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Dear Family & Friends,
Attached is the eulogy we wrote at my father’s passing, six years
ago this July 21st. He died just a couple months before
the attacks on 9/11 and was buried at Arlington just two weeks after
with the damaged Pentagon just down the hill from his grave.
This message is addressed to those who were in some way touched by
him, or possibly you have a connection to medicine or the military,
to my Dad’s home state of North Carolina, or perhaps you just simply
care about soldiers.
My father was an eminently accomplished Army pathologist. His work
in cardio-vascular research, space exploration, and body armor
development impacted generations. Next time you see footage of a
soldier wearing a Kevlar vest, think of my Dad.
Including civilian casualties, we have lost over 5,000 Americans
killed-in-action since 9/11, with more than 3,000 of them soldiers.
A number not often reported is that we have had over 30,000
wounded-in-action. Most of these WIAs are from improvised explosive
devices, which maim, disable, and disfigure in horrific, lasting
ways. Such weapons require the finest combat field medicine to stop
bleeding, triage casualties, repair wounds, and ultimately rehab
disabilities.
Not since Vietnam have we had a greater need to attract top talent
physicians to the military.
Each summer, West Point sends cadets on civilian-military
internships out into the world for experiences that often drive
decisions about academic major while in school or branch of service
after graduation.
The Academy’s primary mission is to produce “combat arms”
lieutenants, serving in Armor, Infantry, Aviation, Field Artillery,
Air Defense, and Engineer roles. About 3% of a graduating class
branches Medical Corps (physicians) or Medical Service Corps
(administrators).
To further interest in Army medicine, I have founded the Colonel
Robert H. Holmes, MD Scholarship Fund at West Point to provide
resources for these summer internships which will expose cadets to
laboratory, hospital, or field experiences. My hope is to attract
high caliber leaders into Army medicine.
Moreover, as you have surely read, recent reports about Walter Reed
have been tragically disturbing. In addition to serving in combat
medical roles, it is clear the Army needs leaders of character to
care for wounded soldiers and ailing veterans back home,
particularly for our aging Vietnam veterans.
We just lost the 50th West Point graduate KIA since 9/11.
West Point does not track WIAs, but if the Army at-large percentage
of 1 killed for every 10 wounded holds, that suggests 500 West Point
graduates have been wounded in the last five and a half years.
That’s about 10% of each class since 9/11. Given the branches most
Academy lieutenants choose, the actual number is likely much higher.
You might pause a moment to go to this link:
http://www.aogusma.org/as/admin/remembrance.htm.
If you would like to participate with me in this scholarship fund,
please see attached a form to complete.
Thank you for considering this. My father was a special man.
I miss him.
Rob
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