|
"Snake Man" we had a hilarious situation occur at the SNCO club
at an old, old camp in Okinawa in 1956.
Only, in this case it
was to be a fight between the "Habu" (extremely venomous snake)
and a CAT. When the guy dropped the cat in the glassed-in cage
with the Habu, the old cat took one look and made about two
trips around the cage and broke through one of the glass sides
and streaked through the club.
Now picture this: a fast moving
cat, the possibility of a very venomous snake being loose, brave
SNCO's scrambling (including me), chairs and tables being
upturned with a whole lot of &%*%%##@@ - the place was emptied
in a matter of seconds. Best show the Club ever put on.
CRS
Kamiseya
Sgt Grit:
Sadly but proudly, I have to announce the passing of an old
Marine buddy, Eddie Vice.
Another good Marine pal I also served with in the Marine
Barracks at Atsugi NAS Japan in the mid sixties, Bob Griffin,
chased him down and relayed the news from Eddie's son. Eddie
succumbed to prostate cancer in 1969.
The three of us were stationed outside of Atsugi at a small and
now defunct Naval Security Group Activity, which is a mouthful
for 'VERY classified' in Kamiseya, about 30 km from Atsugi. The
Marine Guard at Kamiseya had some legendary moments. On the 24th
of Sept, 1965, building 25 burned to the ground and took the
lives of 10 naval personnel and two Marines. Several of us were
involved in pulling people out of that fire, and my close friend
Paul Arcand labored unsuccessfully to save the life of a Marine
SSgt (Paul C. Rodrigues). I managed to burn the celia out of my
bronchial tubes and severely overheat my utes earning myself a
reprimand and meritorious commendation all at once for leaving
my post to go into that fire. (Two major fires have followed me
in my life.) The story of this tragedy is detailed in the copy
of the base paper, "The Kamiseyan" preserved for history online:
The Kamiseyan
As something of a poet, I exchanged my work with the base
Chaplain R.E. Jenkins, who chose to read one of them at the
memorial service and it was published on the back of the
Kamiseyan:
Read the published work
Eddie was always the life of the party, a profound humorist and
pianist easily winning the base talent contest at the EM
cracking us all up with his rendition of a popular Cajun
humorist in his home state of Louisiana. Eddie was vital to our
rescue efforts that dark September night and in this capture of
his memory, I shall remember him.
RIP Eddie.
Semper Fi !
Kent M. Yates
1989310 USMC
Cranked Off
Fun on the range; My memories are a bit fuzzy on the location,
I believe it was 29 Palms. We were doing a little practice
before qualifying when a small grey fox ran the full length in
front of the targets. Everyone was shooting at the poor thing,
but it emerged at the other end unscathed. At another range, I
believe at Subic Bay they where two men short to pull targets,
so they sent two Marines down to the butts. The man in charge
in the tall seat wasn't to happy about how fast they were
moving, so he cranked off a couple rounds over their heads. Man
I never seen two Marines move so fast. They covered that
distance in record time! Keep up the good work Sgt Grit. I so
enjoy reading the your news letter every week, It brings back
many memories of good times.
Cpl A.Johnson 1957-1961
Parris Island 2nd Bn
I was a Hollywood Marine so this does not mean that much to
me...but you PI Marines may feel a bit different.
John Wear
1943
I enlisted in The Corps in June 8th 1943 arriving at Parris
Island by barge. No causeway then, The brig in those days was
horrible place. There were no heads in the cells and prisoners
were given slop buckets to relive themselves.
If you behaved yourself the buckets were emptied daily. But if
you screwed up they may not be emptied for a couple of days. And
the people who served chow to the prisoners could hardly get
near the cells. The stench was so bad. Thus the Old Corps
expression, "You'll be in the brig so long they will be feeding
you beans with a slingshot." Thank God I played it high and
tight and never made the brig. By the way I met the great
Marine Lou Diamond there.
When we graduated (Platoon 440) as we departed we passed under a
big sign reading, "Let No Boys Ghosts Say If They Had Only Done
Their Job."
Is that sign still there?
