SGT 1st Class William Edson
U.S. Army - Combat Medic
1st/172nd Armor - VT Army National Guard
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry
Ramadi, Iraq ’05-06
Total Years of Service 1983-2007
U.S. Army - Combat Medic
1st/172nd Armor - VT Army National Guard
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry
Ramadi, Iraq ’05-06
Total Years of Service 1983-2007
Bill Edson was born December 22, 1963 in Ticonderoga, NY. He was the All-American kid leading the All-American life with two loving and supportive parents along with an older brother and a younger sister. Bill’s father, an Army veteran, was a paper maker, and his mother was a secretary at Fort Ticonderoga. The family was comfortable and lived a modest life. Bill attended Ticonderoga High School and participated in track and field and cross country. Bill and his brother worked at Fort Ticonderoga as tour guides during the summers and were part of the Fife & Drum Corps. Bill was a fifer and a bugler, and his brother was a drummer. Bill’s boss at Fort Ticonderoga was Captain Wayne Morgan who was one of Bill's earliest mentors. “He really influenced me in a very positive way.” Captain Morgan was also a commander of a Green Beret Reserve unit. “The way he led was very influential to me.”
After graduation, Bill headed to Cortland State University in Cortland, NY. He ran cross country and planned on becoming a history teacher. What Bill didn’t plan on was becoming a dad at the age of 19. His parents were very supportive and willing to support his new family while he completed college. Bill thought, if he was responsible enough to be a father, he was responsible enough to support his new family. Bill dropped out of college and joined the Army. With a history of military service in his family dating back to the Union Army in the Civil War and the battles of Lexington and Concord, the military was always on his radar but not foremost in his mind.
His plan for the Army was to audition for the 3rd Infantry, which is the “Old Guard”. The Old Guard is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army. The 3rd Infantry is also the president’s escort and provides security for Washington, D.C., during national emergencies or civil disturbances. They also have a Fife & Drum Corp. After carefully considering what his career path would look like after the military, knowing he had a family to support, he decided to look for an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) that would be more marketable when he left the Army. He decided to follow a route in the medical field. The Army accommodated him and gave him the choice between Veterinarian Technician or Operating Room Specialist. Bill signed up to follow the Operating Room Specialist route.
Bill headed to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for Basic Training. At 20 years of age, Bill found himself as one of the oldest guys there. “I really loved it.” He had experienced college and was a father and Bill believes this gave him a greater level of maturity than the other recruits. “I tried to keep my head down and fly under the radar. It wasn’t good to be noticed, good, bad or indifferent, by the Drill Sergeants.” One day his unit was being drilled on marching and inspections. The group just couldn’t perform up to the standard, and the Drill Sergeants were more than happy to keep giving pushups as punishment and motivation. Finally, in frustration, a Drill Sergeant barked, “Can anyone do this?” Bill said, “I can do it, Drill Sergeant.” Bill then drew upon his five years of marching in the Fife & Drum Corp and drilling with Captain Morgan. “I just killed it!” From that day forward the Drill Sergeants put Bill in a leadership position, and he served as an unofficial liaison between the Drill Sergeants and the other recruits.
It was May 1984 and after the nine-weeks of basic training, Bill was sent to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for 16 weeks of school to learn to be an Operating Room Specialist. There he was taught all the elements of how an operating room functions including how to assist during surgery, provide support services and work in the central supply functions. Bill talked about the military providing the opportunity to advance and learn more by showing your level of competence. If your supervisors felt comfortable with your skills, they would give you more to do and often outside of your formal job description.
After completing the Operating Room training, Bill headed to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He was assigned to the 28th Combat Support Hospital that supported the 82nd Airborne. Later he was assigned to the 274th Medical Detachment which was a rapid deployment surgical squad that could be deployed anywhere it was needed. Each day Bill reported to the Womack Army Hospital at Fort Bragg where he continued to improve his skills and impress the surgeons. By the end of his hospital rotations, the surgeons were showing Bill how to perform minor surgery and even administer basic anesthesia. Bill pointed out, in combat, often there is not a deep resource of medical providers available. This would prove valuable later in his career. Working at Fort Bragg, which is the home of the 82ndAirborne, Bill had early exposure to the types of traumatic injuries that occur on the battlefield. “We had a lot of young soldiers who think they’re invincible and do a lot of different things to hurt themselves.”
