Family History - Medic with a Gun

Medic with a Gun

(written some time ago - in 2006)

Grandpa Stones – Story 1

As told by Larry

I remember Dad telling this story.

In the Marines, Dad played in the Marine Band. He was a percussionist, meaning he played the drums. Members of the band were not supposed to be combatants in the field of duty, so he was assigned as a stretcher bearer for the medics.

While serving in the Pacific during World War II, he was called upon to go out with another bearer to pick up a wounded soldier and take him back to the hospital. While carrying him back, they were hit by a mortar round. Dad took some shrapnel in his thigh but his fellow bearer was hurt pretty badly. The solution to the problem was that, while injured, Dad and the man they went out to carry back, put the more seriously injured stretcher bearer on the stretcher and carried him back. Dad was pretty upset that he had been put in harms way for a man who was able to help carry the stretcher. Dad always said he was glad that stretcher bearers weren’t supposed to carry guns, because if he had one right then, he would have shot that guy just to make his trip worth while.

Notes to the story:

Even though stretcher bearers were not supposed to carry guns, most of the time Dad did. He said it just wasn’t safe without it. Stretcher bearers were also supposed to wear Red Cross vests. He said they never did because they were just targets. If you could shoot a stretcher bearer, then they had to send out even more people to pick up the original casualty and the stretcher bearer that was shot.

As far as his threat to shoot the guy. He probably wouldn’t have done it, but he could have. Dad had a marksman medal from the Marines.

Some of the shrapnel Dad took on that trip was never removed. He carried it all the rest of his life.