Blown Away
No, it’s not another Vietnam war story. It’s about the book launch party for Terry Crump’s book last night.
Wow! What else can we say about the event last night at the Bellingham Country Club celebrating the release of It Was My Turn? I knew Terry had a lot of friends, but was very surprised that 200 or more came out to buy books, get them signed and hear from Terry. (That’s the publisher of a local newspaper with his wife sitting on the floor.)
It is very gratifying to me to see that Terry’s friends and many in our community are at long last recognizing the contribution he made to our country and how he demonstrated what young American warriors are capable of. While I am so glad that this happened for Terry, I’m also sad realizing that for a great many more, this recognition, respect and honor may never receive their much-deserved tardy salute.
I asked during the presentation last night how many served in Vietnam. I didn’t count but there were a lot who raised their hands. Fred McCarthy was there and it was a great pleasure to meet him. He was a Huey gunship pilot in IV Corp, south of Saigon, and saw a lot of action shared in his book Coming All the Way Home: Memoir of an Assault Helicopter Aircraft Commander in Vietnam. You can see Fred in the photo sitting at the first table with a sport coat and glasses.
Mike Oberg was there, he’s in the picture near the middle with dark clothing. Mike’s story is just touched on in It Was My Turn, Terry’s book. He was a member of what became known as The Lost Battalion, nearly wiped out by ridiculous orders in the battle for Hue during the Tet Offensive. What happened to him while going behind the lines in a recon mission is memorable to say the least. But, talking briefly with Mike after the presentations, made me realize that he has a lot more to share. Pretty amazing stuff, which will likely end up as future A Tardy Salute stories.
Steve Jansen was there, Ron Hardesty was there and others whose stories are briefly told in the book. Marcus Brotherton, New York Times best selling author and author of the Vietnam story of a Green Beret medic and Medal of Honor awardee in Blaze of Light, was there. Dr. Jim Woods was there, the chief surgeon of the hospital in An Loc. Bill Reeder was planning on coming and it would have been great to have him there and share a story or two about his time with the Pink Panthers. Unfortunately, illness kept him from attending.
Dr. Woods was one of the first to strongly encourage me to write Terry’s story. Not just because he and Terry have become great friends and golf partners, but because, as he explained at the event, he knows what Cobra pilots meant in Vietnam. He told the sad story about how he received at the hospital three badly wounded American soldiers. One had burns over 90% of his body. He pumped in the body fluids but did not have at this hospital the facilities to care for such severe burns. He called for a medevac helicopter. The pilot said they’d have to wait until they got Cobra support as it was too dangerous with VC all around to attempt a rescue. Dr. Woods had the three men at the helipad waiting and he angrily told the medevac chief that men were going to die if he didn’t get there. The most severely burned one did die as the conversation was going on. The pilot, with four crew members, decided to take the risk. Shortly after, Dr. Woods got the call that they had been shot down and all five lost. If a Cobra or two had been around, it would have been a different story.
(Dr. Jim Woods, Terry and your Tardy Saluter)
Dr. Woods is one of the most remarkable men I have met on this journey with Terry. Despite serious illness himself, and approaching 80 years old, he makes frequent trips to Ukraine to teach surgeons there how to do amputations. There is an overwhelming epidemic of amputations there, including many children blown up by the drones, rockets and missiles sent by Putin. As Dr. Woods asked last night: won’t we ever learn?
The problem Ukraine doctors face is that getting prosthetic limbs is very difficult, expensive and largely unavailable. So he is deeply involved with an organization called Limbfit. It is working hard to provide access to many more lower cost prosthetic limbs to Ukrainian amputees.
Terry was at a Limbfit meeting not long ago and said he received “a tap on the shoulder from the Big Guy” who told him to support this. So Terry decided that all proceeds he received from the sale of his book would be donated to Limbfit. Dr. Woods, Terry Crump –– now you know the kind of people we are dealing with here.
I’m sure Terry would join me in encouraging all A Tardy Salute readers to join him and my wife and me in supporting this great organization. If you do decide to make a contribution, let me know and I will pass that along to Dr. Woods and Terry as an encouragement to them. The link to Limbfit:
Other notes:
I’m enjoying Roger Lockshier’s book We Saved SOG Souls and looking forward to providing more about this in upcoming Tardy Salutes.
John “Tilt” Stryker Meyer is one of the most well-known One-Zeroes (Special Forces team leaders on SOG missions), and has written three books about SOG and his missions. He is one of the most well-known writers and speakers on SOG, along with John Plaster. John has agreed to write a blurb for the book which will be included in the revised edition that will come soon. His books include Across the Fence, SOG Chronicles, and On the Ground. Great resources for those interested in learning more about the “hairiest” missions in the Vietnam war.
Wishing all of you a very merry Christmas!