While he was at Womack, Bill was approached by a general surgeon, an orthopedic surgeon, and a Nurse Anesthetist whom he worked closely with to help them create the Forward Airborne Surgical Team. “It was like a MASH Unit on steroids. Very agile and deployable.” These MASH-like units could be brought to the battlefield by helicopter or dropped by parachute. They were able to operate for up to 72 hours without restocking and provide lifesaving surgical interventions close to the frontlines. To do this, the unit needed to be light and compact. Bill’s job was to develop the equipment and supplies to create the unit. It was first successfully used by the Special Forces in Panama. This success led to rolling out the concept to other parts of the Army and the other branches of the military. Today these groups are known as Forward Surgical Teams (Army) or Surgical Shock and Trauma Teams (Navy and Air Force).
Bill found it difficult to get promoted while on Active duty. The people ahead of him in rank really enjoyed their assignments and changed jobs infrequently. He had a family to support, and he decided to leave active duty and look for a higher paying position in the civilian medical field. However, he remained in the Army Reserves.
Bill took a position in a small community hospital in Middlebury, VT. He enjoyed it so much he stayed for 12 years. When he did decide to move on, he took a position as a medical sales rep for a company selling general surgical equipment and supplies. Later he moved into representing orthopedic manufacturers with an independent orthopedic distributor specializing in total joint replacement and fracture management technologies.
During this time, Bill continued to serve in the Army Reserves and helped create the first and only Operating Room Specialist course for reservists. His base of operations was in Malone, NY located in New York State near the Canadian border. He also taught the practicum of this course at the Military Academy at West Point.
By 2000, Bill's role in the Army Reserves was becoming very administrative and he wanted to have more hands-on responsibilities with soldiers. In December of 2000, he transferred to the Vermont Army National Guard and became the NCOIC of the medical section for the 2/172nd Armor Battalion.
On September 11th, 2001 Bill was working in the operating room in the hospital in Middlebury, VT assisting in an orthopedic procedure to replace an anterior cruciate ligament when a radio in the operating room broadcast that a plane had hit one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. Then came the report that the 2nd tower had been hit by a plane. Bill knew intuitively that this was a terrorist attack. After the surgery, Bill went to the locker room and called FEMA to volunteer his battlefield medical skills at Ground Zero. Ultimately, Bill was not called to help because there were no survivors.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the National Guard units around the United States were being mobilized to serve in Afghanistan and other areas around the world. Bill’s unit, 2/172nd AR, began to prepare to take part in a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia which was canceled before they deployed, followed by preparation for peace keeping missions in Macedonia and Egypt which were also canceled. Bill's unit then began to prepare for deployment to the border of Iraq and Kuwait. During this preparation, Bill was asked if he would consider not deploying and waiting to join the 1st/172nd AR that would be deploying one month later. They thought his skill set would be better suited to the later mission where he would head a medical section on a high-profile mission deep in Iraq.
Before he could deploy, Bill needed to go back to Combat Medical School at Fort Sam Houston for advanced training. He was back at the same place 20 years to the day of his first Combat Medical Training. “I was the old man” but they taught Bill essential leadership principles and allowed him to lead both small and company-level units. After Combat Medical school, Bill was promoted to Sergeant First Class and was assigned as Senior Medic of the battalion Task Force. His unit went for 5 months of further training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi where they learned they were headed to Ramadi, Iraq.
Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, 31 miles west of Fallujah in the Al Anbar Province. At the time, Ramadi was a hotbed of extremely violent insurgent activity. The battles over Ramadi were among the most difficult the U.S. forces faced during the war, with intense door-to-door urban combat. Elements of the U.S. Army, Marines, SEALS and Rangers were all involved in trying to liberate Ramadi.
After Camp Shelby, they spent a month of training to learn desert tactics in Death Valley in California. In June of 2005, Bill deployed with an advance group to Iraq. The first stop was Kuwait. When he walked off the plane, he was “smacked in the face with this wave of hot air that you’ve never felt before.” They spent the next month preparing and assembling equipment and supplies. When July came, it was time to head to Ramadi. Bill and his team boarded vehicles and joined the convoy for the three day overland trip.
Bill did research on the military tactics being used by the enemy. He brought his findings to his command and recommended making changes to some of their standard operating procedures to increase their survivability. They removed all red crosses that identified them as medics and made themselves an indistinguishable part of the infantry. The enemy often focused on the medics hoping the U.S. wouldn’t fight as hard if they didn’t have medical support. “We armored up. We went from wheeled vehicles to track vehicles.”
