Those other lunatics, Marines
But to us Marines
They are the Angels of the
battlefield
The lifesavers in camouflage, our
Brothers
And we simply, respectfully, call
them Doc
The combination of Marines and
our Corpsmen is unique
A partnership of two different
military branches
Working continually as one
There is no other intra-service
union like it
A Marine combat unit can be
likened to
The Wrath of God, believe it
With the addition of our beloved
Corpsmen
This unit now also contains His
Mercy
When a Doc first joins a Marine
unit
They become his Marines
Soon he will know them all by
name
And to his Marines he will
always be known as their Doc
It is a bond that will last a
lifetime
A bond of Brotherhood that few
men can obtain
Forged in the horror of battle
Strengthened by the trying times
they share
“The Doc will fix you up, pronto”
From a slight case of trench foot
To a sucking chest wound
The Doc takes care of his
Marines
In the most intense heat of
battle
Out of the darkest of nights
When the call, “Corpsman Up” goes
forth
Be assured that call will always
be answered
On a field of death, hatred and
mayhem
The Doc will courageously surge
forth time and again
Without regard to his own
personal safety
To bring mercy, compassion and
medical aid to others
The Doc will reach his fallen
Brother
Stick his finger into a bullet
hole to stop the bleeding
His fist into a chest wound
His heart and soul into his work
It is The Doc who holds the
stricken Marine
Tells him he will be okay
Works on his wounds at a fever
pitch
Begs him to, “Just hold on!”
It is The Doc who comforts the
suffering
Talks in a low, soft assuring
voice
Prays for his Marine who
is failing
Weeps at his untimely death
In calmer, less violent times
It is The Doc who checks on his
Marines while others are resting
Distributes medicine and care to
civilians in the area
And advises the CO and Sergeant
about the men when it is requested
Marines and Corpsmen
Is it any wonder why these men
Who strive, fight and suffer
together
Love and respect each other so
On my desk is a statue of the
second Iwo flag raising
The most famous photo of the
Corps
Five Marines and their
Corpsman
A Corpsman and his Marines
Frozen throughout eternity in the
struggle to raise Our Flag
It was not just by chance that a
Corpsman was included: it was fate
For even as God has given us free
will so we may control our fate
God does has a way of moving
things around
God knows the importance of this
bond between us
He understands
Doc Bradley had to be included in
our most famous moment
It would just not have been right
without him
Today we are gathered to pay
tribute to Robert J. Gibson,
Husband, Father, Grandfather,
Brother and Friend,
Vietnam Veteran, U.S. Navy
Corpsman,
A Twenty-year Man, American
Patriot, The Doc
Although I never had the
opportunity to meet or serve with Doc G
I had the honor a few weeks ago
to talk to him on the phone
His Platoon Cmdr. Heino Meybaum
asked me to call him
Doc wanted to become a member of
our 1/1 Marine, Vietnam Veteran’s group
As I only knew him as Doc Gibson
I asked what I should call him
“Doc.” He said
Stupid question, especially from
an old Marine
He told me that he had “never
lost a man in Vietnam.”
There was no hint of bravado or
boast in his words
Just a sense of pride, and justly
so
I thought to myself, I like this
man
I told him that he was sort of
like the Perry Mason of Docs
He laughed and said yeah I guess
so.
We talked for about an hour
The more we talked the more
engaged with him I became
We spoke of war, the memories of
younger men
About his failing health
Then back to the war, and of our
Brother-to-Brother bonds
We laughed, and too soon he said
he had to go
He was getting tired
We said goodbye and
Semper Fi
An hour or so later I called him
back
George Porter had enrolled him
into our group
And Doc was very happy to hear it
But surprised it had happened so
fast
He told me that he was glad to
have talked to someone
Who got things done like they
said they would for a change
His words made me feel very good
about myself
I understand The Doc was very
good at making others feel that way
Doc Gibson was very pleased he
had joined our group
But he never had the chance to
post his thoughts
Shortly after his addition
The Doc was admitted to the
hospital
Many of our member Marines and
Corpsmen
Called Doc G in his last days
We all came away feeling better
about ourselves
He was that type of man
As I said, I never got to meet
Doc Gibson in person
But I miss him and mourn his
loss
We are Brothers
Bourne from a bond from which
we served
However it is not my intent in
this writing
To place Doc Gibson above other
Corpsman
From what I have learned of him
He would not stand for such a
thing
My hope in writing this was
that people would come to know
That Doc Gibson was not the
exception to the rule
But rather a shinning example
of the rule
That simple rule of men
striving to become the best that they can be
Because of men like Doc Gibson
The world is a better place
Through their efforts, courage,
compassion and humanity
And there are a lot more
Marines still with us because of them
Like any sensible man
The Doc did not want to leave
the safety of his position
He did not want to leave his
family and friends
But like all good men Doc
Gibson always answered his call to duty
So for one last time Doc Gibson
heard God call, “Corpsman Up!”
And like all good Corpsmen,
without regard to his own personal safety
He answered that call, for he
knew no other way
It was just his nature.
God Bless You Doc,
God Bless You All.
Michael E. Tank
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