Boyd County Middle School Students Interview Local Veteran
Lora Parsons
The Ashland Beacon
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My 8th grade Boyd County Middle School students spent time in October emailing local Army Veteran, Charles Cross. As part of our Communication Arts class, students tackled the basics of sending, receiving, and replying to emails. The depth of information shared about Cross’ time serving in the Army made for an eye-opening glimpse into what life as an Army Medic looked like between 1969 and 1972. As part of the assignment, I asked my students to Cc: me on their messages. In this way, I could not only give them a grade for their work but would also be able to closely monitor what they sent and received. It was this digital eavesdropping that helped me realize how much information my students were receiving about that part of Cross’ life. The contents of these messages were better than any interview I could conduct, so I took notes as I graded.
Cross’ service began when he enlisted (with parent signature) at the age of 17. He told 8th grade student, Gunner: “It was my first time away from home. It was scary and exciting…The military helped me grow up fast. It helped me realize I could accomplish and be a positive influence in society. Though I was only in for three years, it would have taken me a lifetime to gain the wisdom that I received” during that time.
He told student, Sidda Marth, that he trained in Texas as a Combat Medic (Medical Corpsman, LPN), and then went to Hawaii at the height of the VietNam War to work in the Army Hospital where most of the wounded were sent. He was relocated to Fort Benning, Georgia and was assigned to the Green Berets and Army Rangers. Though he never was trained for combat due to his age, he did have to go through some of the training with these groups. Cross light-heartedly shared with Marth, a funny-now-but-not-then mishap. Driving his ambulance out to the training session one night, he recalled getting lost in a wilderness area of Georgia. Without our modern cell phone or GPS, he decided to climb higher up a mountain where hopefully his new vantage point would allow him to see the camp and get his bearings. The tactic worked; he began the journey back. As he approached the camp, everyone waved at him wildly, so he began waving back. “I thought they were just happy to see me.” What he soon realized was they were trying to divert his trek. He was in the middle of a live night firing range, which he learned when the targets started popping up all around him.
Cross shared another training-related story that generated quite a reaction from students. Most of the sessions he had to take part in, as he would be accompanying soldiers into battle. But, he didn’t have to do everything the soldiers did; he trained in the role of medic while their focus was different. One such training required the trainees to chew off the head of a live snake! He told James, another student, “I was GLAD I didn’t have to participate in that one!”
In addition to their curiosity about his training, many students asked what kinds of things he did while serving as a Medic. He proudly shared about the two lives he saved. One soldier sustained a life-threatening head injury during a training session. The nearest hospital was 30 miles away. He shared with Nakota how he called in a helicopter to land on a dirt road and flew alongside the soldier during the transport, “holding the back of his head together,” not knowing at the time that the gentleman was actually missing a piece of his skull. He also mentioned to several students about the night he heard a knock at his door several years later, when this gentleman returned to thank him.
The other life-saving moment during his time as a Medic also came in the field, many miles from a hospital or outside help. Jordan, another 8th grader, heard from Cross about a soldier who succumbed to heat stroke. Thinking quickly, Cross submerged him in the water of a nearby creek until he could transport him out of the field. In these situations, it was well-known by the soldiers that Cross could at any given moment be the link between them and life. Because of this, Cross was sure to explain that the soldiers had a great deal of respect for the medics. The medic had the authority to override all other officers if the conditions were too extreme to continue with training. They also accompanied every group of soldiers into battle; they went wherever soldiers were sent, identified by the red cross on their helmet and by carrying a medical bag instead of weapons. Cross told one student that they were “sitting ducks” recalling to her that there was even an extra reward during combat for the enemy soldiers to kill the battalion’s unarmed medic and return with his captured bag.
Cross said of the years he spent training with the Green Berets and Army Rangers: “That was awesome! I would never have had those kinds of experiences outside of the military.” He then went on to explain, however, that one of the low points during his service occurred during the time he was stationed at the hospital, when a newborn baby died in his arms.
Having joined because of his father’s Navy service, Cross fondly remembered father-son trips aboard his dad’s ship. “I loved all the uniforms, ribbons, medals, and stripes.” Along with citing his father’s career in the Navy as part of his reason for joining, Charles also explained that getting a free education and getting away from home to see the world were both part of his motivation. Grateful for his time in the Army, Cross shared with numerous students the significant growth he experienced at the time. Cross received an Honorable Discharge in 1972.
Many folks look back on memories and choose to omit the bad and glorify the good. Cross; however, opened up to my students in such a meaningful way that I know they have insights they wouldn’t have otherwise received. The energy in the room on email-reading day was palpable. The students excitedly shared stories of what their replies contained, wanting to be sure their conversation was heard by others in the room. There was definitely something extra special about hearing from a Veteran. Many students on their way out of the classroom asked me to be sure to thank him…not for taking time to email them back…but for the years of his life he gave serving our country. Thank you, Charles Cross, not only from Boyd County Middle School’s 8th grade students, but from all of us. We appreciate what your service then affords us today.
