Sunburn

LarryJK
Senior Chief Moderator III
Posts: 507
(8/14/01 4:31:37 pm)
| Del All Sunburn
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It's sort of strange how memories can be triggered. We have have had cloudy weather for the last 3 days. Today has been sunny and clear and a memory surfaced! After I was transferred from B/720th MP Bn to the 557th MP Co and stockade duty, I found I had a little more time on my hands. I was assigned duty from 6pm till 6am. After getting off duty, I would go to the hootch and sleep as long as I could...usually 3-4 hrs. I would wake up do to noise from the hootch babes or whatever. What better time than to work on a suntan!! I would get my transistor radio and a blanket and lay out in the sun. Several of us did this during the day. I usually laid out on the sandbags rather than on some concrete near the Co EM club. One MP who was quite fair-skinned, laid out in the sun to many times and once to long. He got sunburned so bad he had to go to the dispensary and be treated for a serious sunburn. I don't know if this was true or not, but I recall it being said that he had a 3rd degree burn. But the kicker to this memory is that this guy got an Article 15 for this. I can only guess that he got the Article 15 for being negligent.



TShooters
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 505
(8/14/01 6:28:45 pm)
| Del Re: Sunburn
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LarryJK,

Being sunburned that bad is miserable for fair-skinned people.
I got a bad one right before H/S graduation on our Senior Day
at the lake. I rode in the ski boat a lot that day, so it was
prolly a combination sunburn/windburn.
Someone said "Put vinegar on that..it will take the heat out."
Duh...dumbest thing I ever did! Had big ol' blisters across
my shoulders and back the next day. Everytime I stood up,
I'd have tunnel vision and nearly black out. It was bad!

Then there was the time that one of hubby's best AF buddies and
his date went to the lake...fell asleep on the beach...and she had
a red butt with white handprints....
But that's another story....

Sharon

donbrails
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 59
(8/14/01 8:16:32 pm)
| Del sunburn
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Just a random thought.
In April of '67 at Prek Klok Special Forces camp we had to build a 640 foot timber trestle bridge inside the compound. We had a Sp/4 with us that could not tolerate the sun or heat. He was one of the fair skinned, freckled individuals that could not stay out in the sun for more than a few minutes. Since we had to work on the bridge and our bunkers and personal supplies were outside the camp he was assigned as a "guard" to watch over things in case someone would be wandering through the area. He would sit in any shade he could find with a wet towel around his neck and guard our belongings. We never had anything stolen or misplaced while he was on duty. I didn't know him that well because he was short and I had come in-country only about a month earlier but I always wondered how he survived a year in the sun and heat. There is a picture of the bridge in Col. Charles Simpson's book "Inside the Green Berets...The First Thirty Years".
Thanks,
Don

oneknight
Moderator
Posts: 1666
(8/14/01 9:19:10 pm)
| Del Re: sunburn
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Larry,

Feel for the poor guy. I'm a redhead with very fair skin.
Sunburns are extremely painful and there is no treatment,
regardless of the severity.
More often than not, the severe burns that I've had have
turned into sun poison.
When the sun worshipers skin looks like leather,
I'll still be lookin' young...............lol!!!!!

BURN, BLISTER AND PEEL!!!!!!!

Donna



Edited by: oneknight at: 8/14/01 10:22:02 pm

106RR196LIB
V.I.P. Member
Posts: 191
(8/16/01 7:57:06 pm)
| Del Sunburn
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Larry;
When I started in country, they warned us that we could be prosecuted for sunburn. We had to spend short times in the sun without a shirt for a while. We also had to take salt tablets and drink water. I came from the jungle school at Ft Polk so it wasn't new to me. I burn and peel.
I did see a guy stateside once that had been sunbathing beside the Stanislaus River. He looked like he was wearing a bright red bathing suit. When we got closer, we could see he wasn't wearing a suit at all. I'll bet that hurt the next day. He was under the influence when we saw him.
Mike H

homer4
Moderator
Posts: 1476
(8/18/01 5:46:12 pm)
| Del sunburns
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I belive your right bud...they could '15' ya for failing to take care of yourself...'GI'...Government Issue is what they figured we were. Seems I recall a DI leavin some 'honey dew's on my face from screamin that at me those very words. Hehe! Ah! Me!

Seriously...I think they could of pressed the issue. Unfit!, Abusing Government Issue!...something.