EAGLE CRUAGH.COM

Monday, October 8, 2012

AT WAR WITH HATE

A Story by Eagle Cruagh (John Crowley)

This incident took place during
a stretch along the equator.

The story follows:

AT WAR WITH HATE

Lieut. Florin was a loathsome, egotistical, smirking,

Greek god type. A typical ladies man, bronzed,

tall, flat belly`d and more than adept at hitting a silly punching bag.

On a crowded troop-ship, near the equator and in the

middle of the South Pacific, we sailors stood in each

other`s shade in a futile attempt to stay out of the

scorching, blistering sun --------- and we listened to

the unending rattle of the punching bag.

The boat deck, not sure why it was called that, but it

was, was officer country, all enlisted men were banned from officer country. "They were special".

Day after breathless, stink`n day we would stand in

the sun and hate those bastards.

Unaware that the Marine Corps officers aboard ship

were planning a boxing tournament, the bag bounced

and rattled it`s annoying chatter.

God, I hated that bastard---- then the break came.

Charlie the steward remarked, "Why don`t you go down to the Marine`s newspaper office and challenge

that s.o.b. to fight you in the tournament.

No sooner had the idea germinated than I was in the

Marine`s office volunteering to fight the

officer who kept pounding that idiot bag.

The very next day the paper appeared with the by-line , Lieut. Florin has graciously condescended to

fight a young hospital apprentice (me) in the coming

boxing tournament. "Graciously condescended !"

What a lot of gall.

The officer and I were both over six feet tall, but where

he was lean, muscular and tanned, I was skinny and

pale.

Coming out of the chow line Chief Smith grinned at

me and commented, " You`re going to fight in the

tournament I see". Yeah, guess so, Chief.

"Have you ever fought on a ship before ?" No.

"Well, there are just a couple of things to remember.

Keep your back to the sun and when the ship rolls from side to side, you always stay on the upper side"

that way when he tries to hit you he has to swing up

at you and the sun will always be in his eyes."

Under my breath, I`m thinking , he`s gonna die.

After day after day of insufferable punching bag racket

and seeing this Greek god strutting about the boat deck the day of the big fight arrived.

Before we were called to the ring, Lieut Florin came

down to peasant country and invited me to come up

to the boat deck and have a cold one. I felt it coming.

The old psych game. So I went up and sat in the cool

shade in officer`s country and enjoyed a cold beer

while the officer confessed that he had been Captain

of his boxing team at Yale. After 29 fights he had been cited for superior sportsmanship and excellence

in athletic ability.

I hated him even more. He was obviously trying to

con me into a loser state of mind.

We were called to the center of the ring, given instructions. Retired to neutral corners and at the

bell we came out with blood in our eyes. All the days

of suffering that annoying rattle of the punching bag,

the strutting god-like, superior officer--- it all came

out of my boxing gloves in rattling, hate filled punches.

Just like Chief Smith had said--- I rolled up with the

ship and kept the sun at my back and dared him to

fight . In a short time it was over, The Marine Capt.,referee

raised my arm as the victor and I felt nine feet tall.

THE SPOILS OF VICTORY

The following day I spotted Lieut. Florin at a distance

both eyes were swollen and black, his face was red

with angry red marks . Somehow I did not feel that

victorious.

The next day Lieut . Florin was to be assigned a fighter plane on the main island, then join his unit on

Guadal Canal.

As we stood on deck of the ship in the early morning

a lone plane came in to view. He immediately started

dipping his wings in the traditional salute of "goodbye to my friends" as he passed over our heads.

Just then this plane struck the mast of a tanker anchored just behind us. As the plane struck the mast it burst into fragments---- not a piece of the plane or the pilot were ever seen again.

The voice on the loud speaker announced, "that was

Lieut. Florin who just left this ship."

