9/8/12

Today....I met a man I'll call him RT...born September 1, 1924, tall and proud, 88 years old....He lost his wife last August...they had been married for some 65 years when she passed. They knew each other only 2 months...and decided they were the ones for each other and tied the knot before he was shipped out.  He was a Marine....she was in love and.she sent him off  to war with kisses that would last forever...In those days forever may only be a few days months or years....
Now he sits in my booth...and there is some opening chit-chat....he tells me how he lost his wife a year ago this last August....distressed and shaking his head, tears filled his eyes....he is clearly lost and  lonely without her.....

The Appointment...

I conduct the hearing test....not much has changed since his last evaluation but it is definately time for a new set of hearing aids. His old ones are over 6 years old and not working very well.  As I decide which hearing aids I will fit him with, he tells me he was a marine and he met his wife right before heading to war. As I'm measuring and calculating his hearing loss, he begins to tell me a story about the war that he proudly served in, World War 11 . I have a new understanding of why the men of his generation come to me and ask if our hearing aids are made in the U.S.

This is his story....

His father a marine himself in the 1st World War drove him to the bus that would carry him far away to begin his life as an american soldier. This is the advice his father gave him... "Keep your eyes and ears open, keep your head down and don't make any friends" All this advice given to him by his father would be clearly understood when he got onto the battlefield. It was the middle of the night and boats filled with young american soldiers most of which were between the ages of 17 and 23 headed to an Island. Their mission was to take over this  Island and kill the Japanese. There were 12,000 american men on those boats. As they approached the island they jumped into the water and waded to the island. They crawled on their bellies thought the sand, explosions and gunfire were everywhere. This is war, men were being killed all around him in an instant. He was in charge of 40 men and one medic would be assigned to those 40 men.  His only thought was to kill as many Japs as he could and get himself and his men out alive. He tells me he had never felt fear like he felt that night.  He had flares in in pack, he would throw them up into the air and light up the sky and suddenly they could see the Japs and it was easier to get some good shots off.  The gunfire had its own illumination and could be seen all around him.  He was on the move and one of his men was hit, it was so close that it could have just as easily been him. The wounded soldier was laying face down and RT didn't know if he was dead or alive. He rolled the soldier over, he was alive but he had been gut shot as RT put it.  Everything that should have been inside his stomach was laying outside his stomach.  In his training RT had been instructed on what to do in this sitiuation, so he went to work. No medic in site, he scooped up what was left of he soldiers insides and tucked them back into his body, dirt and all.  He poured water onto the organs and wrapped him up in a large gauze bandage, all this being done while gunfire is going on all around him. The soldier at this point is still alive and able to communicate with his Sargent.  RT gives him his canteen and tells him to keep pouring water onto his wound, knowing that the young soldier did not have a chance for survival. Keep your wound wet he tells the soldier again, if you dry out you're a gonner for sure.  He looks at the soldier who's eyes are filled with terror and he leaves and runs for cover.  It took 72 hours for the American Soldiers to take over that island. The cost of that mission, 5000 American Soldiers dead, RT called it a butcher shop.... 72 hours and 5000 dead, its hard to take in. This is the cost of Freedom. This is one mans story.

Six months later.... RT still fighting in the war receives a letter.  The letter reads,

Dear Sargent,

I wanted to say thank you for all the swell training you gave me when I was under your command.
I served with you on the island and you taught me what it means to be an American and how important it is to guard and protect our Country. I am on leave from injuries sustained on that mission but am doing well and have hopes for a full recovery. You see I was the soldier that you put back together and left laying in the sand on that island. A medic found me and I was taken to a hospital. They didn't think I would make it, but I knew I would.   I think seeing your bravery helped me to be brave too.  So thank you and God Bless America

Sincerly,
PFC Dugard

Blog #2 Sandiego O'Connor