This Veterans Day we take a moment to thank the 24 million men and women of our Armed Forces and honor the millions before them who have come and gone. Each one has a story of their time served; some include tragedy, some have a happy ending. For one local Veteran, his story has a little bit of both. He owes his survival in war to one man, a surgeon, who was at the right place at the right time.
At the VA Hospital in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, inside room 227-D of building 18, you will find Dennis Haines twice a week making phone calls, phone calls to war Veterans.
"I've always wanted to help the Veterans,” says Dennis. “I talk to them and do what I can."
His time spent at the VA is voluntary, a way for Dennis to give back and to keep busy from memories of his own war.
"They stamped me approved, good-to-go, in fact that day they had us on a plane headed for Georgia," says Dennis.
Georgia for basic training, and then, Vietnam.
The year was 1968, Dennis was just 18 and as part of the newest draft coming into the country he was assigned to the 199th light infantry.
They were helicoptered in to where the action was, where they were needed, to fight.
"I was wounded December 6,” Dennis says as describes that day. “I remember that day very well. I even have a picture of where I was sitting when I was wounded."
It was in this water-filled rice paddy, while guarding the perimeter of a Viet Cong sympathy village, making sure no one went in or out, something caught Dennis' attention.
"I heard a baby or a kid cry to my left and swung to my left to look and just as I looked towards this hooch I saw what appeared to be a door swing open and a flash," describes Dennis.
"The next thing I remember was my buddy John cradling me, telling me how proud he was of me, how Gail, my finance, would be proud of me and that I really did good. Someone else from my squad said, hang on Dennis, the chopper will be here anytime."
Dennis' wounds were critical. He was shot twice in the right side of his head by an AK 47; in and out of consciousness and losing a lot of blood.
"I never remember being loaded onto the chopper; never remember being carried into the 24th Evacuation Hospital."
And this is where the story shifts...from soldier, to surgeon; the man who does remember Dennis' arrival at the 24th Evacuation Hospital, Chief of Surgery, Doctor John Baldwin.
"All you have to know is how badly damaged his brain was on that one side to realize how incredible it is that the guy is still out there," says Dr. Baldwin.
The night Dennis arrived was especially busy for the surgeons of the 24th Evac, wounded G.I.’s brought in by the dozens. The pattern was fix them fast, free up the OR for the next patient and move on. But not all cases fit into that pattern and Dennis was one of them.
"Dennis was put behind the curtain where you put people that you don't think will make it," says Dr. Baldwin as he describes the night Dennis was brought in.
That particular night all of the brain surgeons were operating. Dr. Baldwin was a chest and heart surgeon and for one brief moment, not at an operating table. It was that moment that changed both of their lives forever. “Its very rare that a Neurosurgeon says we’re so backed up, John can you do a case? And I said yes,” says Dr. Baldwin.
"When I walked up to Dennis I thought, ‘oh my gosh, what am I doing?’, but I felt this was one that was worth trying."
And try he did.
Taken out from "behind the curtain", Dr. Baldwin operated on Dennis that December night, fixed him up as he puts it "as best a chest surgeon could".
"I never really thought about him after that day," says Dr. Baldwin.
That was until 35 years later, when a very unexpected email showed up in doctor Baldwin's inbox.
The email reads: “Dr. Baldwin, I saw your post in the 199th Infantry website. I would have been a patient in the 24th Evac while you were there. I was shot twice in the right side of my head, paralyzing my entire left side and causing permanent visual field loss in both eyes. I had to see if you were there and might remember me. I am living proof that you all did a terrific job taking care of us guys."
And just like that, a moment in time tucked away as memory, resurfaced.
"I remembered the operation of the guy the brain surgeons were too busy to do," says Dr. Baldwin.
And in 2004, Dennis Haines and Dr. John Baldwin were reunited. It was a ceremony for Dennis, the recipient of the "Images of Bravery Award" nominated by none other than the man who saved his life.
"Dennis Haines never gave up and had the, can't-quit ability that one can only admire and that is very, very special."
It’s a reflection of the strength of human spirit, from surgeon to soldier.
And a reflection of a past, that will never be forgotten.
Dr. John Baldwin lives in Northern California so he and Dennis talk often over the phone and through email. Their friendship is one they both tell me is a bond like no other; one that will last a lifetime.
To learn background of this story or to see more of the incredible photos go to my
blog.
