STORY BEHIND THE PLAQUE
Service Reflections of HM2 Bill Sheehan, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1970)

Just a few days after graduating from high school, I left for college for the Summer Quarter at Ohio State. I wasn’t ready for college. I was only ranked 51 out of 99 in my high school class. I was in Pre-Med and took Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. I lasted three quarters and then flunked out. They called it Academic Dismissal. I knew I would be drafted since it was in 1966, and all healthy, able, non-students without wives and families were feeding the war machine in Vietnam.

Fortunately, my dad had served as a Pharmacist’s Mate (now a Hospital Corpsman) on board the USS McCoy Reynolds in the Pacific during WWII. He took me to the local Navy recruiter, and I was immediately signed up for the Navy and guaranteed the Hospital Corps.

My Recruit Training took place at Naval Station, Great Lakes, IL. In October 1966. One of the coldest places on Earth. I don’t think I was warm the entire time. I was scrawny and thin, and the physical challenges were just that. I think I barely survived some of the requirements. Climbing the rope, the gas house, the knots. One thing I was good at was drilling in the big drill hall. For hours at a time with our company. I picked it up easily for some reason and did well. I actually enjoyed it. At least it wasn’t outside.

After a brief leave, I went back to Great Lakes for Hospital Corps “A” School. Future Corpsmen and Corps Waves all worked together under the direction and supervision of Nurse Corps officers, who were tough, particular, and unyielding in all of the techniques and exercises we were expected to carry out and endure in the Military Hospitals. Some procedures were done over and over again until they were done with perfection, the only acceptable outcome. Another short leave and then off to Spain, Naval Station Hospital, in Rota. Beautiful country, city, and hospital. A great first duty station. But all the corpsmen knew where we were going to end up. I enjoyed my time there. Next came Fleet Marine Force Training orders, Camp Lejeune, NC. Bivouacs, mud, cold, qualifying with the M-16 and the 45. Brutal conditions and weather. I was stationed there at the 2nd Marine Division HQ for several more months after FMF training, manning the HQ Battalion Dispensary and learning the Vietnamese language. I received orders to join the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines near Da Nang. A full 30-day leave, for a reason. I arrived in the Spring of ’68 during the TET Offensive, a tough time to be indoctrinated into the country and the war.

I completed my tour in the Summer of ’69. My last duty station was Naval Ordinance Station, Indianhead, MD, just south of Washington, D.C.

My Dad always told me that I would always have work if I chose Health Care. He was right, and I did. After my discharge, I was recommended for re-enlistment, offered the rank of HM1, and was recruited by the Medical Service Corps to get my degree and go to OTS. The Nurse Corps and the Secret Service also recruited me. I decided to take the discharge and continue with my education. With my Navy training as an operating room technician in Spain, I continued to work in the main OR at Ohio State University Hospital. I continued in an RN program in Columbus.

When asked, where did you grow up? I usually say South of Da Nang in 1968. Life-changing, to say the least. I served as a Navy Combat Corpsman with the 1st Battalion/1st Marines in Vietnam.

I was shot at, booby-trapped, sprayed with Agent Orange by our own government, and poisoned at Camp LeJeune. A lasting impact, and I have been haunted by that experience every day for the past 56 years.

During 1968-1969, I feared for my life every day. My responsibility was to save my Marines. That awesome job came first. Sometimes my fear was disregarded momentarily, and I ran out to a wounded comrade. But, I believe all Corpsmen were like that. We were just doing the job we were trained and prepared for. I was fortunate to have returned alive and whole..

My first duty station out of the Hospital Corps School was Naval Hospital, Rota, Spain. I was eager to learn and serve for the first time in another country. I was fortunate to be led by senior Corpsmen who cared about their work and passed on their skills and enthusiasm to me. I was supervised by LCDR Joan C Bynum, NC/USN. She was tough, but fair and always there for her Corpsmen. I hold her in the highest regard. I only wish I had remained in contact with her over the years. LCDR Bynum eventually became Capt. Bynum. She was the first African-American Nurse Corps officer to attain that rank.

My least favorite, of course, was the jungles of Vietnam. That is where I did my best work, and that is where I learned the most about combat medicine. There was so much carnage sometimes it was impossible to keep up with. I lost many comrades and friends, the very friends who protected me. An experience that has lasted a lifetime. I thought it would all go away when I got home, and I was so wrong.

