I was the son of the late John and Minnie Giorgi who were born in the USA but both sets of my Grand Parents immigrated from Italy through Ellis Island. They came here in search of a better life and to become Americans. I'm very proud of my ancestors even though I never met my Paternal Grand Parents both having died years before I was born.
 
I went to parochial grammar school and graduated from Port Chester H.S. in 1962 spending 4 years in the Drum Line of the H.S. band. I began school to become an X-Ray Technologist in October of 1962 at The Hew York Hospital School of Radiography. After 2 years of school I graduated in October of 1964 and I was one of the 4 from the class that was asked to join the departments staff. I jumped at the chance loving the challenge of working in one of the largest hospitals on the east coast. 10 months later I was drafted into the Army and a year later I was on my way to Vietnam as an individual replacement with orders for the 1st Cav. My orders were changed at the 90th Replacement Battalion in Saigon and I was assigned to the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division which was an isolated task force at the edge of the Cambodian border placed there by General Westmorland to stop the flow of NVA into the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
 
I was wounded on 3 July 1966 earning 2 Purple Hearts being wounded twice on the sane day in the same battle that raged for almost 4 hours! We fought the NVA's 66th Regiment which was made famous in the movie "We Were Soldiers Once" starring Mel Gibson.
 
After the war I went back to my job at NYH where I met my soon to be wife Barbara who after 42 years I'm still happily married to. We have 2 sons Scott and Todd. Todd my youngest is married to my daughter in law Anna Ponieros Giorgi and my first born Scott will marry Laura Ferraro on 11/11 of this year. After 18 total years in X-Ray I was in need of a change in my life due to PTSD although I didn't know or recognize this at the time. All I know is I had to do something more exciting and challenging. They say that once you've been exposed to combat you always are in search of the challenge and excitement that combat offers. I went to school to become a paramedic at Cabrini Medical Center in lower Manhattan and was hired by NYC/EMS after graduation. I started working for them on 6/16/80. Being a paramedic kept me in medicine and gave me that challenge so it was just what I needed at the time. 22 years later and 1 year after nine eleven I had had enough and I'm now retired living in Rye Brook, NY with my wife and family near by.
 
We have a female Basset Hound Chloe who is going on 11 years old this June 21st.

(Scroll down to view the slideshow, hover the mouse over the picture & click 'play')

Picture Explainations:

One is of me being awarded my Purple Heart in my hospital bed at St. Alban's Naval Hospital, and there are a few of a group I played with after the war. There's a lot so you decide which ones you think will work best with what you will be posting. I like them all and I'm including a fairly recent picture of me with my wife Barbara and my 2 sons Scott and Todd.

 I included an article from a Civil Service Newspaper that has the list of when NYC made the Paramedic title a Civil Service position. I was first on that list so essentially I was the first Paramedic in the history of Paramedics in NYC/EMS to be given a Civil Service title! I was very proud of this when you consider how many medics citywide that applied to be on that list and have some job protection. I beat out my close friend and fellow Vietnam Vet Gus Pappas who was a Combat Medic with The Marines earning a Purple Heart. After 20 years in Harlem I left the street to be his aide at the EMS Academy while he completed 30 years on the job!! He never had an aide but told Chief Andy McCracken he would have one for his last year but it had to be me or no one! Medics were not allowed to be aides but Chief McCracken knew toe connection that we had as Vietnam Vets plus he also recognized that I did 20 years on the Ambulance so he made a one time exception.
 
I included when I received the "Pintchik Humanitarian Award." Mr. Pintchik owned a chain of Paint stores throughout the city and went into Cardiac Arrest at a function. An M.D. at the affair pronounced him but when our Medics Carl Tromantona and Kevin Honig arrived they wouldn't accept his pronouncement and they resuscitated him which gave him an additional 3 years with his family. The Pintchik family to show their appreciation and their father's love for the street workers in EMS, hosted the annual awards banquet that EMS held to honor that year's medal recipients. The first Pintchik award was given to an administrator with BRAVO Ambulance Corps in Brooklyn where Dan began his career I believe. EMS was told by the family that they want the award to go to someone who works the Ambulance because that's who their father was closest to. I was the first uniformed person to receive that prestigious award!!!
 
Also included is the EMS Magazine article for an annual competition they held to select the best EMS provider in the country. I was one of the runner ups! There's a small interview I did over the phone with JEMS magazine.

Memorial Day Quotes: 15 Sayings For The Holiday


It's time for Memorial Day quotes with Memorial Day taking place on Monday, May 31, 2012.

Here's a roundup of some of the best Memorial Day quotes and sayings to share with loved ones and honor those who have gone before us.

Feel free to share your favorite or provide your own quotes and tributes in the comments below.

