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.....
I'm part Comanche, and the term Indian doesn't offend me...."Native American" strikes me as stupid, though. If you're born here, you're a native and if you're a citizen, you're an American, so I guess a fella of Chinese ancestry born in Chicago is a native American. I'm Irish-Indian with a little German thrown in to make it difficult....a native American.
BTTT
Make Every Day Memorial Day Bump!
Thanks, redrock.
How very, very sad. I watched Extreme Makeover last night. They were honoring Lori, the young native woman who was Jessica Lynch's roommate who died in Iraq. They built her family a gorgeous home on the Hopi Reservation where they lived. The grandparents, beautiful, humble people, are raising Lori's children, a boy and a girl. They were taken to Disneyland while the workers built this home. All the whilte they were honoring Native American veterans. It was the most tearful time I've ever spent on watching a TV show. They built a log house for the spirits, I believe, and the natives helped build it. Then they build a huge building for native veterans to gather from all over the country.
I wish you could have seen the faces of the family and Jessica Lynch. It was amazing. I'm still teary eyed thinking about it. The guy who narrates was crying, everyone who worked on it was crying. It was such an amazing segment. They built a special room in the house that had Lori's pictures and mementos from the service, etc. A room where the family can go to remember her life and her sacrifice. There was no bitterness in the parents. It was incredible. If you haven't seen it, you missed something. It was a story of the greatness of the American people, of all backgrounds. Wonderful.
Wasn't that an amazing segment? I've never cried so much in my TV watchin' life. All those veterans and Lori's family--just great!
The little girl didn't seem too upset but the son cried I noticed. He is older and probably remembers his mom :( The parents broke my heart though.
Our little Christian school puts on a dinner for veterans on Veteran's Day. The kids wait on table and just honor the vets. They deserve every honor they can get. The Tuskegee Airman, The Buffalo Soldiers, the Japanese young men who volunteered for service during WWII, the Native American windtalkers and other NA's who served, they've the forgotten ones. I value them, along with our own sons and daughters who are serving and have served over the years. Lots of goldstar parents around here, too.
And they also got $50,000 and a horse for the little girl. It was the best show I've seen in years. I was so proud of all of them.
They all broke my heart. I'm still crying as I think of it. She was such a precious little sweetheart. The Princess bedroom was just great! The parents are so humble and forgiving and I think perhaps Christian. They spoke about God a lot and their attitudes certainly reflect and honor God. It was such a blessing to watch that show.
Native American is probably the most offensive term in the liberal lexicon. Born in the U.S., of entirely Irish ancestry, I am a native American.
If American Indians don't like the name, find something that doesn't disenfranchise me and others equally qualified to claim our native American birthright.
I guess I missed a good one tho.
redrock
redrock - are you the author of the above piece, or just passing it along?
(sorry, I couldn't tell one way or the other)
Thanks for the moving story, in any case.
American Hero ~ Bump!
Lest We Forget!
Be Ever Vigilant!
You can catch the 'how did they do that' part of the show tonight on ABC. I think it's eight eastern time.
Every day is Memorial Day ~ Bump!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Thanks.
redrock
He earned "a lot" of respect from "a lot" of people IMO.
True. You're right. I should have stipulated the 'black power' movement. Foreman took the high road considering the times.
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