TRIBUTE TO "E 2 7 CORPSMEN"

Troy, no matter who they were or when they served, there's one thing that Marines don't agee on....its their corpsmen. Each one of us believed we had the best. They were a great bunch of guys, Vance E. Kee, HMCS USN ret., Winner of the Navy Cross was very well known in the company. Most of his heroics were in early 1951.

Vito Pileggi, Korea 1951/52

easytwoseven@goldcom.com

I recall the first night on Outpost Carson, April 9th or 10th, 1953, my squad was hunkered down in bunkers on the reverse slope & other bunkers going to the crest of the outpost, as we were receiving very heavy incoming. Doc Minter was treating a wounded Marine & I was holding a candle to give him some light. Unfortunately, I kept dripping hot wax on the poor guy. Fortunately, according to Doc, he did survive.

Another time, a Corpsman came into the bunker (I do not know who he was) & broke down in tears and blurted out that he could not take any more, seeing wounded Marines suffering and him trying to treat them & some dying as he treated them. All of sudden, someone out in the trench line shouted "Corpsman" & this individual picked up his medical bag & took off like a shot being fired out of a rifle.

I cannot give enough praise for the Corpsmen who served with E-2-7 during the time I was in Korea or any other time that I served in the Marine Corps. These men will never know how much they are respected by Marines world-wide.

Semper Fidelis, Chuck Tidwell

Master Sergeant, U. S. Marine Corps (Retired)

E-2-7 (2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon) Korea 1953-54

DOC VANCE KEE WAS ALSO WITH E-2-7. DOC WAS AWARDED THE NAVY CROSS WHILE WITH US IN 1951.
LONG STORY SHORT. WE WERE IN A HELL OF A FIRE FIGHT. (LASTED 4 HOURS BEFORE WE FINALLY TOOK THE HILL).ONE OF GUYS STEPPED ON A LAND MINE AND WAS BADLY WOUNDED. DOC KEE WENT INTO THE MINE FIELD, PUT HIS BODY BETWEEN THE BAD GUYS AND THE WOUNDED MAN AND PATCHED HIM UP AND SAVED HIS LIFE. ALL THIS TIME UNDER HEAVY RIFLE AND MACHINE GUN FIRE. HOW THEY NEVER BOTH GOT KILLED, I'LL NEVER FIGURE OUT. DOC STAYED WITH HIM UNTIL WE FINALLY TOOK THE HILL. IT WAS THE LAST 30 MIN OF THE FIGHT TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION. THEY WERE ABOUT 30 YARDS TO MY LEFT REAR.

THERE ARE NO BETTER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD THAN OUR CORPSMEN!

Jerry J. Miller

Maj., USMC, Ret.