11th Airborne Medic

Apr 6

Posted by

Combat Medic pin

Leaving out all the bloody and boring bits, being an 11th Airborne Medic wasn’t all that bad ___ by: Ray Sweet, Medical Detachment/ 152nd Airborne Anti Aircraft Battalion/ 11th Airborne Division

Starting late 1945 and leaving out the bloody and boring bits, being and 11th Airborne Medic wasn’t all that bad.  The officers handled medics with silk gloves because they knew from who cometh their future immune booster injections as ordered by the higher command.

Medics ate better than most.  The cooks all knew who had the 190-proof alcohol to put in that lousy canned grapefruit juice.

Airborne Medic

They never had bed checks, curfews and all that other crap (like standing guard over a useless pile of junk that no one in their right mind would ever dream of stealing.)  They had a good life.

Sergeants were never a bother.  They all knew their battery could always stand for a short arm inspection.  It was actually quite nice to be a medic.  If the captain said trooper Jones must do something yucky and a medic said he was not able, trooper Jones didn’t do it.

Playing cards with the geishas while on pro station duty was rather pleasant.  It was a fun way for them to meet a lot of friendly girls.

When, as a courier transporting drugs from base hospitals to battalion, they had a rail care just like a general.

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Military Medic Humor – 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Corona Shortages – 

Contrary to popular belief, duct tape does NOT fix ALL problems !!!!

 

Duct tape toilet paper

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Farewell Salutes – 

Bob Bechtold – Martinsville, IN; US Army Air Corps, WWII, ETO, Sgt. # 194GIF/ Medical Tech, 1/17th Airborne, Bronze Star

Thomas G. Delaney – Hartford, CT; US Army, Vietnam, 173rd A/B, 10th Special Forces A/B Group, Major (Ret. 20 y.)

THANK YOU

William Frankland (108) – Battle, England; Royal Army Medical Corps, WWII, CBI, POW, doctor/researcher

Richard Griffin – Franklin, NH; US Army, Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division

Douglas L. Hickok – Norman Air Force Base, OK; US Army, Captain, Medical Corps

Donald D. Johnson – Clarkston, MI; US Army, Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division, (Ret. 21 y.)

James B. Morrison – San Antonio, TX; US Army, Korea, Medical Corps/187th RCT

Edmound M. Parker – Ahoskie, NC; US Army, Medical Corps/188/11th Airborne Division

Don Schweitzer – Los Angeles, CA; US Merchant Marines, WWII / US Army, Japan Occupation, 11th Airborne Division

Bill Withers – Beckley, WV; US Navy / Douglas Aircraft / singer

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About GP

Everett Smith served with the Headquarters Company, 187th Regiment, 11th A/B Division during WWII. This site is in tribute to my father, "Smitty." GP is a member of the 11th Airborne Association. Member # 4511 and extremely proud of that fact!

Posted on April 6, 2020, in Current News, First-hand Accounts, Uncategorized, WWII and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 134 Comments.

  1. The Emu | April 18, 2020 at 5:40 AM

    Sounds like that Medic had every angle covered and made sure he enjoyed his fair share, cheers.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Val | April 10, 2020 at 6:41 PM

    Oh, and I love the duct-tape!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Val | April 10, 2020 at 6:41 PM

    Do you know, the perks of being a medic during or soon after WW2 had never occurred to me, and my dad – although he was never sent abroad – was a doctor and a Captain in the R.A.M.C. then. I recorded his memoirs (for me and my sister) and he talked about the time a bit but not really the ‘perks’ as such!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. quercuscommunity | April 9, 2020 at 7:49 AM

    Another good story to make lockdown a better place. Thanks GP.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Garrulous Gwendoline | April 8, 2020 at 3:19 AM

    Hi GP. I have a post from another blogger you may care to reblog. He has given permission. Here it is: https://paolsoren.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/p-o-w-memorial

    Like

    Reply
    • GP Cox | April 8, 2020 at 6:11 AM

      Yes, Paol’s post is an excellent post for ANZAC Day. I saw it the other day and frankly I can not decide what to do for 25 April to show my respect. This is what I did in the past (the first 3 anyway)
      https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com/?s=ANZAC+Day

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Garrulous Gwendoline | April 8, 2020 at 10:43 PM

        I thought you and Paol were blogging buddies! You did a fine job with those earlier posts on Anzac Day. I think we are all scratching our heads what it will look like this year.
        If you would like, you may re-blog one of mine. I can point you towards it if interested.
        I’d also like to direct you to a book called Jack’s Journey by Kit Cullen. He follows in detail one person who landed in Gallipoli on the first day, up till his death about a week later. There is an eBook version. https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/military/Jacks-Journey-Kit-Cullen-9781743317709.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        • GP Cox | April 9, 2020 at 5:54 AM

          Oh we are. Paol and I have followed each other for years – there’s no hard feelings there, sorry to give the wrong impression.
          I thank you for your suggestions, I just can’t decide. ANZAC Day has become an important day to me, just as Memorial and Veterans Day are.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          • Garrulous Gwendoline | April 10, 2020 at 3:39 AM

            Oh! I didn’t detect any hard feelings! I have another suggestion for you. Phyllis Boissier was a matron of one of our leading, and long standing hospitals, Prince Alfred in Sydney. I’m currently Reading a book on the history o their first 50 years, written in the 1960s.
            Matron Boissier was one of the first nurses to sign up for WW1. You’ll find a touch more on her here, and there will be plenty of other sources.

