Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I know most of you don't golf, but ...

... you really need to read this column by David Feherty.

Soldiering On

Feherty is the razor-witted Irish golf commentator - and honcho of a golf version of the Bob Hope USO show. Besides admiring his humor and writing style, I love the man for his contribution to the troops.

Read the column, and you'll love Feherty, too.

That is just great. Thanks for sharing!

Btw, I love golf, and am pretty good at it. Mid 80's - low handicap (like I like my women)

I've always liked Feherty & I saw some of this when it happened.

Not a big TW fan, but I'll give him a lot of credit for his involvement too.

A daunting job to try to give those soldiers back a little of their humanity.

MM

I am right in the middle of reading Lewis Puller, Jr's book FORTUNATE SON. He was the son of the famous Chesty Puller, most decorated Marine in history.
Of course, he felt he had to follow in his father's footsteps and Chesty was rightly proud when his only son joined the Corps. Almost 3 months into commanding a platoon in Vietnam Fall of 1968, he detonated a 155 Howitzer booby trapped shell. Seems several NVA were running at him, he got off one round and his M16 jammed, not that uncommon then. He headed for the hill literally where the company CP was and tripped the shell. They were just beginning a blocking action as ROK troops swept a ville.

He lost both legs almost up to his groin, parts of his buttocks, parts of his hands, 2/3's of his stomach, and barely survived and then the beginning of numerous surgeries and months of hospitalization, horrid pain, vomiting, too much to detail here. His wife had their first child, Lewis Puller, III while he was in the hospital of whom Chesty was really proud about, but Chesty convulsed in tears on seeing his son mangled in the hospital the first time. He certainly had seen his share of dead men and mangled men in Korea, WW II, Nicaraugua, etc.

Lewis, Jr committed suicide in 93. He had become an alcohlic, but he semed to drink alot through college, and the Corps.
He freely admits attitude has to change, bitternes, and frustration in the beginning, though natural and expected have to make way for more hard work and suffering, a sense of humor, for the surgeries and rehab than normal people could comprehend. His road was horrible and the paralyzed, quad, and para, I cannot say was not worse but Lewis, Jr did retain sexual function which so most of them lost.

I am sure he would freak out out all the amputees from Iraq. A good friend showed up later in the hospital, having lost the same. Friends from college would break down crying on seeing his condition. He only weighed 60 pounds.

Just before his injury in Vietnam, he had denied a man who had saved his life earlier a Medivac out. Times were hard and he thought he was malingering to get out of the bush, complaining of a headache, dizzines. Through the night in his foxhole, he moaned, then went into convulsions from time to time. Some men in the platoon wanted to practicaly kill him as he was giving away their position for VC mortars. Puller still thought he might be faking. Come sunup, he called a Medivac, and later that night was told the man had died. Never found out the reason but plenty of men died in Nam for strange reasons and many were trying to get out of the bush.

Later, a fire tream leader wrote him several months into his hospitalization saying he had tracked several VC blood trails into a paddy and finished all off for Pullers' platoons' injuries. Puller now being back into civilization was horrified although he had done similar while there. The Nam-one day was an eternity-and folks got killing and revenge deep down inside and the freaking heat, insects, C Rats, no sleep, other humiliations didn't help.

You rarely ever saw these vets out in public. I think most just got tired of the staring.