Comments

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  Eddy Vasile February 26, 2012 at 5:16pm

  Steve,

  your poem brought back vivid memories of my "Unit One." I don't have many pictures from my time in the service but I'm grateful that a friend had sent me one staring mine. Made it my profile pic.

  For a number of reasons I left the health care field soon after my discharge. Some 5 years ago I joined the Medical Reserve Corps as a volunteer and did some other things that later I realized were attempts to relive my youth. After trying to run PFTs with my son's Sea Cadets unit, I realized that... I am better off leaving my memories alone and moving on to activities more suitable to my age. 

  So is anyone involved in volunteer activities such as USCGA, Naval Militia, MRC or CERT?
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  Eddy Vasile February 17, 2012 at 10:15am

  @Jim: done. Thanks.

  @Steve: wow!
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  Steve Routh February 16, 2012 at 1:58pm

  He waits, silent 
  clutching his Unit One 
  Wondering about this time 
  A flash as a 'copter 
  drops a flare 
  And midnight turns to noon 
  And hell reaches them all 
  racing forward, past sanity 
  Insanity calls pushing him forward 
  Regardless of death 
  to a fallen friend 
  Bullets falling 
  that scream Die 
  falling inches away 
  Working his best 
  Moving up, 
  blood racing in his veins 
  and dropping in a wound 
  Made hours ago 
  He thinks of himself 
  His sergeant says stop 
  but he remembers a Creed 
  Taken years ago 
  And again moves forward 
  into hell

  blood and gun grease 
  the sound of death 
  The words of life 
  his morphine spent 
  And his plasma used 
  Nothing left 
  but a Creed sounds 
  in his ears 
  above 'copters and total hell 
  Up to a fallen friend 
  Who looks up to a face of Christ 
  and smiles 
  Bullets shatter the night 
  Somewhere a mother 
  perhaps a wife 
  Thank God for a life 
  She says a prayer for 
  an unknown person 
  who saved his life. 
  Yes somewhere, some person
  a lone person
  Looks upon a lifeless body
  Running faster to a calling
  Remembering a Creed
  Taken years ago
  He halts to gaze upon
  A corpsman lying still.
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  Jim Decota February 16, 2012 at 10:20am

  All the FMF Doc's I knew would shudder at the thought of being addressed as "Sarge"! lol

  You can go to your "My Page", scroll down to your profile info, click edit and you can change it to "Petty Officer Second Class".
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  Eddy Vasile February 16, 2012 at 10:13am

  Jim,

  I am  as puzzled as you are over the "Sergeant" rank but unfortunately that's what the website assigned to my HM2 rate. I'll have to revisit the issue... or maybe that's what happens to all FMF docs :)
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  Randall L. Bruns February 16, 2012 at 12:39am

  I have just written to New Jersey Gov. Christie and told him, in no uncertain terms, that he is wrong to lower the U.S. Flag to half-staff for Whitney Houston. I told him it is against the U.S. Flag Code and an insult to Veterans, military heroes, and Federal Government political figures.  I am asking everyone on this site to do the same thing. Just GOOGLE search "New Jersey Governor Christie" to go to a contact page. It is time to regain the respect for the U.S. Flag !!!
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  Jim Decota February 14, 2012 at 6:32pm

  Welcome Eddy Vasile! But, I have to ask "Sergeant"?
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  kenneth mcdowell January 28, 2012 at 12:27pm

  Thanks for the info, , I was never stationed north of Wash.D.C on the east coast, And Alaska on the west coast.  I knew we had St. Albens in N.Y.
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  Jim Decota January 28, 2012 at 12:12pm

  I am planning on taking a ride by in a couple of weeks. I have to go the the USS Cassin Young in Charlestown and will drive through the old haunting grounds! The enlisted barracks is still there as is the old ordinance building, the original hospital down by the water and some of the officer's houses (including the Captains house). If you use Bing maps and the "Bird's eye view", you can see how things look today!
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  David Fauquier January 28, 2012 at 11:28am

  Jim, Thanks for that pic...I never saw that view. I can pick out many things about Chelsea from this!!