-
| |
|
By
Capt.
Steven
Ellison,
MD
A
MILITARY
DOCTOR
This
should
be
required
reading
in
every
school
and
college
in
our
country.
This
Captain,
an
Army
doctor,
deserves
a
medal
himself
for
putting
this
together,
as
well
as
the
work
he
performs
for
other
heroes.
If
you
choose
not
to
pass
it
on,
fine,
but
I
think
you
will
want
to,
after
you
read
it.
Texas
Bob
I
am a
doctor
specializing
in
the
Emergency
Departments
of
the
only
two
military
Level
One-Trauma
Centers,
both
in
San
Antonio,
TX
and
they
care
for
civilian
Emergencies
as
well
as
military
personnel.
San
Antonio
has
the
largest
military
retiree
population
in
the
world
living
here.
As
a
military
doctor,
I
work
long
hours
and
the
pay
is
less
than
glamorous.
One
tends
to
become
jaded
by
the
long
hours,
lack
of
sleep,
food,
family
contact
and
the
endless
parade
of
human
suffering
passing
before
you.
The
arrival
of
another
ambulance
does
not
mean
more
pay,
only
more
work.
Most
often,
it
is a
victim
from
a
motor
vehicle
crash.
Often
it
is a
person
of
dubious
character
who
has
been
shot
or
stabbed.
With
our
large
military
retiree
population,
it
is
often
a
nursing
home
patient.
Even
with
my
enlisted
service
and
minimal
combat
experience
in
Panama
, I
have
caught
myself
groaning
when
the
ambulance
brought
in
yet
another
sick,
elderly
person
from
one
of
the
local
retirement
centers
that
cater
to
military
retirees.
I
had
not
stopped
to
think
of
what
citizens
of
this
age
group
represented.
I
saw
'Saving
Private
Ryan.'
I
was
touched
deeply.
Not
so
much
by
the
carnage,
but
by
the
sacrifices
of
so
many.
I
was
touched
most
by
the
scene
of
the
elderly
survivor
at
the
graveside,
asking
his
wife
if
he'd
been
a
good
man.
I
realized
that
I
had
seen
these
same
men
and
women
coming
through
my
Emergency
Dept.
and
had
not
realized
what
magnificent
sacrifices
they
had
made.
The
things
they
did
for
me
and
everyone
else
that
has
lived
on
this
planet
since
the
end
of
that
conflict
are
priceless.
Situation
permitting,
I
now
try
to
ask
my
patients
about
their
experiences.
They
would
never
bring
up
the
subject
without
the
inquiry.
I
have
been
privileged
to
an
amazing
array
of
experiences,
recounted
in
the
brief
minutes
allowed
in
an
Emergency
Dept.
encounter.
These
experiences
have
revealed
the
incredible
individuals
I
have
had
the
honor
of
serving
in a
medical
capacity,
many
on
their
last
admission
to
the
hospital.
There
was
a
frail,
elderly
woman
who
reassured
my
young
enlisted
medic,
trying
to
start
an
IV
line
in
her
arm.
She
remained
calm
and
poised,
despite
her
illness
and
the
multiple
needle-sticks
into
her
fragile
veins.
She
was
what
we
call
a
'hard
stick.' The
medic
made
another
attempt, many
of
later
generations
would
have
loudly
and
openly
berated
the
young
medic
in
his
many
attempts. She
remained
calm
and
poised,
despite
her
illness
and
the
multiple
needle-sticks
into
her
fragile
veins.
Also,
there
was
this
long
retired
Colonel,
who
as a
young
officer
had
parachuted
from
his
burning
plane
over
a
Pacific
Island
held
by
the
Japanese.
Now
an
octogenarian,
he
had
a
minor
cut
on
his
head
from
a
fall
at
his
home
where
he
lived
alone.
His
CT
scan
and
suturing
had
been
delayed
until
after
midnight
by
the
usual
parade
of
high
priority
ambulance
patients.
Still
spry
for
his
age,
he
asked
to
use
the
phone
to
call
a
taxi,
to
take
him
home,
then
he
realized
his
ambulance
had
brought
him
without
his
wallet.
He
asked
if
he
could
use
the
phone
to
make
a
long
distance
call
to
his
daughter
who
lived
7
miles
away.
With
great
pride
we
told
him
that
he
could
not,
as
he'd
done
enough
for
his
country
and
the
least
we
could
do
was
get
him
a
taxi
home,
even
if
we
had
to
pay
for
it
ourselves.
My
only
regret
was
that
my
shift
wouldn't
end
for
several
hours,
and
I
couldn't
drive
him
myself.
I
was
there
the
night
M/Sgt
Roy
Benavidez
came
through
the
Emergency
Dept.
for
the
last
time.
He
was
very
sick.
I
was
not
the
doctor
taking
care
of
him,
but
I
walked
to
his
bedside
and
took
his
hand.
I
said
nothing.
He
was
so
sick,
he
didn't
know
I
was
there.
I'd
read
his
Congressional
Medal
of
Honor
citation
and
wanted
to
shake
his
hand.
He
died
a
few
days
later.
The
gentleman
who
served
with
Merrill's
Marauders,
t he
survivor
of
the
Bataan
Death
March,
the
survivor
of
Omaha
Beach,
the
101
year
old
World
War
I
veteran. The
former
POW
held
in
frozen
North
Korea
The
former
Special
Forces
medic
-
now
with
non-operable
liver
cancer
the
former
Viet
Nam
Corps
Commander.
I
remember
these
citizens.
I
may
still
groan
when
yet
another
ambulance
comes
in,
but
now
I am
much
more
aware
of
what
an
honor
it
is
to
serve
these
particular
men
and
women.
(There
will
be
no
Patriotic
frame
for
the
picture
of
congress,
due
to
the
unpatriotic
treatment
of
our
Military.)
Texas
Bob
I
have
seen
a
Congress
who
would
turn
their
back
on
these
individuals
who've
sacrificed
so
much
to
protect
our
liberty.
I
see
later
generations
that
seem
to
be
totally
engrossed
in
abusing
these
same
liberties,
won
with
such
sacrifice.
It
has
become
my
personal
endeavor
to
make
the
nurses
and
young
enlisted
medics
aware
of
these
amazing
individuals
when
I
encounter
them
in
our
Emergency
Dept.
Their
response
to
these
particular
citizens
has
made
me
think
that
perhaps
all
is
not
lost
in
the
next
generation.
|
|
|
My experiences have solidified my belief that we are losing an incredible generation, and this nation knows not what it is losing. Our uncaring government and ungrateful civilian populace should all take note. We should all remember that we must 'Earn this.'
|
Photos
and
also
~
Written
~ By
CAPT.
Stephen
R.
Ellison,
M.D.
US
Army
If
it
weren't
for
the
United
States
Military,
there'd
be
NO
United
States
of
America
!
|
|
-
JOIN
OUR
FREE
MAIL
LIST?
-
CLICK
ON
THE
RED
HEART
- ...................................................................................
|
|
- I would love to hear your comments on the pages we prepare and recommend, we enjoy doing it for your pleasure, our pleasure is receiving your comments.
|
- Page design By: Texas Bob
|
|
|
- Visitors to the site since 7-12-03
|
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
