Recollection of Duane R. Dulin, SA

by Duane Dulin

Note: Originally published in “To Be Someone Special – The Story of UDTra Class 29” by RD Russell

It was dreaded ‘Hell Week’ during our training that had all of us ‘pollywogs’ wondering if we’d make it through. We suffered through morning, afternoon, and night problems that left us exhausted. The one saving grace was the hot showers. Oh, how we savored them after a particularly tough problem.

During the course of that week when we were hurting, tired and miserable, it was Bart Edmiston who showed me what ‘True Grit’ really was. After one of our problems involved with running on the beach sand getting gritty Bart took his shoes off to ease the obvious pain he was experiencing, and then I noticed the condition of his feet. He had huge blisters that had blistered again, and the skin on the sides and bottoms of his feet was peeling off in long strips. I couldn’t believe that he could keep going with feet in the shape his were in. It came time for us to get moving as the instructors were rousing us for the next problem. Bart grimaced but tugged his boots on, groaned some while getting to his feet, winced at the pain, and charged into the next problem. With my feet relatively healthy I was in awe of his stamina, and resolved to not let a little discomfort stop me. I was particularly pleased when our boat crew won the final night problem and we were rewarded with securing early. Bart was elated and I felt if anyone deserved accolades it was Bart Edmiston.

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