Richard Langdon:  

Life. Who would've thought that a half-stoned, rock-n-rollin', long-haired, slacker turned out to be a Real American Hero? I was probably the most surprised of all, but it turned out to be true. Here's a brief recap... I left EMHS after my second year in 1973. I was bored and frustrated because I realized that I wasn't learning anything that I didn't already know. My home life was pretty frustrating, too. I left home, found some work, and saved up some money for college. I discovered that getting into most any university was far more difficult than I anticipated. I had a GED that boasted a 97 percentile, but my grades in EMHS weren't very impressive (slacker!), and I was still too young to be accepted at most colleges (I was only 17). So, I joined the USArmy. Surprisingly, that was a great choice, though I had my doubts at the time. Being a volunteer enlistee, I had my choice of careers, so I chose to be a Medic. I breezed through Basic Training because I was in fairly good physical condition and was highly motivated. The real shocker came when I entered Medic training at Ft Sam Houston, in San Antonio, TX. I not only came out at the top of my class, but I ended up being the class tutor. My efforts pushed the average test scores of my entire training cycle to the highest recorded in several years. I was then assigned to duty in Europe with the 3rd Inf Div, based in Kitzingen, Germany. I got lucky when a slot opened in the 3rd Combat Aviation Battalion just before I arrived. I became a Flight Medic in a medical evacuation platoon, also known as a "Dustoff" unit. I served for 2 years there before being sent back to the States. I continued my training and eventually achieved the highest levels possible in several specialized fields in Military Medicine. When I was Honorably Discharged in 1984, I continued both my public service as a Paramedic/Firefighter and education at the University of Texas. I lived and worked in the San Antonio area for another 20 years, positively impacting the lives of many hundreds of people during their most desperate times. I call it "My Warzone Years" and I did my best to make things better in the name of the greater good. I never considered myself a "hero" by any means, but I was called this by many. I was just...Expand for more