Bill and his unit, call sign ’Voodoo Medics’, settled into their living quarters at FOB Ramadi. It was a 2 mile by 2 mile sandbox surrounded by berms, guard towers and razor wire. The FOB was in the “suburbs” of Ramadi. Bill managed 54 medics ranging in age from 18 to 54 to care for 900+ U.S. and allied troops. “It’s a big city with 400,000 people. Just before we got to Ramadi, Fallujah fell. The Marines took Fallujah, all of the bad guys fled and ran to Ramadi.”
Bill described the 28th Infantry as the “tip of the spear” on the Army side during the operations in Ramadi. For most of the deployment, they were attached to the 2nd Marine Corps Division. Bill mentioned it is very rare for the Army to be under the command of the Marines and he didn’t think that had happened since WWII. Bill enjoyed working with the Marines. While the Marines would patrol in the city of Ramadi going door-to-door to clear the enemy, Bill’s unit was responsible to control the perimeter of the city and provide sustainment operations for and alongside the Marines.
“Best thing about National Guardsmen is we all have secondary jobs, and I was a medical salesperson at the time. I knew a lot of other medical salespeople and they sent us a ton of supplies that were not on the Army inventory. We had the best pharmacy that there was in all of Ramadi.”
“The Marines would often ask for support. They only had Corpsman. They didn’t have the supplies and assets we had, and I had 54 medics and vehicles. We supported them on their missions pretty routinely.”
“People ask me what it was like to be there and the best thing I can say about my service there was it was the best job I ever had. We were busy. We did about 5,600 medical missions. We were on missions 24 hours a day doing patrols with the infantry. I would say a typical day was about 95% of the time it was routine and boring. 3% was ‘what was that’? Then 2% was bad.”
“Half of my guys were out with the infantry on 12-hour shifts and then rotate. We taught 75% of our battalion basic medic trauma treatment skills. How to stop bleeding, how to control airways and how to start an IV. We taught them how to package the wounded and how to start moving back (from the front line) until they could meet up with an advanced medic if one wasn’t readily available. As little delay as possible from the time of injury to the time of treatment was the key. They could sustain life and preserve it” until the wounded could be brought back to the trauma treatment unit and their Forward Surgical Teams.
The medics carried weapons and Bill wore a full kit of battle gear weighing 112 pounds. “I was 42 years old going out knocking down doors with 18-year-old kids.” I asked Bill if he was worried or afraid? The answer was no. “I’m a deeply faithful person and the last thing I feared was death. That doesn’t mean I was reckless, but I was not worried or afraid.” In a line of infantry soldiers entering a house during a raid, typically the medic was the last man in the line, “but you had to know your stuff.” “We went to the range several times a week. We were very proficient soldiers.”
I asked Bill about what the types of injuries he saw and if they were worse than he imagined they would be. “The gunshot wounds were basically the same. But the injuries that were created by weapons of war designed to kill or maim other human beings was a level of trauma I had never experienced before. It was unbelievable what somebody sat down and designed can do to a human body. More so incredible, how much a human body can take.”
Bill talked about understanding the abilities of each person who was under his command. There were several men over 50 years old. The challenge was to find their best talents rather than send them out on patrol where age might be a liability to the entire team.
Bill was away from his family for a total of 22 months. He was able to stay in contact with them while he was in Iraq by using a satellite phone he brought with him. His family had a tough time without him, but they never let him know it.
Bill’s Task Force lost 16 soldiers, and his Brigade Combat team lost 44 members during his deployment. The first soldier killed in action, ‘Chris’, sustained a gunshot wound that did catastrophic damage to his chest cavity and the efforts to save him, while heroic, proved to be futile. Bill held Chris’ hand so he would not die alone. “That was a very profound moment for me. I look at hands in a different way now.”
Bill recalled a Bradley Fighting Vehicle that hit an improvised explosive device (IED) and it caught fire. All five soldiers inside died. Bill volunteered to work with the Marine Corps mortuary affairs to retrieve every human part that was retrievable and any personal items that could be attributed to them.
On January 5th there was a suicide bombing. Bill remembers the date because it was Bill’s son’s birthday that day. The Americans had started a recruitment station for Iraqis to become police officers. On this day, there were 200+ Iraqi’s standing on line when two suicide bombers detonated themselves. The Americans rushed from their base and provided security and they transported 120 injured back to the FOB for treatment. At least 30 Iraqis were killed by the blast. “The civilian locals were taking the bodies and throwing them into the back of pickup trucks like a cord of wood.” Bill and some others brought body bags to package the dead and give them some last bit of dignity. “While we’re trying to do something good, the insurgents are shooting at us.”
