<VV> Great Story - No Corvair

[Ray Davis]

            As part of my New Year’s tradition I clean off my messy desk.  Today, I came across Leatherneck Magazine for December that I had not previously read.  Leatherneck is the official “Magazine of the Marines.” I generally read the letters to the editor in “Sound Off” First.  The first letter is the Letter of the Month.
            The letter was from a former Fleet Marine Corps Navy Corpsman (medic) that served in the 70s and 80s.  This corpsman was apparently a discipline problem and not in physical shape.  His disciplinary problem caused his commanding officer to cancel his “cushy” orders to a docked ship and have him sent to the real Marine Corps.  He was assigned to an infantry company.  Even though the Marines were not worried about his “weight or the crap the Navy gave” him, within a year he was at the approved Marine Corps weight and could pass the physical readiness test.
            Recently, he was diagnosed with Stage III cancer of the head and neck.  He tells of the medical treatments he received and most of all the support from his friends in the Marine Corps League statewide.
            Imagine my surprise when I got to the end of the letter and saw the writer’s name.  It was none other than one of the other VV curmudgeons HANK KACZMAREK.
            I am so thankful you are cancer free, Hank!
            Hank’s letter may be found at:  
http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/dec-2011-letter-month
Semper Fi, DocRay Davis, USMC (ret)

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