The room was silent, as the three colonels shifted and arranged papers in their laps. The major held up a single sheet of thick paper and began to read, as the staff sergeant readied her hands over a small electronic device that sat on the tiny top shelf of her toy-like mobile desk.
“In the matter of the investigation into the command of the Third Battalion, First Marine Division, and the command of that unit by Colonel…”
The major kept talking but I could no longer hear him. Tears flowed down my face as if some dam had cracked and was coming apart. They were there, the Board of Inquiry in my ICU unit, to investigate the colonel and not me. I was a witness, or so they supposed or knew. The major droned on for several minutes, but all I could do was look at the big clock above his head. I counted the seconds like I was in the last minutes of my fourth hour before another shot of morphine could be administered to me.
I didn’t care about the colonel of my battalion, the three colonels over to the side of me, or about the board of inquiry, whatsoever.
Your style of writing is awesome and the story so compelling that I will be getting your other books soon. Stick with it Sir.
Can’t thank you enough Allen. I shall endeavor to persevere and continue on, with motivational help from guys like you.
Semper fi,
Jim
I remember my first shampoo. It was so good. It could have lasted longer but any was so good!
Yes, that first shower when back. What a grand pleasure, even in the shape I was in.
Thanks for coming in on that one.
Semper fi,
Jim
No edit suggestions this time as I was just engrossed in the reading !!
Even a great comment by the Gunnys son and a good word from him makes these comments a great part of the chapters !!
Keep ’em coming Lt.
SEMPER Fi
Yes, it was wonderful to hear from the Gunny’s son. Verification that I’m not dreaming the whole damned
thing. It’s tough not having many survivors and then not being able to find the one’s who did live.
The military was terrible about that, and not much better today.
Semper fi,
Jim
Intense chapter
Often , as this piece has brought out, I have the feeling I should not comment . Your experience is on such a higher level than any of mine , I can only sit here reading and thinking , “What could I possibly say to a man who has suffered so?” and then I think of all those we have lost and are losing . My heart hurts…
Well, Charley, your words are few but they are made of iron. Thank you for the solid earthy and highly valued comment.
Your compliment is not missed on me, either, and I need a few of those now and then.
Semper fi,
Jim
James, thanks for another great chapter!
>>> The pump didn’t work in time.
maybe >>> The pump didn’t work on time.
follow on to a previous edit:
>>> What’s Heads and Shoulders?” I asked, never having heard of the shampoo.
maybe >>>What’s Head and Shoulders?” I asked, never having heard of the shampoo.
_____________________________________________________
So Dwayne is the Gunny’s son? how cool is that? Did you ever see the Gunny again?
>>>while another slipping a thick pad under it. “while slipping?” “slipped”
Thanks, Tom.
Corrected
Semper fi
Jim
Noted and corrected, Tom.
Thank you and it is an honor to hear from Dwayne.
Semper fi,
Jim
“I wish I could laugh,” Pulled coughed out. “You’re pretty funny.” Pulled should change to Puller. Great read as usual sir.
Thanks for the sharp eyes, Brian.
Noted and corrected
Semper fi,
Jim
Well LT, you have left one battlefield where you did have a great degree of control in managing the situations you found yourself in and shaping the future outcome. Now you are in a different “battlefield” (hospital) where your degree of control has plummeted to near zero.
That had to become a realization for you at some time….now totally dependent upon actions of others around you…
Stay strong, God bless you.
As always, anxiously anticipating your next chapter…
“The” Walter. Thanks Walt, your words mean a lot to me, knowing you as I have come to. Yes put your mental finger right on an issue that was tough too.
It’s hard to lose all that authority in one fell swoop. Thanks for the great comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
I have been so engrossed in this part of your story that I have yet to find a mistake. Truly mind-boggling the suffering you had to go through.
Semper Fi
Thank you, Paul, for the comment and your continued support.
Semper fi
Jim
Great as usual. Noticed a typo…
“I wish I could laugh,” Pulled coughed out. ”
presuming that should be “Puller”
Thank you for the dtory.
Corrected.
Thank you, Steve
I was wondering ‘what the hell?’ when I saw the pump picture for this chapter. Know now! Another very well written chapter.
