I Pledge That I’ll Never Leave Any One Of You Alone
I volunteered for the Navy in 1962 and in 1965 volunteered for duty in-country Vietnam. By the time my orders were cut I had to re-enlist to accept them. My father served in the Coast Guard in the North Atlantic and his brothers all served in the Navy in WW ll. My twin brothers served in the Army Artillery in Korea. My younger brother and I both served in the South China Sea; he was aboard the USS Brinkley Bass DD-866 and I rode the USS Constellation CVA-64 (later CV-64) before I went to Danang and he went to the Delta.
My poor mother had two sons in Korea together and later two sons in Vietnam together. Sometimes we forget those who bear the burden of allowing us to do what we see as our duty. As active duty military personnel, law enforcement officers, or Oath Keepers we should never take for granted those who love us and worry for our safety and well-being. Their load is heavier than we can ever imagine.
After discharge my brother served for awhile as a small town constable. My sister was a deputy sheriff for years until she was injured on the job and forced to retire and her daughter now proudly serves as a patrol officer and is qualified as a fire marshal in the same department. We’re a family that believes in service.
Please bear with an old man’s telling of an incident from his youth, but this is one of the main reasons I joined Oath Keepers.
Near Danang a small group of us were assigned as coxswains of LCM-3s, some as standard cargo carriers and others converted to specialty jobs. Since we were stationed several miles from Camp Tien Sha and an equal or longer distance from downtown, naturally we became pretty close and supportive of each other, so when one of the guys sustained fairly serious injuries in a freak accident most of took time to hitch rides to the hospital to visit him regularly.
On one particular visit I was profoundly impacted by what I saw. Some things don’t make sense, but they’re true.
My buddy and I jumped off the truck, waved our thanks and headed to the quonset where our injured friend was being treated. The layout was four long tin quonsets set in a cross pattern with each backed up to a large concrete pad. We talked as we tromped through the red powdery dirt of the region, each step causing a faint “poof” sound and a cloud of fine dust.
The dust was a constant, easily stirred by the slightest breeze, and a gritty cover on everything.
We approached from six o’clock and had taken only a couple of steps onto the concrete when we noticed something at nine o’clock, close against the tin wall there. A young Marine lay lifeless on a gurney. His boots were black and well shined, his trousers were crisp and bloused. He had no blouse and his face was covered with a huge gauze wrap showing no blood or any other stain. His chest and arms were pale, showing no indication of sun exposure, and scrubbed clean. Near the head of the gurney was a metal stand holding three IV bottles with tubes running into his body. Closer to the foot of the gurney was another pole with two more IV bottles hanging.
Two things disturbed us, two twenty year olds, because they were so unexpected. We’d seen bodies before, and once pulled one from the waters of the Ho River, but they’d been what you would expect to see; dirty, damaged, in a condition that reflected violence. Acceptable to the psyche and in context.
This young Marine was the opposite. In a world covered in red dust and peopled by troops in wrinkled and soiled fatigues and dungarees he was immaculately clean. No dust, no blood, and his trousers held a sharp crease and the dressing on his face was snow white. It took a few seconds to realize how out of kilter his appearance was. It was almost as though he’d come in off watch stateside and laid down with a towel over his face to take a short nap.
The most jarring thing to us was that he was alone. Aside from us there was no one else in the area, nor did anyone appear as we slowly made our way to the hut that held our friend. This is not meant to be a criticism of anyone. I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for all of our military medical personnel, from the orderlies up through the ranks to the highest level. There was a reason that Marine was alone, but I swore to myself that day that I would never again leave a comrade alone, regardless of the situation. I think so far I’ve lived up to that promise.
It’s been more than 20 years since I’ve owned a firearm but later this week I’ll once more become a gun owner. A time has come that I never in my most grotesque imaginings could have ever anticipated. I actually fear my own government. I know there are few of us but I fervently hope there are many more than I think who are ready to join us as Oath Takers. And I fear there are many in uniform today who may not get the opportunity to join.
I pledge that I’ll never leave any one of you alone, as I’m shamed to admit I did that young Marine so many years ago. Worse things have happened in my world, before and after, but for some reason that young Marine speaks to me every day.
The VA doctors say my Agent Orange cancers will soon take me but I’m with you to the end.
Don Adams former DC1 USN
Naval Ordnance Test Station Long Beach
USS Constellation CVA-64
Naval Support Activity Danang RVN
USS Stoddard DD-566
Naval Air Station Corpus Christi
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October 13th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Don, I am literally speechless, I don’t know what to say to a person I hold in such high esteem. Your are the cream of the American crop and your family are the vast field from which you come. Valor and honor such as yours were the gifts of our founding 3% patriots, standing almost alone against insumountable odds..but standing with God on their side, as it is today. Darkness does not extinguish light, light destroys darkness. I pray for you and your wonderful family. Thank you from the bottom and top of my heart. Lynne
October 13th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Thank you and your family for your incredible service. I pray you stay with us for a long and comfortable time, but I am convinced that a special place is already waiting for you when you go home. Welcome – you honor us. I also pray that it serves the Lord’s purpose to preserve the American Republic, for “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
October 13th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Welcome aboard! Thank you for standing with us and joining Oath Keepers. God Bless and my prayers are with you.
Semper Fi
October 14th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Thank you sir for your testimony. I would be very proud to stand with you. Welcome to Oath Keepers!
October 14th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I am deeply moved sir, thank you. It is my honor to stand with you, God bless America and her Constitution!