European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Paula Soto b0h continued from Page 15 medics to remain Calm. Quot i m shaking and everything. But i m thinking she s going to be Fine. I can hear her. She stalking. She a  at the emergency Entrance of Bronx municipal Hospital. Or. Warren Wetzel and a Crew of trauma specialists were waiting. They already had Paula s name. Paula s youngest brother had to be located somewhere Between his High school and the family s apartment. Her lather had to be reached at the elementary school where he works part time driving kids to and from Home. Quot As i Hung up with Nelson or soothe woman who was working on Paula in the ambulance came Over. And she said everything was going to be of Quot said Lucy Soto 42, Quot and there was a nurse. She said everything was going to be Fine. Quot so i calmed Down and they took me to her. She had an oxygen mask on hooked up to All kinds of things. But she s laughing and she says i mom. Everything s  Quot i took , her rings her watch her ankle Bracelet then she tells the doctors take care of my mom and she turns to me and says now mom. Don t be upset. Quot then i told her i loved her. And the nurse took me out they wheeled Paula into the operating room at 4 35 . Wetzel and his medical team did t fully scrub or prep Tor the operation. Quot we just immediately opened her  he said Quot and the blood just bubbled out of her belly we cracked her Chest and Cut off her . Never had Wetzel seen one Bullet do so much damage. Nearly every vital Organ had been hit heart liver kidney stomach pancreas. They stopped the blood in one artery it spurted from another. Quot she could t have had a More devastating wound he said the. Trauma team worked on her nearly four hours. She died on the operating table at 8 12 . Her parents had to be told. Quot it s probably the most difficult thing you can Quot do Quot said Wetzel 42, who left his native Milwaukee and moved to the Bronx 15 years ago to help the inner City heat. For a moment the surgeon hated his Job. Wetzel had believed he could save this Strong Young woman a life. Quot when they die in your hands you tend to remember. I knew right away that she was in trouble Quot he recalled. Quot Bui this girl was Young innocent awake  More than 100 people gathered on the last monday in March to hear the Rev. William Foley celebrate a requiem mass at St. Johns roman Catholic Church. The goodbye would continue Over Many Many weeks. Quot you read about these things in the paper and you. Think it s a tragedy Quot said Chip Salvestrini director of athletics at Lehman College. Quot but it goes in one ear out the other. You Don t think about the lives that Are touched.&Quot., Quot when it happens in your life that s when you really see. How far. One 19-year-old girl s life can  Nelson Solo  accept that his Only daughter was dead. The son of puerto rican immigrants Soto grew up in the decaying South Bronx. He knew the streets and the risks. He d kept his three teen agers close to Home. He d warned them to be careful and they were. Quot she was always where she was supposed to be Quot said Soto 50, a Short Stocky construction worker with dark expressive eyes. Quot she was that kind of daughter. Was she mischievous of yeah. But she gave us 19 years of pure Joy. Quot they put her to sleep and she went right to  Wetzel could t linger on this Young woman s death. Bronx municipal gets More than 100,000 emergencies a year about 270 each Day. To bleed for each lost life would be paralysing. His shift continued the night Paula died Bui she stayed longer than usual with Wetzel a bearish Man with a brillo pad of a grading Brown Beard. Quot a Young person is dead and that s hard to talk about. She was innocent. There was t a drug Deal or some other reason you might get shot Quot Wetzel said. We need to re evaluate our whole society. We have this incredible crisis going  Adeline Ortiz ended up playing third base last season. She was reluctant to replace Paula. Quot for Paula the girls chanted before each game. And they Felt her there right up to the moment they claimed their conference _ championship Quot we did t just lose any average person Quot Adeline said. Quot when you come from a neighbourhood where there a drugs and alcohol and All kinds of temptation it s hard to walk a straight line. Paula did it. She had  on March 19, the Day she died a letter arrived at the Bronx apartment Paula had always shared with her a parents and two younger Brothers. She d won an academic scholarship for her Junior year. She never knew. Quot you re always asking in my Field a did i make the right Choice do i want to be a teacher Quot said Salvestrini the athletics director. Quot its kids like Paula that come along every so often and give you the impression that you did make the right Choice. Quot so you just wonder what was in store for her Down the Road Quot he said. Quot you just want to know what would this kids Story have been Quot ,. About 22,000 americans