National Association of Medics and Corpsmen

Mid-winter 2008 NEWSLETTER

Doc Calef Editor

Doc Hawkins Publisher

From the Commander:

From the God Squad:

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Tampa, Florida, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Missouri. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this "anonymous" poem winging across the Internet.
 

 Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses?  What do you see?
What are you thinking..... when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, .. not very wise,
Uncertain of habit ..... with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food...... and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice.... "I do wish you'd try!"
Who seems not to notice.... the things that you do.
And forever is losing ......... A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not........... lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding ... the long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?... Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse.. you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am ......... As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, ... as I eat at y our will.
I'm a small child of ten....... with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters ......... who love one another

A young boy of sixteen .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now. .... a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at twenty ...... my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows...... that I promised to keep.

At twenty-five, now ....... I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide .... And a secure happy home.
A man of thirty ........ My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other ....... With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons ... have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me....... to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, ......... Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children .... My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me . ............. My wife is now dead.
I look at the future .... I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing...... young of their own.
And I think of the years...... And the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man......... and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles.......... grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone........ where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass ...... A young guy still dwells,
And now and again my battered heart swells
I remember the joys... I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living............. life over again

I think of the years all too few......gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact........ that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .......... open and see..
Not a crabby old man. Look closer see........ ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within...we will all, one day, be there, too!

The best and most beautiful things of this world can't be seen or
touched. They must be felt by the heart.

God Bless.

 This is an FYI Brothers and Sisters:

Health Care Committee Report

Date: January 10, 2008

Presumptive Service Connection for Hepatitis C

Some of you, I am sure, are not aware that I am a Member-At-Large of the VVA National Government Affairs Committee. The area that I have chosen to pursue to accomplish is the recognition by the VA of hepatitis C as being presumptively service connected. I certainly do realize that this will be a challenging task, but I feel that the presumption of service connection for this life-threatening disease is both fair and just for many reasons, which I will discuss. There are many individuals across our nation who have already invested a great deal of energy into trying to achieve this presumption, but I feel that there are some avenues that have not been seriously looked at as a justification for Vietnam veterans to make this request of our government that I will point out other than injection guns and vaccinations. I want to say before I continue that I am going to need the support of our membership in order to accomplish this purpose-driven goal and ask that you take this information to the legislators in your respective Districts to seek their support of this just cause. We must band our efforts together with a positive attitude, be focused, and remain vigilant in order to carry out this mission successfully. I believe that together, we can make it happen. We’ve done it before, and we can do it again. 
 
First of all, we all know that Congress has recognized that in country Vietnam veterans no longer have to prove their exposure to herbicides and that anyone who served in country between 1960 and 1971 were exposed. As all of you well know, there is a great deal of information that has been documented about the
type and quantity of those herbicides, Agent Orange being only one of greater than 50 herbicides used in Vietnam. Agent Orange screening remains available to Vietnam veterans, and if you have not had this screening done, I encourage you to take advantage of this benefit granted to us by our government. Benefits that we do not use are certainly benefits that we could lose, and the screening may reveal information vital to the state of your health. Exposure to herbicides and their potential to cause physical damage to the body includes compromise to the body’s immune system, which is vital to recovery and survival from hepatitis C. Vietnam veterans are a population of veteran who are immunocompromised.
 
It has been determined and documented that in some areas as many as 1 out of every 5 Vietnam veterans were hepatitis C positive, an astounding 20% (Miami VA in 2004). Most of us are genotype 1a or 1b, and some of us are genotype 3a. Genotype 1b is the most resistant to treatment. Both 1a and 1b usually require 12 months of Rx with Interferon (Pegintron) and Ribavirin, this being the most widely utilized pharmaceutical combined therapy. Genotype 3a is more responsive and is, therefore, treated usually for six months. The side effects of this combined treatment can be extremely difficult to endure, but the alternative to avoiding treatment may be the loss of your life. There are other medications available, but those pharmaceutical options are found primarily in university settings. Hepatitis C is the number one cause of liver failure requiring liver transplant if you are a candidate, and only 1 in 12 people even get a liver, for the demand far exceeds the availability.
 
