After reading a couple of recent stories about donating blood on Okinawa, I was reminded of an experience of my own. I was serving with the 3rdMarDiv Band in 1964. We rated house girls because we went through several uniforms a day, mostly due to the Godawful humidity. One of our girls was killed in an accident and her family was having trouble paying the hospital bill. We learned that if a bunch of us went to the Okinawan hospital and donated blood it would help to reduce the bill. We wanted to help and also knew we would be given whiskey afterwards. I was lying on the table hooked up to a bag and taking life easy when I happened to look over and there was a big pool of my blood on the floor! There was a big hole in the bag and I yelled "Aksamio" at the top of my lungs. An Okinawan nurse came running and nonchalantly hooked me to another bag. Needless to say, I was given many shots of Suntory whiskey to sooth my fevered brow and ruffled feathers. Just another day on the Rock!
David Pease, Corporal of Marines 1961-1964
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