Posted on 11/19/2004 10:17:51 AM PST by RtWngr
E-MAIL FROM IRAQ A friend of ours, Heidi, a doctor and Lt. Cmdr. in the Navy, just finished a seven-month deployment to Iraq treating wounded Marines. Just a few weeks ago, she came home to her 2-year-old twins she left with her husband while she served in Iraq. While waiting for her flight home, Heidi wrote an e-mail home listing the good and the bad of her tour of duty. She did this for closure and healing, hoping that somehow the trauma, the fear, the grief, the laughter, the pride and the patriotism that she experience in those long seven months would begin to make sense, through her writing. She wrote: "So here goes ... in reverse order of importance ...
THINGS THAT WERE GOOD Sunset over the desert, almost always orange. Sunrise over the desert, almost always red. The childlike excitement of having fresh fruit at dinner after going weeks without it. Being allowed to be the kind of clinician I know I can be, and want to be, with no limits placed and no doubts expressed. But most of all, the United States Marines, our patients. Walking, every day, and having literally every single person who passes by say "Oo-Rah, Ma'am..." Having them tell us, one after the other, through blinding pain or morphine-induced euphoria: 'When can I get out of here? I just want to get back to my unit ...' Meeting a young sergeant, who had lost an eye in an explosion. when he could finally open the other eye, he sat up and looked at the young Marines from his fire team who were being treated for superficial shrapnel wounds in the next room. He smiled, laid back down, and said, 'I only have one good eye, Doc, but I can see that my Marines are OK.' And of course, meeting the one who threw himself on a grenade to save the men at his side ... who will likely be the first Medal of Honor recipient in over 11 years ... My friends ... some of them will be life-long in a way that is indescribable. My patients ... some of them had courage unlike anything I've ever experienced before. My comrades, Alpha Surgical Company ... some of the things witnessed will traumatize them forever, but still they provided outstanding care to these Marines, day in and day out, sometimes for days at a time with no break, for seven endless months. And last, but not least ... Holding the hand of that dying Marine.
THINGS THAT WERE NOT GOOD Terrifying camel spiders, poisonous scorpions, flapping bats in the darkness, howling, territorial wild dogs, flies that insisted on landing on our faces, giant, looming mosquitoes, invisible sand flies that carry leishmaniasis. 132 degrees. Wearing long sleeves, full pants and combat boots in 132 degrees. Random and totally predictable power outages that led to sweating throughout the night. Sweating in places I didn't know I could sweat, like wrists, and ears. The roar of helicopters overhead. The resounding thud of exploding artillery in the distance. The popping of gunfire ... Not knowing if any of the above sounds is a good thing, or bad thing. The siren, and the inevitable 'big voice' yelling at us to take cover. Not knowing if that siren was on someone's DVD or if the big voice would soon follow. The cracking sound of giant artillery rounds splitting open against rock and dirt. The rumble of the ground. The shattering of the windows ... Hiding under flak jackets and Kevlar helmets, away from the broken windows, waiting to be told we can come to the hospital ... to treat the ones who were not so lucky. Watching the helicopter with the big Red Cross on the side landing at our pad. Worse, watching Marine helicopters filled with patients landing at our pad ... because we usually did not realize they were coming. Ushering a sobbing Marine colonel away from the trauma bay while several of his Marines bled and cried out in pain inside. Meeting that 21-year-old Marine with three Purple Hearts, and listening to him weep because he felt ashamed of being afraid to go back. Telling a room full of stunned Marines in blood-soaked uniforms that their comrade, who they had tried to save, had just died of his wounds. Trying, as if in total futility, to do anything I could to ease the trauma of group after group that suffered loss after loss, grief after inconsolable grief. Washing blood off the boots of one of our young nurses while she told me about the one who bled out in the trauma bay, and then the one who she had to tell, when he pleaded for the truth, that his best friend didn't make it. Listening to another of our nurses tell of the Marine who came in talking, telling her his name, about how she pleaded with him not to give up, told him that she was there for him, about how she could see his eyes go dull when he couldn't fight any longer. And last, but not least ... Holding the hand of that dying Marine."
Tears flowing here.
If anyone comes in my office, I'll have to fake a coughing episode.
Somthing wrong with my monitor -- all the type went out of focus.
April 29, 2004
CAMP AL QAIM, Iraq (April 29, 2004) -- Recruits at the Corps' two recruit training depots will know Cpl. Jason L. Dunham. They will know that the 22-year-old Marine lived up to the Corps' largest legends and laid down his own life to save those of his Marines.
Dunham, a machine gunner for Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment was memorialized by his battalion April 29th here. A crowd of more than 500 Marines, sailors and soldiers gathered under a dark and cloudy sky for a memorial service to pay their last respects to a brave hero.
Dunham, from Scio, N.Y., died from his wounds April 24. Ten days earlier, the Marine dove on top of a grenade, absorbing nearly all the blast with his own body to save his fellow Marines.
"His was a selfless act of courage to save his fellow Marines," said Sgt. Maj. Daniel A. Huff, sergeant major for 3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment. "This generation of Marines is as good as any generation we've ever had in the Corps."