            Click to access Matrons.pdf

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            • GP Cox | April 10, 2020 at 6:33 AM

              Now this I think is perfect – especially for today’s world situation.

              People say they admire the Greatest Generation, but now that they have a chance to emulate them in today’s situation – all I hear are complaints and whining! I think this story might shake one or two. Do you think I’m on the right track?

              Liked by 1 person

              Reply
              • Garrulous Gwendoline | April 11, 2020 at 12:06 AM

                I’m glad you liked the suggestion. If you do decided to write about Boissier, there are a few more relevant facts in my RPAH book, (pages 139-140 as a reminder to me). She also has a file on the National Archives – I guess you know how to find them? Reading them is the tricky bit. She left the force in 1918 to return to her sick mother. Regrettably she had died by the time the ship reached here.
                Also looks as if she had a brother who enlisted in 1916 in the field ambulance. After the war he applied to join the Air Force (the RAF at that stage).
                I think, for Australians at least, WW1 was part of a great patriotic endeavour (for England), and the nurses went in support. There is a line in my book, something like, “we saw some lovely boys die over there”, quoting nurses who had returned. The TV drama “The Anzac Girls” (2014) brought their experiences to light.

                Liked by 1 person

                Reply
                • GP Cox | April 11, 2020 at 6:29 AM

                  I looked up the show and it apparently aired here in 2014, but I can catch it on video. Thank you for the suggestion.

                  Liked by 1 person

                  Reply
                  • Garrulous Gwendoline | April 12, 2020 at 4:14 AM

                    Please try to overlook the romance and soap aspects. It was dramatised from a book which drew deeply on the women’s diaries so it has good bones.
                    Boissier is not in the series, but fellow RPAH nurse is.
                    (Julia) Ellen Gould trained at Prince Alfred Hospital from 1883-1885 and remained there as a sister until 1889 when she became Matron of a private hospital (common then). She went on to become Matron at two other hospitals (one of them a psychiatric – in its infancy then), before serving in the Boer War!
                    She was in the first contingent of WW1 nurses and sailed on the Euripidies, arriving in Alexandria, Egypt in 1914. She was the matron in charge of No.2 Australian General Hospital, both in Egypt and in France, and finally in England. She was also a recipient of the Royal Red Cross.

                    Liked by 1 person

                    Reply
                    • GP Cox | April 12, 2020 at 5:58 AM

                      Whoa! Why don’t we learn more about people like this when we’re in school. At a young age, they could have inspired us to do great things, eh?

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • Garrulous Gwendoline | April 12, 2020 at 6:06 AM

                      Sadly, you know, women did not feature in our history. I think I’ve mentioned I had a book called ‘Nurses Who Led the Way’. My “other” mother gifted it to me when I was young. That was probably my first introduction to influential and inspiring women. And we “may” have heard of Edith Cavell in school. We certainly got Simpson and his donkey (WW1). But mostly we got English history.
                      By the way, that book also had a chapter on Mary Ann Bickerdyke.

                      Liked by 1 person

                    • GP Cox | April 12, 2020 at 6:07 AM

                      Inspiring – that’s the perfect word!

                      Liked by 1 person

  9. jguenther5 | April 7, 2020 at 5:41 PM

    I was just a little kid during WWII, but I remember canned grapefruit juice. Does anything worse come in a can?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. doesitevenmatter3 | April 7, 2020 at 4:57 PM

    HA! I think duct tape COULD solve some unique “new” problems we have now.
    😀 One example, I’d duct tape down all the people who are…well, I won’t go into that.

    Appreciating everyone on the frontlines, always!
    (((HUGS)))

    Like

    Reply
  11. OIKOS™-Publishing | April 7, 2020 at 9:13 AM

    This with the Ducktape TP is priceless. Lol However, we are always in need of medics. Stay safe and well, GP! Maybe after the lock down we have to wish each other staying save and secure. 😉 Michael

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. charlypriest | April 7, 2020 at 6:48 AM

    Nice one, and I think it was acombat medic that told me to bring the alcohol

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  13. Jennie | April 7, 2020 at 6:32 AM

    I enjoyed this post so much! I recall similar stories of hubby’s flight surgeon on cruise. The military humor cracked me up! Thanks, GP.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. jfwknifton | April 7, 2020 at 3:39 AM

    Combat medics deserve every privilege they get when they try so hard and so often to break Rules 1 and 2.
    Just read this story about the bravest teenage girl in England:

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/teenage-army-medic-becomes-first-woman-to-win-military-cross-7197591.html

    Young Michelle is a good example too of the well known fact that “Whatever a man can do, a woman can do just as well.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. Simply Splendid Food | April 6, 2020 at 10:43 PM

    Always entertaining..especially the duct tape toilet paper! Good one! 🧡

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. Gypsy Bev | April 6, 2020 at 9:25 PM

