Almost every Marine who spent time in Vietnam has heard the cry, "Corpsman Up !!!!" The circumstances varied widely, but the result was a constant. A U.S. Navy Corpsman, wearing the same dirty, torn, and smelly green utilities worn by his Marine brothers and "armed" with his B-1 medical kit, went to the aid of wounded Marines. Usually under enemy fire, these "angels in green" performed lifesaving miracles with complete disregard for their own safety.

These FMF (Fleet Marine Force) Corpsmen were something special to us Marines. Although they took their fair share of kidding and good-natured harassment, they were in every sense of the word a fellow Marine. They took the same chances, lived in the same mud-filled hole, ate the same cold C-rations as Marine grunts. Many of them share the same space on The Wall as the men they tried to save.

Like their brave Army medic counterparts, the Corpsman was a special breed and developed skills that made them invaluable to field operations large and small. Many of our corpsmen became full-fledged members of our grunt squads and reconnaissance teams, filling in for their Marine buddies whenever and whereever needed.

A great many of us made it home because of a Corpsman. We will never forget them.