whiners, and the "bandaid Purple hearts". JF'nK was also probably pretty snotty in his "wannabe blueblood" way to a country doc from Alabama! (Being a poor relation makes some folks mean.)

[Redleg Duke]

We have just read the description of a RAT "sucking chest wound"!

[Polybius]

Knowing Kerry's arrogance, he probably demanded to see an MD and not a Corpsman. Letson says he was the Medical Officer. Does that mean he would have been a licensed physician? I'm not familiar with military medical personnel. Isn't it possible that Letson was the only one available to see Kerry the next morning?

In the U.S. military, "medical officer" means an M.D. or a D.O. In other words, a "Doctor".

If you are in an area without combat casualties streaming in, there is nothing unusual about a medical officer seeing "minor" stuff.

For example, I was a medical officer and the OIC at the Fleet Sick Call Clinic at Guantanamo for one of my tours. During the mornings, we did active duty Sick Call and, after all acute active duty cases were seen, we then saw civilian contract workers, chronic cases, follow ups, etc.

While it is true that the medical officers would see the more serious problems first, after those were seen, we did not just sit around drinking coffee. We pitched in and helped our Corpsmen clear out the Clinic by seeing our fair share of "minor stuff" from the common cold to jock itch.

When officers came to Sick Call, they would usually be seen by a medical officer rather than a Corpsman just as a matter of rank courtesy.

One "minor stuff" case at Guantanamo was rather memorable. It was a Marine Pfc. with the medical complaint. "Personal problem. Wants to see medical officer".

This Marine's "problem" was that he could "do it" (his words) "only" four times a night on a good night.

Huh?

Well, it seems that he had just gotten himself his first "serious" girlfriend at GTMO and that gal had been told by her friends that a "real man" should have no problem performing five times a night. If her guy was only able to perform three or, at best, four times a night then he was obviously using up his other two times with some other girl.

".....and it's every night, Doc! Sometimes, I can get up to four but that's it. Never five. Sometimes, if I'm tired, I can only do it twice and then she's really upset. And I'm not cheating with another girl. Honest! That's not normal is it? I mean, you can do it five times a night, can't you, Sir?"

Yep. Sometimes "minor" cases were memorable. :-)

[Spotsy]

ROTFL!! How did I miss this? Thank you!
This is better than Dukakis in the tank.

[Condor51]

Well people, I've been spending the last 1/2 hour TRYING to draw this 'shrapnel' to scale with my Auto-CAD 2000® program.

You cannot believe HOW SMALL this thing was.
2mm in diameter is .078125" or 5/64" (a tad bigger than 1/16")
3mm is .12" (a tad smaller than 1/8")
and 1cm in length is NEGLIGIBLE

Seriously this is an utter disgrace. No wonder his original CO denied the PH request. This 'shrapnel' would have to 'grow up' TO BE a splinter.

My God, navel lint is bigger than this shrapnel. And the Rose Thorn reference is being way, way, WAY too generous. And a paper cut compared to this 'wound'... HA! That would be like open heart surgery in comparison.

And we thought Willard was shameless. This guy is beneath Klintoon! Kerry is pond-scum.

[AnAmericanMother]

What a hoot! (Ah, youth!)

Have you read Spike Milligan's Hitler, My Part In His Downfall? If not, I highly recommend it. He has some stories that will make you fall over laughing. I'm thinking of a similar story of a Lance Bombardier who was worried that his girlfriend might "p*** off with a Polish Airman" because he feared he was inadequately "endowed." . . . . didn't have as happy an ending, though.

[lepton]

How many female soldiers did you get complaining of yeast infections even after they stopped eating bread?

[AnAmericanMother]

Geez, I would need a magnifying glass and a needle to get out a splinter that size!

I get stuff worse than that in the garden all the time. For heaven's sake, last night at dog agility training class my Lab was a little too eager for a treat and nicked the cuticle on my left index finger with one canine tooth. Ouchie! I washed it and put a bandaid on, and we went back to class.

Where's my Purple Heart? (If you'd ever run my dog on an agility course, you'd agree that it's "combat." :-D )

[Spotsy]

Just when I thought this thread couldn't make me laugh any harder, I came to your post.

[OKSooner]

Bump for later email to interested parties.

[neverdem]

BANG

[rwfok]

Have you seen this ping?

[devolve]

"Band-Aid Brothers"

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" My God, navel lint is bigger than this shrapnel. And the Rose Thorn reference is being way, way, WAY too generous '

I tried ,like you, to document how teeny tiny these dimensions are.

The size of a nose hair should do it.