They hover as a cloud of witnesses above this Nation. -Henry Ward Beecher

Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours. -Wallace Bruce

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. -Joseph Campbell

The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree. -Thomas Campbell

The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. - Benjamin Disraeli

Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for,
Is their monument to-day, and for aye. -Thomas Dunn English

For love of country they accepted death... -James A. Garfield

The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children. -William Havard

The dead soldier's silence sings our national anthem. -Aaron Kilbourn

For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. -William Penn

On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation! -Thomas William Parsons

The brave die never, though they sleep in dust:
Their courage nerves a thousand living men. -Minot J. Savage

We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them. -Francis A. Walker

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me. -Lee Greenwood




Monday, May 31, 2010 On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation! ~Thomas William Parsons


Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored. ~Daniel Webster


With the tears a Land hath shed
Their graves should ever be green.
~Thomas Bailey Aldrich


Are they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language? Are they dead that yet act? Are they dead that yet move upon society and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism? ~Henry Ward Beecher


Green sods are all their monuments; and yet it tells
A nobler history than pillared piles,
Or the eternal pyramids.
~James Gates Percival


Is't death to fall for Freedom's right?
He's dead alone who lacks her light!
~Thomas Campbell


For love of country they accepted death... ~James A. Garfield


They fell, but o'er their glorious grave
Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.
~Francis Marion Crawford


Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. ~From a headstone in Ireland


Blow out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!
There's none of these so lonely and poor of old,
But, dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold.
~Rupert Brooke


The brave die never, though they sleep in dust:
Their courage nerves a thousand living men.
~Minot J. Savage


The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example. ~Benjamin Disraeli


And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood


They are dead; but they live in each Patriot's breast,
And their names are engraven on honor's bright crest.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Peace to each manly soul that sleepeth;
Rest to each faithful eye that weepeth...
~Thomas Moore


But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for,
Is their monument to-day, and for aye.
~Thomas Dunn English


And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave. ~Joseph Drake


Perform, then, this one act of remembrance before this Day passes - Remember there is an army of defense and advance that never dies and never surrenders, but is increasingly recruited from the eternal sources of the American spirit and from the generations of American youth. ~W.J. Cameron


How sleep the brave, who sink to rest,
By all their country's wishes blest!
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold,
Returns to deck their hallow'd mould,
She there shall dress a sweeter sod
Than Fancy's feet have ever trod.
By fairy hands their knell is rung,
There Honour comes, a pilgrim gray,
To bless the turf that wraps their clay;
And Freedom shall awhile repair,
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there.
~William Collins


The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree. ~Thomas Campbell

REMEMBERING VETERANS ON MEMORIAL DAY:


--
Sherry Wood 104wood@gmail.com 810.479.2223 www.hub911.com www.essentialnow.com   810.346.1400    

1. Did your background have any bearing on your chosen profession?
My childhood definitely had a bearing on my chosen profession. My family moved to Port Chester, NY when I was entering 1st grade and we moved next door to an M.D. who would become our family doctor. He would go on to have 6 boys and I became best friends with his 2nd oldest Michael who is a doctor himself today! I was in his house on a daily basis and his father ran his practice out of their house converting a few rooms to his office. We were in and out of this space all the time. Mike one Christmas got a Chemistry Set which back than was a great gift for any youngster. Also at that time the movie "Frankenstein" was very popular and we considered ourselves mad scientists! We set up a small lab in the playroom/basement of my house with his Chemistry Set as the main part. I also was the first male born into an all female Italian family so being a novelty I was shared with my aunts and uncles who all wanted to help in bringing me up. My mother had some sort of nervous condition so they all thought it would be good to give her some time to relax. On weekends I visited my aunt and uncle who lived on the grounds of a private girl's school in Greenwich, Ct. My uncle was their chief custodian and I would accompany him as he did his chores throughout the school. One day while in the Science Lab I asked if I could have some flasks and beakers to add to our lab at my house. So with that Mike and I had a nice set up along with odds and ends we aquired from his dad's office. My uncle was also a volunteer fireman and he would take me to the firehouse where I was allowed to climb all over the trucks, turn on the lights and blow the sirens. This was my first exposure to emergency vehicles and I feel that it sparked interest in me and I always had a thing for anything with a light and siren on it!! For some unknown reason I hated seeing anyone hurt so as a youngster it always seemed to be me who stepped from the crowd to offer help to any playmate who fell and skinned an elbow or knee. I would be the one to take control assuring them that everything was going to be allright. I would either help them home to their mother or if at school into the school nurse. It got to where if someone got hurt my friends would seek me out to come and help which I did gladly and always liked the way I felt when I was able to help someone. After graduating from H.S. I still hadn't decided on what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I was interested in something in the medical field but because I screwed around while in school becoming a doctor was out of the question and becoming a male nurse which there were very few of didn't appeal to me. Back than most male nurses did private duty post op care and this wasn't what I was looking for. My father told me that until I decided I would go to work with him and learn a trade. He was a mason/bricklayer/laborer and after a few weeks of this torture I decided to do what was suggested to me as something to consider and I applied to become and X-Ray Technician in the school at New York Hospital which was a 2 year program. I was accepted, and after graduating from school I was one of the four graduates asked to join the department's staff. I worked for 10 months until I was drafted and after my military service returned to work in this profession up until I became a paramedic some 18 years later!