were Cut Down by violence last year. More than 2,200 of them died in new York City alone almost 200 a month about six a Day. Detective Michael Palladino said Paula Scase like so Many random homicides will remain open until it s solved. He s not optimistic. Quot these cases can destroy you but you can t dwell on it Quot Palladino said. Quot since her death which was such a catastrophe in this precinct alone we be had 15 More. Here in homicide Supply exceeds  softball shot while readers action Lin exchanges at the commissary it i recently went to the commissary to pick up a Lew items. As usual the commissary was packed and i was in a hurry. In my Rush i grabbed the wrong Case of baby formula. I realized my mistake after i got Home. I took the formula Back and asked the woman at the desk if i could Exchange it for the Correct formula. She said yes and gave me a piece of paper listing $37.95, the Cost of the first Case. I picked up the Correct Case of formula and went to the checkout counter. To my Surprise the clerk told me that i had to spend the whole $37.95. The problem was the Correct formula was Only $24. She said i had to buy another $13 95 Worth of merchandise to use my piece of paper since i did not need anything else i asked it i could just have the change Back or another credit slip Lor the difference. She informed me that since it was my fault for picking up the wrong item they could not do this. Only if there was something wrong with the merchandise she said would i Quality for a refund. My question is Why does the commissary which is supposed to exist to support the Soldier have such a restrictive policy concerning refunds most soldiers have a very limited income Why can t the commissary be a Little More understanding and a Little More human Charles p. Kuhn Wiesbaden Germany be col. Sandra s. Whitt commander . Army troop support Agency european commissary Region replies we wish to apologize for the situation you encountered at your commissary the cashier who handled your credit slip was misinformed. When credit slips Are issued it is the customer s Choice whether he or she wishes to receive a Cash refund or a credit. Apparently the cashier who dealt with your Case was unaware of this or misinformed. Unfortunately you did not indicate which commissary you were shopping in and we therefore have no Way of knowing whom we should Correct. A we also suggest that when you have a problem of any sort or Are dissatisfied with an answer you Are Given in the commissary you ask to see the commissary officer or the Deputy. These people can help straighten the matter out and provide clarification for you. We appreciate your writing to us and once again we Are sorry for the problem you had in returning your merchandise. Who receives combat badge it do All the soldiers who were Active in operation desert storm receive the combat infantry badge or just ones who were in the Battle zone we have some military personnel who were 200 Miles from where the fighting took place but they were in saudi Arabia. Does t this take the meaning from the badge combat ? what about the ones who never touched the Sands of saudi Arabia does the meaning of the badge still hold its meaning or is it just for show my husband was on the front line and he deserves the badge and More. Does that hold True for everyone Julia Berford Bamberg Germany be sgt. 1 St class Lance r. Walker office of the Deputy chief of staff personnel he Usa eur replies please thank the Reader for the Opportunity to discuss the army a policy on awarding the combat infantry badge lib. The Reader has expressed her concern that All soldiers who participated in operation desert storm might be awarded the lib. The Reader can be assured that everyone will not be awarded the lib. Unfortunately specific criteria for awarding the Cibas a result of combat operations during operation desert storm has not yet been determined. However the lib can Only be awarded to an army infantry officer in the Grade of colonel and below or an army enlisted Soldier with an infantry military occupational specially mos who has been engaged with the enemy in a hostile fire area or has personally participated in Active ground combat. Exceptions to infantry soldiers May be army officers of other branches who have commanded an infantry unit or army officers enlisted soldiers of other branches or army warrant officers who have served As an advisor to an infantry unit and have been engaged with the enemy in a hostile fire area. Additional eligibility requirements for award of the lib can be found in army regulation 672-5-1 military award chapter 5. I to write us headers action line is the readers Quot court of last resort Quot striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available. If you have a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to headers action line co the stars and stripes apqq9211-4211, All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers. Page 16 a the stars and stripes monday july 15, 1991