Leon Thomas, Adjutant of Military Order of the Purple Heart,
Chapter 604. Bakersfield, California.

A few months out of KCUHS High School in Jan 1951, I enlisted in the US Army for a three year hitch. I was working for Isotherms , a sheet metal /Insulation Company at the time. After Basic Training at Fort Ord I was a Medic during the Korean War, and can attest to the cruelty of the enemy when it came to shooting Medics. On my first day with Charlie Co. 8 *th Cavalry. Regiment as one of their Two Medics, we were on Patrol as we moved up a hill along a dusty road on a very hot sultry day . The Flank guard on the left of our column was hit. As is usually the case the wounded man yells medic I'm hit. I could see he was down on the ground, I started sprint down the slight incline to give him help, all decked out in my brightly colored arm band and helmet with their distinctive Red Cross to signify first aid. I did not get 10 long steps down the Hill until they enemy opened fire on me. I made it down to carry the guy back to some cover before I patched him up' to stop the bleeding. He lived to fight another day. But, As soon as we got the soldier on his way to the first Aid Station for more medical care. I quickly removed my Red crosses and quickly got my hands on a side arm for protection. It did not take me long to change my mind about carrying a weapon. You see I attended an Assembly of God Church and believed, I did not want to bear arms against another man. That changes when the other man starts shooting at you, even when you do not carry a gun.

May I give you a little history about the medical treatment in a war., In Ancient times if a soldier was wounded, he laid in the field where he had fallen. There was no one to come to his aid. Napoleon's Army was the first to assign people to help the wounded. They were called the litter-bearers, made mostly of the and expendable soldiers. The American Colonial Army Lead by George Washington' also had litter-bearers during the Revolutionary war. In 1862 due to the unexpected size of the casualty lists doing the battle of Manassas where it took one week to remove the wounded from the battle field, Dr. Jonathan Letterman, Head of the Medical Services of the Army of the Potomac, revamped the Army Medical Corps. His contribution included staffing and training men to operate horse teams and wagons to pick up the wounded soldiers from field and to bring them back to the field dressing stations for initial treatment. This was our Nations first ambulance Corps. Dr. Letterman also developed the 3 tiered evacuation system which is still used today. They are as follows: Field Dressing (Aid ) Station, located next to the battle field, where Dressings and tourniquets are applied; Field Hospital,today called the Forward aid Station (about three miles to the rear of the battle field.) OR called MASH units. Emergency surgery and treatment; and Large Hospital- Away from the battle field, for patients long term care.and treatment. Dr. Letterman's transportation system proved successful. In the battle of Antietnam, which was a 12 hour engagement and the bloodiest one day battles of the civil war, the ambulance system was able to remove all the wounded from the field in the 24 hours. Dr. Jonathan Letterman is known today as the Father of Modern Battlefield Medicine. Unfortunately, amputation was the primary method of treatment for wounds to extremities during the Civil War with over 50,000 resulting amputees. During the Spanish American war in the 1890's Nicholas Sin Stated, Fate of the wounded soldier is determined by the hand which applies the dressing. Field Dressings are now applied by Medic's some times while under fire. In World War I , unlike previous wars, battles did not stop to retrieve the wounded or the dead. World war 1, saw for the first time , medics rushing forward with the troops, finding the wounded, stopping their bleeding and bringing the wounded soldier to the aid station. In the World war 1 Medics were no longer expendable and were well trained. World War II training had advanced and was a priority both in fighting and the medical care. Medics were trained along side the infantry soldier, learning to use the lay of the land for their protection, and that of their patients. Medics also trained in the use of pressure dressings, plasma IV's, tracheotomy, splints and administering drugs.

During WW II, a wounded soldier had an 85% chance of surviving if he was treated by a medic with in the first hour. In the later part of the Korean war, the advent of the Helicopter being used to bring men from the front lines to the MASH units (Mobil Army Surgical Hospital)

In Vietnam, the Medic's job was to treat and evacuate. Medieval helicopters now could bring medics on board to continue treating the wounded while transporting them back to the field Hospitals. There is a 98% survival rate for soldiers who were evacuated with in the first hour. Vietnam was the first time medics were armed and carried firearms and grenades into combat. Red crosses on the helmets and armbands were no longer worn. While an infantryman's job is very harrowing and difficult, a medic is a little hard pressed to fire and treat the wounded soldier at the same time, and it is not always convent to keep your head down while you do your job. The Memorial we are committed to build is for just such men and women. This Memorial is something long over due our WWII Veterans who are dying at 1500 each day across our country. If God gives us time and blesses us with enough we will see a Museum and History center built. I would invite those of you who will drive up to Fresno our neighbor to the North and look at their Veterans Hall of Valor in the Center of Fresno. This Memorial is something to behold.

Yours in Patriotism Leon Thomas, Adjutant of Military Order of the Purple Heart ,
Chapter 604. Bakersfield, Calif.