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Camp Wilson, 29 Palms
August 10, 2019 Grunt.com Admin

Camp Wilson, 29 Palms

A Marine Corporal Remembers Camp Wilson

Submitted Aug. 10, 2019

By Cpl. Mike Kunkel, USMC Veteran

Grunt.com

About the Photograph: Cpl. Mike Kunkel describes being pictured with "a buddy named Max Lesko outside the old tin and wooden huts at Camp Wilson" in Twentynine Palms, California, in June 1982 "before leaving for Med Cruise and, eventually, Beirut." Camp Wilson at that time was officially called Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, and still is the world's largest Marine Corps training base.

One day, just after arriving in June 1982 at Camp Wilson, but before going on the actual training exercise before ultimately heading to Beirut, a few of us decided to hump on over to the base of a nearby mountain range. Needless to say, we never got there.

Camp Wilson is the name given to the training base established in the California desert in 1952 for desert training exercises.

By 1982, it had been officially named Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. In 2000, the base became the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command. However, veterans and local residents informally still use the words Camp Wilson.

We kept turning around and looking back at Camp Wilson and it kept getting smaller, but the base of the mountain never got closer and we just turned around and headed back. That Monday, we were trucked out to the area where the live-fire operations were taking place, but I never did pay attention to how far the base of the mountain range was from the camp.

Does any jarhead or doc who was ever at Camp Wilson know how far it actually is from Camp Wilson to the base of the mountain depicted in the photograph? Contact SGT GRIT to share what you know with other Marines who submit stories and news to the SGT GRIT website at Grunt.com.

Incidentally, it was during this time at Camp Wilson in 1982 that I was involved in a minor helicopter crash. The Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment (Lima 3/8) was a helicopter assault unit. One evening during a night training operation several of us who made up part of the Lima 3/8 0331 M60 infantry machine gunners were cross-training with a 50-caliber machine gun team. and we were loaded onto a CH-53 helicopter.

This next part I am unclear about, since my memory is a bit cloudy, but we were fully combat loaded down both sides of the benches of the CH-53, and I think we had a jeep in there with us as part of the cargo that belonged to the 50-caliber gun crew.

The helicopter lifted and moved up and forward as they typically did on takeoff, but the bird started shuttering and then dove forward and crashed.

It was pitch black outside in the desert, so we had no idea how high we were, but I later was told that we were only about 20 feet off the ground when the 53 pitched forward and crashed.

We were seat-belted into the bench seats, but the crew chief was thrown forward and bounced forward to the cockpit because he was just supported by a lanyard, I believe. We were not injured and the crew chief was only slightly hurt, but I never heard any more about the incident. Is there any jarhead or doc reading this who recalls that incident?

Semper Fi

Mike Kunkel

USMC Cpl. 0331

Lima 3/8 Weapons Platoon

1981-1985

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Filed in: Bootcamp, Marine Corps Stories
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Comments

Paul L Jorgensen - April 10, 2020

Mike,
In the mid 80s (84, 85? or maybe 88, 89 with HMH-772 or HMH-363, haven’t talk about this stuff in so long can’t hardly remember) I and a couple of buddies tried to make a run to the hills, never made it. Even when doing ops around the air field (I was a CH53 crew chief) never got close; much farther than it looks. You could have multiple ops around the air field and by the mountains and never get in each other’s way. A large training area and a lot of busy but fun flying there.
I don’t really remember the 53 crash, most likely classified as a hard landing, I was at MCAS New River HMH-362 at the time, and went to HMM-264 in October to ready for a Med Cruise; we went with them to Beirut in January 1983 aboard the USS Guadalcanal. Glad no one was seriously hurt. And although I loved 53s and logged thousands of hours, sometimes 53s could be very unforgiving.

Semper Fi,
Paul L Jorgensen
GySgt 6173
1980-2001

Sgt. Robert L - April 10, 2020

We lived there for a year in 1970-71 and the sand storms were bad but I never heard of it taking the paint off anyones car, We lived in base housing and had a garage. The thing my wife hated was trying to keep the sand out of our house. There was no way to keep the sand from getting in the house.

