Blisters covering his body…

the little guy couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old when frantic parents, brought him to our field medic station in Iraq. A pot of scalding cooking water fell on his left side, burning him from head to toe. Compounding the grim situation, his poor parents waited for two days before realizing that no home remedies were able to provide relief.

The chaotic scene brought instant thoughts of my three children in Illinois.

Lifting the crying little guy to the treatment table, assessing his pathetic situation, we knew some form of relief must be found.

Morphine? Can’t do that. I am not a Dr.

Let’s begin debridement, drain the blisters, then apply medicinal cream to soothe each area. 

The slow process began, enabled by loving care and mounds of chocolate cookies.

An hour later, cries reduced to an occasional whimper, The Champ realized we were bringing relief to his pain.

 A week later, he was running around like any little six-year-old.

 

 

 

 

The Champ is one of several medic mini-stories in our next book, Angles on the Battlefield, scheduled for a Feb ’21 publishing.

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Above: photo of The Champ featured in Angels on the Battlefield, 2021

Pinned down…

by blistering machine gun fire near Quoin Loi, Vietnam, our platoon fought for their lives as I grabbed the radio to call in fire support.

Our commanding general roared overhead in his helicopter, hurling orders to units on the ground, dominating the net, making it virtually impossible for me to put through an urgent plea for artillery support.

Let me be brutally honest. In the midst of battle, combat will make one say things they would otherwise never dream of.

The general bellowed: “why doesn’t someone call in artillery support?”

If you would get off thebleeping net”, someone will, I frantically responded.

“Roger that”!

A few seconds later, artillery rounds from the good guys silenced Charlie. My radioman said: “Lieutenant, do you realized who you just yelled at?”

*******

You can read the rest of this terrific story and learn how John, in seminary to become a priest, ended up in the Army. Simply, order our book: When Heaven Visits, dramatic accounts of military heroes from Amazon, or order a signed copy from me (Jerry Barnes, the author). Click the “contact us” button and select “purchase a signed copy” from the drop-down list in the subject line and I will send you the details. If you choose the Amazon route and provide an Amazon rating for the book, shoot me an email at combatsurvivorheroes@gmail.com and I will send you a $3.00 discount coupon for our next book, Angels on the Battlefield.

Above: Photo of John with a copy of When Heaven Visits, which includes his story.

A flat tire…

on the lead vehicle could not have come at a more inopportune time.

 Pinned down, in the middle of a planned trap, intense enemy fire, rained on James and his buddies.  Caught in the “staged firefight trap”, James and his unit struggled to free themselves.

With the lead vehicle disabled by a flat tire, something, someone had to do something or matters would get worse, much worse!

“Can you guys cover me while I change the tire, James yelled over the radio?”

“Got your back man”, one yelled over the radio.

The friendly fire int intensified as his buddies gave precious cover for James to pull the truck to the side of the inoperable vehicle. A few minutes later, the tire was changed.  James, back in the wrecker, yelled “Let’s get outta here!”

Enemy fire suppressed, the lead vehicle pulled away and the convoy headed to the base.

I write about these heroes in our new book, “Angels on the Battlefield”.  Thirty-one stories of combat survivor heroes are told for the book, headed to a Fall ‘20 release.

Check the author web site and place your orders at CombatSurvivorHeroes.com

 

 

U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Samantha Beuterbaugh