A Proud 83 young Gunny Mazzie
USMC 539252
This Is The Corpsman Speaking
I served eight years FMF....I did three tours in Vietnam as a
Recon Corpsman but time in combat ended up taking their toll on
me...seeing too much combat and too much death put me in a
private H&ll that only other Combat Veterans, could ever
understand... you learn what the word "Frightened" is all
about.... you learn how to walk away from your brothers when
they are laying there dead in a shelter half, waiting for the
Chopper to come in and take them home. To survive, you know that
you have to shut down all feelings and just do your job. A lot
of veterans coming out of combat have already lost their ability
to "restart" their emotions and live a normal life. They will
carry the memories of combat for their entire life. The civilian
Dr's have attached many names to our demons...from "survivor
guilt" to the catch all "PTSD". But they will never truly know
what we are feeling.
For over 40 years now, I have dreaded a journey that I knew that
I someday had to take. It involved me going to Washington DC to
see the Vietnam wall. I asked my daughter to go to the wall with
me because she was as impacted by the war as I was....I lost my
mind in Nam, and she lost her dad. My daughter flew from Kansas
and I flew from Florida to DC.....we planned to go to the wall
in the morning. I woke up early the next morning and prepared
for the trip to the wall...I honestly didn't have the slightest
idea of how I would react to being there. I put my service
ribbons on my Jungle Utility shirt that said "Russell".... "U.S.
Marine". and we left for the Memorial. The wall wasn't as cold
and frightening as I had thought it would be. I walked slowly by
each panel of names...reading them....wondering if I would see
names that I knew....while all along hoping that I wouldn't. By
the time I reached the end I was crying....The sight of all my
combat brothers names on the Granite Wall as a lasting tribute
to "Americas finest children" gave me a different view of
Nam....the war is over...
Now this is the Corpsman speaking: If you are a Nam Vet and
having trouble with PTSD....DOC says go to the wall....it won't
cure you, but it makes you feel like you were also "One of
Americas finest children" in answering your countries call, and
doing your best...somehow you'll walk away knowing that your
life mattered, and that you will always be a part of history,
My Daughter took this picture of me reflected in the Granite Wall...sort of "the ancient worrier visiting his fallen
brothers".
Ron Russell
Little Agony And Big Agony
Sarg,
I just read the letter from L/CPL Harold Beasley in American
Courage #203. His mention of the infamous "Little Agony and Big
Agony" brought back flashbacks from my time at Camp Matthews in
March 1964. These two hills were like camels humps, and caused
much strain and, yes, agony.
One particular Sunday evening comes to mind. Evidently, the DIs
had some time to kill and took us for a run around Matthews. We
ran up and down those two hills over and over until the
formation resembled the proverbial "Chinese Fire Drill", with
members of Platoon 218 meeting each other coming and going. What
agony! And to make matters worse, Cpl Stelling and Cpl Wright
ran up the hills backwards! What memories!
And thanks to S/Sgt. J. T. Bridges, Cpl. J. L. Stelling and Cpl.
E. R. Wright, this "boot" became a United States Marine on 13
June 1964!
Once a Marine - Always a Marine!
Bob Lonn, USMCR, Sgt
Sgt Thornton
In response to Sgt.'s Frank Huff & Steve Krupa posts about a DI
Sgt. Thornton at MCRD San Diego. There apparently was more than
one DI named Thornton, as I was there June 23, 1973, Plt. 1070
and my Senior DI, was a SSgt. Johnny Thornton. While it's
possible he was a Sgt. in 71, I don't know that, but here's a
pic of him from my boot camp annual.
Fred Lowery
Sgt. USMC 1973-1976
Engineers 1341/1345
No matter where you go, there you are! "Buckaroo Banzai"
Corpsman Up
Marines and Corpsmen,
I've heard and read many stories of the "yellow footprints", and
tales of Marines earning "The Title", which cannot be bought at
any price. I'd like to relate 2 bits about the Title of Marine
from a Corpsman's perspective.
I was a broken hearted 17 year old the day a Gunny at the USMC
recruiting office told me that if I wanted to be a Medical
Corpsman in the Marines, I had to join the Navy. When he
inquired why I wanted to do that job in the Marines, the answer
was simple: "I want to be one of the best our Country has."