2. How many years have you been a paramedic? 
I spent a total of 22 years as a paramedic. The first 20 on the ambulance in Harlem and Manhattan North. The last 2 were at the EMS Academy where I was aide to the Chief who ran the Academy plus I was becoming an instructor. Nine Eleven hit while I was there and I took early retirement a year later never wanting to experience anything like that ever again! 

3. What is the most gratifying thing you have ever been through as a paramedic?
When one spends 20 years on a paramedic ambulance in an area like I worked in it's almost impossible to choose one thing that I could call the "Most Gratifying!" There were so many calls that I was involved in that were special. Many of them making the news. One summer evening a News Crew was following us around I guess looking for a story they could put on the late evening news. We went on a shooting in McDonald's where an employee was shot behind the counter. They caught me as i leaped over the counter to get to our patient and my wife who was getting our boys ready for bed yelled,"That was your father!" As she saw me jumping over the counter! Sometimes it's the simplest calls that bring the most satisfaction. I always loved it when we had what we recognized as a diabetic who's blood sugar was low causing them to be unconscious. Knowing that we could easily reverse this I took great pleasure assuring the family that their loved one would soon be talking to them. Watching them smile and seeing the relief in their faces as our patient woke up and began to talk to them will always be one of my favorite medic moments!

4. Describe a memorable experience that you have had on the job?
Unfortunately on this job memorable experiences are not always pleasurable. Here are some examples. One day I was given a cigar by a Harlem Hospital Police Officer who's wife had just given birth to a son. That evening I pronounced his oldest son who was struck and killed by a speeding car behind The Polo Grounds Projects where they lived! Or the little baby boy lying on his mother's bed who had obviously been dead for some time. I asked when he died and she said hours ago! I asked why she hadn't called us sooner so we maybe could have saved him she responded saying that she wanted to spend some time with him before we took him away. And she said we couldn't have saved him because he had birth defects. I asked who told her this and she said a woman in her building! I was told by the D.A. months later that she starved the baby to death! Unpleasant memories are part of the job and there seems to be more bad ones than good. To take a line from the T.V. show M.A.S.H. "Rule#1 is patients die. and Rule # 2 is EMT's and Paramedics no matter how hard they try can't change Rule # 1!!!

5. What would be your advice to any up and coming paramedics?
That's easy! Always use The "KISS" principle. Keep It Simple Stupid. More paramedics get themselves in trouble because they try to do too much and over treat! There are going to be situations when the call will be bigger than you and your partner and wasting time trying to get an I.V. line that you're not going to get is just stupid. You will never be critizied for making a transport decision and getting your patient to the hospital where on the other hand you will be brought to task for spending too much time on the scene. NYC/EMS created the 20 minute rule where after 20 minutes crews had to make contact with Telemetry/Medical Control to discuss with them why they were still on the scene after 20 minutes. Always do what you can and never withold treatment but recognize when it's time to get in the wind! We had a saying in EMS and if you went by it you would never get in a jam. It was called..."Just Do The Right Thing." Pretty simple huh?! Again...The "KISS" principle.

6. How many of your partners have gone on to even greater success, after being your partner? 
Many! I have a former partner who is a lawyer in Philadelphia. Do you believe that? A Phidelphia Lawyer!! One of my partners was an M.D. when he worked with me but coming from Ecquador he didn't have command of the English language enough to pass his medical boards. So while he was honing his English he had to support his family so he became a paramedic. Dr. Ruben Altimarino is an Emergency Care Physician running an E.R in a Bronx Hospital! Dan Sussman a P.A. all but runs the E.R. at St. Lukes Hospital in Manhattan. Gideon Zahler, Steve Baker are also P.A.'s And others have gone on to careers in the Police Department or Fire. While others have been promoted in EMS up to the rank of Chief! So I'm proud to say that many of my former partners and co-workers have all been very successful! 

7. What would you have done if you hadn't of became a paramedic?
Another easy question. I became involved in the Medical Profession because I wanted to have something to fall back on that I could always depend on. Because I knew that my other love was far too unpredictable! I began playing Drums when I was around 4 years old my mother and father told me. I played all my life joining my first Rock and Roll band in 1960. I played right up until Uncle Sam came calling and was on my way to what I believed was going to be a great career in music. God gave me a gift! But than Vietnam got in the way. I played when I got back but I could tell immediately that something was different. What came so naturally to me was now a struggle. So much so that I had to bring 4 shirts to a gig because I was sweating so much. I also had to set up fans to blow air on myself as I played. I stopped playing for years because I wasn't the same musician I was before getting wounded. But because of the deep love that I have for music and playing drums I never gave up trying to get back what I once had and I'm happy to say that I'm again playing and I feel that my drumming is as good as it ever was if not better. So the obvious answer is I would have been a professional Drummer.

