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thedrifter
08-25-03, 06:23 AM
Report From The Swamps Of Afghanistan



Hello sweetheart,

It's 1 am here, 3:30 in the afternoon there. As you have noticed I have sent this email to several people so that I won't have to repeat the letters. We have been very busy here for the past several hours. Several miles from here, a truck with 4 of our guys was ambushed with all of them being shot. When the helos went in to get them, they had a hot lz and had to return fire all the time they were trying to get the soldiers out. The apache helos that go with them also got involved firing several rockets to take out a truck carrying taliban soldiers. They managed to get the soldiers out but one died, two wounded superficially and one shot in the lower part of his rt back with the bullet coming out top part of his rt chest just above the clavicle. It went through his subclavian artery and axillary vein. He had almost bled to death before he got here.

I operated on him and repaired the vessels but he lost a lot of blood before we were able to get control. He's better now but we are fighting a coagulapathy now because of the shock and 12 units of blood. We called bagram airbase to come get him but by the time they got here we were having a big thunderstorm as wellas an attack at the end of our runway. The vision was surreal. In the midst of the loud thunder and streaking flashs of lightening there were illumination flares and tracers from ak 47s, m16s, 50 cal. machine guns, and mortors. The noise from the firing was as loud and fearsome as the thunder. Needless to say the plane didn't land because of the firefight. Everything has now calmed down. I guess no one was hurt. The Italians and the special forces guys were doing the fighting and we haven't heard of any of them getting hurt. I don't know about the bad guys. They will not be brought here if they were killed. We would only get the wounded.

My patient was brought back over here and we will keep him till a plane can get here in the am. We have to ship out everything because we are not set up to keep patients.

That's about the most work and excitment we have had since last week when they tried to overrun our outpost. I didn't have anyone to operate on then though. I just worked on the one from syria shot behind his eyes. I think I'm going on to bed. I just wanted to get this note out while I was still keyed up from the surgery and firefight.

I love you much and miss you more,

A Unit Surgeon

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=Special%20Reports.db&command=viewone&op=t&id=21&rnd=886.287787211937

Sempers,

Roger
:marine: