In the past month, your editor found himself undergoing some minor heart surgery at a local hospital. Mine being the first case of the day, I found myself the only patient in the recovery room being cared for by a rather senior, graying male nurse nearing retirement.
Once the fog of anesthesia wore off, the two of us had the better part of an hour before the room got really busy to get acquainted and, of course discovered that we were both veterans. It seems the nurse was a very young Marine in the late days of the Vietnam War, who was in country late in 1972 as a Marine rifleman.
It never fails to amaze how quickly the brotherhood of veterans bond becomes apparent when two veterans meet. As we parted company, and I was thanking my newly found friend for his attentive care, he said: “You know, it is guys like you that led me into this profession”, fellow veterans who need his help. Thanks, Marine.