I served as a medic with three units in Vietnam. 755th Medical Detachment in Plieku. 8th Medical Detachment in Ban Me Thout. Scouts (Recon), 2/47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division in Bihn Phouc in the Delta. I served from March 1968 to March 1969.
How I became a medic was quite by accident. When I was taking my physical the recruiters sat down with us after our battery of tests and advised me that I probably did not want to be and infantryman in Vietnam. I told him “you’re sure right about that”. He told me that I qualified by test score to do a much more important job of being a medic. When I asked him what medics did, he told me that they work in nice safe hospitals. I told him, “you hold the paper and I will move the pen”. What the recruiter failed to tell me was that medics also served as combat medics with infantry units. So I signed up for an extra year of duty not to go to Vietnam. Guess where my first assignment was, as a combat medic with an infantry unit in Vietnam. What about the nice clean hospital? I never got assigned there. So I began a journey that changed my whole life…a journey that I have no regrets about.
I have been many things the past 57 years of my life. I have been a Brother, Son, Friend, Husband, Father, Soldier, Medic, Police Officer, Detective, Letter Carrier, Instructor, College Recruiter, Grandfather, and now Poet. That amazes me since my 7th grade English teacher, Mr. Bates, told me I would never learn to put two sentences together. I did find that the task became easier if I was inspired by something.
These poems are a reflective journey to find healing after the War in Vietnam. 35 years ago I was a combat medic. When I came home I was determined to put Vietnam behind me. Somehow, deep within my heart, soul, and spirit Vietnam was a part of who and what I became. Finally, my journey to healing began and these poems are the result of that journey 35 years later. These are a collection of poems about recovering from war and the effects of PTSD. They will make you cry, laugh, and appreciate friendships.
They are my road map to a place I call HOME. I only hope that other soldiers, medics, nurses, and doctors will be able to find a way to their HOME. So grab a beverage and curl up and join with me on the journey together as we find peace, hope, friendships, love and yes, even healing.
Kerry “Doc” Pardue grew up in Detroit, MI and Sauk Village, IL. After the Army he obtained an AAS Degree in Police Science from Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton, VA and a BA degree in Political Science from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. He resides in Chandler, Arizona with his wife Stephanie. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren. He is 100 % disabled service-connected Veteran.
Doc Pardue in water 2nd on right
