Some years ago I was stationede at Tinker AFB, in Oklahoma City. A number of my young troops used to buy a case of beer at the NCO mess, and drive out to the "South 40", behind the industrial part of the base to drink or party. One the way back one evening, they encountered a possum in its nocturnal ramblings, Now, one of my young troops was from Missouri where possums are common and he decided to try to catch the critter, but when he reached down to grab it, it grabbed him instead, sinking its canine teeth completely through his tumbnail and thumb.


Now thoroughly alert and angry he began to chase the animal, to little avail, especially as he was bleeding all over his clothes. When he returned to the car, with a handkerchie wrapped around the bitten thumb they decided he needed emergency treatment, but instead of reporting to the base hospital, which would have resulted in embarassing questions, they looked for a civilian source of help.


Somehow the picture of several drunk airmen asking for help for a possum bite did not rouse pangs of sympathy in anyone they encountered until in despiration, they went into an all night drug store/pharmacy, where the pharmacist took pity on the injured man and dressed the bite with first aid materials.


The next day, worn out and sheepish, they shared this instant war story with the folks in the shop and were doing well until I insisted that the incident HAD to be reported to the hospital, and since they had not caught the possum, the wounded hero would have to submit to rabies treatment; 28 daily shots, in those days. Things worked as I had predicted, the young man got chewed out for not reporting the incident immediately, and did indeed have to take the rebies shots, but it still is a good war story.



Dave