Posted on 05/23/2005 7:54:29 AM PDT by redrock
The bus seemed to be stopped forever....or at least quite a while.
I was taking the bus to visit some friends. We had pulled over downtown to pick up some passengers...and it seemed that we were at that one stop for a while. I had noticed that the driver had lowered the ramp to let on a person...wheelchair or other I didn't know.
I heard someone from the back speak softly...."I see why were taking forever.....just another drunk Indian."
I looked up to see ....and in the doorway (moving ever so s-l-o-w-l-y...and I mean s-l-o-w-l-y) was a American Indian (or Native American for all you P.C. bunch). He was moving his legs about 3 inches at a time....and he was using his crutches to balance himself. He kept trying to speak to the bus driver....but you couldn't really understand him...his words were so slurred.
Finally he managed to get to the front seat (vacated by someone else in an effort to speed things up I guess) and plopped down. Just then...the bottom of his pants came up and you could see the two metal rods that passed for his legs.......and I could see the scarring on his face that made it (or I would guess it would) difficult for him to move his mouth.
Somewhere in the next few blocks...I started a conversation with him. ( I talk to everyone....I find people interesting). We started off the with the usual mundane stuff....the weather...(it was snowing)...how the buses are always late. Then I noticed the tatoo on his hand.
"Semper Fi"
I asked if he had been in the Marine Corps. He looked at me with that '1,000 yard stare'.....the kind that old Veterans sometimes get.....and slowly nodded yes.
So...for the next couple of hours...we rode the bus talking...(it turns out that he rode the bus sometimes just to get out the weather)...learning.
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He was from the Navajo Reservation....and came up to "The Big City" once in a while to visit the V.A.Hospital...and have his 'stumps' (how he put it) checked out since the fit with his metal legs never quite worked out.
He told me of how long ago ...as a young man on the 'Res.'.....he joined the Marines. Going thru Basic....learning how to be a Radio Operator....then going to Vietnam.
Of spending the first few months there...basically bored. Just doing the routine patrols....and the tedious life while at base. Then....of being on one patrol.
The patrol was Company size.....and the enemy was at least twice as many. The chaos when the first explosions happened.....the C.O. yelling on the radio (the one that he was carrying) for fire-support. The sound of small arms.....the yelling and screaming.....and for some reason...he remembers how bright the sky was.
Then nothing.
He awoke with a Navy Corpman over his face....calmly asking him questions. Questions that never seemed to make sense...as if the Corpman was speaking some language other than english.
...and in the distance...someone was screaming.
He told me that he was trying to concentrate on the Corpman (maybe he was asking something important)...and he wanted to tell the person screaming to shut up.
Then......just before he passed out from the pain and the morphine.......he realized the person screaming.....was him.
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He awoke aboard a Navy Hospital ship...with tubes going into and out of his body. The room that he was in was so clean....and had other men in it. He looked around the room...and saw men with casts on...and with I.V.'s feeding them.
Then he looked down at the foot of his bed.
It took awhile for his brain to connect.....and to make the reality check and actually realize that he had no legs.
He said that he just laid there and cried.
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They cleaned him up.....trying to fix the wounds to his face...but he would always have scars. Scars that would limit his ability to speak.
They fitted him with a wheelchair at first....and then around 6 years later...metal legs. They gave him physical therapy...to try and teach him to use his new legs.
They gave him a Purple Heart.....and sent him home.
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We Americans have this image of what a Hero is supposed to look like.
Tall. Square Jaw. Blond hair....blue eyes.
But it usually doesn't work out that way.
If you are ever in "The Big City" and you see along the side of the road (usually down-town) a 5'4" Navajo painfully making his way down the sidewalk with his metal legs and two crutches.....pull over and raise your hand in a salute.
For an American Hero is in front of you.....
We watched that show as well. It was a wonderful thing to watch. ABC did more for veterans and their families than most of the egocentric windbags in DC do in a year.
I clicked onto this thread ready to get pi$$ed off at a stereotype. Thanks for posting this. Thanks to the Libs, It's not often Indians (my prefered term) are cast in a good light.
Last night's episode was really moving. It made me cry A LOT and I usually cry every episode *LOL* The expression on the faces of the old vets was too much. I notice Jessica Lynch is still walking with the cane too. I guess the injury is permanent after all.
Too many people who could help salute these heroes spend more on body piercings, Bling, Bail, and Booze, than most state veterans budgets. Kids grow up with skewed vision with regard to values.
At Leo High School, a Catholic school in the inner city, the kids honor Veterans, Police, Firemen, and Postal workers every November. Sports figures are asked to particpate and even make a contribution - too busy and not in the Bling budget.
Saw the extreme makeover show on ABC last night as they built the home for Lori Piestewa's family and the Indian veterans' center at Tuba City, AZ.
Was a good tribute to everyone involved: Lori, Jessica Lynch, the Extreme Makeover crews and staff, the Piestewa family for their appreciation, the Indian vets for their appreciation, the companies that provide the pre-fab house, the retailer that provided appliances and clothing for the community.
It's what America's about.
...except,of course, their first name.
Liberals are SOOOOO dumb.
redrock
It's rare but some sport hero do honor the military. They're hard to find though, like George Foreman,Tiger Woods,etc. Do they count really? They had family in the military, esp. Tiger Woods. Foreman didn't win any friends waving the US flag in the late 60s though.
There are so many of us here in Oklahoma, most of us just prefer to be noted by tribe, in my case, Choctaw. But to state a race, everyone I know says "American Indian". I see my dentist at the "Indian Clinic".
redrock
redrock
Well done redrock - nice tribute!
redrock
Great Post!! Reminds me to invite my fellow Oregon Vets to show up at the Vets memorial at the Grand Rhonde reservation this memorial day. Happy Veterans Day to everyone, Semper Fi!!
Ira Hayes
While reading the article I too, thought of him..
I wondered if anyone would remember him and comment..
Thanks.. I remember.
Another great tribute. Thanks, redrock, you do our veterans PROUD!
redrock
redrock
redrock
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