I’m not privy to the type of budget information and discussion that is entailed in the funding of the various military branches as Lt. Gen. Spoehr and Rear Adm. Beard obviously are. Both protested a Journal op-ed that found the Marine Corps getting shorted on funding through the defense budget. (“Marines May Need More, But The Navy Helps”, Letters, WSJ, 12/5/19). I can only speak from the personal observations of a lowly Marine grunt, but it is historically true that the Marine Corps has always been on the dirty end of the stick in peacetime (relatively speaking) funding. Doug MacArthur hated the Marines – and used them to spearhead his Pacific drive. Harry Truman was no fan – until he was caught flat-footed by the North Koreans. Dwight Eisenhower felt they should be absorbed by the Army. The Corps had to survive on crumbs to keep from being disbanded.
When the Marines landed on Guadalcanal riflemen carried the 1903 Springfield bolt action rifle. While the Corps was actively engaged in combat the Army was being issued the new M-1 Garand which the Corps didn’t receive until the end of 1942. At the end of the war the Army dumped millions of tons of arms and equipment in the oceans, or otherwise disposed of them, confident they would all be replaced with updated weaponry as it came on line. The Marines, kept their weapons and ammunition, packed them in cosmolene, and warehoused them while their ranks were thinned to bare bones. When North Korea invaded the South the Marines were the only viable force to form the fire-brigade that saved the day at Pusan after the Army had been routed from the 38th Parallel.
Equal funding? When my battalion was staging to rotate to Okinawa in 1959 I personally saw our chow hall receiving a shipment of beef clearly stamped “Rejected, U.S. Navy.” Why did the Corps accept it? It was cheaper once the Navy rejected it. In 1960, while serving on Okinawa, we suddenly started receiving tons of WWII type C-rations. Why? The Army was receiving the newest type of field rations and the Corps bought up their old rations.
When my younger brother went to Vietnam in the earliest part of the war Air Force personnel were wearing camouflaged combat uniforms before his battalion ever saw one. They had to scrounge jeep radio antennae’s from discarded Army equipment. To get extra batteries for field radios they traded liquor brought in by pilots. Their Supply NCO made weekly trips to various Army dumps to see what they could salvage.
Does the Navy “help” the Corps? Hell yes! Ask any Marine what he thinks about Navy Corpsmen who go into the field with them and you’ll get nothing but glowing admiration. Doctors and nurses, the same. They school officers at Annapolis, train pilots, build facilities. Not mentioned by Adm. Beard is Marines provide security and man battle stations on all Navy warships. Marines run the brigs that house their miscreants. And, when my youngest brother went to Vietnam in 1971, he did TAD (Temporary Additional Duty) with the Brown Water Navy that needed extra fire power on their PBR river boats – His weapon was the M79 grenade launcher.
Marines have had to use the “Midnight Requisition” (theft from other branches) and other nefarious means to succeed in their mission – such as on Guadalcanal when they stole extra M-1s from the Army ordnance depot. A Marine recruit in WWII had a 95% chance of seeing combat and it was probably the case in Vietnam. I don’t know what that figure is today but, yes, they need logistical support. I respect the contribution every veteran makes to our country, but excuse my skepticism if I believe the Corps may be getting the short end of funding. Semper Fi.
Category: Main
Arriving at Parris Island
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.
Hollywood Marines Had It Made!
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!!!!
NO RIGHT ANSWERS
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.
What have I gotten myself in to.
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!.
Sgt.
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.
You’re on Marine Corps time
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.
Stolen Valor
A recent news story regarding a Fake Army Nurse( Vietnam and Iraq Wars) that stole a seat on an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. gave some one the idea to start a Dishonor Flight but there are certain criteria :
1) Must possess a forged or blurred ,in the proper spaces, DD-214 or claim that your records were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the NPRC. Note: a certified copy will not be accepted .
2)Must wear a leather vest with as many pins and,or patches that you can fit.
3)If you are wearing a ribbon stack or any medals they must be arranged out of order and any combat medals can not be DOD engraved.