Having served in country as an Operating Room Nurse during the Vietnam War at the 67th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon and the 3rd Surgical Hospital in Binh Thuy in the Delta, I can speak with authority on our methods of operation. My experience speaks to the justification of presumptive service connection for hepatitis C. First of all, we did not use blood component therapy in Vietnam because we did not have the equipment, nor did we have the laboratory capability. The platelets in fresh whole blood were critical to our ability to save lives, for platelets are vital to blood clotting. Platelets die in bagged blood in 48 to 72 hours. Consequently, we gave fresh whole blood whenever possible. An average of 4 to 6 units were traditionally ordered upon the patient’s arrival in the Emergency Room.  Our source of that blood: each other. I gave blood probably every month during the eight months that I was in country. The need for fresh whole blood was immediate, and with it, we saved many lives. I broke scrub one day to go the lab to give blood for my patient on my OR table. Within 30 minutes, the patient was receiving my blood, which had not been screened for anything, but rather only typed and cross matched. Blood was not screened at that time anywhere in country for anything. I reinforce that we gave blood to each other, explaining why most of us who have hepatitis C have the same genotype.
 
Of additional importance is the fact that bagged blood contained a preservative that had the potential to negatively impact on the blood’s clotting factors which, when a large volume of bagged blood was administered, often led to a condition known as disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC). The incidence of this condition led to failure of the patient’s blood to clot, leading to oozing from every body orifice resulting in hemorrhagic shock and death. Of course, combat trauma usually involved excessive blood loss and the need for large blood volume replacement, making the need for fresh whole blood even greater. Avoiding the incidence of DIC meant saving more lives, tantamount to our mission. Of course, this meant the use of more unscreened fresh whole blood, the road to exposure to the hepatitis C virus.
 
Another reality of those times was the fact that there was no focus placed on the existence of blood borne diseases. Therefore, we did have the mentality that we should be protecting ourselves from these diseases, as well as protecting our patients. We did not always wear gloves and, as many of you know, we did not always have gloves. If we did, they may not have been the right size. We were in the life saving business, and the wearing of gloves was not emphasized. We lived and worked with blood in our hair, on our skin, under our nails, and on our clothing. The hepatitis C virus, then Non A Non B, has been found in blood samples that go back to the time of the Korean War. We, of course, did not know that then, but we certainly do now. Those wounded in the field and cared for in combat settings were often cared for by their comrades who had no medical training other than First Aid, another road to exposure to hepatitis C. I would like to note here that Universal Precautions and their importance to disease prevention was a positive result of the Vietnam War, which has had a profound impact on health care. One of the major elements of Universal Precautions is the wearing of disposable gloves to protect the patient, health care providers, and their respective environments.
 
Please give some careful thought to this information that I am providing to you and recall your experiences in country that may have put you at risk. I would like to get some feedback from our members and gather some data. My e-mail is ConCC@aol.com , or you may call me at 954-695-5957.
 
Thank you for your assistance and support. Together, we can accomplish the extraordinary.
To Your Health~
Connie C. Christensen, CRNA ARNP
Chair, Health Care Committee

Hey there troops! A new info site that works:

http://www.veteranprograms.com

This email has been sent to inform you that a new version of our Web site is
now live on the Web. We invite you to take a look at our new site, and
appreciate your ongoing support:

http://www.veteranprograms.com/

Also, learn about hidden benefits and how to increase your service-connected
compensation or VA pension.

http://www.veteranprograms.com

Just thought you would like to know:

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WW II MOVIE STARS ??
�


�In contrast to the ideals, opinions and feelings of today's "Hollywonk" the real actors of yester-year loved the United States.

�

They had both class and integrity. With the advent of World War II many of our actors went to fight rather than stand and
rant against this country we all love.

They gave up their wealth, position and fame to become service men & women, many as simple "enlisted men".


This page lists but a few, but from this group of only 18 men came over 70 medals in honor of their valor, spanning from Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguish Service Cross', Purple Hearts and one Congressional Medal of Honor.

So remember; while the "Entertainers of 2005-2006" have been in all of the news media lately I would like to remind the people of what the entertainers of 1943 were doing.

�

Most of these brave men have since passed on.

"Real Hollywood
Heros"


�
Alec Guinness (Star Wars) operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day.



James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the U. S. Army on D-Day.



Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was an R. A. F pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans.



David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos in Normandy.



James Stewart Entered the Army Air Force as a private and worked his way to the rank of Colonel. During World War II, Stewart served as a bomber pilot, his
service record crediting him with leading more than 20 missions over Germany, and taking part in hundreds of air strikes during his tour of duty.
Stewart earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre,and 7 Battle Stars during World War II. In peace time, Stewart continued to be an active member of the Air Force as a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in the late 1950s.

Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke out) Although he was beyond the draft age at the time the U.S. entered WW II, Clark Gable enlisted as�a private in the AAF on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los Angeles. He attended the Officers' Candidate School at Miami Beach , Fla. and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28, 1942. He then attended aerial gunnery school and in Feb. 1943, he was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook where flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s. Capt. Gable returned to the U.S. in Oct. 1943 and was relieved from
active duty as a major on Jun. 12, 1944 at his own request, since he was over-age for combat�.



Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak.


Ernest Borgnine was a U. S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.


Charles Durning was a U. S. Army Ranger at Normandy earning a Silver Star and awarded the Purple Heart.



Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, more specifically on B-29's in the 20th Air Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan
.

George C. Scott was a decorated U.S.Marine.




Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroic action as a U S. Naval officer aiding Marines at the horrific battle on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov. 1943.


Brian Keith served as a U.S. Marine rear gunner in several actions against the Japanese on Rabal in the Pacific.


Lee Marvin was a U.S. Marine on Saipan during the Marianas campaign when he was wounded earning the Purple Heart.

John Russell: In 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps where he received a battlefield commission and was wounded and highly decorated for valor at Guadalcanal.



Robert Ryan was a U. S. Marine who served with the O. S. S. in Yugoslavia.


Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl Harbor was bombed) joined the US Marines, was a pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out of, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.



Audie Murphy, little 5'5" tall 110 pound guy from Texas who played cowboy parts:

Most Decorated serviceman of WWII
and earned: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star
Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 2 Purple Hearts, U.S.
Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished
Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm. So how do you feel the real heroes of the silver screen acted when

compared to the hollywonks today who spew out anti-American drivel as they bite the hand that feeds them?

Can you imagine these stars of yester-year saying they hate our flag, making anti-war speeches, marching in anti-American parades and saying they hate our
president?

I thought not, neither did I!
If you enjoyed this bit of history, please pass it on.

The Editor

On the get better list:

Doc Ron Sharp

BORN:  Sept 1941 in Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Resides in Temple, Texas

MILITARY: US Army (Retired) Served in Germany, Japan, Dominican Republic,
RVN Blood Support, and Guatemala. Also served as Instructor at Academy of
Health Sciences (old MFSS) and as Career Counselor.

EDUCATION: B.S. (Cameron University (OK); M. Ed) University of Oklahoma; Ph.D.
(Clayton University (MO)

Current Veterans Organizations

 NAMC- National Adjutant (3 Terms), Past National Commander (2 Terms) , Past National Chairman of the Board,
 National Election Committee Chairman, Past State NAMC Adjutant and Past State NAMC Commander Texas;
 AMRA- National 1st,Vice President; DAV.-Past Post Commander, Past Adjutant, Past Service Officer,
American Military Retirees Association - Past Chapter President, Past State President, Past National Secretary,
 Past National 3rd Vice President, Current National 1st Vice President.
VFW - Past Commander, Past District QM, Past District Adjutant.
American Legion - Past Commander, Past District Commander, Past Dept Vice Commander.
TREA - Past Chapter President, Past State President, Past National BANC Vice Chairman.
USDR - Past State Director, Past National Americanism Director.
The Army & Navy Union - Past State Commander, Past National Jr. Vice Commander.
AAAMSUS, VVA, & Royal Canadian Legion.

MAIN CONCERNS: To see NAMC reach out to all Medics and Corpsmen across this nation and to insure that
 the American people never forget the bravery and dedication to "our men" in war.

OTHER: Married with two sons and 3 grandsons

Ron Sharp National Officer for NAMC and a long time brother in our group has fallen ill this past month and he is presently in the recovery mode. Drop him a note and well wishes please. His address is:

RON SHARP

9310 OAK HILLS DR

TEMPLE TX 76502

Get better Ron we need ya a round for a bit yet brother!

