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I Guess He's the Lucky One
- Jul 29, 2009 at 1:58 PM
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My husband joined the Army when he was 17, right after graduating high school. His dad told him not to volunteer for anything during basic training. Instead, RD ended up volunteering for Jump School, Air Assault School, and Ranger School (hence the nick Ranger Daddy. Like the Marines, once you become a Ranger, you're ALWAYS a Ranger). Between active duty and Reserve duty, he served a total of 28 years. He gets a medical disability now because in 2004 he was shot by a sniper in Iraq and lost half a lung. By the time he got his medical discharge, he'd earned a combat infantry badge with three stars on it, jump wings with a gold star (for daytime combat jump), and a couple dozen medals, only some of which he can actually talk about (Rangers do a lot of black operations). His medals include the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award our country can give to a fighting man.
This morning, Ranger Daddy ran into a man he's known since he was in his early twenties serving in a Ranger Battalion. Major General "Pistol Pete" Dawkins, ret is now a private contractor to the Army evaluating MWR programs. He's at Ft. Carson for a couple days and this morning, stopped by the PMO to find RD as he was coming off shift. He (Ranger Daddy) learned a number of interesting things: He's the only man still alive who has a CIB with three stars on it. Of his Ranger company back in the day (about 200 men give or take) only EIGHT are still alive. None of those men were past their mid twenties when they served together. In a better sort of world, they'd all be seeing children off to college and perhaps holding a grandchild. Only 8 are still around to talk about it. Some died in Grenada, in Panama, in Mogadeshu ("Black Hawk Down"), in black ops around the world. All of them, including RD until about five years ago, worked for the government either as soldiers or as private contractors to certain government agencies that provide "services" around the world.
My husband further learned that General Dawkins' XO can be held responsible for my husband's survival of a usually fatal lung injury in Iraq. That incident took place in Soder City, an area which, in 2004, was pretty wild. The medics called for a med evac, the helo pilots said no way. This other general, a Brigader General, basically told the pilots to grow a pair or else they'd be flying unarmed mail choppers into Fallujah (insert a quiet chuckle here). So the one and only med evac to EVER happen in Soder City happened to get my husband out to a CASH unit that was young, idealistic, and quiet enough to devote their entire energy to trying to save his life. Normally, a wound as severe as his would be sent to the back of the line with a morphine drip under the assumption that there was no way they were going to be able to save him so they would just keep him as comfortable as possible.
I'm not sure what RD has done to deserve this kind of luck. He has a dark past, one that haunts him regularly. He doesn't feel he's a good man, because of the things he's done. And yet, he's the one that's surviving, living, bringing children into a world that's different in small ways precisely because of men like him. There are two "dreams" he talks about sometimes. The first, when he was a terribly young soldier, badly burned, lying on the sand of Iran after the failed hostage rescue in 1979. The medics messed up the accounting of his morphine doses so he was on a significant morphine high by the time he arrived on the support carrier (can't have opiate pain killers to this day because of this incident). While still on the high, he says he saw Death in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He says Death told him he wasn't going to die because he (Death) wasn't ready to retire just yet. RD claims Death told him he'd live to be 130 and then take over being Death. Ooooooooooooookay. The second one happened at some point early in his recovery from the lung injury. He says he saw a woman with dark curly hair and green eyes (this would be a rough physical description of myself) who told him, well, I'm not sure exactly what. He's never said. I guess you have to say he's the lucky one. Who would have ever guessed it?
This morning, Ranger Daddy ran into a man he's known since he was in his early twenties serving in a Ranger Battalion. Major General "Pistol Pete" Dawkins, ret is now a private contractor to the Army evaluating MWR programs. He's at Ft. Carson for a couple days and this morning, stopped by the PMO to find RD as he was coming off shift. He (Ranger Daddy) learned a number of interesting things: He's the only man still alive who has a CIB with three stars on it. Of his Ranger company back in the day (about 200 men give or take) only EIGHT are still alive. None of those men were past their mid twenties when they served together. In a better sort of world, they'd all be seeing children off to college and perhaps holding a grandchild. Only 8 are still around to talk about it. Some died in Grenada, in Panama, in Mogadeshu ("Black Hawk Down"), in black ops around the world. All of them, including RD until about five years ago, worked for the government either as soldiers or as private contractors to certain government agencies that provide "services" around the world.
My husband further learned that General Dawkins' XO can be held responsible for my husband's survival of a usually fatal lung injury in Iraq. That incident took place in Soder City, an area which, in 2004, was pretty wild. The medics called for a med evac, the helo pilots said no way. This other general, a Brigader General, basically told the pilots to grow a pair or else they'd be flying unarmed mail choppers into Fallujah (insert a quiet chuckle here). So the one and only med evac to EVER happen in Soder City happened to get my husband out to a CASH unit that was young, idealistic, and quiet enough to devote their entire energy to trying to save his life. Normally, a wound as severe as his would be sent to the back of the line with a morphine drip under the assumption that there was no way they were going to be able to save him so they would just keep him as comfortable as possible.
I'm not sure what RD has done to deserve this kind of luck. He has a dark past, one that haunts him regularly. He doesn't feel he's a good man, because of the things he's done. And yet, he's the one that's surviving, living, bringing children into a world that's different in small ways precisely because of men like him. There are two "dreams" he talks about sometimes. The first, when he was a terribly young soldier, badly burned, lying on the sand of Iran after the failed hostage rescue in 1979. The medics messed up the accounting of his morphine doses so he was on a significant morphine high by the time he arrived on the support carrier (can't have opiate pain killers to this day because of this incident). While still on the high, he says he saw Death in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He says Death told him he wasn't going to die because he (Death) wasn't ready to retire just yet. RD claims Death told him he'd live to be 130 and then take over being Death. Ooooooooooooookay. The second one happened at some point early in his recovery from the lung injury. He says he saw a woman with dark curly hair and green eyes (this would be a rough physical description of myself) who told him, well, I'm not sure exactly what. He's never said. I guess you have to say he's the lucky one. Who would have ever guessed it?
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He is a lucky one. I can't fathom a military life, as a wife or soldier. I applaud you for being able to handle it.
- Kodeekins
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