WEBVTT

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^(birds chirping lightly)

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^- They called me Doc.

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It's probably one of the best titles I've ever had.

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^(reflective piano music)

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^So, we're standin' at attention.

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^It's the day that they're announcing where everybody's going

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^and they got to Private James McCloughan,

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Southeast Asia, Vietnam, and I'm thinkin'

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he must have been wrong.

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He's gotta be wrong, I'm stayin' here.

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I got initiated the very first day.

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We hit our first ambush, had a man die,

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had a few people to patch up, and I shot a man.

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That's a lot to digest in your first day

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of knowing where you're at now,

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and what you're gonna be facing.

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^14, 13 or 14 choppers combat assaulted us

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into the area near the base of Nui Yon Hill.

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Well, it was a hot LZ, which means that

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the minute that we got there we were fired upon.

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^I jumped up, I weaved and sprinted through the fire

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and slid in next to him like I was slidin' into second base.

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And, I said, "Well, you hang onto your M16,

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'cause you're goin' up on my shoulders."

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So, I threw him up, fireman's style,

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and weaved my way through the crossfire.

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^And just as I get to them, I hear this ungodly explosion.

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Well, it was an RPG that exploded nearby me

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and just pelted me from head to foot.

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I felt it, I mean I felt the sting of it.

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But, with the adrenaline flowing and knowing that

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here's two guys, let's get goin' here,

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^we gotta take care of 'em, what are you gonna do now?

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^About 10 meters away, there's two NVA lookin'

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at me just like I'm lookin' at you.

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Only, they got AK-47s in their hands

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and I had given my weapon up, and Folger and Aiken,

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they don't have any weapons either.

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And, I said, "Gentlemen, follow me."

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And, I turned and I sprinted down that trench line,

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and then I realized this is slowin' me up,

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so I got out into the open because I could run faster.

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And, I'm weavin' and then, literally could hear and see

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^the bullets skippin' off the ground, they're firin' at me.

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^When they did finally get in and I got everybody on,

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Lieutenant Carrier says to me, "Get on Doc."

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Well, now I looked down and I've got blood all over me.

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And then, my thought goes back to bein' on top of the berm

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and explosion, and feeling the ping,

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and I realized,

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Yeah, and then, I said, "No, I'm not gettin' on."

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And, he said, "Why not?"

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I said to him, "You're gonna need me."

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^(dramatic orchestral music)

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^I said, "Well, I'll have to ask my boss."

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^I can remember what he said, he looked at me,

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he said, "What the hell are you still doin' here?"

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So, I can't tell you the mixed emotions that I had

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takin' my

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my personal stuff out of my pack

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and leaving my men.

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Excuse me.

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I knew I was goin' to safety, but I was also

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leaving my men and I was their medic.

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They had also shared with me that they

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had mixed emotions, too.

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They were glad that I was getting out of the field,

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but they didn't wanna lose me as their medic, so.

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I was helicoptered in, and I became the liaison

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for Americal Division for the remainder of my tour,

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which was about five months.

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(dramatic orchestral music)