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08 Nov 04 - 05:02 PM (#1320727) Subject: BS: A Nurses Courage From: GUEST My outfit was pulled back into a big base camp for some rest, resupply and refit. Which one doesn't matter. I was a corporal at the time, a squad leader. The senior squad leader of my platoon so I had a few extra responsibilities to go with my exalted status. We scrounged a truck to go to supply to get a bunch of stuff we needed, the Helo LZ for the mail and our Corpsman, Doc Steve wanted to beg, borrow or steal some gear that he wasn't supposed to know how to use from the tent hospital they had. I was going along to either help carry the stuff or create a diversion if talking wouldn't work. Anyway while we were getting the mail, next stop the hospital, a Helo came in with a brand new nurse on board. Since we were going to the body and fender shop anyway we gave her a ride. She was so brand new her butter bar was still shiny and her utilities not only hadn't faded but the red dust hadn't even ground into the fabric. As luck would have it the admin. tent where she had to check in was right next to the supply shack where Doc Steve was working his nefarious plot. Oh, did I mention that the nurse was no bigger than a minute and cute as a bug? Impossibly young, too, though as a college graduate probably a little older than me, chronologically. While we were there the bad guys launched a rocket attack, a big one. Since Doc and I had no assignment there we followed all the clerks, I thought we were running for a bunker. That cute little nurse was running right alongside of us. Her helmet and vest were way too big. Well, if I'd known where we were running I'd have followed some other crowd, we didn't go to a bunker, instead to the surgical tent. Most everybody in the crowd started taking wounded to the bunkers but there was some fairly major surgery going on, I think the docs were working on a sucking chest wound but I wasn't looking that close. Anyway, the surgeon couldn't stop, there was no way to move to a bunker. This crowd of supply clerks, admin clerks, that cute little nurse and mama's idiot son and Doc Steve, all of us in helmets and vests just crowded around that operating table and surgical team so as to stop any flying scrap metal, hopefully with our vests. The rockets were coming down all over, I was as scared as I'd ever been but too damned scared of what folks would say if I left Doc Steve to do anything sensible like find a hole and I looked over at that little nurse. She didn't know anyone there, she'd never heard a shot fired in anger, nobody would tell her what was going on, just to stand there wearing a helmet and vest so the surgeons could work. A rocket hit fairly close, close enough to have some shrapnel come through the tent and she lost it. Sort of. She stood there. She didn't say a word, she just started crying, quietly. Another rocket hit, closer. A piece of scrap metal clanged off her helmet. Proving she was smart enough to have graduated she did what anyone else would do, she peed. I would have too, except I just had. The bravest person I ever saw, that tiny little girl. She stood there, tears running down her face and urine running down her legs, standing there to stop shrapnel meant for someone she'd never met. She stood there until it was all over. Then she cleaned up and reported in. It wasn't just her standing there, EVERY ONE of those clerks, the ones we all called REMFs, stood there, shoulder to shoulder, three deep. They did it for a stranger on an operating table. They stood there, holding extra flak vests, with nothing to shoot back at, or with. They just stood there. Stood there for a stranger. |
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08 Nov 04 - 05:10 PM (#1320734) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Nerd Thanks for cutting and pasting that wholesale from this right-wing anti-Kerry Swift Boat Liars blog. Thank goodness for you, GUEST. |
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08 Nov 04 - 05:14 PM (#1320736) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Bill D and why don't you post sources and a note as to the relevance of stuff you copy and paste from the WWW? |
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08 Nov 04 - 05:15 PM (#1320737) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Bill D *grin* |
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08 Nov 04 - 10:20 PM (#1321021) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: GUEST You're welcome - Didn't know where it came from - just who sent it to me. And I knew you catters would not disapoint me with your responses - no matter where it came from. |
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08 Nov 04 - 10:41 PM (#1321042) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: mg Thank you for honoring the nurses. They were not just honored, but revered. I have some songs about them which I will give to people (some people, not all, b.c.) mg |
