Military History Talks

US Army Nurse Laura Hines Kern: “My most pivotal moment in Vietnam as a nurse was my first day. I just jumped off the helicopter and walked into the medical facility with my bags, looking for my supervisor. The chief nurse and one of the doctors quickly approached me and ordered me into the operating room.

"I had taken one step into the operating room, and they wheeled a soldier by me who was missing both of his legs; they were blown off. When you see the people before they’ve had surgery, it’s not a clean thing that you’re looking at. It’s a real mess. And I think one of his arms was also blown off.
"They had probably six IVs going into this guy and all hanging blood, and they had extra blood down below the stretcher on the gurney. At that moment, all of my senses were assaulted. There was the metallic smell of blood, the smell of burned flesh mixed with the smell of explosives that wafted in the air. I couldn’t take my eyes off those ragged and raw bloody stumps where his legs used to be. I don’t remember seeing even his face …"
- US Army Nurse Laura Kern

To learn more about our brave women in combat: Women In War: A Gripping Collection of the Untold True Stories of History's Bravest Women Warriors.

Amazon book link: https://a.co/d/e9z3dwB

US Navy Nurses during World War II are rescued from Los Baños, on February 23, 1945.

Lest We Forget...
US Marine Corps Emilio Albert De La Garza gave his life for his men and was posthumously presented the Medal of Honor.

On April 11, 1970, Lance Corporal Emelio De La Garza while serving as a machine gunner with the First Marine Division, in the Republic of Vietnam.

Returning with his squad from a night ambush operation, De La Garza joined his Platoon commander and another Marine in searching for two enemy soldiers who had been observed fleeing for cover toward a small pond.

Moments later, he located one of the enemy soldiers hiding among the reeds and brush. As the three Marines attempted to remove the resisting soldier from the pond, De La Garza observed him pull the pin on a gr***de.

Shouting a warning, De La Garza placed himself between the other two Marines using his body as a shield from the blast of the gr***de, thereby saving the lives of his comrades at the sacrifice of his own.

God Bless Our Vets!

Lest We Forget...
Major Tom Bostick, was killed in action in 2007 as a troop commander based at Combat Outpost Keating. Bostick was killed while providing covering fire for his soldiers so they could move to defensive positions, according to his citation.

Major Bostick skillfully arrayed his forces throughout the battlespace. His keen insight in selecting positions for his observation posts enabled his Troop to defeat a numerically superior force that occupied a series of positions on dominating terrain overlooking Military Supply Route Stetson.

May he Rest In Peace....