Every day we would go out on patrol or on a mission.
We were lost one time and had no cigarettes, food or water for about three days.
Id dream I was back in Phoenix enjoying a summer night, then wake up in that hellhole.
When they finally found us, they dropped some water and food.
Those cans of lima beans that we hated, they tasted so good!
And every day we knew we may get killed today; we may get killed tomorrow.
We wanted to make it.
But some of us didnt.
It was deafening, the sound of fire.
Everybody was firing like crazy.
I got hit in the leg.
I yelled for help.
As I lay there bleeding, here comes Doc Galen Grethen the medic.
He seemed very young.
He always wore black glasses on his little face, with a flattop, and was kind of uncoordinated.
So he heard me and, thankfully, here he comes.
Im looking at him and expecting him to low crawl; were trained to low crawl.
But then he stood up!
And was moving toward me, maybe 10 paces away down trail.
I was wondering what he was doing and his eyes met mine, then boom!
and he went down.
But then, thats his duty to come.
I didnt have long to grieve.
Suddenly heres another medic!
He came up like Audie Murphy, man.
He had an M16 and was firing away and low crawling.
He got to me, pulled me behind a tree and gave me a shot of morphine.
The firing stopped, and they put me on a stretcher, carried me to the drop zone.
I was going on that chopper.
We got on, and the other wounded got on.
Then they pulled in the body bag with my buddy the medic.
I could still picture that little face in that body bag.
And I still see it every once in a while.
Ill have a dream, and Ill see that face staring up at me with his little glasses.
And it haunts me.
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