This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: War Stories

  • Worthy of note.

    Well I am back from EFMB, I got a no go on the land nav so I plan on going again in 2011 when it comes to Fort Richardson. But before I start talking about someone before anything else.

    I would like to introduce to you then PV2 Philip Canafax a medic for the 1st Armored Division 1st Infantry Division. I found out about him from his Sgt Romano(sp?) his immediate supervisor.

    I would talk about the fact that when Canafax arrived at the unit there was not enough time to train him as he would have liked. So he gave him three medical books to study in the two weeks before they where going to Iraq. Every time he saw Canafax he would demand him to show the books and prove that he was actually reading them.

    Also he drove a point to never let anyone go without medical treatment. The results of his actions should be proof enough that he took it to heart. Another medic that was there said that they had to restrain him because he wanted to drive the injured to the base even though he was also wounded.

    EDIT
    Philip Canafax : “I’d say restrain was a strong word, strongly convince maybe.”

    So after December 2008, he was at a WTB unit for about six months recovering, during that time Sgt Romano said that he was getting worried about him getting too thin. He even thought about breaking him out of WTU. But he found out that he was working at the hospital and was being well fed. He said that Canafax was loving life and just recently purchased a Harley-Davidson bike.

    So I promised Sgt Romano that I would write about him when I got a chance.

    I will write about how the EFMB went shortly.

    EDIT

    I wrote to him and got a reply

    Cool, I haven’t talked to Sgt Romano for a bit. I ended up being in the WTU at BAMC for a year unfortunately but now I have returned to full duty and work at the hospital full time. No Harley for me though, people drive too crazy in San Antonio, rather not temp fate another time.

  • REAL Soldiers

    I know that one of the things that this blog has done with great ferocity and pleasure is to take on the poseurs and wannabees.   They always fall into 2 categories, those that have never served and those that have and yet feel the need to embellish said service (see of course Sporkmaster’s latest schmuck) and those that have made up completely their military service ala General Ballduster McSoulpatch (the absolute best name for a wannabe evah!!!)

    I came across this story in the local fishwrap and it is what most of the comments of “Catagory 1” wankers seem to draw….if you served honorably, why lie about it? Well, this guy didn’t and felt that the awards weren’t the biggest deal about his service (waddaya know, a humble vet…) He received 2 awards 65 years after he received them….

    He was 25 years old and just finished serving the duration of U.S. involvement in World War II. He did not particularly care that he deserved some medals.

    “When I got out, I just wanted to forget about the war and go on,” said Young. “It didn’t bother me if I didn’t have the medals.”

    And to top it all of they gave the guy a flag that flew over the Capitol on his 90th birthday, nice touch..

    Discharge papers stated he earned two medals he never received, but Young never bothered to ask for them.

    “I didn’t know anything about the medals,” Young said. “I didn’t even know I had them coming (before being discharged), and I don’t know why I didn’t get them.”

    I think this guy is probably more in line with the majority of vets out there, I just thought maybe some of the poseurs out there might want to see what a real man looks like…

    Honor

  • A meeting brief in passing.

    Since today was my Wife’s birthday today we stopped at a book store to use her gift card. So at the front of was a older man that was doing a book signing about his military history. His name was George S. Oliver Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired). He had served during WW2 and the Korean War among many years of services as a Company and Field grade Officer in places all over the world.

    I guess I wussed out for awhile because I was not sure how to approach him. I mean having been in WW2 and the Koren War and a Officer over 50 years ago? Not much in common to start out on.

    I did talk to him and it was odd at first in that there where many changes in how the military was back then and is now. I think the four things we had in common was we had history as enlisted, has been stationed at Fort Benning, had been to Alaska, and had been deployed. So after a brief conversation I bought the book and he signed it for me.

    From just reading a few pages he does not spare any details in that it reads more like a blog then a cut and dry book about history of the Koren War. The page that I am reading is talking about when he was a XO of a Battalion of the 45th Division. He talks about having a Lt Colonel that was a National Guard that was going through the motions waiting for his rotation to end describing him as a Fobbit for lack of a better word.. He says it in such a way that it is easy to relate too.

    He rarely left the CP, even to visit the companies of the line. When we had any action going on he would sit in the CP with a open telephone line to each of the forward companies and just sort of left the war go on around him. I had to accept that fact that I had to hold down the battalion together until a active duty Lt. Col. came to take his place.

    Then he talks about talks about his first soldiers that where killed in action under his command. They where about to return home when they where killed by random Chinese Artillery round. Another case was about a guy that had “Battle Fatigue”.

    He was a good man at leading night patrols, and as a result had been ordered to take out too many of them. When I saw him he was in our aide station with the S-2, who was in charge of patrolling and while his brain said he was willing to go out again his body simply wouldn’t function. The surgeon said, “Sorry Major. This man is going to the rear.” And he went to the rear and then on home.

    The more I read into it I think that there will be a lot of things that the military reader can relate to. But I was wondering after we are done with all of this and we went through a painstaking process of remembering what we did and where. Would anyone be willing to listen to us?