I very well could have met this man through the USO.
Philadelphia paid final respects today to Dr. John Pryor, a local trauma surgeon and Major in the Army Reserves at the University of Pennsylvania. He was killed on Christmas Day by a mortar attack near his living quarters; his family was waiting for a scheduled call from him. He was 42 and leaves behind a wife and three young children.
"In an undated document that Dr. Pryor wrote and left with family before he deployed, he recounted his early affinity for injured people, his passion to serve - specifically in wartime - and the difficulty of balancing his love of country and family, because he felt his decision to go to Iraq was not always supported by those closest to him."
Whatever your thoughts and feelings about the war, you have to respect a man who devotes his life to saving others despite whatever personal cost that decision may bring. Sadly, his death and funeral took a back seat on the news last night and today to the Eagles win over the Vikings in yesterday's wildcard game.
A quote by Albert Schweitzer hung in Major Pryor's office and was said to capture his spirit: "Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Even if it's a little thing, do something for those who need help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here, too." In addition to being a surgeon and reservist, he also wrote opinion articles in several newspapers, was chief medical advisor to the Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania and conducted disaster-relief training for volunteers.
As an entry on his Legacy.com guestbook said, "All that. In so few years. Thank you, thank you."
"In an undated document that Dr. Pryor wrote and left with family before he deployed, he recounted his early affinity for injured people, his passion to serve - specifically in wartime - and the difficulty of balancing his love of country and family, because he felt his decision to go to Iraq was not always supported by those closest to him."
Whatever your thoughts and feelings about the war, you have to respect a man who devotes his life to saving others despite whatever personal cost that decision may bring. Sadly, his death and funeral took a back seat on the news last night and today to the Eagles win over the Vikings in yesterday's wildcard game.
A quote by Albert Schweitzer hung in Major Pryor's office and was said to capture his spirit: "Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Even if it's a little thing, do something for those who need help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. For remember, you don't live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here, too." In addition to being a surgeon and reservist, he also wrote opinion articles in several newspapers, was chief medical advisor to the Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania and conducted disaster-relief training for volunteers.
As an entry on his Legacy.com guestbook said, "All that. In so few years. Thank you, thank you."