Vermillion Veteran Offers Women's View Of War

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Vermillion Veteran Offers Women's View Of War

By: Linda Wuebben
P&d Correspondent

CROFTON, Neb. -- The Crofton Elementary School celebrated Veterans' Day a little late -- but not with any less enthusiasm.

Staff Sgt. Penny Dickes of the 730th Area Medical Support Company in Vermillion spoke to grades 4-6 about her two tours of duty as a woman in regular army.

Dickes, having worked for years in the Randolph school system in Randolph, Neb., while part of the Army National Guard, was well prepared for the young students with several visual aides and many interesting stories of her service time.

Desert Storm was Dickes' first experience in a combat zone. Iraqi Freedom has also called her to serve her country.

"I'm proud to wear my uniform," said Dickes, who has spent 27 years in the military. "I first signed up as a senior in high school and I love being a soldier."

Letters and care packages from family and friends in the states are important, too, Dickes told the avid listeners. Not everyone is capable of the military life.

"It was very hard to serve in Iraq and be a woman," Dickes said. "Women don't drive in the Iraqis' country nor do they show their face. Some of them did not want us there and threw rocks at us or tried to drive us off the road."

Dickes' assigned job description in the army is a combat medic. She treats the wounded out of an ambulance or sometimes it might be on the back of a pickup truck.

A photo of Dickes showed the kids what she looked like in her 75 pounds of body armor that she, as well as all soldiers, had to wear when they were called out to treat the wounded. There were four metal plates covered in cloth, which surrounded the main organs of a soldier's body and protected them from gunshot wounds.

A vest Dickes pulled on for the students fit over the armor. It was sewn with several pockets and loops that carried a canteen, gas mask, flashlight, and seven pockets to carry the bullets for her M16 and 9 millimeter handgun. Seven clips would hold 30 bullets and added more weight to her body. A personal first aid kit, which was to be used only on herself, was attached by a spring to her belt so if she went down, she could find it easier.

The M16 was always loaded. It was the first thing the soldiers did because even though Dickes was a medic, primarily, she was a soldier ready and willing to protect.

A 6-pound helmet lined with metal and had an American Red Cross symbol on it, also went with Dickes everywhere. She compared it to the Iraqi helmet with a crescent moon, their symbol for medical aides, which only weighed 3 pounds and had no extra metal protection.

A canteen went with her everywhere she went for often the temperature was 135 degrees. A case of bottled water was placed in the ambulance on every trip out of the camp. It would get so hot, the caps sometimes popped off because the water was next to boiling, she said.

Dickes also showed items from her medic bag, which included needles, bandages, IVs and other first-aid supplies. She also showed the students an Iraqi bandage that was given to the Iraqi medics when they went out to the wounded. It was a large, three-corner, white piece of material which had a human body printed on it and instructions of what to do when an injury occurred to any area of the body.

The Iraqis had very primitive medical preparation compared to the American medic teams, she said.

Photos of sand storms and lizards covered a table along with foodstuffs they ate in camp and out on a mission. Dickes talked about kangaroo rats and snakes which bothered them in camp because of the accumulated trash. The Iraqis do not have garbage services and are very careless with their trash, she said. On the other hand, the Americans were very careful with their trash because the enemy would find creative ways to use the throwaway garbage to make bombs.

Americans learned to be very cautious when driving down Iraqi roads. A dead cow on one side would be avoided but the enemy may have placed bombs made of discarded water bottles or pop cans across the road from the dead animal where they figured the soldiers would drive.

The hot packs made of plastic filled with a liquid which the American soldiers used to heat their packaged meals could easily be turned into bombs so Dickes said the soldiers were very careful to burn those types of garbage.

A meal pack often included such small items as packets of salt and pepper, cream, gum, coffee, wet towels, matches and toilet paper. The Iraqis do not believe in toilet paper so soldiers had to bring their own.

Camel meat was a favorite local food but Dickes was not fond of the local foodstuffs. They could buy many American items like cans of soda pop and potato chips but with Iraqi lettering. She added they had strange tastes in chips as some were ketchup- or hamburger-flavored.

A four-wheel drive Humvee fitted to be an ambulance is Dickes' mode of transportation and she drives it -- and changes the oil, checks the tires, keeps it fueled and ready to go at a moment's notice; and does all the general maintenance.

"I depend on that vehicle and no one else will make sure it is filled with gas and ready to leave," Dickes said.

There are so many bad things about the Iraqi war on TV but Dickes said the soldiers do a lot of good. The medics visit the schools and give children their shots. They also check the children's teeth and pull some if needed while teaching them about brushing their teeth and the importance of dental care.

It is a privilege to attend school there, she said. Most children seen out during the day were looking for fresh water and food for the survival of their families.

The Iraqis were very devoted to prayer and three times a day, they would lie out their prayer rug and drop down and pray. Dickes received many rugs and beautifully woven and bejeweled scarves from grateful Iraqis for reasons ranging from saving a child from choking to a simple good deed. The locals would come to the gate and ask for "Benny" because they had a hard time pronouncing her name.

Recently, Dickes spoke at a leadership clinic for fourth, fifth and sixth graders at Wayne State College. From there, she received speaking requests at four schools; she enjoys doing it and hopes to do more.

Along with performing medic duties, she is a full-time unit administrator at her base camp in Vermillion.

"Yes, I will probably have to go again," Dickes said to a young student who asked about going back to Iraq. But that's OK -- it's her life.