Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The Army Medic and the Story of Specialist Robbie Williams
CNN has a great little article on their on-line site about Army medics (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/10/iraq.medics/index.html)
What kind of person does it take to be a medic in a combat situation?
My interest in medics first began a few years back when I got hooked on the great (fantastic, wonderful…) miniseries Band of Brothers. One of the episodes, during Easy Companies time in Bastogne, focuses on medic Eugene Rowe and the challenges and struggles he had as a medic in that famous battle and in his time with Easy Company.
Death is one of the ever-present realities of combat, along with fear, and has been with armies since the earliest days. Whether its swords, pikes, bullets or mortars, death and injury are the great Pink Elephant in every combat situation. But always there is the medic, offering comfort and hope.
Last Friday I became aware of another great medic. Specialist Robbie Williams is the son my mother-in-laws new husband Bob Williams of Phoenix. I have met Robbie a number of times over the past few years. Even in high school he struck my as a great young man, a solid human being, and someone who people would come to depend on in the course of his life. Robbie was a wrestler in high school, my preferred sport, so I always felt a deep admiration for him (for anyone who has never wrestled, the sacrifices and struggles of high school wrestling make it I think one of the best prepares for the rest of life that high school offers young men).
After high school Robbie wanted to be a fireman, and in the course of his life decisions joined the U.S. Army to become a medic. Of course, that meant that he got sent to Iraq in 2004. From what I heard through my mother-in-law Bette at first he was not too happy in Iraq because he wasn’t getting to do what he trained for. Apparently (and this came as news to Better only after his return), that changed sometime last year.
Last year a unit of Special Forces troops needed a medic. His group was asked for a volunteer. Now lest you think that Robbie is nuts, he did not bounce up and volunteer. But after no one did, and a long silence, he did volunteer.
I wish I knew all the details of the rest of his combat tour in Iraq. I don’t, and probably don’t want to know. But Specialist Robbie Williams performed his job beyond expectations. How do I know this? Because after his return to the U.S. late last year he was awarded the U.S. military’s 4th highest medal – the Bronze Star.
They don’t just give Bronze Star’s away, so you know Robbie must have been one heck of a medic. In typically fashion of the best military heroes, Robbie didn’t make a big deal out of it. He didn’t even tell his wife. She discovered the medal while cleaning a corner of their living room. I may never ask Robbie what he did to deserve the medal he obviously so richly deserved. But lets all be glad for the bravery and sacrifice of men like Specialist Robbie Williams, and of medics serving across the world. War is hell, and medics are the first-response angels for wounded soldiers down through history.
