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I went through Parris Island, S.C. Marine boot camp and graduated in November 1961. Fired very well on the Rifle Range as Expert. Called to the Weapons Training Office and was asked to come back to P.I. as my first duty station. As a Rifle Marksman Instructor MOS 8531 as a Rifle Coach. I bunked in a cubicle with a David Russell, we became very good friends during the two and half years as Rifle Coaches on the Ranges. Russ his nickname decided to change duty stations and picked Morroco Naval base at a Marine Barracks. I eventually got a transfer to Yokouska, Japan home of the Navy’s Sixth Fleet. Later transferred to Okinawa at Camp Courtney which was home of the 3rd. Marine Division Headquarters. In the meantime Russ had be stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. in a combat unit. I got discharged in San Diego, Calif. in June 1965 and headed home to York, Pa. Russ reinlisted for four more years. His unit/company was deployed to Vietnam and ended up at Khe Sanh. We exchanged letters and pictures of cars, girls, and bases. ON March 12, 1968 he was KIA at Khe Sanh during the Tet Offensive by mortar/shelling fire. I went to his church viewing in Jacksonville, N.C. and met his wife, mother and 8 month old daughter. The next day we traveled to Washington, D.C. for his funeral at Arlington Cemetery. I visited his grave site a few times. His wife remarried another Marine and they were transferred to a base in California. I lost track of her and his daughter Sabrina. And after 50 years of searching on the internet left a message on a Vietnam Wall website. One day when I came home from work at I checked my emails and one was his daughter Sabrina. I contacted her right away and we finally got together for a reunion. I lived in York, Pa. and she actually lived in Greenbelt, Md. 90 miles from me. What a joyus miracle that happened.
I gave her all the letters, pictures, everything Russ I did together to her. What a experience in life !! She read his letters and one that really affected her when she read it was what he said to me in a letter: ” Joe you should see my beautiful daughter Sabrina whom I love dearly “. And this filled her heart with joy. We have met many times and discussed all the history of Russ and my friendship… I have been down to the WALL many times and I spend my visitation at Panel 43E Row 69 his name is that last one on that panel…… Leave no man behind. Semper Fi. read more

b1/13 , flew in on c 130 oct 1966 was special forces base on mars matting. they went to lang ve and the sea bees put in aluminum runway. we stayed through monsoon season. A 1/3 provided security. along with 6 105 howitsers they gave us 2 155 howitsers and 2 4.2 morters for illumination. The hill battles started after we left to go to con tien for the dmz sweep. in the 13 month tour we fired over 40,ooo rounds. one of the guns had a stamp of 1945. cpl. rich bottari radio operator. read more

In 1979 I was an E-1 waiting to be picked up for electronic school at 29 Palms. Each morning after roll call we’d be released to the barracks to be picked up by working parties. I figured out that nobody cared about whether we made it back to the barracks or not, and the small base library was just a few streets down. SO I’d make my way down there and plunk myself in the comfortable seats and read. Books, magazines, and I really enjoyed the LA Times. It was a nice few weeks. I remember I got through Steven King’s “The Stand” which was a bible sized book. I’d read all morning, have chow, then back to the library until later on in the day when it was safe to return without being noticed and asked questions. In the library it was easy to nod off whether one was escaping the desert heat, or the winter cold which was biting there. So I did. With my reading material in my lap. When I felt a tapping on my shoulder I looked up and saw a silver eagle (or two) on the collars of a very big full colonel. “What are you doing?” he asked and all I could stammer was the truth. “I nodded off while reading sir.” “What unit are you with?” B Company Sir.” He then made his way to the marine (who had learned my routine somehow) and asked him the same questions. B Company again. And then he left without a word. read more

MCRD Parris Island August 1975. About a week into boot camp my left foot swelled up one night after taking my boots off. DI sent me off to sick bay the following day and I was told that I had cellulitis. Wound up in the hospital for about a week or so till the swelling went down. Transferred out to another platoon. No issues with the transfer other than feeling out of place with the new group. A few weeks went by and my foot started acting up again, and again I back to the hospital for recovery. Spent a few weeks there healing and was again transferred to another platoon. Same as the previous one, no issues with the transfer other than feeling out of place. The pain in my foot returned. It was a really sharp pain and hurt worse every time I took a step. I did close order drill, PT and everything else in boot camp but it hurt like a s.o.b. Pain got so bad that I had to go back to sick bay. Got a young doctor to look over the x-rays of my foot. He came over to me and showed me the x-ray and said “see those lines across the bones of your foot? those are cracks in the bones!” By this time I was in 3rd phase and the doctor put me on light duty – no PT or drill. I continued on with training but no PT or drill. With about a week left before graduation my Senior DI threatened to send me back to day 1 because I could not do the final PT because of my light duty status. I was able to get permission to return to sick bay and convinced the doctor to take me off of light duty status so that I could complete final inspection and the PT test. Doc didn’t want to, but I told him I’ve been on this dam island for almost 4 months and I suffered through a lot of training with a bum foot, I think I can handled one week. He took me off and I was back to regular status. Came time for the final PT and I ran the 3 miles in 21 flat. DI started screaming at that if I hadn’t wimped out with a bum foot I probably would have run faster. read more

