In April of 1971 I finished Ground Radio Repair School at 29 Palms. I believe my class was the first to graduate after the school moved to the Palms. There were 9 of us. LCPL Britt received a meritorious promotion to Corporal and remained at the school as an instructor. The graduates got to pick their next duty station in order of class standing. There was not much choice. There were 3 sets of orders for Camp Lejeune and the rest were for, you guessed it 29 Palms.
LCPLs Harold Berg, John Weyl, and Jim Grimes were going to North Carolina. I only had 7 days leave left on the books, but if I went by POV I knew I could get 5 days travel time instead of 1 day if I flew. Berg did not want to drive the entire way alone so I volunteered so I could get 4 more days of leave. He would drop me off in St. Joseph, Missouri, and then continue on to Bellows Falls, Vermont.
We had a small short graduation party at a picnic table near the ball fields before we left. It was there I saw another Marine from my hometown, PFC Bob Starr. He had been there for months and I had not ran into him until the day I left, go figure.
LCPL Berg and I finally left sometime around 2-3 PM California time. I cannot remember exactly what model of car he had, only that it was a two door Pontiac V6 4 speed stick shift on the floor, Convertible. We left the main gate and headed east across the desert on a two lane blacktop going 90 miles an hour. We both stayed awake the first 4-5 hours and as I recall it soon got dark. I remember seeing lots of deer or antelope along the road and wondered why we had not hit one.
Keep in mind there were no interstates in that part of the country and I do not remember driving on an Interstate highway until we reached the east side of Denver. We cut across the corner of Arizona and then drove through Las Vegas and reached Grand Junction sometime around midnight. I remember driving alongside a river in Colorado wondering where the cars on the other side were going only to cross a bridge and make a U-turn and drive down the opposite side of the same river.
There were no all-night gas stations in the mountains, but we did stop and get gas at a self-service gas station. You slid a dollar in a slot and got a dollar's worth of gas which was about 3 gallons in those days. The insulation around the steering column was gone and there was a nice breeze coming through that kept you cool. It was not too bad while we were in the desert, but it was quite chilly in the mountains.
I slept for a few hours while Harold drove and vice versa. I woke up as we came screaming down the highway into Denver. Once again keep in mind at that time it was only two lanes. We ate a good breakfast in Strasburg and then hit the road again. I am not sure what the speed limit was on Interstate 70 in those days but I know it was not 85 or 90 which is what we were doing. We passed several Highway Patrolmen, but I think they saw our uniforms and just indicated for us to slow down a bit which we did for a while or until they were out of site.
We stopped in Abilene, Kansas to see the Eisenhower Presidential Library only to find it was closed for some reason. Back in the car we discovered we no longer had 1st gear. No big deal we continued on using the 3 remaining gears.
We took some road out of Topeka and headed toward Atchison, Kansas. To this day I cannot remember which highway it was. We reached Atchison okay, but could not find the bridge to cross the Missouri River. Worse yet we lost 2nd gear. Nursing the car in just two gears we finally found our way across the bridge and finished the trip to St. Joseph arriving at my parent's house sometime around 3 PM.
MapQuest says the trip is 1,648 miles and should take 24-1/2 hours. Keep in mind in 1970 the interstates were not completed until we got to Denver. The trip was closer to 1,800 miles in those days. We made the trip in just over 22 hours and averaged about 85 miles an hour, and lost two gears partway through the trip.
Berg stayed one day and my dad fixed the linkage and then he was on his way to Vermont. I ended up with 2nd Amtracs at Court House Bay and Harold ended up with 2nd Tanks. We saw each other a few times before I got orders to MCAS Kaneohe, Hawaii. I saw him once while on a business trip to Vermont several years ago.
John Weyl got out when his enlistment was up but re-enlisted a few years later. He was a SSGT when he was killed in the Beirut Bombing.
I am sure other Marines have made similar trips in their efforts to get home and see loved ones, but this one was mine and it makes for a great memory.
Sitting left to right:
Bill Bradley from Fullerton, California
Britt from Buffalo, NY
John Weyl deceased
Reid Hohnholt from Wheatland, WY
Standing left to right:
Gary Depue from Columbus, Ohio
Pekaar not sure
Jim Grimes Wathena, KS
Krych from Philadelphia
I am not sure of some of the first names. I have spoken with Reid Hohnholt several times and he now lives in Washington. I had dinner once with Gary Depue in Columbus, Ohio several years ago. Harold Berg lives in Florida. I would love to hear from anyone of these Marines.
Sgt. Jim Grimes
1969-72