8. What did you like most about your job? Least?
I liked most being involved in calls that required paramedics. Calls that we could make a difference in our patient's current condition hopefully. I also liked being in control of the situation. When it's a medical call that requires the services of what it is we do than we are in charge of what happens to the patient. I liked being the one who made those decisions. I liked least what just about everyone says. The B.S. and there is an endless amount of that to go around. Whether it's supervision breaking your you know what over nonsense, or the constant abuse by the public that you're serving the B.S. never seems to stop. The stress on this job is so thick you can cut it with a knife. PD and Fire all get relief during their tours of duty. If a cop makes an arrest he's out of the system while they process their arrest. If a Fire Company returns from a fire they get to put their truck back in shape while another company covers for them while they do what's necessary. Not so in EMS. Most of the time there are too few units in the system to cover the amount of calls so you're always being prodded to get back in service because dispatch is "Holding" and they need you. Trust me if you have a child die in your presence a little time to collect your self would be nice but that doesn't happen. Remove most of the B.S. and this could be the greatest job ever! 9. What was a typical day like? Sign in, get your gear from your locker, sign out your radios and controlled substances, tell Central you're not ready to accept an assignment because you haven't even seen your vehicle yet and you don't know if it has all of it's tires! Finally give up and take the job stating that you're doing so on an unchecked vehicle. After the call try to get that first cup of coffee that will soon be cold before you can finish it because there's another job waiting for you! And so goes the tour, running from job to job in everyone's area along with your own!! Eating cold pizza or Chinese food while your partner drives like mad to your next assignment. Shootings, Stabbings, OD's, Cardiac Arrests, Pedestrians Struck, Patients with the Flu who have been sick for a week but can't stand it any longer and now want to go to the hospital. Going in for Tour change only to find out that your relief has banged in sick and the both of you are stuck for another minimum of 4 hours. The Tour Commander wants 6 but you tell them they'll get 4 and not a minute more. Being threatened with charhes for leaving 2 hours early and telling the supervisor to spell your name right on the charge package! Driving home with the radio blaring and the window open to try to stay awake while you drive your exhausted body home! And you get to do it all over again in 12 hours!

9. What was a typical day like?
Sign in, get your gear from your locker, sign out your radios and controlled substances, tell Central you're not ready to accept an assignment because you haven't even seen your vehicle yet and you don't know if it has all of it's tires! Finally give up and take the job stating that you're doing so on an unchecked vehicle. After the call try to get that first cup of coffee that will soon be cold before you can finish it because there's another job waiting for you! And so goes the tour, running from job to job in everyone's area along with your own!! Eating cold pizza or Chinese food while your partner drives like mad to your next assignment. Shootings, Stabbings, OD's, Cardiac Arrests, Pedestrians Struck, Patients with the Flu who have been sick for a week but can't stand it any longer and now want to go to the hospital. Going in for Tour change only to find out that your relief has banged in sick and the both of you are stuck for another minimum of 4 hours. The Tour Commander wants 6 but you tell them they'll get 4 and not a minute more. Being threatened with charhes for leaving 2 hours early and telling the supervisor to spell your name right on the charge package! Driving home with the radio blaring and the window open to try to stay awake while you drive your exhausted body home! And you get to do it all over again in 12 hours!

10. Dan Heidt claims to have learned from the best and thus became the best. He calls you his Godfather of EMS. How would you explain Dan Heidt the unique dichotomy? His evolution from a shunned rookie to the status given him by his senior partners as true Harlem medic.
I'm honored that Dan speaks of me so highly. I've often told him that he and I met at the wrong time. When he came to Harlem I had had just about all I could stand while working for EMS. I was out of patience and Dan reminded me of when I first came on the job. Like myself he wanted to be on every call and hopefully make a difference. I wanted to do just enough to get through a tour alive and go home to my family. So we were a mis-match. He wanted to be Harlem Medic so badly and he wanted to learn from who he felt were best.I was the last link to the original Harlem Medics having worked and learned from the ones who did it here first and did it in style.So he wanted to absorb everything he could from me I guess. I told him that he had to temper his enthusiasm because as hard of a worker that he was, and possessing above average skills and knowledge, what he wanted was going to take time. Because experience which is probably the most important aspect of our job doesn't come over night. You have to put in the time! Being agressive can sometimes scare people and I feel this is what happened in Dan's case. All he wanted to do was help his patients, be a good partner, work his tail off like most Harlem EMS did/does, and become  Harlem Paramedic. I think those are admirable traits!! Once people found out Dan was writing a book about the job, people that wouldn't give him the time of day are suddenly his best friends! I've told many paramedics who said they were Harlem Medics that there are Harlem Medics and Medics that are working in Harlem. There's a difference and you're the latter! If anyone can bestow the title of "Harlem Medic" on anyone I feel it's me seeing that I was the Harlem Senior Medic for 11 years! No one has been in that unofficial title longer than I was so because of his hard work, dedication, and love for his station, area, and co-workers I dubbed Dan a "Harlem Medic." Everyone isn't perfect, we all have our faults.