4) Must have the proper Combat Veterans hat with the war of choice,even if you were to young or old at the time of conflict.
5) Must be able to tell at least one war story that can not be verified or that you were the lone survivor. Better if you were captured and escaped
6) If you require a service animal you must have the proper fake papers to be seated in first class
You can contact Juan A Bee at the dishonor flight HQ.
Wise a**ed teenager
Back in 1973 I was just 17 years old and talked my mother into letting me sign up. Bus ride to St. Louis, 707 to San Diego. Truck ride to MCRD. Yellow foot prints.
The Corps gave me nothing, I was issued the essentials. I think they charged for replacements.
About two weeks into Boot Camp I was cleaning my M14 on the Company street when an Officer stopped and asked me a question.
Coming to attention I answered his question. An hour later I was shipped to te north side Depot Casual because he didn’t like my answer.
His question? “How do you like it here, Private?”
My answer, “Sir: I could take it or leave it, Sir!”
Spent too much time watching John Wayne. I didn’t know our Platoon 286, Company F was way over recruits.
A talk with an officer and then they said “Sign here,
I was there when JFK was shoot. The Sgt, said “A Marine did it.” Then he said it took him three shots.
A few days later I was on a train home.
Found out a year or two later I could have refused to sign and just gone to another Platoon.
Several years later I was in a match at Camp Lincoln at Springfield, IL. There was a Marine Sgt, at the line next to me. He was shooting an accurized M14 and I had my Remington 40XB 7.62×51 bolt gun. [ Very similar to the issue USMC sniper rifle. Very similar to the M40 ]
I have a left master eye so I was shooting left handed, Standing there we were facing each other. I fired my 10 rounds, including a reload faster than the Sgt.. He was so interested in watching me reach over the rear sight and work the bolt with from the left shoulder he forgot to fire his tenth shot. I beat him on time, and score.
I shouldn’t have signed
Shore Party Beach Matting
While surfing Marine sites on the web I came across this picture of Marines from Co. C, 3rd Shore Party Bn. taken in Okinawa in 1971. I served with Co. A, 3rd Shore Party at Dong Ha, among other locations in Vietnam 1966/1967. When I left Okinawa in August, 1967, Co. C and Co. A were side by side in the same area.
Note the rolls of beach matting on top of a 5-ton truck. They appear to be made of a type of composite fiberglass material. Before the fiberglass matting was used Shore Party used a “chain link” type matting that folded and fit into the back of a 5-ton truck accordion style. The truck was equipped with a frame that came over the cab and down in front of the front bumper. When landing on a sandy beach enough of the matting was pulled down over the frame to allow the front wheel to roll onto the matting. When the truck was driven across the beach it laid down the matting to create a makeshift roadway for other vehicles to drive across without making ruts or getting bogged down in the sand.
Now for my interest in the picture. When I came back from Vietnam in the summer of 1967, I was assigned to Co. C, 2nd Shore Party Bn at Camp Lejeune, NC. One morning I was called to the Company Office and told that we had a section of a fiberglass type beach matting that the Marine Corps wanted to test because they were considering replacing the older close woven chain link type matting. Another Marine and I hauled the test section, approximately 20 to 30 feet long and a little wider than a 6X, out to Onslow Beach. We were directed to lay the beach matting on the sandy beach and drive over it for the rest of the day and record how many passed we made. For an entire day, I drove the 6X back and forth over the matting while the other Marine recorded each pass we made. I treated it pretty ruff, slamming on the brake several times while on the matting. I would drive across it, make a tight circle and drive back across it. I don’t remember how many passes we made but we were out there all day running back and forth over the beach matting.
At the end of the day we took the matting back to the 2nd Shore Party Bn office along with the report of how many passes were made across it. I never did know what the results of the test were or what the decision was made until I ran across this picture. So, I take it from the picture that the fiberglass beach matting was procured to replace the heavy cumbersome metal matting.
Cpl Bob Mauney (1381)
Vietnam, 1966/1967