I replaced Col Horn , and the days were voluntary early morning PT , dental clinic 8-5 treating both US soldiers and Iraqis on our side , dinner , gym , nap , get up at 10 p . m . to midnight when called and help treat soldiers injured , US , British , Australian , other foreign friendly and other foreign unfriendly . All were treated the same . There were many serious injuries , amputations , evacuations , and deaths . The camaraderie was very high . Everyone put forth their very best .
Some soldiers were defiant and came to treat patients in their nighttime sleeping clothes . Nobody had time to scold or punish the ununiformed . They did their jobs well and we needed them all . The personalities of the medical company were tremendously varied . There were arguments amongst the CoC personnel , but nobody took the fights to any extent because all understood the mission for us , the medical company , was to save lives .
At night , I assisted with carrying the injured on litters , writing down meds , recording vitals , retracting , and occasionally finding some shrapnel in the face / mouth area . One of the most surreal things I would witness is listening to and watching injured soldiers with one or two legs traumatically amputated telling their story while on IV morphine every 5 minutes . Participating in Angel Flight brought all of what we were going through together and made us all realize the seriousness of the situation . Angel Flight is when we would carry a fallen soldier in their U . S . flag draped coffin to the awaiting aircraft , in our case a helicopter , because we had no airstrip . It was in the night , three soldiers on each side carrying to the helicopter , covers ( hats ) off , and head down so as to not get clipped by the helicopter blades . A few minutes military ceremony was conducted , and the helicopter was off .
No one saw the tears , it was dark and late at night . It wasn ’ t talked about until the next day and even then only briefly . Fast forward . It was my time to leave . Col Jon Lundquist had been there a week and was replacing me . Jon looked at me and said , “ I know you don ’ t want to leave these soldiers behind , but you have to go . It is my turn and my office staff is waiting for you to substitute for me . I need you there .”
Dr . Lundquist stood guard at the door to the dental clinic so I could say good-bye to the best dental assistant a military dentist can have .
I got on the same type of helicopter to re-trace my steps back home . I got on a military transport plane at Al Taquudum , Iraq , on Christmas Eve . The crew had Christmas lights strung up inside and soft Christmas music playing .
I spent another week or so in Kuwait and arrived home New Year ’ s Day night 2006 , at the Harrisburg Airport , late at night . No one greeted me . I , by now , had become completely independent . I caught a cab to Ft . Indiantown Gap , PA . There , my truck sat waiting for me . It started . I drove home . The light at night seemed so bright that it felt obscene .
I arrived home . Julie greeted me and said , “ I thought I ‘ d never see you again .” It took a long time to digest it all .
Everyone is affected by war . Some are affected both physically and mentally . Not all are affected for the worse mentally . However , I believe those that get through it and are able to move on are those that find a way to turn the good , the bad , and the ugly experiences into positive energy . Many try to make the world a better place for other people . Helping people , other military people , other people who have gone through many other rough times helps the helper more than anyone .
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