----- Eagle Cruagh

U.S.S. ROCHAMBEAU (# 1)

U.S.S. ROCHAMBEAU

Scuttlebutt is king . When the source of

something you heard is a mystery

it is called scuttlebutt. Not sure about

the spelling, but scuttlebutt is often quite

accurate.

According to scuttlebutt, there was no

alcoholic beverages to be had once we

"shipped out", so if we wanted an occasional

drink we should take it with us.

The day before "shipping out" I bought eight

bottles of the finest "Irish". That Irish was

securely packed in my seabag when I boarded

ship in Mare Island the next morning.

As we turned at the head of the gang plank

and saluted, we were relieved of our seabags.

I was shocked to see the seabag thrown into

an open hatch---- and a long silence before it

hit bottom, it must of fallen three or four

stories before it crashed.

The next day as the Rochambeau steamed out

the Golden Gate, I recovered my seabag which

was soaked with whiskey and full of broken

glass---- big clean up job.

This old ship, named after a French Admiral

who assisted us in pursuit of our Revolutionary

War was loaded with "Sea going Marines", Navy

enlisted and Navy Officers, 8,000 of us en route

further transfer at some undisclosed spot in

the South Pacific.

There was no one of any importance aboard

ship--- Not at that time . At that time all the

enlisted huddled in groups on the main deck

and the officers, insignificant in their wash tans,

hung about the bridge or some other lofty

place , by themselves. One of these officers

was John F. Kennedy, future president of the

United States.

Altogether the trip on the Rochambeau was not

unpleasant, with a few exceptions. The head,

the toilet, was a long trough and the water in

it sloshed from one end to the other end as

the ship wallowed through the seas, if you sat

it washed your butt.

It was hot and we sweat. To wash our clothes

we trailed them over side . Our jeans came

clean, but they were stiff with salt when they

dried.

Showers were plentiful, but with salt water.

Guess that's why they call sailors Old Salts.

8,000 of us were 31 days on the Rochambeau.

One night,in the middle of the night, we were

broken out of our bunks (hospital corpsmen)

by a contingent of Marines. We were issued

full combat gear, complete with .45 automatics.

We were told to be prepared for a landing.

It goes without saying, we wondered.

The next day all of the combat gear was taken

back and no explanation was ever heard.

We crossed the equator and the international

date line. We were indoctrinated into King

Neptunes sailors. When we got into the South

Pacific we encountered hundreds of islands and

the ship picked its way through the narrow,

shallow waters between the islands.

According to scuttlebutt, Submarines were not

capable of entering these waters and that is

why we were going where we went. Eventually

out into the Coral Sea. Then breakdown,

We sat for days without moving . We actually

saw a periscope surface near us. It must have

been one of our subs, because they did`nt blow

us up.

One evening an ammunition ship was blown up

on the horizon. We witnessed part of the air

battle that was The Coral Sea Battle , then ,finally

the engines started, the prop turned and we

got under way. Few of us thought we would

ever survive.

----- John Crowley

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Archive

BEVERLY JEAN McGEE Long Beach, Ca.

Yes, I agree--- it looks like her !

On one of the treks to the Los Angelos area,
I was walking down American Blvd., in
Long Beach one early morning, hitching a
ride back to San Diego.

A car stopped and I met Beverly Jean McGee
and her Mother. Beverly was only 15 or 16
and of course I was only 18 at the time.

They had just been to church and were driving
down the beach road when they saw me.
They drove me back to Corps school in San
Diego.

I wrote to Beverly and the next liberty I had
back to Long Beach where the parents
welcomed me and Beverly showed me around
the area.

I had an Aunt, my Father`s aged sister who had
lived her life as a sourdough in Alaska, she now
lived on Angels Flight, a little tram up the side
of a cliff in downtoan Los Angelos.
Beverly went with me and we visited the Aunt.

On another trip she showed, took me to visit
a Great Aunt in another city near Los Angelos.
One day we went to the races at Santa Anita
where I won a couple of hundred dollars betting
on Whirlaway.

