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Lived in St Albans late 40s and early 50s. I remember the Iwo Jima statue by the entrance. Does anyone know what happened to it? It used to be in history books as an original copy.
I WAS STATIONED AT NAVHOSPSTALBANS FROM 1970 TIL I RETIRED FROM THERE IN MAR 1972 (TRANS TO FLEET RESERVE) WORKED IN OUTPATIENT RECORDS AND AWARDED A LETTER OF COMENDATION FOR EFFORTS IN CONVERTING OUTPAIENT RECORDS TO NEW SS NUBERING SYSTEM. MY FAMILY AND I HAD LOTS OF FOND AND NOT SO FOND MEMORIES. MY EMAIL ADD IS [email]Rhiser33@MSN.COM[/email] any one who remembers that time period and the bomb threats contact me.
I spent 6 months there in 1967. I was in the Marine Corp and was wounded in Vietnam. This is the first time I have heard someone mention it. I got excellent treatment there and have fond memories of it. The doctors, nurses and Corpmen were excellent.
I spent several months there before you in '66 while waiting to get a Medical Discharge from the Corps.......Good to know someone received better treatment than I did!
I lived on the base in 1975-1979 at the time of conversion to the Extended care center for Veterans. My dad worked at the hospital. Beautiful place. Quite different now. I used to play in the old Navy barracks and tennis courts that were still on property at that time. All this is now the park. I'll look for some pictures and re-post if I can find some. No interior shots, just beautiful shots of the grounds. I loved the place.
WWII treated Veterans, wounded or not, were treated with respect! It was a different story for those of us who served in Vietnam....especially those of a different hue! Upon arriving at St Albans, during mid Aug, '66, someone removed my medical record's from my rack while I slept aboard the casualty flight! With that in the way, all of a sudden, I was an "unknown", but was admitted and brought to the Neuro Ward on the Port Side and top deck of the hospital anyway!.......With my head, heavily bandaged, due to a traumatic head wound, and my arm in a sling, also due to a wound, I stood at the Nurse's Station waiting to be assigned a rack....as I did, a Corpsman walked up to me and inquired "if I was in a car wreck or gang fight"?? I could only look at him in amazement and fired back with "you do know there is a war going on do you not"?? He didn't reply, but kept looking at me as if I was from another planet! I'll skip the part of finally getting a rack and jump to the next morning where I was greeted by a Naval Petty Officer, I assumed that because he was wearing a Tropical Uniform with 3 Naval stripes on his sleeve's and without a HM3 device/shield w/Caduceus on his collar's..... and given what I went through the week in travel before I was in no mood to chat.....to continue....the Officer informed me that I was to "get out of my rack and find a bucket, with a swab and some rags and swab the decks and clean the bulkheads"!! After thinking I was hearing wrong or dreaming, I then asked "is this some form of therapy"?? He replied "NO" it's what I want you to do"!! As I managed to raise myself to a better sitting position, I answered with an untrue remark of "sorry, the Dr. told me to stay in my rack"...... with that said, he walked away and I spent the rest of the day, in my rack....ticked and wondering if he was going to come back after finding out I lied,......he didn't, but returned the next morning with the same order, I then gave the same answer and he never returned again! All I could do then was wonder why he asked me in the first place......could he not see I could only use one arm and that the gauze wrapped on my head wasn't for show?? About three weeks earlier I had entered the "Gate's of Hell" when my company was ambushed by an unseen NVA force and as the "Ammo man" of a three man Machine Gun squad....."1st Squad of the 1st Platoon" to be exact.....we were hit one by one.....the first was my Squad Leader, who, by himself, with one M60 was hit as he fired from his position between several fallen trees while protecting the left flank, while the 2nd gunner and myself were out in the open, on top of the hill we were on and without any cover at all, got hit, he was 2nd when a the blast from a rocket rendered him useless, but alive! I then took over the M60 and, eventually, got hit! I'll skip the long story parts and mention that our main "Doc" was KIA as he worked on me and I was near our 2nd "Doc" when he was KIA while working on the other WIA's!
I'll end with......"it was the times back then in the civilian world, but not so in a Marine Infantry Co in a war zone! If some of my Brother's, and it made no difference what ethnicity, were there to witness how I was treated in St Albans it would have made the news!! One thing that really ticked me off was finding out, years later, that both Corpsmen were not awarded the "MOH"!!
Respectfully,
Semper Fi
Marine Grunt
Charlie 1/1 - 0331
1st Sqd/1st Pltn/Weapons/M60 - Ammo Man
Operation Hastings
WIA/23/July/1966
Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province, RVN
Last edited by Bronxdale Native; 09-11-2010 at 01:13 AM..
Reason: Spelling & wording
I had a dream last night about the old St. Albans Hospital in Queens, New York.
Does anyone remember that place in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Yes I remeber it well. As a matter of fact I was born on that base and spent a lot of my young years there.
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St. Albans Naval Hospital
