Canis-Lupus
New member
Sack Lunches. :cray:
This came into my inbox today and after I read it I reflected back on some kind deeds that civilians had done for me and my medics when we busted butt & helped them out. Hot dog-days of Summer 1992, Redding, CA. I was stationed in the 2/12 Inf Bn (M), 4th I.D.(M) @ Ft Carson, CO. I ran their mech medical platoon, 40 great metal-medics! We got a 2 day train-up in fire-fighting by Colorado Springs fire dept, a new skill and one U don't just jump into expecting to survive if U don't know their tricks to work a fire-line in hilly country. So we d/x-ed our BDU's & donned yellow fire-retardent NOMEX suits, yellow safety hats, with fire-tents on ea belt, vital kit if U get a 'flash over', and respirators, 'piss-pumps' heavy (H20) sprayers U wore on your back & carried 30gals of fluid + various other kit we had never seen B 4. Got on Chinooks and landed right in the middle of a staging area, a football field with G.P. Medium tents in the middle and a latrine, aid station, mess hall and went right 2 work. Smoke and burning sparks everywhere, we lost troops right off the bat who came down with asthma they never even knew they had. We were sent out to put out a HUGE wild fire that the local F-F-ers had lost control of and was eating up their homes, farms and killing trees and cattle, their whole lives hung on what ass-busting 24/7 work we did for 10 days non-stop working 4hrs on and 8 off the lines with the local lads the fire-fighters that came in from 4 States to help to help put that SOB out, caused us 4 dead and 50 or so injured by burns, flash-overs, heat stroke/ehaustion, suffocation, smoke inhalation, eye burns (BAD!), total body burns, a few broken skulls from falling rocks, bad burns from stepping into hidden 'fire-pits, (when a tree burns down to the stump it keeps on burning @ over 300F and goes down the tap route, leaving a gray hot ash pit that if U step into by mistake swallows your enire foot up to the groin, and cooks it in about 30 seconds to black) and many broken bones, twisted anked, sprains and dehydradition were the main injuries. I had done some hard labor in my time but this came close to working in hell and just as dangerous as any fire-fight. It was damn hard work, but when the last fire was out we drove thru town not expecting much but a C-130 trip home and a LONG shower.
Everyone in that town lined the route and came out and they threw flowers at us. Cheering and tossing us cans of cold beer we drank even though we were not supposed to. Few joints flew up there too, but we couldn't touch 'em as we had monthly pee-tests for pot and losing a stripe (E1-4 or a whole career ender for E5-up who came up hot on a U./A) was not worth the buzz that lasts <30 days in your system, so no weed got smoked (that I know of in my medical platoon), but a few of the grunts/Infantry-men eyes were much too blood-shot :man_in_love: to blame it on the fire/smoke or lack of sleep when we hit the tiny air-port! I don't think my unit of 500 men had a dry eye among 'em so we for once in while helped out but the farewell those good folks gave us was better than any military parade I ever was part of. Now a new generation of troops is doing a whole lot more hairy stuff than working a fire-line. so with that I'll post what came my way, I don't know who sent it to a friend who grabs these gems and sends 'em on to me, she is a true friend to Vets, active duty and one of the most patriotic women I am proud to call my friend, Donna B.
Enjoy this Vets and Guns, pass it on if you wish, the meaning stays the same for whomever gets it.
My regards,
Canis-Lupus
The Sack Lunches
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight.
'I'm glad I have a good book to read Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.
Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle
and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me.
I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?'
I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
'Chicago - to Great Lakes Base. We'll be there for two weeks
for special training, and then we're being deployed to Iraq'
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that
sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours
before we reached Chicago, and I quickly decided a
lunch would help pass the time.
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy
if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a
sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get
to Chicago ' His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch.
I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a
fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my
arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me.
'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the
soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked,
'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned
and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate
from first class. 'This is your thanks.'
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the
plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me.
'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane.
When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch
my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front
of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine.
He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and
started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who
stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned,
and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for
their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about
time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect
of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my
car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were
giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.
It seemed so little... A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life,
wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of
America' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'
That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this
country who no longer understand it.'
