by Cpl. Robert L. Cook
Jan. 42~Sept. 45
Above the din of battle,
Above the shot and shell,
Comes the call to hearken,
A plaintive kind of yell.
A man is in harm's way,
In the place
Where he does lay.
Amongst the brambles
And the bushes of his
Site.
To the game of do-or-die
The first round
He has lost.
He's felt the searing pain
Of a bullet near his brain
And has given his last
Effort to the cause.
Corpsman! Corpsman!
Over here!
A man is wounded
And in fear.
He needs your care,
He need your skill,
He needs to know
That live he will.
That he will have
Much more to give
His country
And
The ones
He holds so dear.
We hold our corpsmen
In high esteem.
As men who are
Most extreme
In manner and
Deportment.
Never flinching
At the call
Of their duty to us all.
For this, we give them
Thanks
And admiration
Of every man
Within the nation.
They are a part
Of our great Corps,
Of all of you
I do implore:
Raise you hand
In smart salute
To their courage
And dedication.
* * *
About the author: Robert Cook served with Reg. Weapons Co.(2d-2d) from 1942~44, at Guadalcanal
and Tarawa, during a 33-month overseas tour.
Click here to visit Fleet Marine Force Corpsmen, a web page of Ron "Doc" Ferrell,
a corpsman in VietNam, May 1966~July 1967.
He served with the 1st Bn, 5th Marines and
H&S III MAF (Chu Lai) Quang Ngai (Province).
To quote Doc Ferrell,
"If you don't like Marines,
get out of my A.O.!"
caduceus
1) A winged staff with two serpents twined around it, carried by Hermes.
2) An insignia modeled on Hermes' staff and used as the symbol of the medical profession.
