The Rat Bite

 In 1971 we got in a soldier and he had a very large, blackened ear. He had been bitten by a rat. According to my tape home at he time I was in the ER with him. They were applying ice bags to his stomach getting ready to give him a Rabies Vaccine Shot. In this tape I talk about how painful they are and that he will need several shots over 14 days.

My New Buddy

I recently had some old tapes repaired that I sent home from Vietnam  and converted to CD. I was listened to one and this was an event I spoke of that happened around July, 1971:

"Two MP's brought in a barefooted guy. His friends stated he had amnesia but decided he was on drugs. The MP's were having a hard time handling him. I stated that I was able to speak with him and calm him down a little. He then got agitated again and the MP's we trying to deal with him and the ER staff was trying to give him a shot to sedate/calm him down. He started to state he wanted his buddy (me) to give him the shot which I could not do. He kept saying he wanted his buddy to give him the shot. In the end I held his arm as they gave him the shot. In this tape I stated that I was getting really good working with GI's, GI's crying, etc. and calming them down and helping them."

I have always remembered helping GI's like this and now, after listening to this recording, realize that my memories are correct which means a lot to me in many ways.