Many of you may or may not know Old Doc, HM2 Merrick
Heliocopter Surgical Evac.Team Bravo in Country 1967-68
Dave has just buried his 92 year old Dad , this past week-end
For the last two and one half years Dave has cared for his ailing
Dad, thats what Dave does best he takes care of people.
He took care of a tremendous amount of Marine wounded and Dying in Vietnasty, thats where Dave got his ride back to the states the hard way, Fvcking VC , aNY WAY i JUST WOULD LIKE TO REINTRODUCE Dave Merrick HM2 Heliocopter Surgical Evac. "Team
Bravo", In country 1967-1968
Dave, just as I said completed 2 and 1/2 years of total care for his Dad , he would like to be welcomed back on the three Marine sites that I told him were the BEST.
DAVE'S E-MAIL=DMERRICK@SURFGLOBAL.NET
Dave lives in Vermont with his wife Sheila.
WELCOME BACK DAVE (Doc)
Had to bump this, enough of you are not reading this. Doc is a damn fine Marine/Navy, Corpsmen that deserves better, I am appalled.
James Fowler
thedrifter
08-07-02, 07:33 PM
Thanks Tude for introducing your Doc to us...
We would gladly Welcome Him Home, to Our Home Here Our Home Away From Home......
All Marines Have A Special Place In Their Hearts For Corpsmen...
And They Are A Part Of The Brotherhood......
WELCOME HOME DAVE......
Sempers,
Roger
Shaffer
08-07-02, 10:51 PM
Welcome aboard Dave and to any other Corpsman. Stand tall and stand proud as there are even a fewer number of Navy personnel that dawn the title "Marine".
Sorry to hear about your father. You and your family will be in our prayers.
Semper Fi Doc!
Jerry
NamGrunt68
08-08-02, 07:50 AM
A Marines
Tribute to Corpsmen
By: Bob Hingston and Carl King
UNITED STATES MARINES 1968-1969
Hotel Company 1st Plt. 2nd. Bn. 1st. Marines, 1st Marine Division.
The ideal squad is 13 men and a Corpsman. The Corpsman is a Navy enlisted man who has medical training and is skilled enough to get you and whatever pieces that are left of you back to a hospital. Although he's a Navy man, he has the respect of the Marines and is thought of as one of them and is known to everyone, as Doc.
He's the one that responds to the call Corpsman up! He is the one who'll run to you when you've taken one in the chest, the wind is knocked out of you and you're trying your damn best to move so the people behind you know you're still alive, yet not so much as to have Charlie pump more rounds into you. He is there when there is complete chaos: automatic rifle fire, hand grenades exploding, M-79 rounds being lobbed into the brush a few meters in front of you and more noise than anyone ever hoped to make on the fourth of July. When it seems like you have been lying there forever, he is the one that has exposed himself to enemy fire to run up to you to scream in your ear, “Where are you hit!!! ”If you're lucky, you can point to the place because you sure as hell can't talk. You're gasping for air because it's leaking out your lung like a tire with a hole in it. You're trying to stay out of shock and feel like your whole body is on fire. You're wrenching with pain. And bullets bounce all around your head and body because they are now trying to kill you and the Doc.
For some strange reason, God knows where the courage comes from; the Corpsman seems immune to or oblivious of all that is going on around you. His only focus is you. In the movies a guy gets hit once and that's about it, in Vietnam, there wasn't any limit to the number of times in one firefight you could be hit. Hell, you could get hit a dozen or more times if someone possessed little else to do but try to nail your young butt. It should be easy for you to see how panic and fear can work on a guy that has been wounded and is basically helpless and the people keep shooting at him (it's not fair). Fear that every round that just misses you means the next one won't. And lying helpless and unable to move or breath can cause a panic that does it's damnedest to conquer your soul and leave you ****ing all over yourself in fear.
The corpsman yells for a medevac to be called. One is called by a good radioman while someone else is calling in a fire mission that may take twenty minutes before the first round comes in. A lot can happen in twenty minutes; your whole outfit could be wiped out. If the ambush is big enough and you're caught in a cross fire it could take a lot less than twenty minutes.
The action is hot, bullets burn your skin. They get close enough to feel without actually hitting you and that's close. The dirt and sand are red hot as bullets kick it in your face. You think, God that was close!! Please God just get me out of this one. I promise to be good from now on!! Suddenly, someone is dragging you by your collar or some piece of clothing, you're not sure what is going on but you do know that the pain is bringing you close to unconsciousness, your whole body is shaking uncontrollably, your chest has a hissing sound coming from where you think your lung is, it's spouting air and filling up with this warm substance that makes it harder to breath, you're sure that blood is now filling your lung up to the point of collapsing. Fear and panic is gone and replaced with sheer terror and shock.
