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Freedom Isn't Free July 2003
In lieu of the normal monthly piece, I thought that I’d share a letter with
you that I received the other day from a friend of mine who just happened to be
my roommate during my freshman year in college 29 years ago.
It caught
me a little by surprise because I hadn’t heard from him in quite awhile. I
hope it touches you as much as it did me.
"Dear
Bob:
On
this Fourth of July holiday, I wanted to share some of my encounters with other
soldiers here in the theater of war with you.
While
standing in line to eat last week, I was approached by a Private First Class. He
saw the caduceus on my collar, and asked if I was a doctor. He was covered in
dust, and was wearing a 3rd Infantry patch on his shoulder. When I replied in
the affirmative, he explained that he was shot in the leg 2 months ago while in
Baghdad. The bullet was from an
AK-47, and passed through the door of his truck, which slowed it down to greatly
lessen the force of impact. Still,
it lodged in his left thigh, directly against the femur. He said he was treated by the Forward Surgical Team, an
emergency oriented group of docs and medical types, who stabilize the injured
and then evacuate them from the combat zone.
The surgeon told him the bullet had rested directly against the bone, and
he did not want to remove it for fear of the neurological damage he would cause
in doing so. He wanted to evacuate
him to a more suitable medical setting, but the soldier disobeyed the order, and
returned to his unit. He said the
doctor dressed the wound so well, and it healed nicely with the care of his line
medic. He now wondered if he could
have it looked at, since the bullet was still in his leg.
I asked him why he did not evacuate as directed, and he replied that he
could not leave his fellow soldiers in his platoon.
As I mentioned earlier, he was with the 3rd Infantry Division,
which saw quite a bit of action in and around Baghdad.
I
directed him to the clinic, and told him to ask for one of docs I knew there.
Before he walked away from me, I asked him how old he was.
He seemed very young, but had an expression of weariness on his face,
which made him look a bit older. He
replied "Sir, I just turned 19 last week".
One
of my patients yesterday was a Marine Captain, who commanded a company in the
1MEF. He and his men had been part
of the initial drive to Baghdad. We talked a bit about it, and when asked about
casualties, he told me that one of his Marines had been killed. You could see the effect that had on him in his face.
We did not talk about it further.
There
are thousands of military here in Southwest Asia, each with his or her own
experiences, who have suffered greatly under hostile fire, intolerable heat and
deplorable living conditions. I
could share a lot more with you, as I am the only Army optometrist in Kuwait,
and have met an awful lot of soldiers, sailors and Marines in my multiple office
locations during the past few weeks. Rather
than do that, I would ask everyone back home to take a moment today to remember
the sacrifices of our military, both now and in days past.
It is the reason we are still able to celebrate this holiday.
I
will never forget this Fourth of July, as I have been given the great privilege
to be able to walk among true heroes.
Be
safe, and best regards for a happy Independence Day!
Love
to my family and friends,
XXXXX
ENOUGH
SAID!
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