After being a Corpsman for 7 years, I got my wish. After a
"disagreement" with my Commanding Officer, I was declared as
in need of discipline, and my orders to a tender welded to the
pier in Charleston were cancelled, dropped a stripe, and I was
sent to the 2nd Marine Division. My CO called ahead to the
division surgeon to make sure that my 26 year old out of shape
behind went into a rifle company, which it did.
After a few weeks of treating my Marines, I morphed from the
senior HM3 in the entire Navy into "DOC". My efforts were
appreciated by my Marines and I began to feel accepted.
My first encounter with the title came several months later on a
dark ridgeline in Korea. A branch snapped back into the face of
one of my Machine Gunners, and he fell down the side of the
ridge. It was so dark I couldn't see what happened, but I heard
"CORPSMAN UP", and I came running. This Marine had the worst
Corneal abrasion of the eye that I'd ever seen. I treated his
eye and applied some pain killing drops, telling him that when
it started to hurt again to come and get me. A few minutes
later my patient dropped back to my place in the rear of the
column, and walking beside me put his hand on my shoulder and
said "Thanks Marine". I was REALLY glad there was no moon, he
didn't see my tears. It was that night that I really felt a
part of my Company.
Fast forward 23 years--
In October of 2006 I joined a forming Marine Corps League
detachment. While on vacation, since I had said I would take
the job if nobody else would, I was elected Charter Commandant,
and held the position for 2 years. In January of 2007 I was
appointed a district vice commandant for the Department of North
Carolina.
I stayed busy with detachment and department work, and organized
2 new detachments in 2008.
At the 2009 Department Convention, at the end of the Banquet the
Department Marine of the year Society presented their award. I
was one of the Leaguers being considered. When the Society
President said "FMF Corpsman" my jaw hit the floor, and while
being escorted up front I thought I was going to faint. I was
the first FMF Corpsman to be Department Marine of the Year in
North Carolina. I'm still floored when I think about it.
I know what Marines go through to earn the Title, and the pride
that a Marine gets when they earn their EGA is a powerful thing,
even decades after that day it is never forgotten. I use that
pride to recruit Marines to become Marine Corps Leaguers. A
Corpsman can't earn the Title in the traditional manner, it can
only be bestowed upon him by Marines. And the pride that comes
with that word to a Doc is equally powerful.
To all the FMF Docs that read this message, if you've not yet
joined the Marine Corps League, time to get the word, Mac! The
League needs more Corpsmen--Seasoned Marines still need someone
to push them to the Doctor!
Marines---remember Gunny Ermey as DI Hartman---From Today---
Until the Day You Die, Every Marine is your Brother. Joining
the League will make you a functioning Marine again. And that's
an awful good feeling!
Find a Detachment on this website http://www.mcleague.com/mdp/
or send an e-mail to kaczmarek [at] charter.net, I'll get ya
straight.
Semper Fidelis
Hank Kaczmarek HM3/USN
B CO 1/2 1983-1984
Past Commandant MCL Det# 1265
Corpsman of Marines
50 Years Earlier
Sgt Grit,
First of all thanks for the newsletter..I look forward to it
weekly
Just had an experience last Sunday the 5th I thought you would
like to hear about. I live in San Diego and last Sunday July 5th
was the 50th anniversary of placing my feet on the yellow foot
prints at MCRD.
My wife and I were at the MCRD exchange on Wednesday the 1st of
July, on the spur of the moment told my wife I wanted to stop
and talk to the SgtMaj of 2nd recruit training battalion. I
walked into his office, introduced myself, and ask him if it
might be possible for me to talk to some of the recruits on that
anniversary. Luckily, he thought it was a great idea and took my
number and said he would be in touch.
Over the next few days I received calls from the Company 1st
Sergeant, Company Gunny, and finally one of the drill
instructors for the platoon. (nothing like following the chain
of command) They arranged for me to be there at 1400 of the 5th
When I drove up at 1356 on the 5th, the platoon was standing
outside the barracks. The DI walked up and introduced himself
and ask if I wanted to talk to them inside or out. I told him
inside since it was pretty windy, so he had them fall out and
enter the barracks. When I walked in, I was introduced and then
the DI went into his office and shut the door.
