75-year-old Army Doc Back from 3rd Tour

At an age when most soldiers have long retired, Dr. John Burson found himself itching to get back in uniform at 75-years-old.

"I felt like I had a debt to my country, and it was an opportunity for me to go back. I had a skill set that fortunately the Army could use, even though I was much older than the usual officer," said Dr. Burson.

Dr. Burson, who spent 30 years as an Army Reserve doctor without serving in a combat zone, has pulled three tours in the last four years. Dr. Burson spent two tours in Iraq and one this year in Afghanistan.

Dr. Burson said it all started when he got a email at age 70, telling him about an Army program to bring retired medical specialists back to active duty. "I sent an email back and said, 'How about if you're 70-years-old, can you do that?' and a day or two later I got back the reply saying, 'Well if you can meet all the qualifications, indeed you can,'" recalled Dr. Burson.

Back in February, Dr. Burson was preparing to leave for his third deployment. Dr. Burson ran an aid station in a remote area of Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. The 75-year-ld was surrounded by Illinois National Guard members who were about a third his age.

"I'm sort of a father figure or maybe even a grandfather figure for most of them, because most of them are 19, 20-years-old," said Dr. Burson.

Burson said he doesn't feel 75. "I've been very blessed to be in good health, I don't have any aches and pains," he said.

Dr. Burson said he doesn't feel like his service is anything special. "I never feel like I'm particularly brave, because I've already lived a full life, so I don't have to worry about some of the things the younger guys do," said Dr. Burson.

That reality hit home in March, when four Guardsmen with Dr. Burson's unit were killed by a roadside bomb.

"The thing that always impressed me so much is how young these guys were. They've all got families at home, and you just grieve for the fact that these young guys are over there putting their life on the line everyday and something like this happens," said Dr. Burson.

Dr. Burson said he would love to go back again, this time to a combat support hospital, because he feels like he owes his country a debt that he's not done paying.

"I feel like at this time in my life, when I'm serving in this capacity, I'm really doing something worthwhile. There are not a lot of times you can say that unequivocally," said Dr. Burson.