Yes, the fish tank pump. I was among the first in the world to experience this invention,
which apparently worked for what it was designed to do, and comfort was not one of the goals.
Anyway, thanks for the comment and the compliment.
Semper fi,
Jim
Another outstanding chapter . But it is also sad knowing that what will eventually happen to Lt Lewis Puller . One question though , will the investigation go further up the chain of command and eventually burrow into the Generals ass ?
Hey Chuck, good to hear from you on this site. Yes, the Puller final play out was not pretty. I used to visit him in D.C. between missions
as he was head of the VA at the time. He kept a bottle of Bacardi in his desk drawer. There were issues there.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
As an infantry soldier, I could relate to 30 Days Has September. But, this is something else. I cannot imagine the pain–emotional and physical. Stay Strong.
Thanks for that comment and the compliment in your exclamation of ‘something else.’
Neat.
Semper fi,
Jim
The shampoo, I believe, is Head and Shoulders. One head, two shoulders. The great story continues! Keep up the great work. Can’t wait to hear more about the Gunny and the rest.
Thank you so much James for your brilliant writing of your life in Southeast Asia.
Semper fi,
Sean Montgomery
Thanks Sean, very meaningful to get the ‘brilliant’ comment and compliment from you, and on here in front of he whole world.
Semper fi,
Jim
Unbelievable you were truly fortunate to have such attentive staff and technology. I can’t begin to imagine what effort and pain lies in front of your continuing recovery. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, the surgeries ahead would result in a descent back into the shadowy ever-changing world of the opiates.
Thanks for the comment and sorry, Chuck, it took so long to answer it.
Semper fi,
Jim
This is like Marriage Encounter…. putting in words a feelings that describe an intense event! We are all wandering the same landscape and are injured but I envy the support fire team you had….I came home with no question of being physically healthy, but still wonder wether I was in a coma. You are also writing Puller & Masters history.
Jim
As usual, Homan, the complexity of your comment makes it difficult to respond.
You came home physically healthy but psychologically kind of lost.
Got that.
You are the first person to comment that I am writing an unknown history of
both Puller and Masters too, for as long as I was there with them.
Great guys, so badly hit, too…
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
Great job You really went thru hell in Nam and then in the hospital Truly amazing Keep it going I am fixated by your story
Thank you, Jim…
I appreciate your support
Semper fi
Jim
“…all the junk that got inside you when you “were” hit and struggling in the jungle.”
Love the read. Can’t wait to find out what happened to the rest of your men. Hope all is well and God Bless.
Fixed it, Thanks, Dustin.
“I wish I could laugh” Pulled coughed out.
Corrected it, Earl.
Thank you.
I find it amazing that you remember all the small details. Loved 30 Days and Cowardly Lion is written in the same attention holding style.
Thank you, Ernest!
Semper fi,
Jim
right after the installing of the pump Kathy is talking and when saying “You have to have them because of all the junk that got inside you when you hit and struggling in the jungle.” when you hit and or did you mean to write when you got hit and struggling . no condemnation just trying to edit for you . thank you from a snipe
Thanks, Sydney.
Noted and Corrected
Semper fi,
Jim
Yeah, that’s some shit there, Jim! You always seem to have a Guardian Angel nearby. Sure helped, didn’t ti?
Yes, Mike, I got my bacon pulled out a few times, and that’s a fact jack.
The touch of the Lord’s hand, or a whisper from his lips?
We don’t get to know, really, but we must think about it.
Semper fi,
Jim
You sure can make me feel like I’m in that hospital bed, but without the pain you describe.
I also hunger to read more. Please keep it coming.
I am punching it out as fast as I can. The story continues as I finally leave one hospital in Japan
for another in the USA. Thanks for following and liking the work the way you obviously do.
Semper fi,
Jim
I can’t even imagine the pain LT. Horrible.
Yes, it was horrid, to say the least, but I did work on through, with lots of help.
Thanks for caring and the reading too…
Semper fi
Jim
LT you have done it again, didn’t see that coming, the inquiry) also as Kathy replies ” I’ve never seen anything (like) this before,” Keep on keeping on LT your an amazing man. Glad ya made it home, so many didn’t. Semper Fi
Thank you, Bob.
I have corrected the error.
