In the coming months this page will show and add to the tribute that the Marines of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines paid to our Corpsmen. From a reunion, “Operation Purple Heart” held in their honor in 1996, to individual Certificates of Appreciation to the forty-one Corpsmen that were members at that time and the certificates presented to the Naval Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes, we wanted them to know how much we loved and respected them.
A TRIBUTE TO OUR GRUNT CORPSMEN
They have called the United States Marine Rifle Company the most deadly fighting force America can throw against an armed enemy. The firepower of a fully manned and equipped company is awesome. The mobility is unbelievable and the leadership runes from the company commander through the platoon commanders, the platoon sergeants, the squad leaders, the fire-team leaders and the men that follow the orders of their non-commissioned officers.
The men of the 1st Battalion 9th Marines have not forgotten another key member of this unit and have taken the opportunity to acknowledge and thank them for all they have done. I am talking about a man that probably joined the Navy to sail the seven seas and pull liberty in the exotic ports of the Far East. However, as fate would have it, they ended up walking in the jungles with the heat, leeches, booby traps and men that called themselves Marines. Corpsmen traveled without a rifle because their job was not to take life but to give life. The Navy called them Corpsmen. We called them Doc.
When the action started, Doc went to work. While we were looking for cover to return fire, Doc was looking for our wounded Brothers. Cover be damned as far as Doc was concerned; he had a Marine to patch up or a life to save. Without regard to his personal safety, he comforted and attempted to save the lives of his Marines.
Doc, we are here tonight to tell you thanks for joining the Navy. We know that you will always remember the faces of the men that did not make it because you will always wonder and second-guess yourself. We want you to see the faces of the men your quick action saved. Many of us would have died without your courage, knowledge and dedication.
The men of this organization will be forever grateful to you and the other Grunt Corpsmen who died treating our Brothers and us.
