By Bob Berwin
June 2, 2008
I'm a traditionalist and believe Memorial Day should be a solemn occasion to honor those who have died in service of their country and not an excuse for a three-day weekend.
So, today, May 30 -- the real Memorial Day -- I would like to pay tribute to the men and women who, as any grunt knows, count the most in combat: the Navy corpsman and Army medic known as Doc, both of whom too often sacrifice their lives so others may live.
Based on information furnished to me by the Military Health System, the Army Medical Department and the Navy Bureau of Medicine have lost about 180 Army medics and 32 Navy corpsmen serving with the Marine Corps in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2002
An abbreviated honor roll of the 212 medics and corpsmen who have fallen in Iraq.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0608/060208wb.htm
