Scariest Days

Comments

Reinhold Woykowski - April 18, 2020

I too seen something like this and wow, when the MP’s came and took this one guy away, they grabbed him, tied his hands and feet, and put him in the back of a MP truck and they were not gentle (if you know what I mean). I just said to myself, don’t mess with the DI on PI

Sgt James White 72 – 76 - April 18, 2020

I have laughed so hard with all these stories my wife probably thinks I’m crazy but if I tell here what I’m laughing about she wouldn’t under stand. First 3 weeks thought I would die wondering what I got myself into and the thought of what my dad (Navy WW2 vet) had said (boy you have messed up now). I will never forget the first morning wake up never been woke up like that again.

Jesse Griffin VSM CAR CIB - April 18, 2020

I fainted from low blood sugar while waiting to be given our initial issue. Very embarrassing. Three days later I peed my rack. Couldn’t wake up to go. Equally embarrassing and smelly. Somehow or another I became a Marine despite all that.

Harry - April 18, 2020

That’s a good one! Made me laugh out loud! Thanx! Harry 1371

Bill - April 18, 2020

Hey Kurt, You make a good point. Looking back on those first days of bootcamp makes everything else seem not so bad. Bill 0331

Alan Miller, PI Plt 338, 68-72 - April 18, 2020

I remember piling out of the bus and onto the yellow feet painted on the deck. I was on the outside, looking around, and somebody in uniform walked by. The kid next to me leaned over and said “Hey Sarge, can I have a smoke?” I think three of them popped out of the ground, pummeled the kid, dragged him off, never saw him again. Got my attention, for sure.

Bob MAUNEY - April 18, 2020

I think I was in shock for the first several days (MCRD Parris Island, January 1966, Platoon 215). I soon made up my mind to just go with the flow when I realized that there were 83 bodies in that squad bay and we were all going through the same things together. With the exception of a few that required “individual instructions” (if you know what I mean) from time to time No one could do anything right. I remember thinking to myself, “No one at home would ever believe a human being in the USA could be treated the way we were being treated”. Then, later on, l realized that everything that the Drill Instructors were doing was for a reason. Bends and thrusts, push ups, side straddle hops, and anything else they could think of built us physically. Mental harassment built us mentally to endure the mental hardships we would face both in out military career in Vietnam and later as civilians again. For that I thank all my Drill Instructors. A quote I read a few years ago pretty much sums up explaining Marine Corps boot camp: “FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED IT, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FULLY DESCRIBE”. “FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED IT, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO FULLY UNDERSTAND”. Semper Fi Bob 1381

G Willard 0311, 8651, 8511…. - April 18, 2020

Bill, Robert, et al: Anybody who thinks you’re lying had pansies for D.I.’s. Went thru the same thing at MCRD Diego, and I thought I was a big city bad ass…yeah right. Almost a week before I could take a dump. Must have grunted in the head (quonset huts in Diego then) for half the night LOL. More than one of my recruits at MCRD P.I. went thru the same thing. You lit up the lines with this one gunner. LMAO (sure as hell wasn’t funny then was it?)

Michael P. McManus - April 18, 2020

we’d get marched to the head and the DI would say “you people have 5 minutes to shit, shower and shave”. Mike McManus, Plt 3006, Now 1964, MCRD SanDiego.

Sgt. Dees, DP 1971 P.I., SC - April 18, 2020

It was 8 days for me before I had my first bowel movement. When it happened it wasn’t a pretty sight or experience.