11. Is there anything that I haven't asked you, that you would like to add?
After I finish "Harlem Knights" the book Dan and I are working on I hope to publish a book of tips that I suggest paramedics use that I used. Some were taught to me by the first Harlem Paramedics and some i thought of myself. There the things that are not taught in class. Things that are not part of the required curriculum! The street is very different from the controlled environment of the classroom!! So as hard as they try to duplicate what a typical call will be like it can never be like it is out of the classroom when all hell is breaking loose! How can you recreate a family going berserk because their loved one lays dying on the kitchen floor and you didn't get there fast enough to please them?! It simply can't be done so I have around 50 tips and suggestions that I felt made me the paramedic I was. Here's a small example: Look the part! The public has an impression of what our profession should look like. Think about it. TV shows always show nurses and doctors usually dressed in white, everything is sparkling clean, it's all neat and orderly even when they try to make it chaotic! So when you show up 20 minutes after they called for your help, looking like you slept in your uniform that has what you ate for the last 2 days all over it, you're already starting out with 2 strikes against you. Wear a clean uniform, shine your shoes/boots, shave if your a man and for God's sake use deodorant! Sounds stupid right?! Well I had a partner that I had to ask to please use a different deodorant because he smelled that bad! And you're going to take care of someone's loved one and you smell! Plus you share the cab of an ambulance with your partners so personal hygiene is no bigger than in the medical profession. That's what the book will be about should I ever get it into print.

12. What is your favorite dinner & what do you like to drink with it?
 I love Italian food! But I also love any kind of food as long as it's cooked and prepared well! I'm fortunate because my wife Barbara is a great cook! You've no doubt heard the saying that, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!" Nothing could be more true. She makes sauce that's as good as my late mother's and that's saying something! I can't pick any one food that's my favorite. I love Pasta and my best friend is a Doctor who practices in Maine. He's a Radiologist that I met when I worked in X-Ray. He's also my youngest son's God Father. He comes from a family of 9 having been raised in Brooklyn. He's a fantastic cook. He and his wife who's one of my wife's best friends live on a 275 acre farm in rural Maine. Can you imagine what it's like when we visit them? We have our traditional Lobster feast. They have a huge counter in the center of their kitchen and we spread news papers over everything and there's lobster shells flying everywhere! The corn on the cob form Beth's Farm down the road (about 5 miles) is to die for!! Peter makes Pasta every night and I'm not talking just sauce! He has recipes that are his own that are out of this world!! You can put almost anything over Pasta and if you start with one of those old, black, iron frying pans and use garlic and oil it will taste good. Saute zucchini sliced thin until it's soft and golden brown than serve it over linguini. Sprinkle in a few pignolli nuts, grated parmesan cheese, garlic bread on the side and a glass of Pinot Grigio and you have a meal fit for a king!! I also love anything cooked on an outdoor grille. I grille all year long. Nothing is better than a great steak grilled in February with a nice salad and garlic bread. That started when I came home from the hospital after returning from Vietnam. It was one of my  weekends home and it was in the middle of winter. I had lost 40 pounds and my parents were trying to fatten me up so they would cook anything I wanted. My late father asked me what I wanted that Saturday night and I said I could go for a nice steak and salad! My Dad goes outside and returns with a small hibachi that he places in the fireplace in our living room. A little while later I was chowing down on sirloin steak, salad with oil and vinegar, and garlic bread. Yum, Yum!!! So as you can see I love to eat so I can't I'm sorry to say answer your question that easily.

The first blog in the series about Tom Giorgi...  "Vietnam War Hero to Senior Harlem Media Medic."

This is some background that I will be posting...

'The Battle' - July 3, 1966


03 July 66 

As I Remember It

by Thomas J. Giorgi USA Retired

Bravo Company 1/35th Infantry Regiment


After a brief period spent at base camp we were back out on Operation Paul Revere on or about 15June66. After about 2 weeks humping the hills looking for "Charlie" we were told we would be securing a portion of the BN. H.Q. perimeter. This was supposed to last about a week so when I dug my foxhole I made it, along with our hooch, a very comfortable position.

We weren’t there but a couple of days when the word came down that we would be moving out that evening to hook up with the rest of the Company. This news came right after chow so we were told to get ready to move out ASAP with darkness only a few hours away.

As I remember we moved out about 1830 hrs. Everyone was cursing because we were looking forward to staying put for a week without constantly being on the move. We walked for 2 and ½ hours without stopping with an occasional pause for the point to get its compass bearings. A great deal of this ground pounding was done through ankle and knee deep mud which made the trip all the more maddening. We arrived at the company’s location around 2100 hrs just as it was getting dark.

The next day we were split up into four man positions securing a tank trail that ¾ Cav. was using to move rapidly across our A.O. Our M-60 was in the last position with the Lt. along with a 90mm recoilless rifle that was manned by Paul Solis and someone else who I can’t remember. As I recall this was 2July66. That evening one of our positions spotted a small group of NVA walking along the tank trail. I believe there were 5 to 7 of them. The four man positions did not know what was behind the first group so with help not too close by they were reluctant to open up on them.

