Most emails I get are a farce, but i was wondering if it was true if tampons saved a Marine:?

Question

Tampons to the rescue in Iraq!! Don't worry - it's a good story and worth
reading. It's even humorous in parts. It's from the mother of a Marine in Iraq.



My son told me how wonderful the care packages we had sent them were and
wanted me to tell everyone thank you. He said that one guy we'll call Marine X
got a 'girl' care package and everyone was giving him a hard time. My son said,
"Marine X got some really nice smelling lotion and everyone really likes it, so

every time he goes to sleep they steal it from him." I told my son I was really

sorry about the mistake, and if he wanted I would send Marine X another

package. He told me not to worry about Marine X because every time I send

something to him, Marine X thinks it's for him, too.



He said when my husband and I sent the last care package, Marine X came over
to his cot, picked up the box, started fishing through it, and said, "What'd we get

this time?"



My son said they had the most fun with Marine X's package. He said he wasn't
sure who we were sending the pack to, but the panties were size 20, and he
said one of the guys got on top of the Humvee and jumped off with the panties
over his head and yelled, "Look at me, I'm an Airborne Ranger!!!!" One of the

guys attached the panties to an antenna and it blew in the wind like a windsock.

He said it entertained them for quite awhile. Then, of course, they had those

tampons.


When he brought this up, my imagination just went running, but he continued.
My son said they had to go on a mission and Marine X wanted the Chap-Stick
and lotion for the trip. He grabbed a bunch of the items from his care package
and got in the Humvee. As luck would have it, he grabbed the tampons too, and
my son said everyone was teasing him about "not forgetting his feminine
hygiene products."



He said things went well for a while, then the convoy was ambushed and a
Marine was shot. He said the wound was pretty clean, but it was deep. He said
they were administering first aid but couldn't get the bleeding to slow down,
and someone said, "Hey! Use Marine X's tampons!" My son said they put the
tampon in the wound. At this point my son profoundly told me, "Mom, did you

know that tampons expand?" ("Well....yeah!")



They successfully slowed the bleeding until the guy got better medical
attention. When they went to check on him later, the surgeon told them, "You

guys saved his life. If you hadn't stopped that bleeding, he would have bled to
death." My Son said, "Mom, the tampons sent by that Marine's Mom by mistake

saved a Marine's life."



At this point I asked him, "Well, what did you do with the rest of the tampons?"
He said, "Oh, we divided them up and we all have them in our flak jackets, and

I kept two for our first aid kit."



I am absolutely amazed by the ingenuity of our Marines. I can't believe that
something that started out as a mistake, then turned into a joke, ended up
saving someone's life. My sister said she doesn't believe in mistakes. She
believes God had a plan all along. She believes that the "female care package"

was sent to Marine X to save our Marine.



Either way, our efforts have boosted the morale of many Marines, provided
much needed items for our troops, AND saved the life of a Marine! God bless
every one of you for your efforts and hard work, and God bless our Marines,
Army, Navy, Air Force and all our military service personnel. GOD BLESS

AMERICA AND KEEP IT SAFE!


I'm not breaking this one. If I get it a 1000 times, I'll forward it a 1000
times! Please send this on after a short prayer. Pray for our soldiers and

please don't break this prayer chain!

Answer 1

Snopes.com looked into this one. They couldn't confirm that someone actually used a tampon in this way, but they said that the tampon story is entirely consistent with other stories of our amred forces' finding innovative uses in the field for other common objects.

A classic example of that, which they actually DID in Gulf War 1, is using a condom to cover the end of a rifle barrel, which keeps the san out when it's not being used, but at the same there's no need to stop and remove it when it IS time to use that rifle. You can just shoot and not worry about the condom, because a condom isn't going to stop a bullet or mess up the gun if you fire when it's on.

Also, the snopes.com write-up pointed out that the materials used in tampons today were originally used in military field dressings. Therefore, tampons would likely be very effective in treating a wound (like a gunshot) that created a hole.

To conclude, snopes.com couldn't confirm an example of someone using a tampon to treat a bullet wound as in that e-mail, but it would be consistent with other military innovations and it would probably work.

EDIT - correcting myself slightly: I just re-read the Snopes write-up. They DID confirm that tampons have been used as field dressings, and have been included in emergency first-aid kits, going as far back as the Vietnam War. What Snopes could not confirm is whether the specific account in the "pass this on" e-mail is true.

Answer 2

I'd say it's made up just because it says at the bottom it's chain. That's probably a story you would see on the main page of Yahoo if it were true.

Answer 3

oh my...the goose bumps won't stop and my eyes welled up with tears........that is awesome!!!†☺
after reading the other responses, do you think that it's a chain letter because it's true and they want it passed along so tampons will continue to be sent; doesn't anyone have a positive mind anymore!☺

Answer 4

awww, wow, I wonder if that is a true story.........

size 20 panties, though....I dont think they make them that big and if they did, would a women in the Marines be THAT large? I would hope not, she would for sure be a target

Answer 5

LOL wow that is some serious diarrhoea if you are willing to give that a try!! I would say no, but then the truth can be stranger then fiction every now and then. lol

Answer 6

if its a true story, i think that pretty ingenious that they would
think of that tampon, and if that saved his life god bless.
i'd like to see each and every one of them come home safe.

Answer 7

I read it...
and even if it is not true it is inspirational.
Peace.

Answer 8

If it isn't it art to be