One of the doctors at the FOB thought the medical team needed to develop relationships with the local Iraqis. They would often get information from the infantry troops about an Iraqi that needed medical assistance. Bill recalls dealing with a lot of illnesses or conditions caused by genetics. On one occasion the troops came back with information that al-Qaeda had poured hot oil on a little girl to drive home the point to the family that they should not be dealing with the Americans. Bill was sent to treat the girl. Although she had very thick hair that kept most of the oil off her skin, she did suffer some very significant burns. Bill gave her some medication and left a supply of bandages. He showed the family how to apply the medication and change the bandages. He is unsure if she fully recovered.
On another occasion a woman was caught in a checkpoint battle and sustained serious injuries including the loss of an arm. The U.S. Troops took her to a hospital where she was surgically stabilized and treated. The insurgents convinced the family that if they didn’t get the woman back home the Americans would take her, and they would never see her again. The family took her from the hospital before she was fully recovered. Sometime later, a patrol returned to the FOB and reported a woman who was septic and needed immediate treatment. That evening Bill was sent along with a patrol to the location where the earlier patrol had seen the woman. When they arrived, she was gone. The family had again moved her to her sister’s house in a very dangerous part of Ramadi controlled by al-Qaeda. The infantry had been planning on starting patrols to this area to move al-Qaida out. A patrol of 15 troops went out and they were able to locate the house. The woman was in serious condition and deteriorating. Bill started an IV, changed her bandages and gave her some antibiotics. Before the U.S. troops left, they were careful to remove any evidence that they had been there so al-Qaida would not harm the family.
Three nights a week, for the next three months, Bill would accompany patrols and they would stop at the house. Trust was slowly being built and soon Bill had developed a relationship with the woman and her children. The coalition forces were making progress and moving al-Qaida out of the area. On one visit he brought a physical therapist who mentioned that he thought he could get a prosthetic arm for the woman from a friend back in the states. Bill was nearing the end of his tour and would be leaving shortly. With two visits remaining, Bill was preparing to introduce his replacement to the woman. Bill told her he would be back one last time to bring the prosthetic arm. Much to Bill’s surprise the woman, who spoke to Bill through an interpreter, told Bill he couldn’t come back. Al-Qaida had discovered Bill was providing medical treatment and they were planning to capture and kill him when he came back with the arm. Through the interpreter she said, “you saved my life, now I save yours.” A close call for Bill.
Bill returned home to Vermont and thought that he wasn’t going to suffer from PTSD like so many others. He thought he was handling things quite well. “But when we landed at the airport, I was really expecting this sense of relief and…….celebration, but there was none of that. I was certainly glad to be home with my family, but something was wrong.”
It didn’t take very long until Bill noticed something was very wrong. “My disposition changed, lack of sleep, nightmares, hypervigilance…all the things you hear about PTSD……all that stuff started to come out.” “I was a real dink to everybody. I wasn’t a pleasant person to be around.” During the day otherwise normal environmental stimuli triggered Bill back to Iraq. The nights were filled with nightmares leading Bill to avoid sleeping. The lack of sleep makes everything during the day worse and soon there is a cycle of no sleep, and anger. “I treated my family horribly. I got counseling. Fortunately, I don’t have an addictive behavior so I never self-medicated.”
Adding to his list of problems in adjusting to civilian life, was an inability to find his sense of purpose. “We were doing unbelievable things there (Iraq) that you cannot even come close to as a civilian.” Bill’s sense of purpose was tied so deeply to his military service he had a very difficult time transitioning to civilian life. He could not find the same sense of purpose in his civilian life which can lead to depression, questioning your abilities, losing confidence and thoughts of suicide.. “I don’t mind sharing my story. It helps me get through it. It also brings value to our purpose of service.” Bill wants people to know it is not just the infantrymen kicking down doors that suffer from PTSD or have issues adjusting to civilian life. For Bill, these struggles are under control, but not gone. Some days are still bad days but it seems that Bill has regained much of his former self.
Bill wanted to stay in the Military for at least 30 years and was ready to re-enlist. That would have meant a tour in Afghanistan. He talked with his wife, and she said, “I don’t think we are able to endure another deployment.” Bill understood and retired after 23 years of service to his country.