For the next hour and 45 minutes I had one of the greatest
experiences I have ever had. We basically just shot the breeze.
I told them about my boot camp 50 years earlier and how things
had changed. They wanted to know about my career, if I had been
in combat, what it was like, was I scared. We talked about all
the MOS's I had held in 28 years. and what my favorite one was
as well as my favorite duty station. They got a good laugh over
the fact that I made 78$ a month my first 6 months and could
not have a car on base or get married until you were a Corporal.
We were not allowed to have civilian clothes in our lockers on
base. I told them about shaking Chesty Pullers hand and what a
thrill it was for me.
I could go on and on forever about the experience but will close
with.. as far as I am concerned, they are still making Marines
like they did 50 years ago and I was very proud to have been
given the opportunity to spend time with these exceptional young
men.
I also told them my wife and I will be in the reviewing stands
when they graduate in September..
Semper Fi....
Carl "Moon" Mullen
MGySgt
U.S. Marine Corps (Ret)
No Yellow Footprints
I was a young 19 year old lad when I entered the gates of MCRD
San Diego on 10 May 1974. I had heard all about those famous
Yellow Foot Prints from a friend of mine, as he had just come
home on leave in route to his next duty station. I waited in
anticipation at the Airport just for the opportunity to stand on
my own set of Yellow Foot Prints, that rite of passage so to
speak in becoming a Marine. Well, needless to say, that ritual
never happened for me.
I was due to leave Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ. at 0900
and arrive in San Diego an hour later. Somehow, flight plans
had been changed and I didn't leave out until 1630 that
afternoon. I arrived in San Diego approximately one hour later
and checked in at the desk. Myself and four other recruits
waited at the Airport to be picked up, and waited, and waited,
and, well you get the picture. It was about midnight when the
Marine bus finally showed up and we were loaded on.
We were whisked in through the gate and then taken directly to
the receiving barracks, where we were escorted to our comfy
little racks for a couple hours of sleep. At O dark thirty we
were rushed off to chow and then started our day with
processing. To this day, I feel cheated out of the experience
of standing on those famous Yellow Foot Prints.
Even so, I am still proud to be a Marine and be a part of a
brotherhood that will last my entire life. Has this happened to
anyone else?
If anyone out there was in Platoon 3049 from May through August
1974, I'd like to hear from you.
Semper Fi.
Wayne Pruett
PFC B Co/7th Engr/1st MarDiv.
Listening To The Japs
I am a 3/9 VietNam vet, and proud of my combat history. However,
my neighbor, a WW II Marine vet, who never talked much about his
combat history, finally opened up and told me some of his
experiences while island hopping.
Last week, while talking to him, he told me that he was in the
1st Battalion 8th Marines, which became the 2nd Marine Brigade
forming the 2nd Division. He told me about fighting on
Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and how his landing craft had run aground
on the reef at Saipan, and how he spent three days in the water
floating on his pack. At that point, my neighbor on the other
side stopped to chat with us (He is a Staff Sgt. twice deployed
to Iraq, and readying for deployment to Afghanistan).
I told him that Buford (The WW II Vet) was telling me about his
Saipan experiences. The Staff Sgt. said he read a book about how
3 boats had run aground on the reef at Saipan 1,000 yards from
the beachhead, and how only 3 Marines survived. I got chills
living through his episode with him. I told the Staff Sgt. that
he was talking to one of them right now.
Buford continued: He and two others were hiding under the pier,
where they spent the night listening to the Japs on the pier
above. In the morning, he decided to climb up on the pier and
face whoever is up there. He said there was one lone sentry on
the pier, who came charging toward him waving his sword in one
hand and a pistol in the other.
He could see the Jap was a young man who was scared half to
death. He stopped and just stared at Buford. I asked him what he
did then. Explaining that he had no weapons, everything was lost
when the landing craft wrecked, he said, I jumped back in the
water to wait for more Marines to come and help.