I still battle and am still being treated for PTSD. And, now, I have taken on a new battle with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, caused by Dioxin, a carcinogen found in Agent Orange.

Dec 17, 1968, the day I was wounded by a booby trap. My squad leader was killed, and another Marine was wounded as well. I think about that day, that moment, every day.

I visit Washington, DC, often, and I always take time to go to the Wall. I find his name, rub my finger across the letters in his name, drop a quarter in the trough below, and offer a salute to my fallen brother.

I also think about when the Navy Chaplain came to my parents’ house to tell them of my wound. I never knew what they experienced with that announcement. Now, as a parent, I can’t imagine living that nightmare.

Because of my training and experience in the Hospital Corps, I continued in the Health Care field.

Although I no longer work clinically, I still write and always keep my license current. The discipline and respect that were forced on me early on have stayed with me throughout my life, and I appreciate that more than anything else.

Awarded the Navy Commendation Medal

If you ask any Hospital Corpsmen about the awards, I’m confident we would all say, “We were just doing our job.” My Purple Heart is the most memorable. I was privileged to have served my Marines, but I am here to tell this story because of their commitment to keeping me safe. I have received other commendations, which, by the way, I am honored to have received from the Navy and the Marines, but I was just doing my job.

CAPT Joan C Bynum, NC, USN. She was my supervisor at Naval Hospital, Rota, Spain, in 1966.

She instilled respect for patients, Medical Officers, and other Corpsmen. She taught me that it was OK to work after my shift was over and to be available for a call anytime. She taught me never to be satisfied in my current position, always to move upward and forward, to be a lifelong learner, and to research to benefit others. She is the reason I continued in Health Care.

Having just published a book about Navy Combat Corpsmen in Vietnam, I am in communication with many of the guys I served with. When I first reached out to many of them to contribute to a book, I found myself in long conversations with them, reliving our experiences. It was like time stood still. The respect and camaraderie were never lost. I miss my Marines. I only wish I had taken the time to write down their names and addresses. I would love to find my machine gunner, Hamby, from Texas, my radio operator, Tommy Feller, my M79 man, Gott, and, of course, I would love to find Miss Bynum.

Most recently, I met with Doc Dan Thompson in Florida. He and I worked together at the Regimental Aid Station south of Da Nang in 1969. This meeting was particularly significant because when I was wounded, he was the Corpsman who took over for me in Charlie Company. We remain close friends to this day.

Because of my experience in the Navy Hospital Corps, I stayed in healthcare. I worked as an operating room technician, specializing in the open-heart team. While working, I also attended classes in a nursing program to become an RN. After graduating, I continued on the heart team for many years. I no longer work in clinical nursing but now write scientific articles, young adult historical fiction, and military non-fiction, many of which contain medical situations.

Life member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart

Life member of Vietnam Veterans of America

Military Writers Society of America

American Association of Navy Hospital Corpsmen

I try to stay current in all of these groups to communicate with colleagues and stay current on issues.

We were taught and force-fed respect, hard work, commitment, and honor. Only after I was discharged did I fully understand what that was and what that meant. Primarily, because I did not see it in the outside world. I have since added humility to that list. I recall the hours upon hours I spent in the drill hall on the drill team in boot camp. I could do the nine-count manual in my sleep. Over and over until everyone got it right, and we all suffered when one person screwed up. As a boomer, I believe we have gotten away from discipline and are less than we could be because of it.

If you are IN the Navy or the Marine Corps, you have made a commitment; now make it worthwhile. The military is not something less; it is something different. It is honorable, and you should take that responsibility seriously and make every day on active duty meaningful. I did, and I have never been sorry for that decision.

Living in New York City, we are honored every year to host “Fleet Week.” I always try to get out and meet Sailors and Marines walking the streets or enjoying a meal in a restaurant. I love to hear about the advances in service, and they tolerate my stories.

Thanks to this website, I have been fortunate to reunite with several comrades from my time in the service. I believe we are all more alike than you can imagine, and through this website, you will discover that. It has served me well, and I will continue to support it in the future.

I am truly honored to have a profile on the Navy and Marine Corps websites.

I thank Together We Served for allowing me to use their website name for the title of my book,

“Together We Served.”

In October 2024, “Together We Served” was named the Winner of the Military Category in the 2024 International Impact Book Awards.