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Thank You to My DI

This past October I went on a 3-day bus tour of Parris Island sponsored by the Marine Corps League, Sgt Jason M. Ileo Detachment 1147 of Centerville, MD, along with a few other detachments from Maryland. There were about 40 Marines who went on the trip. We had a great time seeing first-hand all the training the recruits undergo in becoming Marines. It brought back a lot of memories for me. One of the proudest moments for me was seeing 509 Marines graduate. This really reinforced my belief that the Corps is in good hands.

The real reason I decided to go on this trip, along with my boot camp brother, Marine Ken Webster, Platoon 358, he belongs to Anne Arundel County Detachment 1049, was to celebrate our 50th year since graduating from Parris Island. Our graduation was on October 23, 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. We all thought at the time that we were going to war with Russia.

I would have to say for me that the highlight of this trip was meeting up with our Drill Instructor, Sgt. Leonard Patchin. I looked him up in the Marine Corps Association Membership Directory (see photo) and found that he was living in Port Royal, SC. We met him for dinner and had a very special time telling sea stories and getting to know him all over again. He was still in great physical shape and could, if necessary, run our b-tts all over the Island.

He gave us a special tour of the Island where we got to see our old Third Battalion barracks before they got torn down. We then went to see the new Third Battalion barracks. They are really modern looking. He took us over to tour Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Elliot’s Beach and other forgotten places; there were a lot of changes. My real reason for wanting to see Len again was to personally thank him for all he did for me. He embodies, to me, what it takes to be a Marine.

I have belonged to the Marine Corps League for the past 22 years and have met so many great Marines, and made lots of friends from all over this wonderful Country. I have received awards and honors along the way, but I couldn’t have done any of this without first becoming a Marine. I told Len I couldn’t have achieved any of this without his guidance, leadership, and discipline. I owe this Marine so much and will never forget him.

We all were especially glad we had the opportunity to renew our acquaintance, only this time not as a DI and recruit but on equal terms as one Marine to another. In the photo from right to left: Severn, Patchin, Webster.

All in all, this was an outstanding trip for me, and one that I will never forget.

Semper Fi

Jack Severn
Marine Corps League

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Comments

keith markovitch - April 3, 2020

Your new site for the news letter is still a pain in the you know where. Today it will not let me read the entire last article . Why can’t you just print the damn letters as written instead of read more here . Look forward to the news letter but not your site driving me to drink trying to flip back and forth, getting dropped , starting over, getting dropped ,starting over, getting sent to a cover ad, starting over. Print the F___ing news letter.

Townsend L/CPL - April 3, 2020

In reply to keith markovitch.
Absolutely agree!!! I liked it better the was it was! New sh*t never as good as old sh*t.

R.M. ‘Zeb’ Zobenica, Capt. USMC (Ret) - April 3, 2020

In reply to keith markovitch.
Keith, Here’s a couple things to try: If you’re using Internet Explorer, click on “Tools” on the top of your screen, then “Delete Browsing History”. If you’re using Firefox, open the Menu (3 stacked horizontal bars in the upper-right corner of the screen), click on “History”, then click on “Clear Recent History”. This may solve your ‘computer brain fart’ problem…and it won’t hurt. S/F

M.L. “MF” Long ago “Head Cold”, “Beach Nut”, “Sunset”… - April 3, 2020

In reply to R.M. ‘Zeb’ Zobenica, Capt. USMC (Ret).
DA, DA, DA…IIsir…

F. Rigiero - April 3, 2020

Seems a lot of Marines are complaining about this new letter format but it’s falling on deaf ears. personally, I liked the old way better.

LCpl Richard E Jenkins - April 3, 2020

The only thing I like about the new format is that you can respond to a letter right away and not have to wait for the next month.

Stan Dickerson - April 3, 2020

PI 1967 3rd Blt. Plt 3044. We had ” The Hat From Hell” ..I went HAND TO HAND twice with Charlie 1/5 . The second time was with a North Vietnamese Regular. He had SKILLS…MAD SKILLS…HE CAME FAST AND FURIOUS…I had the ” Hat From Hell”. SEMPER FI..Sgt./67-71/0311

Sgt. John H. Hughes 1440337 - April 3, 2020

53/0311 Marine ..line co. Marine SEMPER FI & GUNG HO!!!!!!!!!!

Lcpl Gibbs Rudy - April 3, 2020

I was in plt 3056 I visited PI in 2014 went to px saw DI I said my Di did his job thanks to them I made it home im 68 I survived I was with Bco 3rd combat engineers 3rd marines 1967 to 68 I would like to hear from anyone who served with me

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