This infuriated Lt. Sturdivandt and he gave orders for the next outpost to open up the moment they saw them. They too let them pass. Once again the Lt. went ballistic. He instructed us to set up the 60 pointed at the crest in the trail and that we were going to annihilate them the moment they came over the ridge. Well they must have veered off the trail because we never saw them. The Lt. got the whole company along with ¾ Cav together and we searched the area for most of the night with negative results.

We returned to our positions exhausted and after figuring out the remaining guard duty, dropped quickly off to sleep.**

On the morning of 3July66 we were awakened at 6A.M. by Lt. Sturdivandt informing us that we were continuing the search so eat something quick because we were moving out soon. The platoon was going to re-group at the point on the trail where the NVA were first spotted. When we all got there the Lt. split us up in to two groups of 22 each. He would take a group west toward Cambodia and the other group would search in another direction. Because he was going toward Cambodia he thought it would be best if he had both M-60’s with him.

As we came to the end of the tank trail we moved into a heavily wooded area where we found a trail that went west and then turned south. While walking on this trail we passed another trail that headed east. After a while the trail ended so we decided to go back and investigate the east bound trail. We were only on this trail when suddenly we had entered what appeared to be an enemy base camp.

We spilt up and searched the camp and we re-assembled and agreed that it was between Bn. and Co. size. We all also agreed that we did not like the feeling we were getting from this location. It was too quiet. We all felt that we had no business being here and that it would be a good idea if we left quickly. It was close to noon so the consensus of opinion was to go somewhere, heat and eat some C-rats and continue the search after chow.

We formed a column and our 60 was bringing up the rear with the other 60 up at the front of the patrol. We hadn’t gone but a few steps when the rounds started popping. Thinking we had found the ones we were looking for we figured we had them outnumbered and would soon have them right where we wanted them. Boy were we wrong.

Charlie sent in a few to lure us out into the ambush that they had prepared for us. It wasn’t long before they slammed the door shut and had us completely surrounded.

We didn’t know this right away.

As we were at the rear of the column Sgt. Garcia hustled us up on line with the rest of the squad who were assaulting to our front. I think we were up too far because they were able to flank us with ease. "Smitty" and I were moving, dropping and firing the 60 every few seconds. Every time "Smitty" said that he had got one I kept encouraging him.

We settled behind a good size tree and I continued to feed the gun with ammo as "Smitty" kept the 60 humming. I looked to my left and I saw Sgt. Garcia lying face down next to a foxhole. I informed "Smitty" that I was going to see if I could help him. I grabbed my shotgun and ran to the foxhole and jumped in. I saw a few NVA and I shot at them while I was calling for the medic to come and assist the Sarge.I took out my Buck knife and cut open his jungle fatigue shirt and exposed what looked like a gun shot wound in his left upper back. I had no way of determining whether this was an exit or entrance wound so I took out my first aid pouch removed the bandage and placed it over the wound. He was too big to turn over to check for more wounds, plus I was shooting my shotgun at every movement I saw in front of our position.

I kept screaming for the medic who I figured was treating other wounded men from our patrol. When Brockington got to us I asked for his M-16 so that I could provide some cover fire while he worked on Sgt. Garcia. I switched to semi-auto to conserve rounds and began firing single shots across the front of our position to keep the NVA from firing at the medic and the Sarge.

After the 20th round I dropped back down into the foxhole to change magazines. They must have been counting because the moment I stopped firing an AW burst came in and killed both Brockington and Garcia.

At this instant I saw a figure moving to my left. I spun around and fired 2 rounds at him. I didn’t know if I hit him so I lobbed a grenade in his direction. I looked around but saw nothing. "Smitty" was calling for me to come join him and Colette so we could figure out what the hell was going on and what we could do about it. I fired off a magazine from the 16 and grabbed my shotgun and crawled back to where "Smitty" and Colette were.

We all knew we had been surrounded and were trying to figure something out when I saw an NVA crawling up on our position. I told everyone not to move that I saw one. "Smitty" quickly said to shoot him. The one I saw from the foxhole must have eluded me because just as I prepared to shoot the NVA I heard a round go off and a split second later I was screaming in pain. My left lower back felt like it was hit by a train and my entire body burned like hell.

Lying in the prone position and being shot from my right rear, the round entered my right buttock and traveled diagonally through my pelvis missing my lower spine by less than an inch. I rolled onto my back and lost control of my arms and legs. I was thrashing and screaming that I had been hit.

"Smitty" grabbed me and rolled me back onto my stomach. He and Colette removed my web gear and loosened my belt so they could have better access to my wound. There was a gaping hole in my lower back that was an exit wound that was the size of a big lemon. "Smitty cut off a hunk of his T-shirt and stuffed it into the hole. After a while I calmed down and the first thing I did was wiggle my feet and toes. When they worked I felt a little better.

I had no idea whether I got the shot off or not and I had no idea where my weapon was. The doctors’ told me weeks later that the round caused significant shock to my spinal cord and that is why the pain was so excruciating and any movement only caused the pain to intensify. I was lucky I was again told. If the bullet hit the spine I probably would have been paralyzed and if it hit the abdominal aorta I would have bled to death in about 30 seconds.