Dunham was manning a vehicle checkpoint near Husaybah after a convoy was ambushed April 14. He observed car pull up and a man jump from the vehicle, sprinting away. Dunham - in full combat gear - chased the man down, tackling him to the ground.
Other Marines came to assist in the apprehension when the terrorist pulled a pin from a hand grenade. Dunham dove onto the grenade, taking the blast into his own body, saving the lives of his Marines. Dunham suffered serious wounds, along with two other Marines. But were it not for his actions, all three might have died.
"He knew what he was doing," said Lance Cpl. Jason A. Sanders, 21, from McAllester, Okla., and a mortar man with Company K. "He wanted to save Marines' lives from that grenade."
Another mortar man with the company, Lance Cpl. Mark E. Dean, 22, from Owasso, Okla., described Dunham as an unselfish Marine. Dunham's enlistment was to end in June, but he voluntarily extended his contract to join his Marines.
"We told him he was crazy for coming out here," Dean explained. "He decided to come out here and fight with us. All he wanted was to make sure his boys made it back home."
"The only way to honor him is in his own way," said Capt. Trent A. Gibson, commanding officer for Company K. "We must continue to do our duty, take care of our Marines, lead by example and take the fight to the enemy."
Dunham dreamed of joining the Los Angeles Police Department after his tour.
He was born Nov. 10, 1981 and joined the Marine Corps July 31, 2000. The Marine completed recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. He joined 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment in September 2003, serving with 4th Platoon as a machine gunner.
Huff said commanders with the battalion are still awaiting eyewitness statements from Marines before determining at what level they will recommend Dunham for a decoration.
"What Corporal Dunham did equates to what a lot of heroes of our past have done to earn the nation's highest honor," explained Sgt. Maj. Wayne R. Bell, 1st Marine Division's sergeant major. "If it were up to me, he'd be put in for the Medal of Honor. From bits and pieces of what I'm hearing, it very well could be.
"He'll be in the history books, like many of our Marines here," Bell added.
Dunham survived his wounds for ten days when his parents, Daniel K. Dunham and Natalie J. Sherwood made the decision to end life support for the Marine. According to Bell, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Michael W. Hagee and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sgt. Maj. John L. Estrada were at Dunham's bedside with his parents at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland when he died.
"That in itself speaks volumes knowing that no matter who it is - general officer or a corporal - his act alone warrants a visit from the Commandant," Bell said. "I know that the Marines who are alive today, because of what Corporal Dunham did, will never forget that Marine as long as they live.
"Corporal Dunham is everybody's hero," Bell added. "He sacrificed his life so his Marines could continue the mission."
"God made something special when he made Jason," Dean said, "It was a privilege and honor to know him. It's sad he is gone but he is living it up in heaven and I'm happy for that."
Thank you so much for posting this!
Didn't come close.
Thank you for posting. God Bless all of them.
Whew...
I don't know how they can take that day in and day out. I would be a total basket case.
This rotten earth doesn't deserve their kind or their deeds that keep us free.
But the good Lord keeps sending them just the same.
No dry eyes here either...
Can't hardly see. God bless our troops and the medics.
Blubbering here.
Thought I was going to win that bet til I got to that last line, too. Darn it! I never win anything.
Wow.
Oh you are right. Everytime I see one of our so called illustrious newspersons or hear those hollywood and music industry people who have said such terrible, terrible things
well, all I can see is the damage they have done and the chaos they have created with their lies, smears and hate talk.
Our President was doing all he could and our own country was working against him in the most hateful way imaginable. All because they thought he stole the election, was not a legitimate President and called him a dim bulb. George Bush is the opposite of what they stand for.
Those that screamed out so loud about this war and against our President should get down on their knees and beg forgiveness for the damage they have done to this great country.They all know who they are and in years to come...I hope they can look themselves in the mirror at the image looking back at them and not feel total utter disgust.
I know George Bush will be able to look in his mirror and know in his heart and deep in his soul that he did the right thing.
I can sleep at night knowing I supported my President. I will never have any GUILTY feelings of lack of support for our President in a time of war.
God bless our President and our Troops around the world. I am an American and a Proud American. Proud of my nephew who served in Mosul. I am proud of our President and those who fought so hard to bring peace into this world. To those who are so hateful well, I guess we can only feel sorry for them cause they are just so ugly inside and out. I'll say a prayer for them cause one day they are gonna need a prayer when their conscience catches up with them.
God bless America.
Involuntary sobs.
Lord. bless the families of those honored dead in Iraq and Afghanistan, and may the honor of their names be never forgotten.
And Lord, may we who are stateside show the same courage and fearlessness in our everyday struggle.
Thank you Lord, for the example of these men -- and for this author.
BUMP!
i couldn't do it either god bless our men and women in uniform
Pardon me while I close my office door.
It's not good to be seen weeping at my desk.
Couldn't do it either. God bless these kids and I am so thankful that they keep coming forward to do the hard stuff.
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