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Doc John's
Marine Corps Page |
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Dedicated to all the men and women who have served with our Corps, and those Navy Corpsmen who have served honorably with the Fleet Marine Force. |
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...In memory of those who never came home... |
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...And to those of us who have seen the horrors and felt the pain of combat... |
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Welcome Home! |
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The PURPLE HEART ribbon & the COMBAT ACTION ribbon pictured above are NOT to be construed as personal awards/decorations of Doc John. PLEASE let me make that clear. To do otherwise would be a terrible sin and insult to the MANY who have given so much more. I hope this has not caused any misunderstandings. It needed to be corrected here.
They are portrayed here in fond memory of those who were awarded these honors, among them my wounded and dead fellow Marines.
The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) is available retroactively upon veteran's request, and although I rate the CAR, I have never asked for one. ALSO: I, Doc John, was never awarded a PURPLE HEART for wounds in Vietnam.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. It is very important to me and my sense of honor.
Doc 'chopper' John Patrick |
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Some may view this page and wonder why it contains bright color and maybe a gaudy graphic or two. The subject matter may be serious... very serious, but these graphics were designed for the most part by Marines and Corpsmen, and they will stay here to help me celebrate the few short years I had with these magnificent warriors. |
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When I was first at the Navy's Hospital Corps School and later with the Field Medical School (Fleet Marine Force, USMC), I was always taught that we Corpsmen held more medals for valor than probably any other small group within the military family. We were very few in number in comparison to the few that claimed the title of Marine. That is a tough standard to try to measure up to... and I believe that many of us died trying to do just that. Of course there is much more to being a Fleet Marine (FMF) Corpsman than that. Many of us came home whole in body, some were injured, and some were maimed... but we always shared one belief with our Marines; We were tough and proud and never, NEVER quit. The triumph when a life was saved, and the emptiness felt when one was lost, those are the 'medals' that all Corpsmen carry the rest of their lives. That, to me, is what being a FMF Corpsman is and was all about; that we tried, and we cared... and we never quit our Marines.
Always Faithful, Doc John Patrick- Semper Fi! |
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That's me as a "FNG" Corpsman, Khe Sanh 1966, 1st Bn./1st Marines |
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Honored to have been made a life member |
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Daytime was relatively safe while on perimeter at Khe Sanh, except for some of the 'helmet' stew we made |
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Fear and curiosity, they are universal |
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Construction |
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is on-going |
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Children's sick-call in a Montagnard village |
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A generation missing, all too common |
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I will no longer maintain a GuestBook on this site. Sorry for any inconvenience. |
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Bodies in the wire since 1 October, 2000 |
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Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department Of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this product/service/activity. |
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