If we don’t send more Combat Infantry we will have many more killed and wounded.
(MOLALLA, Ore.) - I’m not talking about swearing here but most of the time we had much to swear about. Being treated like half-trained hunting dogs was the worst. It seemed we green as grass DOGFACES were supposed to know more about soldiering than our sergeants or looeys (some of us did!).
During WWII, the book, They Were Expendable came out referring to the guys on the Patrol Torpedo Boats (PTBs). They were about 50 feet long and carried several torpedos and they were fast in the water, about 45 miles an hour. They were almost like kamikazes and were supposed to attack enemy ships, fire torpedoes, then scram, fast. They Were Expendable!
After being a Combat Infantryman, Battalion Scout, Pointman and Forward Observer, I felt the Combat Infantryman was really expendable. We were less than 10% of the Army but suffered 70% of the dead and wounded. The Artillery, Tankers and ever Para’s were far behind. The Air Force was second with 10%.
This was brought up short to me Oct. 11, 2009 about a Marine Company at Fort Keating in Afghanistan where a company of Marines was almost overrun by a couple hundred Afghan fighters. The TV show showed a memorial service for the 8 marines who were killed. About 40 were wounded and their fort was destroyed and abandoned.
This brought back to me The Battle of Bastogne in WWII which was almost the same but on a much larger scale. Less than two American Divisions, about half Paratroopers held off 10 German Divisions, nearly all Americans were wounded with many dead.
In the face of all this our Congress is debating – no – squabbling, should we send more fighting men to Afghanistan even in the face of the obvious that we don’t have enough Infantry fighting men there.
As a Combat Dogface I must say we can NEVER have too many fighting soldiers on the ground, with too few men casualties sky rocket which is what is going on now.
President Obama is being blamed for a situation he inherited. If the Afghans sense weakness by our lack of troops they WILL TRY to run us out. We can’t afford this or any hesitation to send adequate fighting men. Though we have about 60 thousand there now probably no more than 20% are Combat Infantry.
If we don’t send more Combat Infantry we will have many more killed and wounded.
HOORAH FOR MY DOGFACE BUDDIES!!
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Dr. Phillip Leveque has degrees in chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and minors in physiology and biochemistry. He was a Professor of Pharmacology, employed by the University of London for 20 years, during which time he trained the first doctors in Tanzania. After training doctors, he became an Osteopathic Physician, as well as a Forensic Toxicologist.
Before any of that, Phil Leveque was a Combat Infantryman in the U.S. Army in WWII. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder more than 60 years after the war, and specialized in treating Veterans with PTSD during his years as a doctor in Molalla, Oregon.
Do you have a a question, comment, or story to share with Dr. Leveque?Email him: Ask Dr. Leveque
More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole".Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier
If you are a World War II history buff, you don't want to miss it.
Combat Infantryman's Curse: We are Expendable: More Troops Will Save LivesSalem-News.com