Well it's 4 AM, I've been sitting here staring at the computer for over and hour. Wife kicked me out of the bedroom around 2 something for yelling in my sleep. I had the same dream twice, and she woke me up both times. The funny part is that after I was released from the hospital in Germany in 1983, I seldom thought about it, and never had dreams about it. Until last night. Guess I need to go see the people at the VA today, but you know there are young people that need to do that a lot more than I do. They have seen and done so much more than I did.
I think it was something that was brought on by a conversation yesterday at the range. After I finished sighting in a new rifle I was sitting having a capachino with some other retirees. A retired Army guy came up and sat down. We were talking about rifles, and things we had used in the past. This Army retiree started talking about the guns he used in the Army. Then he started bragging about the things he did in Beirut in 1983. Only the things he is talking about and the way he describes Beirut is not the way I remember it in 1983. I never said any thing but I knew and so did some of the other guys, that this fellow was feeding us all a line of bull.
But it got me to thinking about things I had not thought about in 27 years. mainly about Charlie, a young Marine who had taken a shot to the chest. Charlie was in a stretcher across the plane from me, and they were working on him feverishly. I remember opening my eyes and a doctor standing there and a nurse said she had the bleeding under control, a vacuum pump in place and I was stable. I would be good till we got to Germany. Charlie looked at me and winked, with a big smile on his face. The doctor turned around and went to work on Charlie. Charlie looked up at the doctor. I started fading out, but I remember the nurse saying, "Doctor, Charlie is no longer with us" Then repeating it louder. Next thing I knew I was in Germany.
In my dream I yelled for Charlie to wake up. I unhooked the straps holding me down. Pulled out the tubes and wires attached to me. Crossed the aisle and started shaking Charlie yelling for him to wake up. That's When the wife woke me up and said to stop yelling. Now I've been sitting here crying for two hours. Funny how something like that can bother you so many years later. Two of us with chest injuries, hanging by a thread. The older man's thread held, the younger man's did not. I was 34 at the time, I would guess Charlie was about 19.