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08 Nov 04 - 10:55 PM (#1321058) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Big Mick Each of you know my feelings about the brave and honorable service of the Nurses. If you don't know it, then do a search on my posts. I believe them to be among the greatest heroes. But, old buddy, I believe that the attack on Senator Kerry's service to be the most dishonorable part of this whole campaign. My brothers and sisters don't have to like what the Senator did when he came back. I happen to believe that he was right in what he did to end the war, you don't. That is what we fought to protect. But to attempt to beat him by attacking his service is unconscionable. Those that do such a thing are not my brothers and sisters. They are worse than what they tried to make him out to be. So, old buddy, your use of something from these bastards takes away from the honorable intent of giving honor to the Nurses who served us all so well. Just my opinion. Mick |
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09 Nov 04 - 09:22 AM (#1321375) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: GUEST Well Mick - I was a member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, I voted for Senator Kerry, and I received the story from a former Marine E-9. Maybe you ought to reread my post explaining I did not get it off the site referenced above. I've never even been to the website. So Old Buddy - maybe you ought to rethink your retort towards me using that as a means to denigrate Senator Kerry's service. Like I said - you catters always amaze me with how you package folks you don't know and come back with something negative. |
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09 Nov 04 - 10:52 AM (#1321454) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: mack/misophist Taken by itself, entirely out of any context, the storey is a moral fable that deserves to be retold. It's stories like this that give us an example of what we hope we will do when push comes to shove. |
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09 Nov 04 - 10:58 AM (#1321459) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: SINSULL "And I knew you catters would not disapoint me with your responses - no matter where it came from." "Like I said - you catters always amaze me with how you package folks you don't know and come back with something negative." So you were trolling after all. Doesn't change the fact that nurses are and have benn true heroes in every war. "Through the war's sad curse Stands the Red Cross Nurse She's the Rose of No Man's land" |
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09 Nov 04 - 11:16 AM (#1321484) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: McGrath of Harlow I think that posting it in a way that implied that it was the GUEST's own story, when it wasn't, was a mistake. And mistakes like that feed into lies and recrimination. People feel they are being manipulated. And whoever put that story on that site was pretty clearly seeking to manipulate, to suggest somehow that people who did not share the political agenda of the site were incapable of feeling respect and admiration for the courage shown by those who work in battlefront medical units. Whereas a moment's thought should be enough to remind us that this is one thing which should unite everybody, in regard to all such people - in all wars, just and unjust, and on all sides. Including in Falluja at this very moment. |
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09 Nov 04 - 11:23 AM (#1321494) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Big Mick Well, I must say that I know this poster, and I know him to be honorable. That is why I was surprised when this post was put up. This person also suffered a terribly unfair attack on him once before that caused him, I believe and stand to be corrected, to give up his membership. While we don't agree on some things, in the main I feel a kinship to him, and that is why I wrote what I wrote. It caught me off guard. I apologize sincerely for the condescending nature of the post above. While I stand by my opinion of the "Swift Boat Veterans" and their disgraceful attack on Kerry's honorable service, based on what I know of this poster, I should have known him to simply be giving honor to the heroic service that these women gave to this country and to their brothers and sisters. Old buddy (said with sincerity), I hope you will accept my apology. Mick |
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09 Nov 04 - 11:29 AM (#1321503) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Bill D and I say that ANY post like this should have some sort of explanation, and not simply be dumped anonymously at us...what are we supposed to think when we find the original source. If you can't use your name, at LEAST explain your motives!! |