Beverly`s Mother had been a figure model and
her father was a stand-in for George Raft, a movie
star in the pre-war years. They had many friends,
entertained a lot, so my visits were always full of
fun and excitement.

Beverly had access to the family car and spent days
showing me the LosAngelos area, visiting --- even
to Mid-night Mass one Christmas

Where was I ?    Oh, yes, there was a war. well
we will get back to the war in a minute. OK ?

Corps school eventually ended and I was sent to
Mare Island Navy Hospital.   On arrival we new
corpsmen assembled in front of the administration
building , role was called and a first class pointed
to the short fellows in the front row and assigned
them to Bldg. 4, ward 1.
The second row of men were a little larger and
were assigned to ward 2, the third row to ward 3
and the fourth row, tall guys in which I was, were
assigned to ward 4.   The violent ward !

Ward 4 contained 32 patients, a long row of rooms
on each side of a long hall, then at the end, a
solarium where there were beds for ten more.
I was given a briefing on care of violent patients,
then a doctor accompanied me to ward 4, unlocked
the gate , let me inside and locked the gate .

I did not have a key, but there was a button near the
gate. If I desperately needed help I would push the
button to summon assistance.

Everything went pretty well. I was called on to help
subdue violent patients in other areas from time
to time. I became friends with a little man who had
been a professional "bughouser" in one of the state
hospitals. He requested that I be assigned to him .
Now the staff had the two of us whom they called on
whenever a violent situation occurred. "Doc" and
we were all "Doc" , Pemberton taught me to subdue
a violent patient by holding a mattress in front of me,
push the patient against a wall and Doc would go
under the mattress and jerk the patient`s feet out .
He also taught me the "neck holds" and other tricks
to subdue patients without injury to the patient.

Many of these "tricks" came in handy later, after the
war when I became a policeman.

Commander Jensen was the psychiatrist in charge of
Building 4.   From time to time I was asked to talk
with him. One day when I was summoned to his
office he handed me a letter in which he had asked
that I be transferred to the psychiatric facility in
Bethesda , Maryland for further training in
Neuropsychiatry.    Instead the local Chief of Staff
transferred me to Imola, the Napa State Hospital
in which the Navy had two wards. I spent about
six months at Imola and was then given orders to
the U.S.S, Rochambeau for transport to the South
Pacific Command.

------   John Crowley

MEDICAL TRAINING 2

U. S . NAVY HOSPITAL CORPS SCHOOL
At the San Diego Zoo.
That`s right, several large buildings abutted
the San Diego Zoo. At night tigers growled
outside the windows and lions roared.

Some of our Corpsmen were nearly as wild.
Cowboys from South Dakota and Texas,
Movie stars like Frankie Darrow from
Hollywood and instructors who just returned
from active duty on some war front.

Can not remember the spelling , but Darrow
was a character like the "Dead End Kids"
he used to portray in the movies. He even
hosted a party (trip) for us , as his guest, in
Hollywood at one time. He and I were
partners in a sense. We were responsible
for the "Gear Locker". When cleaning
details were assigned we issued the gear
and had the men sign for it.

Frankie even signed my text book, "Your old
buddy on the pee pot patrol" I never knew
what that meant , but guess it was friendly.

Having nearly finished Corps School , I
contracted Catarrhal Fever. A sort of
semi-pneumonia with fever and congestion.

During breaks from classes I would lay
in the sun , the heat felt deliscious.
A guard used to check us at night, in our
bunks, I guess to make sure no one was
missing... so, this guard shined his light
on me and I was hot as a stove and had
a red glow ( sunburn).   They immediatly
rushed me off to the Naval Hospital in
San Diego--- with "Scarlet Fever".

After several days in isolation they found
that I was just sunburned and not sick.
I was sent back to school, but the class had
finished and I had to start over.
Another six weeks of the same things.

