AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — In June 1898, Congress passed a bill that established a hospital corps for enlisted medical personnel in the United States Navy. Since then, Navy corpsmen have been taking care of Marines and Sailors, and tending to illnesses and injuries in stateside hospitals and on the battlefield of every major conflict.
One hundred and eleven years later, corpsmen gathered together to celebrate the birthday of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps aboard Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, June 19.
"Over the past 111 years, sailors of the hospital corps have dedicated and offered their lives for Marines and sailors so that they might live," said Petty Officer 1st Class Freddie Mawanay, a corpsman with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361 and the event coordinator. "It's also part of our heritage for our hospital corps to be celebrated every year, whether it's in a combat zone or a garrison situation."
The sailors started off the celebration recognizing the 22 corpsman Medal of Honor recipients and rendering honors to all the corpsmen who made the ultimate sacrifice in every conflict from World War I to present-day Iraq and Afghanistan. They also heard birthday messages from prominent military members like Vice Adm. Adam M. Robinson Jr., surgeon general of the Navy, and Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, and listened to guest speaker, Maj. Gen. R.T. Tryon, commanding general of Multi-National Force - West.
Tryon offered his respect and gratitude to these medical professionals, affectionately known to Marines as "docs," for their hard work and dedication.
"I have yet to ever be in a position where a corpsman wasn't front and center to take care of whatever emergency may have been unfolding," said Tryon. "It's greatly appreciated, and it's a tribute to the core values that we share as a Navy - Marine Corps team — core values of honor, courage and commitment."
Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Munn, command master chief of MNF-W, cut the birthday cake. As a tradition, Munn presented the first piece to Tryon, the guest of honor, and the second piece to 50-year-old Senior Chief Petty Officer Ruben Dean, the oldest corpsman present. Dean then passed it to 19-year-old Seaman Ryan McAbee, the youngest corpsman present.
McAbee, a corpsman with II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (Forward), has worked with the Marines for about a year and said he has built strong professional and personal relationships by helping them out in times of need.
"[The Marines] trusted in me and my medical knowledge, and they knew that if something were to go wrong, they would be alright," said McAbee. "Being a corpsman is a very humbling job, knowing that you have the talents and the tools to save lives."
| Date Taken: |
06.26.2009 |
| Date Posted: |
06.26.2009 06:42 |
| Story ID: |
35660 |
| Location: |
AL ASAD, IQ |
| Web Views: |
274 |
| Downloads: |
224 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Corpsmen aboard Al Asad celebrate 111 years of saving lives, by Cpl Jo Jones, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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