Another year, another one gone

This has been going on for too damn long. I can’t believe that for the better part of this decade I have had to say goodbye to people, people who mean a lot to me. And it never gets easier. First my parents, Pop Pop, Kyle, and Becky, then the god damn Towers, now the US Army. I can remember the ones that have gone ahead too soon. The trend has been since I joined the Army to lose one medic in combat every odd year. This year I was hoping to buck the trend. I had hoped there would be no McCarthy, no Campell, and no Restrepo. But it was not to be. This year it is Winkleman. He was a young man full of life and one of our best medics. The first time I met him was at PT formation when he was so smashed he could barely stand up. Despite this he still managed to make the 4mile run that morning. After that day, I got to see another side of Wink. During sick call hours, Wink was always busy, seeing who ever needed to be seen. Soldiers knew that if Wink was taking care of them, they were in good hands. Sad now that Wink is the hands who made him who he was. The fury inside is subsiding now and I am finding it hard to write anything further. So I will end with this: Winkleman it was an honor and privilege to have met you and to have served with you. God speed.