Corpsmen and Weapons

[USNAviator]

Been UA for some time dealing with personal crap. During this absence I've read quite a bit and one book was "One Square Mile of Hell" by John Wukovits. Deals with Battle of Tarawa

The author interviewed many survivors and family members but one thing that struck me as interesting, many of the Corpsmen carried weapons and blacked out the Red Cross on their helmets. I've heard of officers not displaying their ranks but not Corpsmen.

Have any Corpsmen on here carried weapons in combat?

The main reason stated was that Jap snipers on the Canal and Gavutu took great pains to eliminate both officers and Corpsmen

[Preacher]

Our Corpsmen in Vietnam carried .45s, I saw a few who even had M16s.

SF, Jay

[DocGreek]

......I carried a 12ga. on a couple of night ambushes. Dirt road...two gooks digging...."hey Doc, look through this Starlite scope, I'll hold it.......YOU shoot the AZZHOLES!!!"
I pumped three "boom-boom's" and I think they ran away......WOUNDED!!! We found the wierd-looking mine in the AM.......NEVER AGAIN!!!!
Kept my .45 clean, and hooked to the rear of my TROU!
SEMPER FI.....Doc "fraidy-cat" Greek....

[jp2usmc]

Doc carrying a weapon is like job security, right?

[DocGreek]

.....HA, HA!!!.....today, with my DAM cataract's, I'd prolly' kill a couple of gook CHIKENS!!!!!!......

[ChuckH]

I posted this question on another group I belong to and here was one reply:

"As a Corpsman with the 5th Marines in Korea I carried a 45. I knew about as
much about the weapon as I did a 105 howitzer. Once I joined a line company
the platoon Sgt. taught me safety measures and cleaning of the weapon.we did
not have any crosses on the helmet."
Doc Joe Brown

[Zulu 36]

I know our Docs carried .45s when they were outside the wire. None wore Red Crosses, not even in sickbay.

During my time on staff at Field Med Service School-East, the students were fammed on M-16s and qualified on .45s. They carried M-16s on field exercises. Further weapons training was something the gaining Marine unit could undertake if they wanted.

Many of the Chiefs at the school were WWII, Korea, and VN vets. They said that no corpsman with half a brain wore any Red Cross. It made you a priority target and just doing your job was dangerous enough without adding a bright "insert bullet here" mark. In fact, the school taught corpsmen not to wear those things in combat.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

According to modern Marines I've talked to, Corpsman today have the option of carrying an M-4 as well as the M-9 pistol. NO 'red cross' markings, however, there is an IR 'Medic' type band that can be worn on the sleeve, attached via 'velcro'.

My Air Guard Medical unit docs and 'corpsmen' (we didn't call them that, it was 'Medic') carried M-9's in country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The idea that Medical personnel are to be completely 'defenseless' nowadays in accordance with a late 19th Century/early 20th Century mode of warfare where Medical folks would be respected as 'healers' is basically a quaint notion.

BTW, one of the first recognized 'medical truces' in American history involved several Union army surgeons captured at the Battle of 1st Winchester, Va, by Jackson's Division. Jackson let them go under Flag of truce, setting a precedent that medical personnel were 'non combat' and therefore not subject to the normal 'Articles of War' then in effect. Eventually the idea spread throught the entire Northern Virgina theatre.

Thus endeth the lesson.

[USNAviator]

Thanks for the responses gentleman. We as nation were so naive at the beginning of WW2, that we thought the rules of chivalry still applied.

I could start another topic dealing with the "rules of engagement" but I'll save that for another time

[Mongoose]

All our Docs carried some sort of a weapon. We also gave our Docs some training on the blooper and m-60. We always watched out for them, a little extra in a fire fight.