Doc Buzz out in the bush in the Northern AO
Near Dai La Pass
FMF
Corpsman Paul "Doc Buzz" Baviello
Grew up in a
little town north of NYC named Mamaroneck and went to boot camp
in Dec. 1966 at Great Lakes, and wow was it cold! Volunteered to
be a Corpsman with another friend from boot camp with the assurance
we would be sent to the Marines. Little did we know at the time
we didn't have to volunteer ;-). Stayed at the Lakes for Corps
School from Mar. '67 to July, then the whole company was sent to
FMSS at Lejeune in Aug. '67.
Gungi
squids - 5 Corpsmen on our last hump in Field Medical School at
Lejeune.
I am on the left with helmet and rifle, and my buddy Al Myer is
on the right.
My next stop
was Jacksonville Naval Hospital in Florida. Still with my good buddy
Ivan Heller, and another good friend named Al Myer. We all teamed
up with another Corpsman Larry Padberg, and we all had a ball. Damn
did we party and have some fun! Worked Orthopedics ward where I
was schooled in what to expect and do by so many of my patients
back from Nam. Had some of the best nurses training us too,
from Lts Britt to Yastishock. Did stints on Cardiac Intensive
care and emergency room. In Mar. of '68, all of us except for Larry
got our orders. Ivan and Al were going to Nam and me to Camp Pendleton.
At Camp Pendleton,
I was assigned to 2/28 of the newly activated 5th Division. I was
assigned to Echo Co. up at Camp San Mateo, just like a famous Corpsman
by the name of John Bradley (one of the Iwo Jima flag raisers).
For 19 months I went to school as my Marines, coming back from Nam,
taught as much as they could. But shortly after Oct. 11, 1968, I
was hit with a punch that sent me for a loop.
My best friend
Ivan Heller was killed while with serving with 2/5. A few days later
got a letter from Larry telling me he would get incountry on the
11th of Oct. and go visit Ivan when he got the chance. Then 7 months
later Larry was KIA. Then I found out that my bunkmate at Hospital
Corps School Bobby Aucoin was also killed. I had lost track of Al
but knew he had been with 1/9 up on the Z.
In
Nov. 1969, I landed in An Hoa, and was assigned to D 1/5.
Platoon CP on the Hot Dog out in the Arizona
in Feb. '70
Front row left to right: Cpl. Parra, L/Cpl. Whelan, Doc
Buzz.
Back row: Lt. Anderson, Sgt. Meeks, L/Cpl. McWhite.
Spent my year
in Disneyland then came home got married, when back to college and
got my teaching credential and got a job. Started teaching and Coaching
football and Baseball at Schurr High School in 1974, and I am still
there. In the course of that time, was the head baseball coach
for 15 years, but I am still coaching football and teaching US History.
In 1976, my
son Randy was born, one of the two happiest days of my life. The
second was in 1983 when daughter Kelly was born. The third greatest
day of my life was in Feb. 1995 when I sat in the stands at MCRD
and my son marched onto that parade deck, and they called him Marine.
My son, Sgt. Randy Baviello, USMC, on
the right with one of his friends at 29 Palms.
This Internet
is amazing! In the past two years as a result of it. I have talked
to guys who were with Ivan and Larry when they died, and found out
what happened. Ivan was in a chopper crash as he was coming in for
a landing on Hill 52 just north of the Arizona. He was listed as
MIA- Body Not Recovered until 1973 only a click from where the chopper
went down. The really weird thing was that the first place I landed
with D Co. in Vietnam was on Hill 52, and for the next month I patrolled
the area all around that and never knew his body was still there.
I wonder how many times I walked by him.
Then I got an
email one day after my book came out from my buddy Al Myer asking
if I might be the same Doc Buzz he used to hang out with. Learned
that he got two Silver Stars and 3 Hearts, and helped build a Hospital
for Vietnamese kids up at Dong Ha.
So there you
have it, the history of my life. I am the luckiest and most fortunate
man in the world to have two wonderful kids, great friends like
Ivan, Larry and Al, and to be mentioned in the same breath with
so many wonderful Corpsmen and Marines who gave so much of themselves
in Vietnam. I would not trade it for all the money in the world,
and each day I get to know and meet so many more wonderful people
like those of you on this site. But I have to say to the guys in
Delta 1/5 you hold a very special place in my heart no one will
ever compare to you all, and it will always be.
Semper Fi, Doc
Buzz
Delta 1/5
This
is, and always will be, my platoon on Hill 65, Christmas Day 1969.
Be
happy and enjoy life!
Buzz
Remembering
Fallen Friends
Shaking
hands with my close friend, Ivan Heller, (Larry Padberg in yellow
shirt to my left). It was the day we left Jacksonville, and the
last time we all ever saw each other again.
HN
IVAN LOUIS HELLER
Born on Aug. 5, 1947
From GENESEO, ILLINOIS
Casualty was on Oct. 11, 1968
in QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM
Panel 41W - - Line 46
HM3
LARRY GENE PADBERG
Born on Sept. 8, 1945
From ADA, OKLAHOMA
Casualty was on May 12, 1969
in QUANG NAM, SOUTH VIETNAM
Panel 25W - - Line 80
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Corpsman Up!
Doc Buzz' Book
Delta 1/5 website
