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Old 04-20-2007, 20:33   #1
swatsurgeon
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A Rare Privilege
Last month at TREXPO, I had the pleasure of meeting with a true hero, Ed "doc" Pepping, Easy Company, 506th Parachute Inf Reg, 101st Airborne Division. He is one of the real Band of Brothers.
Landed on D-Day with no firearm just his knife and medical equipment.
His stories were amazing...makes what I do seem so much less significant.
Guys like this are a treasure trove of stories....thankfully his memories are transcribed so others can learn from men like him.

He has offered to come to our Tac-Med school and speak of his experiences...the students will get a great treat.

If you have the chance to speak to some of the remaining few D-Day vets, take advantage of it and thank a hero.

ss
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'Revel in action, translate perceptions into instant judgements, and these into actions that are irrevocable, monumentous and dreadful - all this with lightning speed, in conditions of great stress and in an environment of high tension:what is expected of "us" is the impossible, yet we deliver just that.
(adapted from: Sherwin B. Nuland, MD, surgeon and author: The Wisdom of the Body, 1997 )

Education is the anti-ignorance we all need to better treat our patients. ss, 2008.

The blade is so sharp that the incision is perfect. They don't realize they've been cut until they're out of the fight: A Surgeon Warrior. I use a knife to defend life and to save it. ss (aka traumadoc)
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Old 04-20-2007, 20:41   #2
The Reaper
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swatsurgeon
If you have the chance to speak to some of the remaining few D-Day vets, take advantage of it and thank a hero.

ss
IIRC, there's a whole town full of them up your way, and the 29th ID "Blue Gray" was right in the thick of it on Omaha Beach alongside the Rangers and the Big Red One.

RIP, Bedford Boys. 96% casualites, in A Company, BEFORE they left the landing craft.

TR
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Old 04-21-2007, 12:03   #3
Jgood
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I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of them during All American week, when I was in the 82nd. We would have BBQ and talk to these great men and listen to their amazing stories. Some of the best times I had while at Bragg.
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Old 04-25-2007, 20:52   #4
Monsoon65
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My father said that when he first joined the AF and went to Air Rescue, many of the PJs were medics from the 101st and 82nd that jumped in WW2 and had a bunch of hair raising stories to tell.

TR: I read Bedford Boys a few months ago. That was an eye-opener. Nothing like losing 96% of your troops before they got their feet wet. I know my mom's cousin was with the 1st ID and didn't get off the beach.
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Old 04-25-2007, 23:51   #5
hunteran
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I had the pleasure of meeting several D-day vets a couple of months ago (one of which was a British glider trooper that landed at Pegasus bridge and had escaped at Dunkirk). An incredible group of men with some amazing stories.
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