BOOT CAMP MESS HALL

Comments

Reinhold Woykowski - March 29, 2020

Wow, I got KP for two months. They first told me one month but on my last day of KP the SGT stuck his head into the little window where I was washing dishes, pots and pans and said they don’t have anyone to replace me so another month of hot hell fun. USMC 1972-1974

Harry 1371 - March 29, 2020

Mess Duty in the Scullery, what fun. The only thing about working the Scullery was being able to shout at the new recruits coming through the line Harry

‘Stoney’ Brook - March 29, 2020

What’s all this “In the Old Corps” stuff? My granddad joined the Corps in 1909 and transferred to the Army in 1913. Went to Europe for WWI, then was in the cavalry chasing Pancho Villa. Retired as a MSGT from the Army Air Corps in 1939.

As he was quick to point out, “In the Old Corps, we didn’t have no mess halls. We hunted down critters and ate ’em raw.”

Bob 1381 - March 29, 2020

Ron,
I wondered if I was the only one that thought that about Geiger’s mess hall. I was there March/April 1966..Nam 1966/1967. Maybe they figured that if we could live on PB & J we could live on anything. What they didn’t know is that us southern boys were raised on PB & J sandwiches. And now and then I still have a hankering for a good old PB & J sandwich…….Bob 1381 (Shore Party)

Chuck Reardon - March 29, 2020

Hey Bob 1381:
I agree 125% with you on the “MESS’ halls at P.I., Camp Geiger was November – December 1964, 65 – 66 in Nam, Back to Camp Lejeune, then Sea Duty School, then the USS Essex, then Barracks at Quonset Point in Rhode Island. All had good chow (( Nam was OK ). I’d say all of us survived on the PB & J sandwiches. Have wondered to this day if that was part of the training ??? But to this day I still like
PB & J sandwiches, figure that one out.
Chuck Reardon
Sgt. 1341/45, and as needed.

Jim Kennemore - March 29, 2020

“The first Marine sneered was the second appeared and said, ‘It wasn’t like this in the old Corps’.

TOM PRINCE, GySgt - March 29, 2020

While at Parris Island (1st Battalion 1969) I was assigned to mess duty and I was with the ones out back hosing down & washing the wheeled tray racks. We were under the “care” of the regular mess crew and as long as we kept up it was all good. Every once in a while one of the carts would show up with a pie or something still on it. Found out if the mess crew could come back where we were and sneak a cigarette we could eat the pie or whatever. No problem! Where we were we also could see the WM recruits as they were unloaded from buses to get chow. Those female DI’s had some lovely expressions (“I better hear 80 c__ts snapping shut when I call you to attention!”) too. Still laugh when I think back. During the same stint I had gotten one of the soap blocks and carved a one finger salute which I “donated” to one of our caretakers. Certainly not something I could take back to the barracks. Mess duty was actually a rest period in my opinion.

Sam Habhab - March 29, 2020

That something happened to my platoon at McCord, in 1969.

Sgt Marko - March 29, 2020

I returned to the rear at Quang Tri, from C2. The gunney was looking for someone for mess duty, and the son of a bitch picked me. I had to light the imersion burners, in the shit cans, for marines to wash their trays. I was lighting them, one day, and one would not light. I made the mistake of looking down into the heater. The damn thing exploded and burned off my eyelashes, and eyebrows. I guess that I got off lucky, it could have been worse, but I was pissed, even more, at the gunney, for picking me.

Bob 1381 - March 29, 2020

When at MCRD Parris Island, Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Camp Lejeune and Camp Delmar, California we had excellent chow. The chow in Vietnam wasn’t the greatest but it kept us going. However, at the ITR mess hall at Camp Geiger, if it hadn’t been for the peanut butter and jelly, I think I would have starved. TERRIBLE!!!!…….Bob 1381