He continued on to tell us how they moved on to Tinian where he
was wounded five times and only received three Purple Hearts,
because some wounds had occurred in the same battle. He showed
scars where he was shot in the head (Through his helmet). But
the most thrilling part of his story was when he said he briefly
spoke with Col. Tibbits the day he left Tinian aboard the Enola
Gay armed with an A-Bomb.
After About Two Weeks
Sgt. Grit. After reading Garry Coons response about Marines in
uniform it reminded me of a conversation I had with my son who
at the time was in "C" school in Pensacola Fla. He told me that
all branches of service were in his classes and that every day
before formation the Marines would go up and down the ranks and
square away everyone's uniforms, He said that after about two
weeks of this he could see the other branches getting a little
resentful and they started taking pride in the way they wore
their uniforms to formation. This is not the first time I have
heard this and I can't help but wonder why the other branches do
not demand the same attention to detail that our Marines do. I
really do not mean to offend anyone and there are differences
for example in how the sea going sailor and the land stationed
sailor where their uniforms from what I have seen first-hand.
Semper Fi
Different Direction
Gov. of Alaska made a speech when she announced she would
resign. She said Gen. Douglas MacArthur said "We won't retreat.
We will advance in another direction." Army S O P is retreat. At
the Frozen Chosin in Korea in 1951 when 1st Marine Division was
ordered to move south in a retrograde movement. Puller was
asked are we going to retreat? His answer was "Retreat H&LL! We
will attack in a different direction. She didn't have her facts
straight
JJ
Need To Rant
This is written by a young man serving his third tour of duty in
Iraq. Thought you might find his take on the Michael Jackson
news interesting.
.....
Okay, I need to rant.
I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on
Michael Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He
was an Entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions,
he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a
villain to many people. I understand that his death would affect
a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death,
but that isn't the point of my rant.
Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses
their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution
to the Country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find
the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress
sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?
Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden
he's a freak!ng martyr because he entertained us for a few
decades?
What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom?
All those soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to
fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the
Constitution and the United States of America. Where is their
moment of silence?
Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and
mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why
is it when a soldier dies, there are more people saying "good
riddance," and "thank God for IEDs?" When did this country
become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that
they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw
themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?"
I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN
CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of
silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so
that the American people can live their callous little lives in
the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those
that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would
take too much time, because there have been so many willing to
make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of
dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that
the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and
tears so that people can enjoy what they have.
Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.
Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who
is serving in the military;
"So that others may live..."
Isaac
--
Jay R. Anderson
MSGT USMC Retired
Trigger Squeeze
parris island 1963
what is locked in my head is
sight alignment is:
when the tip of the front side blade is centered between the
left and right sight aperture
trigger squeeze is:
a slow steady even pressure straight to
the rear when the hammer falls without
the shooters knowledge.
semper fi
Taught Me Not To
On Friday July 3, 2009 I received the sad news that 1st. Sgt.
('Top') Jim Heine passed away earlier that day. I first met
'Top' at USMCRD San Diego on a very hot day in July of 1962 when
I reported for Boot Camp. He was only an E-5 at that time and
one of the four DI's we had in Platoon 353. Sgt. Heine was a
'Marine's Marine.' He taught our platoon what we needed to know
in order to earn the title of 'United States Marine.' He also
taught me not to smoke when you weren't allowed to do so! Thank
God for Marines like him!
Many years later I ran across him. It was good to hear from him
again! I found out that he lived in Louisville KY and that we
were both Masons. 'Top' was born in 1935 and served in the Corps
between 1952 and 1972.
I just wanted to let our fellow Marines know of 'Top' reporting
for guard duty in Heaven and how much he will be missed by his
loved-ones and those of us who he had made into Marines. May God
Bless him and all of his family.
Semper Fi
Sgt. Gilbert Snodgrass
1962-1966
2003371
Short Rounds
Marines are nobody!
but...
Nobody is perfect!
Therefore, Marines are perfect!
Sounds good to me.
Mark Sasak
SGT - USMC 1987 - 1994
sgt usaf (before I joined the military)
Welcome Home Marine, Job Well Done!
Semper Fi
Sgt Grit
|