Shortly after that "Smitty" and Colette went off to try to gather the valuables, dog tags, and weapons of the men who were KIA. While they were gone I must have been slipping in and out of consciousness as I laid there with my face in the dirt. I was awakened to the sounds of Vietnamese voices who sounded like they were right on top of me. I stayed as still as possible so that they thought I was dead. I thought of being dragged off and made a POW.

A few moments later the voices ceased and I hoped that "Smitty" would return fast.

After "Smitty and Colette left me they got as far as RTO Billy Lewis, who "Smitty" was very close to because they were Arkansas "Home boys", and Sgt. David R. Stone. When "Smitty" saw Sgt. Stone sitting against a tree KIA he lost it and began to cry uncontrollably. Colette slapped him in the face and told him to "snap out of it, now is not the time for grieving." "Smitty" composed himself and returned to my position a short time later to check up on me and to tell me who had been killed.

When "Smitty" began to tell me who he saw that was dead I began to cry. I knew of Garcia and Brockington and had crawled passed Hatchett on my way to hook up with "Smitty" and Colette. So when he told me of the others it was just too much for me to handle and I started to cry. But I was brought back to reality real fast when "Smitty" said these next few words.

"They stole the medic’s bag, our camera, and I see they got your Buck knife off of your web gear."

I couldn’t grasp what he was telling me. But when I raised my head and looked to my right I saw my web gear and the missing Buck knife and sheath. Then it dawned on me. When I heard those voices so close to me, one of them must have been stealing my knife. They were right on top of me. If I so much as twitched I probably would have been finished off with my own knife.

Occasionally I would raise my head and look around to see if the rest of the company had found us yet. All along, the artillery rounds kept dropping on top of our position and the sound of helicopter gun ships overhead continued. Plus the monsoon rains kept drenching us on and off all afternoon. Also the artillery rounds were causing large trees to come crashing down all around our position.

Things would quiet down for a while and I thought the NVA had taken off. Then someone would moan or cry out for the medic and a burst from an AW would silence them for good. All day I kept pleading with them to be quiet if they could.

"The medic is dead so don’t call out for him, he isn’t coming to help you."

These poor guys either didn’t hear me as I was talking in whispers or they couldn’t comprehend what I was telling them. The sound of them crying out as they were hit again and again has haunted me for the past 39 years. I will never forget those awful, agonizing cries.

And then it happened. I saw John Dewey who I knew was with the other half of the platoon. If he was here, there had to be others.

There were.

Next I saw Haze Howard the other medic who was with their unit. I called to him and when he came to me I begged him for a shot of morphine. I had been in agonizing pain for hours and couldn’t stand it a moment longer. As he was preparing to give me the injection he was shot in the arm and he now had become a wounded soldier like me and some of the remaining original 22 men who had made the initial contact.

Out of those 22, 15 had been killed and out of the remaining 7, 4 had been wounded. I didn’t know it but "Smitty" had been shot in the arm. Sgt. Totten our FO had also been wounded in the arm by fragmentation from an enemy grenade he was throwing back at the NVA. His RTO PFC Isaac Quick had been wounded as well. PFC Booker T. McCoy would later succumb to his injuries on 7Jul66 at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. To my knowledge SP4 Colette was wounded later in the day perhaps while we were pulling out. He was shot in the upper leg.

Dewey had come over to check on me and I asked where the others were. He said that they were coming. They fought there way in with 5 or 6 APC’s from ¾ Cav and they were able to break the enemy encirclement. When I saw the armor my spirits soared. I quickly figured out the area we were in was too tight to bring in tanks but the sight of the APC’s was good enough.

Ha Ha Charlie here’s where you get your butt kicked big time.

Wait a minute. What the hell is going on here? He’s not running for his life, he’s staying put and fighting all the harder.

I couldn’t believe it. The crap hit the fan worse than it had all day. I saw an enemy machine gun crew brazenly out in the open firing at will. I couldn’t believe my eyes. They were fanatical. Like they didn’t care one bit that we had armor.

The machine gun crew didn’t last too long. Our M-79 man Jimmy Morgan dropped a well placed round right in the middle of them and took them out. But it kept up. Why?

It was the most chaotic scene I have ever witnessed in my life. I was scared and felt I would never see another day. I cried when I thought of my parents reading the telegram announcing that I had been killed in action.

About 4 of the PC’s had formed a wall and most of our fighting was coming from there. One of the other PC’s had begun working its way toward the enemy trying to collect the wounded. One stopped about 25 yards from my position and had begun taking on wounded men. I yelled for them to come and get me but the noise was too loud and no one heard me.

"What about me?"

Just then it happened.

"BOOM!!!"

At first I thought they had lobbed a grenade into the open top of the PC. "Wow, thank God I didn’t make it on to that PC."