    Nice to know the medics were given special treatment. Let’s hope our medics today get some special treatment during this difficult time as well.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. Argus | April 6, 2020 at 8:42 PM

    Bill Cosby may not be everyone’s cup of tea but his earlier audio tapes were classic. (I think he was a corpsman at one stage? I loved the line—

    “Keep ya head down, Man!”
    ” … oooh, look at that—a ship … in the air …”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • GP Cox | April 7, 2020 at 6:38 AM

      Yes, I do recall that. Something about being proud to have the cross on their helmet so the enemy wouldn’t shot at them, but then he learns that 30 seconds after he Almost leaves the LST the enemy is aiming at the cross!! All of the medics couldn’t use steel wool fast enough to scratch it off!!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  19. M.B. Henry | April 6, 2020 at 6:10 PM

    Duct Tape toilet paper omg…. LOL!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  20. Lavinia Ross | April 6, 2020 at 5:24 PM

    ” Doc will go through hell to break rules 1 and 2.” – I like that one too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  21. John W. Howell | April 6, 2020 at 2:55 PM

    Super post, GP. I think another reason medics were treated better is everyone recognized the particular courage it took to do the job. The duct tape TP is a laugh out loud item.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. sarge3para | April 6, 2020 at 2:09 PM

    Probably written by a “glass half full guy” Love the story : timeless.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  23. John Hric | April 6, 2020 at 11:20 AM

    Good one GP. Particularly like the rule breaker. ” Doc will go through hell to break rules 1 and 2.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  24. Jacqui Murray | April 6, 2020 at 10:54 AM

    When I thought the article couldn’t get better than the title, it did. Great post, GP!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  25. Dan Antion | April 6, 2020 at 10:54 AM

    Oh, I do not want to see duct tape hanging there 😉

    They might have had somewhat easy duty, but I’ll bet the guys they saved didn’t care.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  26. equipsblog | April 6, 2020 at 10:46 AM

    I love this light cheerful piece. The cartoons are wonderful. I guess that duct tape TP must be for manscaping. I’m hoping that no woman would be that ignorant, but I’ve learned to never underestimate what people will do, with or without the preamble, Here hold my beer.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  27. SCLMRose | April 6, 2020 at 10:43 AM

    Medics always have a good life, war or no war. Love the ducktape TP. Just saw the shortage of TP at M.A.S.H. Life imitates art.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  28. Helen Devries | April 6, 2020 at 10:27 AM

    Father – well in retrospect – blessed the army dentist who managed to break into a major blood vessel while doing a pre embarcation check. He missed the trooper which took his mates to Singapore and Japanese POW camps.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  29. ralietravels | April 6, 2020 at 9:57 AM

    “Leaving out the boring and bloody bits”….our district team [Vietnam] medic was the doctor for the Vietnamese community and had many an interesting tale. Our mobile team medic scrounged for supplies and kept our jeep running. And both, when in combat, followed combat medic rules; the district team medic won the silver star.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  30. Peter Klopp | April 6, 2020 at 9:50 AM

    It appears that the US medics had a relatively good time at the end of the Pacific war.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  31. Cindy Bruchman | April 6, 2020 at 9:47 AM

    I loved this. You know if fits in with my project. The insights are a good reminder for me. I love the special treatment they deservedly received. The memes were a hoot. Great job, GP.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  32. 56PackardMan | April 6, 2020 at 9:29 AM

    Off topic but apropos for the general situation these days:

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  33. Mustang | April 6, 2020 at 9:15 AM

    About piles of junk that no one would steal … the Marines have always believed that Army junk is a treasure trove. Many years ago, three Marines on Okinawa were charged and court-martialed for stealing US Army 6x trucks. The court-martial board consisted of two Marine officers, two Marine enlisted men, and a navy officer. Despite the overwhelming evidence of their guilt, the Marines were acquitted on the basis that no one sitting on that court-martial board believed it was wrong to steal from the Army. True story. But this is why the Army has sentries guarding their junk.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  34. fragglerocking | April 6, 2020 at 9:10 AM

    Loving the duct tape! Could do with it for some people as facemasks!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  35. Robert Parker | April 6, 2020 at 9:03 AM

    Duct Tape to the rescue! Oh no, terrible idea, you’re creating an IED! Needed the laugh, GP, thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  38. imagesbytdashfield | April 6, 2020 at 8:24 AM

    While your articles are always so informative…it’s the memes I adore 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  39. beetleypete | April 6, 2020 at 8:05 AM

    Good to hear the brighter side of life for a combat medic. 🙂
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  40. milfordstreet | April 6, 2020 at 7:09 AM

    Love the duct tape memes.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
  41. joynealkidney | April 6, 2020 at 6:53 AM

    The one thing duct tape won’t solve. . . .

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  42. doublegenealogytheadoptionwitness | April 6, 2020 at 6:48 AM

    Ducktape TP looks like the next wave of beautiful decor. Hilarious!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  43. GP Cox | April 19, 2020 at 6:22 AM

    Thank you for sharing this!

    Like

    Reply

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