Bill and his team came together in Mississippi as a loose band of individuals who were not professional war fighters. They left Iraq as a Band of Brothers and a highly decorated Medical Unit. But at a cost they will forever bear and need to learn to manage. One day in Iraq, The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps visited FOB Ramadi and said to Bill, “Edson, I hear if the Voodoo Medics can’t save you, no one can. Is that true?” Bill replied, “Yes, Sergeant Major, that’s pretty much true.”
God Bless all the Voodoo Medics and their families. We who didn’t serve our country thank you and your family for all that you have sacrificed and all that you have endured. All so the rest of the country can rest well at night.
“The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood….but who strives to do the deed….who spends himself in a worthy cause….” “The Man In the Arena”
After graduation, Bill headed to Cortland State University in Cortland, NY. He ran cross country and planned on becoming a history teacher. What Bill didn’t plan on was becoming a dad at the age of 19. His parents were very supportive and willing to support his new family while he completed college. Bill thought, if he was responsible enough to be a father, he was responsible enough to support his new family. Bill dropped out of college and joined the Army. With a history of military service in his family dating back to the Union Army in the Civil War and the battles of Lexington and Concord, the military was always on his radar but not foremost in his mind.
His plan for the Army was to audition for the 3rd Infantry, which is the “Old Guard”. The Old Guard is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army. The 3rd Infantry is also the president’s escort and provides security for Washington, D.C., during national emergencies or civil disturbances. They also have a Fife & Drum Corp. After carefully considering what his career path would look like after the military, knowing he had a family to support, he decided to look for an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) that would be more marketable when he left the Army. He decided to follow a route in the medical field. The Army accommodated him and gave him the choice between Veterinarian Technician or Operating Room Specialist. Bill signed up to follow the Operating Room Specialist route.
Bill headed to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for Basic Training. At 20 years of age, Bill found himself as one of the oldest guys there. “I really loved it.” He had experienced college and was a father and Bill believes this gave him a greater level of maturity than the other recruits. “I tried to keep my head down and fly under the radar. It wasn’t good to be noticed, good, bad or indifferent, by the Drill Sergeants.” One day his unit was being drilled on marching and inspections. The group just couldn’t perform up to the standard, and the Drill Sergeants were more than happy to keep giving pushups as punishment and motivation. Finally, in frustration, a Drill Sergeant barked, “Can anyone do this?” Bill said, “I can do it, Drill Sergeant.” Bill then drew upon his five years of marching in the Fife & Drum Corp and drilling with Captain Morgan. “I just killed it!” From that day forward the Drill Sergeants put Bill in a leadership position, and he served as an unofficial liaison between the Drill Sergeants and the other recruits.
It was May 1984 and after the nine-weeks of basic training, Bill was sent to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas for 16 weeks of school to learn to be an Operating Room Specialist. There he was taught all the elements of how an operating room functions including how to assist during surgery, provide support services and work in the central supply functions. Bill talked about the military providing the opportunity to advance and learn more by showing your level of competence. If your supervisors felt comfortable with your skills, they would give you more to do and often outside of your formal job description.
After completing the Operating Room training, Bill headed to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He was assigned to the 28th Combat Support Hospital that supported the 82nd Airborne. Later he was assigned to the 274th Medical Detachment which was a rapid deployment surgical squad that could be deployed anywhere it was needed. Each day Bill reported to the Womack Army Hospital at Fort Bragg where he continued to improve his skills and impress the surgeons. By the end of his hospital rotations, the surgeons were showing Bill how to perform minor surgery and even administer basic anesthesia. Bill pointed out, in combat, often there is not a deep resource of medical providers available. This would prove valuable later in his career. Working at Fort Bragg, which is the home of the 82ndAirborne, Bill had early exposure to the types of traumatic injuries that occur on the battlefield. “We had a lot of young soldiers who think they’re invincible and do a lot of different things to hurt themselves.”
While he was at Womack, Bill was approached by a general surgeon, an orthopedic surgeon, and a Nurse Anesthetist whom he worked closely with to help them create the Forward Airborne Surgical Team. “It was like a MASH Unit on steroids. Very agile and deployable.” These MASH-like units could be brought to the battlefield by helicopter or dropped by parachute. They were able to operate for up to 72 hours without restocking and provide lifesaving surgical interventions close to the frontlines. To do this, the unit needed to be light and compact. Bill’s job was to develop the equipment and supplies to create the unit. It was first successfully used by the Special Forces in Panama. This success led to rolling out the concept to other parts of the Army and the other branches of the military. Today these groups are known as Forward Surgical Teams (Army) or Surgical Shock and Trauma Teams (Navy and Air Force).