From Jim Beyersdorf:

Sweltering tropical heat, covered by sweat
Shivering with fever, over my cot, a net
Where am I, what am I doing here
Why am I trembling, with such fear

Explosions, huge orange balls of flame
Burning sensations, body racked with pain
Screaming, the sound of rotor blades overhead
Now I remember, that all my friends are dead

An Angel in OD, watching closely by my side
Wiping my brow, she silenty cried
The pain is so intense, I have to shout
Morphine she gives me, I no longer cry out

Setting beside me thru the long night
Body-bags everywhere, what a haunting sight
Nurses of Vietnam, Angels in Olive Drab
Silently they cry, their faces so sad

Taking care of her boys in green
War is hell, suddenly she screams
Sets beside her boys each day
Too many body bags, take them away

Every soldier, in this war torn land
Owe their lives, to the Nurses of Vietnam
Thirty-six years, since that time long ago
Never forget, Angels in OD, faces all aglow

Dedicated to the nurses of Vietnam, with out them and their love and care, I would not be here today.

Thank you Jim, we all remember them and know of their sacrifices and tender care to all!

And Now Words of Wisdom from Kurt Johnson:

A friendly Fed Tax reminder!

Bill Hawkins

A great big THANKS to a long time brother and one of the founders of NAMC. A retiring member. Thanks Doc Bunner your years of service are appreciated by all of us.

Doc Charles D. Bunner
 

BORN: in Rosemont, West Virginia, on Jan. 29, 1947.
Moved to Fairport Harbor, Ohio when 4 years old.

MILITARY: US Navy
1966 Boot Camp
1966-1967 Started Hospital Corpsmen School
1967 Went to FMF School at Camp Lejeune
1967 Stationed at Great Lakes Naval Hospital on 7 South, Neurology/neurosurgery ward from May till Dec.29,1967
1968 I am a Tet 68 Survivor (Battle for Hue). Also Served at Phu Bai, Central Highlands
 and at Khe Sanh during time period of Feb.- April 20, 1968 where I was wounded. Medically Discharge Nov. 21, 1968.


EDUCATION:
Lakeland Community College Fall 1968 Spring 1971. (Liberal Arts Degree- Associate Arts
University of Kentucky Fall 1971 August 1974. (BA in Education)
Manatee County Vo-Tech 1976-1977 (Licensed Practical Nurse School)

OTHER:
Met my wife, Mary Katherine of 30 years on Aug. 22, 1969 and married her on May 22
1971. Have two boys, Charles Joseph (29) and Nicholas Alan (15).
 

Hey there! Vote! It is your group! Keep it alive and well! Vote for the national officers now!

For Commander: (1)

Joe Brown

Cal Guthrie

Bill Hawkins

For Sr. Vice Commander: (1)

Jim Beyersdorf

Cal Guthrie

Kathleen Fennell

Joe Brown

Rick Calef

For Jr. Vice Commander: (1)

George Carrasco

Vern Chism

Cal Guthrie

Jim Peeler

Robert Jackson

Brian Benesh

For Quartermaster: (1)

Kathleen Fennell

For Adjutant: (1)

James Rodriquez

For Chaplin: (1)

Kathleen Fennell

Joe Brown

Larry Stanberry

Rick Calef

Service Officer: (1)

Brian Benesh

Ken Buster

Vern Chism

For Chairman of the Board: (1)

James Rodriquez

Kathleen Fennell

Joe Brown

For Board of Directors: (4)

Grover Tate

Jim Speight

Jim Nelson

John Combs

Kathleen Fennell

Kerry Pardue

Robert Jackson

Tim Brockman

Kurt Johnson

Robert Ingram

Cal Guthrie

George Carrasco

You can write in any position. Print this page off and or write the names on a paper and sign it. Send it to Doc Hawkins at 10146 Lime Kiln Rd. Grass Valley, California 95949-9701.

Do it right now while your reading the newsletter! Become active! Don’t just blow it off! “doc helping docs” needs your participation.

 Last but not least:

Keep the faith brothers and sisters. Spring will come and with it new life comes forth in color and warmth. Send a prayer to all those in harms way and keep your loved ones close.

Doc Calef