Behind me I heard another PC and I turned on my belly to investigate. Another PC was loading wounded. I screamed as loud as I could for someone to come and get me but no one could as they too were badly wounded. These were men from the first PC that had been hit plus wounded men from the rescue group that had to endure the NVA’s fanatical stand.

If I was going to get on that PC I had to somehow get to it some 15 yards away. So I began to crawl on my belly. Every move caused a level of pain I had never felt before. But I had to get there before it pulled out without me. Finally I made it to the rear door of the PC. Guys who were sitting on the floor of the vehicle reached out and pulled me in by the seat of my pants.

I had no idea but "Smitty" who had been on the first one was also on this one as well. I was on the floor on my belly. The vehicle was loaded with wounded. From the bottom to the open top there were wounded GI"s.

We started moving and than the APC got hit causing a tremendous explosion.

Everyone got out of the track and I was alone on the floor. That’s when I felt the heat. The sucker was on fire. My guess was the fuel tank got hit. I also looked down and saw a piece of shrapnel sticking out of my inner thigh. I pulled this out and determined that if I didn’t get up and out I was going to cook in this death trap.

So with all my strength I stood up. My pants that had been loosened by "Smitty" and Colette earlier in the day dropped down to my jungle boots. I waddled over to the doorway, covered my face with my right arm and jumped out through the fire. My body quickly caught fire so I knew enough to drop to the ground and began rolling back and forth while I slapped at the flames burning my legs. Fortunately the monsoon rains left my uniform soaking wet or I would have been burned worse than 25 to 30 % of my body.

After I had the fire out I rolled onto my belly and I realized that I was un-armed. What was I going to do if I saw one?

Then I heard, "Psst. Psst".

I looked and there about 20 yards away was Ray Buzzard one of the guys from one of the other platoons. He said for me to crawl over to him. When I got to him he told me to crawl onto his back. With me on his back he crawled the both of us over to where the remaining PC’s had formed a wall of defense.

Once we were there the men tried to comfort me and got me ready to be loaded onto a third APC for a removal attempt. With a belt under my arms two men dragged me over to the rear of a PC and loaded me onto it. On this one there were wounded men who had been on the two previous ones that had been hit. We were packed in it like sardines.

The driver was conferring with the unit commander on his radio as to the best way to leave the area. We were all pretty tense so in not so kind words we told him to just get this thing moving. He did so and we began to move. Slowly at first. Then a little faster. And now faster still.

As we moved through the enemy base camp our APC was crunching over saplings as it roared through. As we went, the gooks were peppering the track with AW fire. Men who were lying on the open top of the vehicle were being shot again and again. There screams reverberating through the vehicle and my ears.

"My God leave them the alone they’ve been shot enough."

This one was the lucky one I guess because we made it out into a large clearing that would make a perfect LZ for the choppers to come and take us away from this insanity. The men began removing the wounded and lining us up as we awaited the dust off choppers. Sgt. Wong came over to check on me and I asked him for a cigarette which he lit for me.

As I lay there smoking it I looked up and saw the "Fast Movers" as they descended from the sky to drop their load on the remaining NVA after the last Americans had withdrawn to the safety of the LZ. I clapped and cheered and I was then lifted and carried to a waiting chopper.

It lifted off and I wondered what’s next.

After a short flight we landed at the BN Aid station. As I was being carried into the tent I saw the Chaplain and First Sgt. DeRado standing at the entrance. They followed me to the exam table they placed me on and asked me what happened.

I began to tell them what a mess it was and began to name my dead comrades. After 3 or 4 names I got so choked up I couldn’t speak. The Chaplain placed his hand on my shoulder and they left me so the medical staff could assess my injuries.

A stretcher was placed on the floor next to my exam table. I looked down and it was Sgt. Moore my friend from NY. He was two weeks short and was packing it in after 10 years.

"We made it MO."

"Yeah Giorgi we made it."

From there it was on to Brigade hospital and than to the 85th EVAC at Qui Nhon.

The next day, July 4th, Sgt. Totten who was walking wounded came by my bed to tell me what he had learned about the previous day.

Before he could speak I asked him how Sgt. Moore was.

He told me that he had died during the night.

Again I cried.

He left me and, the next day, before I left for Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, he again came by to fill me in. He was told that we had been up against a Bn of NVA regulars who had possibly just gotten back from a re-supply and maybe even an R&R. They were ready to fight and go the distance. The Brigade commander went into the area to get a body count and to retrieve all America dead and our equipment. The body count I was told was well over 125.

That afternoon I left for Clark and from there back to the "World."

My question is why is so little said about that day? It was one of the biggest battles the Regiment was involved in during their time in country. Was their base camp in Cambodia where so many of them were? If there were reports of large enemy troop movement in the area why were we operating with such a small amount of men? I want some answers. I think that "Smitty", Colette, Quick, Sgt. Totten and the others that fought there and lived through that day all deserve some answers. The question is will we ever get them?

Respectfully prepared and submitted with the help and contributions of my very good friend and comrade in arms James F. Smith of Star City Arkansas.

  - Tom Giorgi