I really appreciate your support
Semper fi,
Jim
Reminds me of a time when I had a bullet taken out of me. Same incision and co[ostomy. Hang in there it gets better in time,
Yes, it did, but man oh man, did it take a while to become semi-human again.
Not exactly like Rambo when he gets hit in the abdomen, cauterizes the wound’and then
fights on! Thanks for the comment and the encouragement.
Semper fi,
Jim
James, another brilliant piece of writing! I take exception the the name “The Cowardly Lion” in all the years i’ve known you I have never sensed even a hint of cowardice. My dad (the Gunny) thought very highly of you and said you were one of the most “squared away Marine” that he had ever met! Please keep up the high quality writing and hope to see you again some day!
Thanks for the terrific compliment and your dad’s comment in particular. I wasn’t never sure whether he liked me or not until later on.
You have always been, and remain, a class act Dwayne…and I have always been impressed by you.
Semper fi,
Jim
Almost as an “aside” to your story is the fact that the Gunny felt that way about you and what a HUGE compliment to the type of Marine you are. He saw the type of leader you could be and knew you needed a “bit of work”, but I’m sure he wanted greatly for you to survive. I don’t always read all the comments after each chapter and I didn’t pick up on the fact that his son has communicated with you – which is outstanding and also lets me know he survived that dam valley! What a Marine!!!!
He did survive the valley. He moved back to New Mexico. I found him. I went to see him. Saw him and it was terrific.
Saw him for about five minutes. Made an appointment for the following week for lunch. Drove 88 miles to make it.
He didn’t show. I went to his house. His wife answered the door. She said he couldn’t see me or talk to me.
I left. I understood. I never went back. That was 1985.
Semper fi, and thanks for the comment.
Jim
Lt, I want to order hard copy of the 30 days series complete with autographs. How much and when will these be available
Hard Cover ordered and should be in by next week. Thirty-five for the hard cover and postage and handling is included.
507 Broad Street, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 if you want to pay by check, otherwise you can order using a card through the website.
Thanks so much.
Semper fi,
Jim
Hang on as I know you did !! But feel like I need to say it JAMES !!! HANG ON !!!!
Great to see your support team (Barbara, Kathy, Shoot) in action. You are definitely a survivor. Your guardian angels are sending the necessary people your way. Hopefully you can instill the will to live in Puller.
Some minor editing suggestions follow:
An ice chunk slid into my mouth and I sucked on it greedily, bolding the piece with my back molars.
Maybe “holding” instead of “bolding”
An ice chunk slid into my mouth and I sucked on it greedily, holding the piece with my back molars.
The trappings of tape and plastic attached at different points to my body had come down in number to the point where being naked under the sheet they kept over me, it made me feel almost naked.
Seems redundant. Maybe something like:
The trappings of tape and plastic attached at different points to my body had come down in number to the point where my bare body under the sheet they kept over me felt almost naked.
“Oh God, the pain drugs don’t stop the pain,” Masters squeezed out.
/snip/
General Master’s son had been brought out of his induced coma, at nearly the same time as Puller but he was still on a ventilator so there was no ability to converse with him and have him answer, anyway.
?? Ventilator with oxygen mask or with intubation? If intubation then he couldn’t speak the “Oh God…” sentence. If mask then he probably could speak although not too understandable.
In any case the dialog works as is. The reader is introduced to Masters.
“I’ve never seen anything this before,” Kathy replied
Maybe add “like” before “this”
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Kathy replied
You have to have them because of all the junk that got inside you when you hit and struggling in the jungle.”
Maybe add “were” or “got” before “hit”
You have to have them because of all the junk that got inside you when you were hit and struggling in the jungle.”
“I thought you weren’t allowed t work in here.”
Change “t” to “to”
“I thought you weren’t allowed to work in here.”
“Heads and Shoulders.”
Actual brand name is “Head” – singular.
“Head and Shoulders.”
“For your dandruff, which, between the chunks of leaves and mud, is pretty bad.”
Could add “Shoot replied” either before or after.
Shoot replied, “For your dandruff, which, between the chunks of leaves and mud, is pretty bad.”
May any pain from this experience that remains on any level of existence be healed.
Blessings & Be Well
As always, Dan. your help is so appreciated.
Semper fi,
Jim