Scariest Days

Comments

Larry richards - April 18, 2020

Bewildered more than scared. Lasted about 2 weeks before everybody started catching on. Larry platoon 392 September through December. 0311l

Reinhold Woykowski - April 18, 2020

Your so right, It is funny now but not then

Reinhold Woykowski - April 18, 2020

When I told my friends I was joining the Marines (1972-1974) they thought I was nuts but I thought I was this big strong guy who can take anything. Well, boy I was wrong, when I got a taste of hell the first few days at PI. All I did was talk to God, asking him what the hell did I do by going into the Marines. Now I am 65 and never regretted it. It prepared me for life. Thank you USMC you did a great job in molding me into a fighter for life

Bill 0331 - April 18, 2020

Great to learn that I was not the only one! Thank You. Bill 0331

Johnny Reyes Jr., Plt.243, 58-64 - April 18, 2020

Two memories definitely standout from 1958 at MCRD San Diego. Standing in line, backside to belly button, in Receiving Barracks waiting for my bucket issue. I heard commotion and screaming behind me and turned to see a recruit on the floor in the throes of an epileptic seizure and a DI standing over him screaming, “Die, motherf&&&er, die!”. The thought flashed through my mind, “What did I get in to?” Zero-dark-thirty in Receiving Barracks the next morning the lights came on with yells of “Get out of those racks!”. A couple of racks over the recruit in the top rack was too slow getting down and so a DI reaches up and grabs the top of the rack and brings it all down to the deck, recruit, mattress with cover, and blanket. Another thought flashed through my mind, “My Dad told me not to do this!”. It’s funny now but it wasn’t funny then.

Larry - April 18, 2020

In 2009, I was scheduled to undergo a heart procedure at the James A. Haley VA hospital in Tampa, Fl. While lying on a table awaiting that needle that was going to send me to La-La land, one of the doctors proceeded to explain what they were going to do and told me not to be scared. Scared?, I responded! Hell, I’ve been scared by professionals! And then laughed at him. The other doctor asked him what I said, and he told him. They both just gave each other a puzzled look. I don’t think they understood what I was talking about. But, YOU DO!!!

Jim Barber - April 18, 2020

Butch, please contact me at bootcampstories2@gmail.com about your story. I am doing either a revision of my book “SH*TBIRD! How I Learned To Love The Corps” or a book 2, depending on how many more funny stories I can gather from Marines about their boot camp experience. Anyone interested in seeing an excerpt from the book, feel free to contact me, as well. SEMPER FI

Butch - April 18, 2020

Yes it had taken me about a week before I realized that it’s not a nightmare and I’m not going wake up. But it was also had it’s funny side. Early one morning in 69 San Diego I had to take a dump. I was setting on the throne looking down the street. I had seen the DI come out of hes hutch with shower gear over his arm. Walking down to the shower. You could see be was still asleep. The boot guard walking around also had seen him coming and hid behind a large sign. When the ssgt got close to the sign the marine jump out screaming as loud as he could. Everything in the ssgt hands went straight up in the air. The ssgt landed right in the middle of that boots chest.i later had to feel sorry for that boot. I was setting on the throne looking straight down the street I was laughing so hard. I could not stop. I came very close to falling of the throne. Yes he chased me out. I was trying to pull up my pants as I was running out of the head.

Rick Olesen - April 18, 2020

I went to MCRD in July 1966 we were in the head one of our guys hadn’t gone for at least a week. As he sat on the shitter the blood veins in his neck looked like they were going to bust I made the mistake of smiling at what I was seeing. All the sudden our DI was tearing through the rest of the platoon I thought someone was I trouble little did I know it was me he grabbed me by shirt collar he then knocked the guy from the the stool and was in the process of trying to put my head in that stool last time I remember of smiling through boot camp. No my face did not touch water came to close for me.

RONALD J SCHROEDER - April 18, 2020

I’ve had a number of Marines that admit to ‘traumatic constipation’ for days in boot but only if you mention it. I joke about a DI yelling ‘shit’ out of frustration, resulting in a recruit stampede to the head.