Mike Kunkel - April 10, 2020

Ronald,
I was on both deployments as well. We did an operation with the Norwegian Home Guard. Even though we were a Helo Assault Unit, on that operation we moved in ten-man teams and humped everything on those snow sleds.
Mike

Ronald Bean - April 10, 2020

Was with HMM 263 from 1981 to 1984. Went to Beirut with BLT 3/8 on both deployments (Aug 1982 to Mar 1983 and Feb 1984 to Aug 1984). We also went to Norway and about 24 other countries during that deployment before going to Beirut. The MAU, they were MAU’s then, kept getting extended. I missed the CAX because I joined the squadron shortly before the first deployment.

USMC (Ret)
Frog Driver
1976-1996

Mike Kunkel - April 10, 2020

Robert,
As I recall they told us that the pilots were using night-vision, but scuttlebutt had it a few days later that the crash had to do with overloading of the bird. It was so minor, I guess they wanted to keep it quiet. That’s all I ever really heard about it. You’d think I would remember the incident very clearly, but for some reason I don’t. All I can recall is that it was pitch black and we took off as we normally would, nose forward, but the bird make a weird shuddering motion when it lifted and just seemed to dive forward into the sandy LZ. If I recall correctly, we had several M60 teams and several 50cal teams plus the Jeep on board. Thankfully none of us was hurt. The crew chief was bruised up and shook up, but aside from that, no other injuries. Sadly, I do recall hearing of the crash you were talking about.
In regards to the sand storms at 29 Palms, I never had my own vehicle out there. Since 3/8 was stationed out of NC at Geiger, they flew us out to CAX via commercial airlines, but I have heard that the sandstorms could do damage to the paint jobs on cars.
Semper Fi brother!!

Mike

Robert Beresford - April 10, 2020

I meant to ask whether the sandstorms in 29 Palms could really take the paint off your car?
I heard stories about that happening. Marines would leave their POVs parked outside, leave for a 2-week field operation and return to a nice shiny hunk of steel with no paint on it… 🙂

Semper Fi
Robert

Robert Beresford - April 10, 2020

Hey Mike,
In 1984, I was a Gunner in a 60mm Team at the rank of Lance Corporal in Weapons Platoon, Kilo Co, 3rd Bn 5th Marines. My unit was in Korea participating in Team Spirit. During night operations, Kilo Company was being transported via CH43 helos to a ridge that I would guess was 2 or 3 clicks away. We were sitting around smoking and joking in our flight sticks waiting to be flown out when we were suddenly told that 3rd platoon had gone down in one of the 43s. Apparently, it had crashed into the side of a mountain at high speed. The Marine Corps at that time was experimenting with Night Vision. It was later rumored that the helo pilots were operating the bird with night vision scopes and that the use of these scopes contributed to the crash that wiped out 3rd platoon. Needless to say, all helicopter ops were halted. It was sudden and tragic and affected all of us. I can still see the faces of the Marines we lost that night.
I read your article in which you mention the helicopter crash you and other Marines suffered at Camp Wilson and wondered whether your pilots were also experimenting with Night Vision…?
In any event, glad you survived the crash.
Is it true the sandstorms at 29 Palms

Semper Fi
Robert Beresford
1982 – 1987
Sgt 0341
Kilo 3/5 Weapons Platoon
Instructor, MWTC, Bridgeport

Mike Kunkel - April 10, 2020

Mike,
Do you recall the helo crash I was talking about?

Mike

Mike Kunkel - April 10, 2020

Edd,
A few months ago another Marine that I recently met said, that he and a few buds tried to hump it over to the mountain base from Camp Wilson as well, but they too never got there. He said he was told the mountain base was about 15 miles out from Camp Wilson.

Mike

Mike Kunkel - April 10, 2020

Al,
That name does not ring a bell, but John might have been attached to the Weapons Company? Or maybe he was with Lima 3/8 weapons platoon before or after me? I was with them from December 1981 until about April 1985 or thereabouts.

Mike

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