Bill found it difficult to get promoted while on Active duty. The people ahead of him in rank really enjoyed their assignments and changed jobs infrequently. He had a family to support, and he decided to leave active duty and look for a higher paying position in the civilian medical field. However, he remained in the Army Reserves.
Bill took a position in a small community hospital in Middlebury, VT. He enjoyed it so much he stayed for 12 years. When he did decide to move on, he took a position as a medical sales rep for a company selling general surgical equipment and supplies. Later he moved into representing orthopedic manufacturers with an independent orthopedic distributor specializing in total joint replacement and fracture management technologies.
During this time, Bill continued to serve in the Army Reserves and helped create the first and only Operating Room Specialist course for reservists. His base of operations was in Malone, NY located in New York State near the Canadian border. He also taught the practicum of this course at the Military Academy at West Point.
By 2000, Bill's role in the Army Reserves was becoming very administrative and he wanted to have more hands-on responsibilities with soldiers. In December of 2000, he transferred to the Vermont Army National Guard and became the NCOIC of the medical section for the 2/172nd Armor Battalion.
On September 11th, 2001 Bill was working in the operating room in the hospital in Middlebury, VT assisting in an orthopedic procedure to replace an anterior cruciate ligament when a radio in the operating room broadcast that a plane had hit one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. Then came the report that the 2nd tower had been hit by a plane. Bill knew intuitively that this was a terrorist attack. After the surgery, Bill went to the locker room and called FEMA to volunteer his battlefield medical skills at Ground Zero. Ultimately, Bill was not called to help because there were no survivors.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the National Guard units around the United States were being mobilized to serve in Afghanistan and other areas around the world. Bill’s unit, 2/172nd AR, began to prepare to take part in a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia which was canceled before they deployed, followed by preparation for peace keeping missions in Macedonia and Egypt which were also canceled. Bill's unit then began to prepare for deployment to the border of Iraq and Kuwait. During this preparation, Bill was asked if he would consider not deploying and waiting to join the 1st/172nd AR that would be deploying one month later. They thought his skill set would be better suited to the later mission where he would head a medical section on a high-profile mission deep in Iraq.
Before he could deploy, Bill needed to go back to Combat Medical School at Fort Sam Houston for advanced training. He was back at the same place 20 years to the day of his first Combat Medical Training. “I was the old man” but they taught Bill essential leadership principles and allowed him to lead both small and company-level units. After Combat Medical school, Bill was promoted to Sergeant First Class and was assigned as Senior Medic of the battalion Task Force. His unit went for 5 months of further training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi where they learned they were headed to Ramadi, Iraq.
Ramadi is a city in central Iraq, 31 miles west of Fallujah in the Al Anbar Province. At the time, Ramadi was a hotbed of extremely violent insurgent activity. The battles over Ramadi were among the most difficult the U.S. forces faced during the war, with intense door-to-door urban combat. Elements of the U.S. Army, Marines, SEALS and Rangers were all involved in trying to liberate Ramadi.
After Camp Shelby, they spent a month of training to learn desert tactics in Death Valley in California. In June of 2005, Bill deployed with an advance group to Iraq. The first stop was Kuwait. When he walked off the plane, he was “smacked in the face with this wave of hot air that you’ve never felt before.” They spent the next month preparing and assembling equipment and supplies. When July came, it was time to head to Ramadi. Bill and his team boarded vehicles and joined the convoy for the three day overland trip.
Bill did research on the military tactics being used by the enemy. He brought his findings to his command and recommended making changes to some of their standard operating procedures to increase their survivability. They removed all red crosses that identified them as medics and made themselves an indistinguishable part of the infantry. The enemy often focused on the medics hoping the U.S. wouldn’t fight as hard if they didn’t have medical support. “We armored up. We went from wheeled vehicles to track vehicles.”
Bill and his unit, call sign ’Voodoo Medics’, settled into their living quarters at FOB Ramadi. It was a 2 mile by 2 mile sandbox surrounded by berms, guard towers and razor wire. The FOB was in the “suburbs” of Ramadi. Bill managed 54 medics ranging in age from 18 to 54 to care for 900+ U.S. and allied troops. “It’s a big city with 400,000 people. Just before we got to Ramadi, Fallujah fell. The Marines took Fallujah, all of the bad guys fled and ran to Ramadi.”