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09 Nov 04 - 11:52 AM (#1321529) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: GUEST Accepted Mick - I have no problem with any of it - you are and always have been my Brother. Motives Bill D? LOL - I'm not in charge of what you think. You are. *grin* And I figured the title of the thread more than adequately expressed my motive. Tell your lovely Woman the Gurian is still a superb piece of wood and strings. McGrath - Sorry you thought it was something else. It's a story that I believed needed told. I've witnessed similar selfless sacrifices just not this one. I'll do better at explaining any future post I may make. Feel better now? As I said - no matter what gets posted someone comes back with a negative and then the big spinup, then the cleansing, then the poster goes away for a while. You folks miss some truly beautiful things because of how you respond. At least in my puny opinion. My apologies all around if I upset the delicate balance here. When I read the posts here I always try to look at it as if it were me posting. I don't post much, dang little really, but I still believe that we have men and women who have sacrificed much for this country. And right or wrong they need to be remembered. So every Veteran's Day I'll come along and do my best to let you know that I care - and think that you should also. |
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09 Nov 04 - 12:24 PM (#1321567) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: mg I just had a nurse friend attempt suicide. I won't drag her over here because of what she might encounter. But for those who think this may be a fable, it may be. It sure is the sort of thing that happened again and again though. And so that one day a year we can have a safe zone, I am going to be asking for a moderated Veterans Day thread again, free of politics and especially free of abuse, just a safe place that people can post anecdotes, thoughts, memories. mg |
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09 Nov 04 - 12:29 PM (#1321571) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Big Mick You may bet, Mary, that our friend the GUEST won't allow that. Let's see if I am right. Mick |
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09 Nov 04 - 12:33 PM (#1321574) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: mg Guest can kiss my royal Irish ass..yours too if you give permission. I already asked for this. If not, we can have a private chatroom. If so, the younger folk will see what end is up. Everything has a purpose. mg |
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09 Nov 04 - 12:34 PM (#1321576) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Nerd Yes, that was my point as well. We do have a policy against lengthy cut and paste of BS (non-music) material. In addition, this is what in internet circles is known as "glurge": syrupy sentimental stuff presented as "true experiences," more often than not unverifiable. From Word Spy: glurge (GLURJ) n. A sentimental or uplifting story, particularly one delivered via e-mail, that uses inaccurate or fabricated facts; a story that is mawkish or maudlin; the genre consisting of such stories. |
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09 Nov 04 - 12:42 PM (#1321592) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Nerd Oops, cross-posted with several people. My point was not that Guest could kiss my royal Irish ass. I was seconding McGrath (I got a phone call between starting and finishing my post!) So my point: this should have had an explanation attached, especially if it comes from a source with an overtly political agenda. Also, it should not be posted in first person as though it is GUEST's own experience. Third, you could post it by saying: check out this inspirational story, with a link to where you found it on the net. The founts of glurge on the internet are literally endless, and there is no point in cutting and pasting it all here. |
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09 Nov 04 - 12:58 PM (#1321615) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: GUEST mg - if I were not a married man I'd take you up on kissing your Irish Ass. :-) Nerd - there isn't enough money for me to smooch on yours. :-) and I've already acknowledged that what you say is true. Perhaps a reading of the follow up posts would clarify that for you. There was no link as to where I found it - Read my above post - Har har har - It is a truly wonderful country isn't it? |
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09 Nov 04 - 01:09 PM (#1321629) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Nerd That's okay GUEST, my Irish ass isn't even Irish! |
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09 Nov 04 - 02:37 PM (#1321732) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Amos ANd you aren't a married man, either, I reckon. A |
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09 Nov 04 - 03:19 PM (#1321787) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: McGrath of Harlow My outfit was pulled back into a big base camp for some rest, resupply and refit. Which one doesn't matter. I was a corporal at the time, a squad leader.... The point is, that did read as if the person who posted it was talking about their own personal experiences. Fair enough, you've apologised for misleading people inadvertantly - but then you went on to blame those who did react with in a suspicious way that was grounded in that misleading nature of your original post. So it wasn't a case of Mudcatters leaping in gratuitously. Personal accounts of things that have happened to us matter, and they are some of the most important and moving things that ever get to appear in the Mudcat. |
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09 Nov 04 - 05:01 PM (#1321897) Subject: RE: BS: A Nurses Courage From: Nerd I'm not sure who you were addressing there, Amos. I AM in fact a married man... |