This came into my inbox today and after I read it I reflected back on some kind deeds that civilians had done for me and my medics when we busted butt & helped them out. Hot dog-days of Summer 1992, Redding, CA. I was stationed in the 2/12 Inf Bn (M), 4th I.D.(M) @ Ft Carson, CO. I ran their mech medical platoon, 40 great metal-medics! We got a 2 day train-up in fire-fighting by Colorado Springs fire dept, a new skill and one U don't just jump into expecting to survive if U don't know their tricks to work a fire-line in hilly country. So we d/x-ed our BDU's & donned yellow fire-retardent NOMEX suits, yellow safety hats, with fire-tents on ea belt, vital kit if U get a 'flash over', and respirators, 'piss-pumps' heavy (H20) sprayers U wore on your back & carried 30gals of fluid + various other kit we had never seen B 4. Got on Chinooks and landed right in the middle of a staging area, a football field with G.P. Medium tents in the middle and a latrine, aid station, mess hall and went right 2 work. Smoke and burning sparks everywhere, we lost troops right off the bat who came down with asthma they never even knew they had. We were sent out to put out a HUGE wild fire that the local F-F-ers had lost control of and was eating up their homes, farms and killing trees and cattle, their whole lives hung on what ass-busting 24/7 work we did for 10 days non-stop working 4hrs on and 8 off the lines with the local lads the fire-fighters that came in from 4 States to help to help put that SOB out, caused us 4 dead and 50 or so injured by burns, flash-overs, heat stroke/ehaustion, suffocation, smoke inhalation, eye burns (BAD!), total body burns, a few broken skulls from falling rocks, bad burns from stepping into hidden 'fire-pits, (when a tree burns down to the stump it keeps on burning @ over 300F and goes down the tap route, leaving a gray hot ash pit that if U step into by mistake swallows your enire foot up to the groin, and cooks it in about 30 seconds to black) and many broken bones, twisted anked, sprains and dehydradition were the main injuries. I had done some hard labor in my time but this came close to working in hell and just as dangerous as any fire-fight. It was damn hard work, but when the last fire was out we drove thru town not expecting much but a C-130 trip home and a LONG shower.
Everyone in that town lined the route and came out and they threw flowers at us. Cheering and tossing us cans of cold beer we drank even though we were not supposed to. Few joints flew up there too, but we couldn't touch 'em as we had monthly pee-tests for pot and losing a stripe (E1-4 or a whole career ender for E5-up who came up hot on a U./A) was not worth the buzz that lasts <30 days in your system, so no weed got smoked (that I know of in my medical platoon), but a few of the grunts/Infantry-men eyes were much too blood-shot :man_in_love: to blame it on the fire/smoke or lack of sleep when we hit the tiny air-port! I don't think my unit of 500 men had a dry eye among 'em so we for once in while helped out but the farewell those good folks gave us was better than any military parade I ever was part of. Now a new generation of troops is doing a whole lot more hairy stuff than working a fire-line. so with that I'll post what came my way, I don't know who sent it to a friend who grabs these gems and sends 'em on to me, she is a true friend to Vets, active duty and one of the most patriotic women I am proud to call my friend, Donna B.
Enjoy this Vets and Guns, pass it on if you wish, the meaning stays the same for whomever gets it.
My regards,
Canis-Lupus
The Sack Lunches
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight.
'I'm glad I have a good book to read Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.
Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle
and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me.
I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?'
I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
'Chicago - to Great Lakes Base. We'll be there for two weeks
for special training, and then we're being deployed to Iraq'
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that
sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours
before we reached Chicago, and I quickly decided a
lunch would help pass the time.
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy
if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a
sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get
to Chicago ' His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch.
I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a
fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my
arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me.
'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the
soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked,
'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned
and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate
from first class. 'This is your thanks.'
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the
plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me.
'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane.
When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch
my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front
of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine.
He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and
started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who
stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned,
and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for
their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about
time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect
of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my
car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were
giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.
It seemed so little... A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life,
wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of
America' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'
That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this
country who no longer understand it.'
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