UndisPUTed Hero (POW)

There was no disputing the sound of the slow put put of the helicopter

blades making preparations to put down next to the wounded man

who had put himself in jeopardy for his platoon and had been

lying in a dugout putting him self as close to the ground as possible,

to keep from being picked up in the sights of snipers in the hills.

The rescue copter was having its problems, having had incorrect

computations of the grid where he was left alone. This put him

in more danger than before, as the longer he was left there

the more putrid the smells of his wounds were becoming and the

enemy had dogs , searching out his whereabouts. He became

more frightened as time went on. What seemed like an eternity,

suddenly was coming to an end, and he lifted up his head, putting one

hand covering his eye to squint into the sun and see the rescuers

making their final computerized approach. A warm feeling pulsed through

his weary body, as he knew he would be out of there very soon with any

kind of luck at all. He felt the spray of sand and wind hit his helmet which he

had put down over his head, and he knew the copter had landed. He

heard the footsteps of the rescue party stealthily running toward him,

putting one foot carefully in front of another, so as not to step on any

land mines that may have been embedded in the ground,put in the

way of any rescue attempts or other forward movement of the combat

company he was attached to. The arrival of his comrades took

but seconds, and they hurriedly put him into a gurney like basket

that was attached to the helicopter and went about  putting up signals to

the pilot and the crews to pull him up and they climbed ladders and entered

the cabin too, and with a quick start the blades began theirput putting again

and quickly took off for the ship awaiting them to help them save their

buddy. A emergency hospital had been put up on board the ship, just

made for moments like his. Not many doctors were trained for surgery

that was apparently going to be needed. His leg mutilated, needed to be

amputated above the knee. Unfortunately the surgeons present, were not

equipped to handle this amputation.

A call was put out over the ship computers to a reputable surgeon who

was able to guide their hands putting them in control of instruments

by visual pictures on the computer screen. The injured man was put

out with anesthesia, the doctors put on scrubs, nurses put  instruments

on a table, and the surgery progressed. He awoke in the recovery room,

sputtered when he put his hand down to his knee no longer there,

and cried.

His platoon leader entered the room, put his hand to his forehead

saluting him. Putting tears away, he saluted back, an undisputed

hero.