"This page is Dedicated to the Memory of Michael Patrick Mahoney''
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YOU ARE THE MARINE, I'M THE 'DOC' ! I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME WE MET. I DID NOT KNOW YOU. YOU LOOKED AT ME AND SAID, "YOU WERE A 'DOC' WITH THE MARINES IN VIETNAM WEREN'T YOU?" I SAID, "WHAT? IS IT TATTOOED ON MY FOREHEAD? YEAH, I WAS A 'DOC' FMF WITH THE CORP'S IN VIETNAM 5/66 TO 7/67 ('I' CORPS) WITH 1/5 & III M.A.F." MIKE SAID, "I KNOW. I WANT YOU TO COME WITH ME!" SO MICHAEL LIKE A GHOST FROM MY VIETNAMESE PAST YOU CAME ROARING INTO MY LIFE ON A MOTORCYCLE TWENTY FIVE YEARS AFTER THE FACT AND SAVED MY LIFE IN 1992. YOU DRUG ME KICKING AND SCREAMING TO THE VETERAN'S CENTER AND THE V.A. I GUESS WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND AS THEY SAY. THEN YOU WERE GONE. THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN MIKE. I'M THE 'DOC' I DO THE SAVING. I NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO SAY 'MAHALO' OR 'ALOHA NUI'. I'M SAYING IT NOW. SEMPER FI! MARINE! RON 'DOC' FERRELL By Harry D. Penny, Jr. HMC (AC) USN © 1975 BUT I WILL WALK BY YOUR SIDE. I SHALL NOT WALK IN YOUR IMAGE, I'VE EARNED MY OWN TITLE OF PRIDE. WE'VE ANSWERED THE CALL TOGETHER, ON SEA AND FOREIGN LAND. WHEN THE CRY FOR HELP WAS GIVEN, I'VE BEEN THERE RIGHT AT HAND. WHETHER I AM ON THE OCEAN OR IN THE JUNGLE WEARING GREENS, GIVING AID TO MY FELLOW MAN, BE IT SAILORS OR MARINE'S. SO THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE A CORPSMAN AND YOU THINK OF CALLING HIM 'SQUID', THINK OF THE JOB HE IS DOING AS THOSE BEFORE HIM DID. AND IF YOU EVER HAVE TO GO OUT THERE AND YOUR LIFE IS ON THE BLOCK, LOOK AT THE ONE RIGHT NEXT TO YOU... I'M THE ONE CALLED 'DOC'. MICHAEL PATRICK MAHONEY anonymous-Khe-Sanh-1968 |
