Author: SgtGrit

​​Platoon’s Battle Guide

Seeing the drill instructor names on this banner makes me think of what my SDI called our platoon's battle guide, this one possibly for platoon 1054. We were allowed to create one for our platoon after sweeping the inter-battalion competition during boot camp. Attached is my graduation photo. In it, you can see the Marines in the second row holding the guide. It amounted to a tribute to our drill instructors for leading us to victory, their names in the upper left corner with USMC slogans in the opposite corner. Ours never left the barracks and I have no idea what happened to it. It should have been disposed of given the nature of some of the content. I'm top row, fourth from the right. read more

1st Marine Air Wing

I was assigned to the 1st Marine Air Wing as an Air Traffic Controller (6711 MOS) at Iwakuni Japan in the Spring of 1962 when I was deployed to Southeast Asia.  As an E4 Corporal I knew how to prepare and implement controlled airspace charts.  My small detachment of men were sent into Soc Trang, South Vietnam to set up controlled air space charts that were subsequently approved and implemented by Saigon for use in controlling the air space around our very primitive air strip outside Soc Trang.  We were at an old bombed out air field that was one used by the French, and there were no facilities.  1-2-3 trenches, chow tent, water buffaloes for showers and 26-man tents.  The air facility was completely field built and we ferried the South Vietnamese regular army into and back from the front lines nearby.  At that time in the war between the South and the Viet-Cong our unit was the very first U.S. Marine presence in that war.  This fact is supported by a plaque at the Marine Corp Museum in Quantico, VA. read more

By Your Bursting Bomb, Sir!

Joe Schmuckatello graduated with his platoon and found himself out in the Corps. Walking on base one day, he came up behind a Major and as he passed he said "By your leaf sir!" The Major, knowing the correct protocol, but misunderstanding Pvt. Joe's pronunciation and assuming he had said "By your leave, sir", responded correctly and said "Granted". The next day, Joe encountered a Warrant Officer. Having remembered his previous encounter, and what he was taught in boot camp, said as he passed,  "By your bursting bomb sir! The Gunner, salt that he was, simply responded, "Granted Marine!" read more