Since I had taken the class twice I aced it,
got the highest grade in the school.
That was a big deal, really.   I got to choose
any Naval Hospital in the U. S.
I chose a hospital in Florida and sold my
choice for $100, then I went to the hospital
that nobody wanted----Mare Island Navy
Hospital, Vallejo.

Hospital Corps school was not all bad.
They turned us loose a couple of week ends
and I had a great time in Hollywood and
Long Beach. The war was just getting
started and patriotic fervor was running
strong.   Anyone in uniform was a hero, so
we were entertained and treated royally.

I will tell you more about that in a segment
to come---- and of course there is the saga
of Beverly Jean McGee---- that lasted for
all the rest of the war.

----- John Crowley

MEDICAL TRAINING

Below is a brief outline of what a Hospital
Corpsman might have to do and many did.

	The FMF Hospital Corpsman

Few outside the Naval Services know that the Marine Corps does not have its own medical branch. All medical, dental and religious care to Marines is provided by members of the US Navy assigned to the Marine Corps. These Sailors serve throughout the Fleet Marine Force, providing every sort of service, from routine sick call and first aid to major surgical hospitals equipped to treat all types of trauma.

During World War II, Corpsmen received their initial medical training at Hospital Corps School. They learned first aid, minor surgery, nursing care, dietetics, hygiene and sanitation, pharmacy, chemistry, nursing care, and anatomy and physiology. The following Hospital Corps Schools were active during the war: Norfolk, VA, Portsmouth, VA, Hampton Roads, VA, Great Lakes, IL, Brooklyn, NY, Bethesda, MD, San Francisco, CA, San Diego, CA and Farragut, ID. Course length varied from 10-13 weeks, dependent on needs of the service.

Medical personnel assigned to the Fleet Marine Force then attended Field Medical Service School. Here they learned bandaging and splinting, treatment of shock, casualty evacuation, and field sanitation. They also fired infantry weapons, lived in the field, and learned how to wear and use Marine-issue field equipment. This four-week course of instruction was first established in 1941. Schools were established at Camp Elliot, CA, and Camp Lejeune, NC. The west coast school relocated to Camp Pendleton, CA in 1944.

Approximately 1,000 Sailors were assigned to each Marine division. Support units typically had a small medical cadre of 1-2 Corpsmen per each company-sized unit. In the infantry, each platoon was supposed to have one attached Corpsman. The infantry battalion also had a small battalion aid station with a doctor and small medical staff. But in combat, there were often not enough Docs to go around.

	(left) First Aid to the FallenIrwin Hoffman–1943 US Navy Art Collection

In combat, when Marines were wounded, the call for "Corpsman!" would sound. No matter where the wounded Marine was located, Docs and stretcher bearers would race to the scene to stabilize and evacuate their comrade. Equipped with battle dressings, sulfa powder and not much else, they were often the difference between life and death for the wounded. Thousands of Marines owed their lives to the work of Corpsmen.

Prior to the war, Navy medical personnel were often identified by Red Cross brassards. During the campaign for Guadalcanal, they quickly discovered that Japanese snipers used their Red Crosses as aiming points. Also, the enemy used ruses and tricks to ambush Corpsmen, often faking the call of wounded Marines.

Contrary to popular belief, Navy medical personnel were almost always armed during World War II. Early in the war, they mostly carried the M1911A1 pistol. By mid-war, many were equipped with the M1 carbine. They had to be ready to use their weapons as quickly as their medical supplies. The enemy was ruthless and didn't recognize any constraints on the battlefield. There were no pauses such as sometimes happened in Europe to allow medical personnel to attend to the wounded.

(above) A Navy Corpsman splints a fractured leg on the front lines of Iwo Jima—1945. The Marine kneeling on the left fills out a field medical card. still image from USMC combat camera film

World War II was the first conflict where truly modern technology was available for use in battlefield medicine. Wartime statistics showed that over 80% of the Marines who were hit survived and the odds of survival increased substantially if the wounded Marine was quickly evacuated to a field medical facility. The Navy Medical Department was committed to the very latest techniques and spared no expense to provide the very best equipment and personnel to save as many lives as possible.

