The Real Heroes

The mortar shell lobs its way in;

It lands with its usual thud.

The crack of a sniper’s rifle,

Makes you wish you were buried in mud.

The exploding shell does it damage;

The Marine in the sniper’s sights lies shot.

Suddenly, frantically, the call goes out,

"Corpsman! Corpsman! DOC!"

He knows he must enter the target area,

Where his chances of survival are thin;

But he never hesitates to answer the call,

Knowing a Marine’s life depends on him.

An FMF Corpsman is a Navy man,

Trained to help the wounded and sick;

He may be called to treat a private or colonel,

For am amputation or just a nick.

Many times he is completely unarmed,

With only medicine and bandages in his kit;

His "secret weapon" is his courage,

Which brings him to wherever a Marine is hit.

Fourteen corpsmen have received the Medal of Honor,

Seven of them, their lives they did give;

They lingered where no one else would go,

So that other Marines might live.

But for the capture of Iwo Jima,

Airman fatalities would have continued to mount;

Thus, the number of lives saved by corpsmen’s dedication,

Perhaps, are too numerous to count.

I know a corpsman,who after the heat of the Pacific,

The bitter cold Chosin Reservoir became his "beat";

He continued to attend the wounded and suffering,

Until, he too, was hospitalized with frozen hands and feet.

Hollywood has portrayed as heroes,

Pilots, submariners and commanders of tanks;

But to combat Marines, the real heroes are the corpsmen,

And it’s about time we all said thanks!

We thank you for patching us up;

Some of us might not be here today without you.

We thank you also for our buddies you tried to save;

We know, with each one who died, so did a part of you...

PFC John Murphy

3rd MarDiv, WWII