Sgt Grit is a place where Marines can come and meet other Marines, share tattoos and stories, keep up with Marine Corps news, or shop for USMC gear.
“I didn’t choose the Marine Corps, it chose me.” Those words still resonate with one man, 45 years after first enlisting.
In 1972, Ernest B. Freeman walked into a recruiting station in Middletown, New York, one morning to enlist in the U.S. Army and walked out as a U.S. Marine Corps enlistee.
Three of us got off a Grayhound bus at the front gate of Parris Island at 0200 the morning of March 24, 1965. The guards laughed at us. One of them, a Lance Corporal, said something like, “You’re gonna regret this.”
A pickup with an OD canvas cover framed over the bed loaded us in the back and we headed for the receiving barracks.
Some recruits had been there for days because recruiting was slow at the time. We were picked up about three hours later, our heads shaved, showered, got uniforms, M-14s, bucket issue, and herded by at least 4 megaphone-loud Drill Instructors across the parade deck to 1st Battalion.
One recruit tripped over his bootlaces and spilled everything onto the parade deck. He was immediately confronted by a Drill Instructor and named Private Crazy for the length of his PI residency. The squad bay steam radiators had the temperature up to about 95 degrees. Platoon 120 would be on the island for 13 weeks because it took two weeks to form a company before training could begin. We drilled and ran and did PT and “learned how to fall” for those two weeks, and swept the company-wide competitions until graduation.
When I got off the train at Yamasee, SC in Aug. 1961 our Drill Instructor (a DI was Jake Webb in the movies that we learned the hard way) was a interesting young man that had a very loud voice and an abrasive attitude. He turned out to be one of our junior Drill Instructors (Sgt. Adcock). He was a young female feline compared to SSgt. Jacoby who was the Senior Drill Instructor. When we reached Parris Island the next day I don’t remember yellow footprints. I suspect they came later for the intellectually deprived recruits which also deprived the Drill Instructors the FUN of getting the mob in line. Memories!!!!
After 13 weeks of boot camp, during which about half of all
Communication coming down from your DIs is expletives, the most
common verb, pronoun and adjective in your vocabulary becomes the
crude, four letter word most commonly used to describe a most beautiful
and natural function of mankind. All Marines have heard the story of the
young Marine home fresh from boot camp. Previously quite outgoing, he is
strangely quiet during the first, special, homecoming dinner – attended by
favorite aunts, uncles, grandparents and siblings, all beaming with pride at
their young Marine. Mom, sensing some tenseness, asks “Johnny, you are
being very quiet. Is there something wrong?” Johnny responds “No, Mom.
I’m just afraid if I talk too much, I’ll f**k up!” Obviously, in “polite company”,
freshly anointed Marines have to be on their toes.
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David H. Berger and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy E. Black led a motivational run on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Nov. 5. The run was held in celebration of the Marine Corps’ upcoming 244th birthday.
U.S. Marines are known for their fast thinking and courage in a time of need. Marines are taught from day one the core values of honor, courage and commitment. U.S. Marine Cpl. Alexandra Nowak, an administrative specialist with Alpha Company, Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations West, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, exemplified unwavering courage when she saved the lives of three people Sept. 20.
The first day, It was November 18 1982 M C R D San Diego, Platoon 1114 Delta Company. I remember it very well. One minute the drill Sargent was a nice fellow the next he was mad and we were not getting off the bus fast enough. I thought what have I gotten myself in to, 13 weeks with this guy ?. Simpher Fi!.
What I remember there were 5 of us coming from Pittsburgh Pa. We stopped somewhere waiting for the bus to take us to PI and got drunk on our asses. The guy that was in charge of us was going crazy about us drinking. But we all paid for it for 2 days when we got to PI. At least I know I did. We were not ready for the reception we go. It was like going into the TWILIGHT ZONE.
I will never forget the first words I heard when I first arrived at MCRD. We arrived from the airport about 10:00 p.m. (military time was not the standard for a few more minutes). It was dark, we had tinted windows, and the building stood out like a brightly lit island in the void. We pulled to a stop, and a Marine stepped on. We had all lost the power of speech when we passed the gate, so it was complete silence for a heartbeat. Then came The Word.
Gunnery Sgt. Aubrey McDade
1st Battalion, 8th Marines
Fallujah, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2004
Award: Navy Cross
Shortly after departing their base in Fallujah, then-Sgt. McDade and 1/8 Bravo Company’s 1st Platoon entered an alley and encountered an immediate heavy volume of small arms and machine gun fire. In the opening seconds of the engagement, three Marines were seriously wounded as the well positioned and expecting enemy pinned others down. On contact, McDade rushed from the rear of the platoon column toward the kill zone and immediately deployed a machine gun team into the alley to provide suppressive fire on the enemy. After several attempts to reach casualties in the alley were met with heavy, well-aimed machine gun fire, he showed total disregard for his own safety by moving across the alley and successfully extracting the first of three wounded Marines from the kill zone. Aware of the fact that there were still two wounded Marines in the alley, McDade dashed through the heart of the kill zone two more times, each time braving intense enemy fire to successfully retrieve a Marine. After extracting the last casualty from the kill zone, he assisted in their treatment and medical evacuation. His quick thinking and aggressive actions were crucial in saving the lives of two of the three casualties. (U.S. Marine Corps photos by Staff Sgt. Jonathan C. Knauth & Sgt. Kenneth Trotter)