The years leading up to World War II saw several breakthroughs that saved many lives. Among these miracles was the discovery of Penicillin, an antibiotic that fought infection. Another extensively-used antibiotic was sulfanilamide, which was issued to Marines and soldiers in both tablet- and powder-form. Sprinkled on wounds, sulfa powder helped to limit infection due to the filthy conditions on the battlefield. Taken internally, sulfa tablets helped the body in the systemic fight against infection.

For blood replacement, plasma was used widely, helping thousands of wounded Marines. Since it could be stored without refridgeration, plasma was prefectly suited to the demands of combat medicine. In the campaigns of 1945, whole blood was flown directly from the west coast of the United States to the combat zones.

The Navy Hospital Corps paid a high price for its work. 1,170 Corpsmen were killed in action during World War II and several thousand were wounded. Among the awards for heroism presented to Corpsmen were seven Medals of Honor, 66 Navy Crosses, 465 Silver Stars, and 982 Bronze Stars.

(above) Helping Wounded
Tarawa–1943, Kerr Eby
US Navy Art Collection

(above) First Aid1944, Kerr Eby
US Navy Art Collection

"Corpsmen carried more than fifty pounds of medical supplies, including bandages, surgical instruments, sulfa, brandy and morphine. My corpsman also carried a rifle. He immediately started administering morphine and treating my wounds. My right eye was blown out of the socket and lying on my cheek until the corpsman put it back in place.…The most extensive injuries were to my right side. As the corpsman rendered aid, a Japanese soldier popped out of the tunnel and prepared to lob a grenade at us. Ever on the alert to his surroundings, the corpsman fired at the enemy. As best I could, I muttered, "Kill him! Kill him!" The corpsman emptied his carbine into him and the soldier crumpled to the ground. He had saved my life twice. Unfortunately, I would learn later, the corpsman himself did not survive Iwo Jima."
Indestructible by Jacklyn Lucas

(above) A Navy Corpsman in Iwo Jima treats a Marine with a severe chest wound. Life giving plasmanate flows from the bottle attached to the M1 rifle at right. still image from USMC combat camera film

Below is an alphabetical list of Navy Hospital Corpsmen who earned the Medal of Honor in World War II with links to their citations on the Home of Heroes web site. (Note: Names with an asterisk (*) indicate posthumous awards.

HA 1/c Robert E. Bush, Co. G, 2nd Bn, 5th Marines, Okinawa, 2 May 1945

PhM2/c William D. Halyburton, Jr., Co. G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, Okinawa, 10 May 1945 (*)
HA1/c Fred F. Lester, 1st Bn, 22nd Marines, Okinawa, 8 June 1945 (*)
PhM1/c Francis Pierce, Jr., 2nd Bn, 24th Marines, Iwo Jima, 15-16 March 1945
PhM 2/c George E. Wahlen, Co. F, 2nd Bn. 26th Marines, Iwo Jima, 3 March 1945
PhM3/c Jack Williams, 3rd Bn, 28th Marines, Iwo Jima, 3 March 1945 (*)
PhM1/c John H. Willis, Co. H, 3rd Bn, 27th Marines, Iwo Jima, 28 February 1945 (*)

Saturday, October 6, 2012

WORLD WAR II HOSPITAL CORPSMEN

World War II and the Years Following

During World War II, a total of 15 Navy enlisted men were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor; of this number , seven were hospital corpsmen. Members of the Hospital Corps received 820 major awards and citations (an honor of unique distinction since none of them bore arms). Other personal medals-the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star-were awarded to hospital corpsmen by the tens and hundreds, almost too numerous to count. On February 22, 1945, on the summit of Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, along with six marines, pharmacists mate John Bradley proudly participated in the raising of our flag, a scene reproduced thousands of times. The Marine Corps memorial symbolizes this event.