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These stories are true, but the names may be Another guy I remember is one who took an RPG in the gut in Cambodia. When they brought him in, he had a huge entrance wound and something was bulging out his side opposite the entrance wound, as we all looked at the X-ray...there sat a huge light mass in his abdomen...RPG! RPGs are unusual weapons, they have to travel a certain distance (making revolutions) before they're armed. This GI had been so close to the enemy that this grenade hadn't had time to arm itself and explode. That was the good news. The bad news was that we had no idea how far armed it was! Maybe all it would take to fully arm (and explode) it would be just a little wiggle...maybe you could beat on it with a sledgehammer...nobody knew! After considerable discussion, several brave souls (I was not one of them!) volunteered to work on this boy. Donning flak jackets and helmets (which would have helped not at all!), the small team successfully removed the RPG, handed it off to the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) boys, buttoned up the kids' belly and sent him home to mama. That GI was one lucky dude!! I can't say enough about the bravery of those who went into that room. All of the rest of us were commanded to wait outside the building until the case was completed. There was a lot of serious prayer going on, both in the OR and outside. It's one thing to have a disaster forced upon you, but quite another to willingly walk into it, as our OR crew did. In my opinion, they should all have received the Silver Star for Bravery. Comments: E-mail me Thanks for visiting ...SP5 Steven Streeper
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