Yet this Navy guy keeps miraculously dragging your body towards safety, while half the enemy forces are trying to nail him. Mother Up! You hear through your fog, you know another one of your friends has just taken a hit and could possibly be worse than you are. Coming! screams the Doc. He tells someone to keep pressure on the rag covering your chest and not to take his and off of it. He turns and heads in the direction of the last caller, while the enemy continues to do their best to nail him before he can reach his next casualty.
Maybe this is why we considered the corpsman to be one of us, although they never went through boot camp at Paris Island or San Diego, they were Marines at heart, and damn good ones. Only a fool or a hero would leave a place of safety to throw his body in harms way for someone he may not even know. I never met a Corpsman that I thought was a fool. To me a hero does things that his logical mind is telling him not to do. His logical mind says to stay put, get further down, but above all don't get up and go where someone else just got shot!
The hero ignores what his mind is telling him and goes forward in the face of the enemy fire. His only thought is to get to the guy that has called for help. He will get to him!! He may get shot himself but he will not let that guy die by himself. Sometimes they aren't alive when he gets there, but he's there and exposed to the same fire that killed the man he came to rescue.
He goes from wounded to wounded doing what he can to save their lives, doing what he can to give them a little more time. Time to get them back to an aid station where they may be saved. Let me be point man any day over being a corpsman in a Marine infantry outfit. At least I can take cover and return fire.
The Corpsman is special. The Navy offers a lot of other programs that are a hell of a lot less dangerous. Corpsmen knew going in that they will be placed in harms way. They knew that they would be assigned to the heaviest fighting areas in Vietnam, yet they volunteer anyway. They cared about human suffering and wanted to do all in their power to aid, and were willing to give their lives to their calling. Check out the Wall, you'll find a lot of corpsman on that wall. They gave their all. Many of us, who were fortunate enough to return home, did so because of their unselfish acts of heroism. In many cases they did so without any medals or rewards except the personal feeling of having done their job and done it well. Because of them, thousands of Marines today can greet each other and say welcome home.
When you go to see the Wall, a tribute dedicated to the Vietnam Serviceman who paid the ultimate price for their country, you will see a statute dedicated to the grunts. You will see an area dedicated to the nurses who served their country. What you won't see is a tribute to the Corpsman. A tribute to the men who risked their lives by exposing themselves to tremendous enemy fire, by running, by crawling, and by inching their way into the thickest of the thick of fighting, to answer a call for help. They sacrificed their safety to save others lives.
I wonder why there are no special honors awarded to these individuals.
These men who prevented so many of us here today from having our names on the Wall. There is a place where a statue could and should be placed. A statue of a single individual, loaded down with his medical gear. A statue representing those that were always ready and willing to give their lives in the hopes that they might save a life. Corpsmen are a special and distinct breed of men who stand out proud and strong. Their everyday acts of bravery and heroism deserve to be recognized by their brothers in arms. They gallantly served, and were unselfishly willing to give their all. Because of them, many of us were given the opportunity to make a difference in the world.
There may never be a statue in honor the Corpsman who served our country so well. And who were so important to the Marines in the field. Statue or not, I would like to personally salute you and to say to you: Semper Fi Marine, as the title is well earned, and the honor long overdue.
Thank you for your willingness of service, and self sacrifice, so that many like myself today are able to say, welcome home Doc, a job well done.
TeufelHunden
08-08-02, 08:20 AM
...Tude, don't take the lack of responses as meaning nobody cares.
Doc - I'm sorry to hear about your Father. God bless you and you family during these trying times.
You're always welcome here.
Thanks for doing what you did in 'Nam.
USMC0311
08-08-02, 09:06 AM
Thanks Dane.. Good to see ya Bro!!
The Only men I loved as much as grunts is the Corpsmen. The most Courageous Marines in the Corps. when we was in fire fights..the Corpsman Always went through hails and volumes of enemy rounds. The Corpsman job was by definition the most dangerous of ALL. God Bless the Corpsmen.
Thank You for savin my ass and the lives of so many of our comrades. The Corpsman Insignia is the true Badge of Courage!!!
Semper Fi, my Brothers
8th&I Marine
08-08-02, 09:18 AM
Doc,
Sorry to hear about your father. I am praying for you and your family.
Semper Fi my friend
Cantrell