Bill described the 28th Infantry as the “tip of the spear” on the Army side during the operations in Ramadi. For most of the deployment, they were attached to the 2nd Marine Corps Division. Bill mentioned it is very rare for the Army to be under the command of the Marines and he didn’t think that had happened since WWII. Bill enjoyed working with the Marines. While the Marines would patrol in the city of Ramadi going door-to-door to clear the enemy, Bill’s unit was responsible to control the perimeter of the city and provide sustainment operations for and alongside the Marines.
“Best thing about National Guardsmen is we all have secondary jobs, and I was a medical salesperson at the time. I knew a lot of other medical salespeople and they sent us a ton of supplies that were not on the Army inventory. We had the best pharmacy that there was in all of Ramadi.”
“The Marines would often ask for support. They only had Corpsman. They didn’t have the supplies and assets we had, and I had 54 medics and vehicles. We supported them on their missions pretty routinely.”
“People ask me what it was like to be there and the best thing I can say about my service there was it was the best job I ever had. We were busy. We did about 5,600 medical missions. We were on missions 24 hours a day doing patrols with the infantry. I would say a typical day was about 95% of the time it was routine and boring. 3% was ‘what was that’? Then 2% was bad.”
“Half of my guys were out with the infantry on 12-hour shifts and then rotate. We taught 75% of our battalion basic medic trauma treatment skills. How to stop bleeding, how to control airways and how to start an IV. We taught them how to package the wounded and how to start moving back (from the front line) until they could meet up with an advanced medic if one wasn’t readily available. As little delay as possible from the time of injury to the time of treatment was the key. They could sustain life and preserve it” until the wounded could be brought back to the trauma treatment unit and their Forward Surgical Teams.
The medics carried weapons and Bill wore a full kit of battle gear weighing 112 pounds. “I was 42 years old going out knocking down doors with 18-year-old kids.” I asked Bill if he was worried or afraid? The answer was no. “I’m a deeply faithful person and the last thing I feared was death. That doesn’t mean I was reckless, but I was not worried or afraid.” In a line of infantry soldiers entering a house during a raid, typically the medic was the last man in the line, “but you had to know your stuff.” “We went to the range several times a week. We were very proficient soldiers.”
I asked Bill about what the types of injuries he saw and if they were worse than he imagined they would be. “The gunshot wounds were basically the same. But the injuries that were created by weapons of war designed to kill or maim other human beings was a level of trauma I had never experienced before. It was unbelievable what somebody sat down and designed can do to a human body. More so incredible, how much a human body can take.”
Bill talked about understanding the abilities of each person who was under his command. There were several men over 50 years old. The challenge was to find their best talents rather than send them out on patrol where age might be a liability to the entire team.
Bill was away from his family for a total of 22 months. He was able to stay in contact with them while he was in Iraq by using a satellite phone he brought with him. His family had a tough time without him, but they never let him know it.
Bill’s Task Force lost 16 soldiers, and his Brigade Combat team lost 44 members during his deployment. The first soldier killed in action, ‘Chris’, sustained a gunshot wound that did catastrophic damage to his chest cavity and the efforts to save him, while heroic, proved to be futile. Bill held Chris’ hand so he would not die alone. “That was a very profound moment for me. I look at hands in a different way now.”
Bill recalled a Bradley Fighting Vehicle that hit an improvised explosive device (IED) and it caught fire. All five soldiers inside died. Bill volunteered to work with the Marine Corps mortuary affairs to retrieve every human part that was retrievable and any personal items that could be attributed to them.
On January 5th there was a suicide bombing. Bill remembers the date because it was Bill’s son’s birthday that day. The Americans had started a recruitment station for Iraqis to become police officers. On this day, there were 200+ Iraqi’s standing on line when two suicide bombers detonated themselves. The Americans rushed from their base and provided security and they transported 120 injured back to the FOB for treatment. At least 30 Iraqis were killed by the blast. “The civilian locals were taking the bodies and throwing them into the back of pickup trucks like a cord of wood.” Bill and some others brought body bags to package the dead and give them some last bit of dignity. “While we’re trying to do something good, the insurgents are shooting at us.”
One of the doctors at the FOB thought the medical team needed to develop relationships with the local Iraqis. They would often get information from the infantry troops about an Iraqi that needed medical assistance. Bill recalls dealing with a lot of illnesses or conditions caused by genetics. On one occasion the troops came back with information that al-Qaeda had poured hot oil on a little girl to drive home the point to the family that they should not be dealing with the Americans. Bill was sent to treat the girl. Although she had very thick hair that kept most of the oil off her skin, she did suffer some very significant burns. Bill gave her some medication and left a supply of bandages. He showed the family how to apply the medication and change the bandages. He is unsure if she fully recovered.
