By Sgt. Eric A. Brown
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait -- Nearly three decades have passed, thousands of miles have since been traveled, college degrees have been earned, families have been raised and two military buddies, who served together in the Philippine jungles during the Vietnam era, have been reunited at this camp's medical facility.
Back in 1974, Marine lance corporal, now Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Dennis Piatt, who was assigned to a Marine Combat Division, and Navy HN Robert "Doc" Sorenson, now a Navy captain, was then the squad's combat medic. The two were pretty good buddies, like many service members in a close-knit squad-sized element. The 3rd Marine Division was training in the Philippines just in case the neighboring situation in Vietnam became more volatile, requiring additional support.
"At that time there was martial law in the Philippines and we had Philippine security to protect us while we were training, because we didn't have real ammunition or anything-we were just training," said Sorenson. Piatt, conducting practice night patrols on the island with Gulf Company, nearly sliced off his ear on a bamboo sliver, requiring thirty-four stitches and was initially cared for by Sorenson, who was a Navy corpsman at the time. "We knew each other and became friends even before he was a "medical evacuation" to get his ear sewed up."
The days of youthful excitement in Southwest Asia passed, the members of the squad disjoined in spring of 1975 and the two veterans went their separate ways. Sorenson, a Williston, N.D., native, journeyed back to Camp Pendleton, Calif., were he was discharged out of the Navy and returned home to study medicine at the University of North Dakota, using his newly acquired GI Bill. During his studies, Sorenson became actively involved in the Vietnam Veterans Association, mostly because all the members had something in common and GIs during that time didn't have many friends on campus besides their own.
"Back during the [Vietnam War] military members really weren't getting much respect-that's why all of the vets coming home joined the club. The club helped me into the Reserves where I found out about the Medical Reserve Program scholarship. I pretty much received a full-ride health professions scholarship and rejoined with the active Navy in 1985," said Sorenson. "Back then Piatt never would have thought I would have gotten back into the military."
All the while, Piatt finally left the Philippines and was reassigned between Okinawa, Japan and Camp Pendleton several times before ultimately calling it quits. "I spent about six months in California and went back and forth between Okinawa and Camp Pendleton a few times and finally got out of the Marines in 1979," said Piatt. More than a decade blew past and Piatt became restless, yearning for his past adventures, and eventually decided to join the Army Reserve in 1991. He has been serving in the "part-time" role ever since.
"I was out for 13 years and wanted to get back in. I really missed it," said Piatt, now a section manager for Raytheon Company in Wichita, Kansas.The ingredients were there; the only step left was for the two to be mixed in the hot Kuwait desert with one another. Both were now serving their country and deployed overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Call it coincidence or maybe destiny, but it only took time before the two eventually ran into each other at this small Army camp in the middle of the desert.
"I was talking to a corpsman from the medical station and telling him how much respect I have for HNs (hospital corpsmen) because this guy, "Doc" Sorenson sewed me up once, said Piatt. "And he said, "That's Capt. Sorenson." I just thought, there is no way, it has been too long. It couldn't be "Doc" Sorenson."
"He actually made the connection," said Sorenson, formerly known to Piatt as "Doc", now serving as Camp Buehring's medical facility commander.
"He noticed me at the camp mayor's meeting. I guess I looked about the right age."
Both have traveled completely different paths, but ironically the two were deployed to the same country, the same camp and ultimately meeting in the same tent twenty-nine years later. "We're going to stay in touch now, like the rest of my buddies from that time," said Piatt.
"Although he was in the Navy, he was a damn good Marine."
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2004 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2004 15:24 |
| Story ID: | 32 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 239 |
| Downloads: | 205 |
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