Much has been written and spoken about the EMS unit and DNR helicopter crew rescuing a young man injured in a fall while hiking.
My intention is not in anyway to detract from their great work, but only to remind others of the work our military is doing.
What we all saw on TV or saw in the printed media, as dramatic as it was, does not hold a candle to what our young men and women do everyday in the armed forces of this country.
Everyday our military medics and helicopter crews are doing the same work with the added stress of being shot while completing their task.
These young people know the risk, are scared yet perform bravely not for Mom, apple pie or the flag but because they consider that other person a brother or sister. They fight at that point for each other; they are over-worked,under-paid and surely don’t get the respect they deserve.
Think grenades, artillery exploding, machine gun bullets sounding like a swarm of angry bees all around you … suddenly your legs don’t work, there is blood everywhere, you call out, “Medic, Corpsman,” and he jumps up and runs right through all this toward you because you need him.
After taking care of immediate medical needs he calls for a Med Evac/Dustoff helicopter. The Evac helicopter arrives lands or hovers and lowers the basket to get you out, all the time the same enemy is still shooting now at the helicopter.
The crew chief is hanging out the door guiding the basket, the pilots are just sitting there at a hover holding this machine perfectly still in the middle of hell on earth.
Our young men and women are doing this everyday. As I said they are over-worked, under-paid and certainly don’t get the RESPECT they deserve.
Edward C. Ragan, II
Peachtree City, Ga.