Who knew is all I can say.
My father was a WW2 Marine as was my three older brothers in the fifties and early sixties. I was born in 47 and no one told me about Marine Corp boot camp. None the less I followed family tradition and volunteered entering MCRD San Diego October 1966. Platoon 3343. Of course we were competing with other platoons and at one point I failed the PT score and was summarily PTd to death only to find out that my score was messed up. So I was back in good form. We did make Honor Platoon and upon graduation I made PFC. I had also made expert with the M1.
During IT I made the mistake of going to the clinic due to bad blisters when our instructor cought me and chewed me out. No sympathy. During IT I qualified expert in the M14, M16 and the 45 pistol. Subsequently I went to Sniper School and qualified expert in the Remington 700 BDL. This was the 2nd class near Camp Pendleton. I arrived in Vietnam June 1967. I was assigned to C Company 1/7 as a 0311 grunt and was never used as a sniper. Go figure.
C Company as I soon found out was famous from WW2 and Korea known as Suicide Charlie. The NVA and the Vietcong feared us for good reason. Operating mostly in Quang Nam Province until 1974. Of course I managed to survive and returned to the states in September 1968. Where I was transferred to the Marine Barracks NWS at Goose Creek, SC as Sgt. Of the Guard E-5. Polaris Missile Facility. My enlistment time was up in 1970. So I enlisted in the Air Force and retired in 1988. Returning to Charleston SC I ended back at the same base at Goose Creek and became a policeman. Who knew? read more

I enlisted in April 1965 while 17. I would go to PI after I graduated from high school as I would be 18, before the Marine Corps decided to draft recruits in August. I joined on the buddy plan. My buddy and I never saw each other after the train ride to New York City until months later.
The eighty guys with me were from New York and New Jersey who flew with me to Charleston, SC. My buddy took the train with a mess of guys from the NY metro area to Beaufort, SC. Each of our times in receiving was short.
The next day we got our gear and haircuts under the purview of drill instructors who greeted us the night before. Now the big change after our noon chow, 4 DI‘s came in. We 80 were their responsibility. They clearly informed us that we were to form 4 columns randomly with our new gear carried, not set on the ground. I was mid ranks and was looking forward to a summer takings orders.
Well, a DI grabbed my shoulder and told me I was first squad leader. I went to the head of the line. Not a good omen. We marched across the grinder looking like a caterpillar. At the barracks, I was told to enter the squad bay at a brisk pace. I asked no questions and lumbered forward with the newly received gear.
Wham, half way down and looking at the screen door I would tumble out if I had not been instructed by my DI to stop at the rack he wanted me to stop at. All others came in. And so training proceeded and continued until Mess week.
Sunday morning and 3 squads went to 1st Bn Mess Hall. One squad went to 4th Bn. We went to 1st Bn Mess Hall. It was hard work but the squad who went to 4th Bn seemed to enjoy beating us to the squad bay every day.
Our squad had half the mess hall. Another squad had the other half. The third was in the back of the kitchen out of sight.
Lunch mess call on Tuesday, I’m first to serve the meat and others serve the remainder of potatoes, vegetables, gravy, ice cream, bread, etc. A bunch of new recruits show up as a platoon. We serve them one after the other.
A new recruit presents his tray to me. I hit his tray with an empty spoon, no meat. He does not look at me and moves to the next station. That next future Marine sees this and hits his tray with an empty spoon. Everybody did not give him any chow.
Now the DI explosion: A DI watches what recruits get at the end of the chow line. While we continued to serve others, the DI sees his one recruit got nothing. He runs up to me and berates me. No worry on my part, this is not my DI. We then served the recruit a normal serving, but I hope the recruit learned about situational awareness.
The mess week finally ended Saturday night. read more

I enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1958 and went to recruit training in July of 1959.My reserve unit at the time was the 13th Rifle Company later to become Alpha 1-23. The unit ran a semi boot training for about the first 3 months, at that time we went to meeting 1 night a week. By the time I went to MCRD San Diego in July I thought I was squared away. I had been on the wrestling team and was in good shape and didn’t think I would have any problem with the physical training. About the 5th or 7th week on schedule our senior DI Gunnery Sergeant Bill Covey ran ;us over to the pull bar, No problem. When my turn came I jumped up on the bar and did 12 pull ups, little did I know my DI was not watching me , but watching a plane take off from the runway next to the depot, I dropped to the ground only to hear “Lets see what you can do”. Needless to say I could not do one single pull up. my enraged DI ordered me to pack my sea bag , I was being sent to STP (special training platoon), and report to the company commander. There an enrage Captain standing about 5 foot 7 inches tall screaming in my face to me to get my sorry ass out to the chin up bar outside his hut and do some pull ups. I did 12 pull ups and when I dropped down it got very quiet. I was sent back to my platoon . I don’t think my DI ever forgave me for making him look bad in front of the Captain. YOU JUST DID NOT WANT TO BE SET BACK read more

My experience in boot camp was similar(but different) to the Set back story. I, like he, also was issued boots of the wrong size. Mine were too short because i have a high instep and shorter foot. As in his case, my boots also caused a blister that caused by foot to swell up two sizes. I don’t remember having the blister at all. The swelled up foot was discovered the night before first drill. My DI, Plt. 113, asked me if i could drill the next day before going to sick bay. Of course i didn’t say no. I did the drill then was immediately sent to the hospital first then to casual plt. after the swelling went down. This was about a 2 week period.
I was with that Plt.(forget the number) until we arrived at rifle range Camp at Camp Pendleton. When we arrived at our barracks we were given time to chose our bunk and then told to take a shower before evening chow. While in the shower, as i remember it, another recruit saw me and went to get our DI. When he saw me, i think he was going to have a heart attack. I had red spots all over. There had, in the not too distant past, cases of spinal meningitis, which may have crossed his mind. Fortunately, i didn’t have that but instead Reubella (German measles). So off to the hospital i went for quarantine. Two others, i don’t believe from my Plt. joined me. Needless to say, i was there a while from initial quarantine through healing.
Then i was sent to my third Plt. 133 with which i did training at the rifle range and completed my boot camp. This happened between Jan. ’66 to April ’66 at MCRD San Diego. SEMPER FI to all who served before me, with me and after me. read more