Being a quad zilch, fresh from school I did what I could. I remember standing inspection before the doors to the military ward. The unit one was handed to one of us corpsmen when someone was needed. I recieved my turn one morning. I dressed in my blues and ball cap and put the unit one on. Most of you remember a unit one. I walked out side and was greeting by an amtrack tank. Attached to this was was a long trailer on tracks. There were vent holes along the top. The paint was green and dust. There was a double door with a step and rubber seals were the doors met. Resigned, I rembered what my corps school chief had taught and steped in. In side were perhaps twenty marines in green, holding tight to to straps suspended from the cealing. The looked teird, and a but long suffering at the corpsman they were looking at. The first two held tight liped expersions, and eyes that were reddened. Dust and shade cover the others. Soon enough the trailer jerked and we were off to God knows where. I remember it a long walk. They kept me in the center telling me just get down and keep quiet.
I spent often enough running the desert with others like this., Once a guy some how encountered a round, strikng his arm. We stablized it, and I had my radio call for a chopper... The response was " Who is this?" I replied my name and navy rate and got the second response "We don't send no choppers to "------"' Squids".. It took a bit but I did finally get transport...
On another, We were loading into a dump truck. It was by my thermoether 130. Anyhow we ran a long ways out, and boredom took us all . I had perhaps a score of Marines in green., all siting in a circle bouncing about. One pulled out a joint and lit it , this was passed around with the sweet smoke passing with the wind. Taking my turn I passed it on. The first smoking shouted, "Hey, Doc is alright!" A little latter, we hit a ditch and my cover blew off into the desert. Great I though I am going to roast!" A marine jumped off the back other bed, at full speed rolled and set to runnng. He caught my hat,turned and started running full tilt. He shouting. "Your hat Sir!" I am no "Sir".. Still I took it, and help him on... He must have run a mile.
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