On another occasion a woman was caught in a checkpoint battle and sustained serious injuries including the loss of an arm. The U.S. Troops took her to a hospital where she was surgically stabilized and treated. The insurgents convinced the family that if they didn’t get the woman back home the Americans would take her, and they would never see her again. The family took her from the hospital before she was fully recovered. Sometime later, a patrol returned to the FOB and reported a woman who was septic and needed immediate treatment. That evening Bill was sent along with a patrol to the location where the earlier patrol had seen the woman. When they arrived, she was gone. The family had again moved her to her sister’s house in a very dangerous part of Ramadi controlled by al-Qaeda. The infantry had been planning on starting patrols to this area to move al-Qaida out. A patrol of 15 troops went out and they were able to locate the house. The woman was in serious condition and deteriorating. Bill started an IV, changed her bandages and gave her some antibiotics. Before the U.S. troops left, they were careful to remove any evidence that they had been there so al-Qaida would not harm the family.
Three nights a week, for the next three months, Bill would accompany patrols and they would stop at the house. Trust was slowly being built and soon Bill had developed a relationship with the woman and her children. The coalition forces were making progress and moving al-Qaida out of the area. On one visit he brought a physical therapist who mentioned that he thought he could get a prosthetic arm for the woman from a friend back in the states. Bill was nearing the end of his tour and would be leaving shortly. With two visits remaining, Bill was preparing to introduce his replacement to the woman. Bill told her he would be back one last time to bring the prosthetic arm. Much to Bill’s surprise the woman, who spoke to Bill through an interpreter, told Bill he couldn’t come back. Al-Qaida had discovered Bill was providing medical treatment and they were planning to capture and kill him when he came back with the arm. Through the interpreter she said, “you saved my life, now I save yours.” A close call for Bill.
Bill returned home to Vermont and thought that he wasn’t going to suffer from PTSD like so many others. He thought he was handling things quite well. “But when we landed at the airport, I was really expecting this sense of relief and…….celebration, but there was none of that. I was certainly glad to be home with my family, but something was wrong.”
It didn’t take very long until Bill noticed something was very wrong. “My disposition changed, lack of sleep, nightmares, hypervigilance…all the things you hear about PTSD……all that stuff started to come out.” “I was a real dink to everybody. I wasn’t a pleasant person to be around.” During the day otherwise normal environmental stimuli triggered Bill back to Iraq. The nights were filled with nightmares leading Bill to avoid sleeping. The lack of sleep makes everything during the day worse and soon there is a cycle of no sleep, and anger. “I treated my family horribly. I got counseling. Fortunately, I don’t have an addictive behavior so I never self-medicated.”
Adding to his list of problems in adjusting to civilian life, was an inability to find his sense of purpose. “We were doing unbelievable things there (Iraq) that you cannot even come close to as a civilian.” Bill’s sense of purpose was tied so deeply to his military service he had a very difficult time transitioning to civilian life. He could not find the same sense of purpose in his civilian life which can lead to depression, questioning your abilities, losing confidence and thoughts of suicide.. “I don’t mind sharing my story. It helps me get through it. It also brings value to our purpose of service.” Bill wants people to know it is not just the infantrymen kicking down doors that suffer from PTSD or have issues adjusting to civilian life. For Bill, these struggles are under control, but not gone. Some days are still bad days but it seems that Bill has regained much of his former self.
Bill wanted to stay in the Military for at least 30 years and was ready to re-enlist. That would have meant a tour in Afghanistan. He talked with his wife, and she said, “I don’t think we are able to endure another deployment.” Bill understood and retired after 23 years of service to his country.
Bill and his team came together in Mississippi as a loose band of individuals who were not professional war fighters. They left Iraq as a Band of Brothers and a highly decorated Medical Unit. But at a cost they will forever bear and need to learn to manage. One day in Iraq, The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps visited FOB Ramadi and said to Bill, “Edson, I hear if the Voodoo Medics can’t save you, no one can. Is that true?” Bill replied, “Yes, Sergeant Major, that’s pretty much true.”
God Bless all the Voodoo Medics and their families. We who didn’t serve our country thank you and your family for all that you have sacrificed and all that you have endured. All so the rest of the country can rest well at night.
“The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood….but who strives to do the deed….who spends himself in a worthy cause….” “The Man In the Arena”