I was in the great US Territory Guam December 8, 2016, I needed to get on the Naval Base in Sumay, Guam when I went to the visitor’s center and I was told I need a government ID and a sponsor to gain access to the base, I didn’t have my GOV ID with me so the gentleman told me it’s a no go and gave me the phone number to security on the base.
Category: Main
Marine Vet Makes Statues of Fallen Soldiers for Their Families Free of Charge
A Marine veteran is on a mission to honor fallen soldiers.
Cliff Leonard, who served in Vietnam, uses his artistic skills to create sculptures of Marines and Navy corpsmen who have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
He started with a fallen Marine from Jacksonville, Florida, in 2010, and then he decided to do all the Marines and corpsmen in the city.
MARINE VISITS BATTLEGROUND AT WHICH HER GRANDFATHER FOUGHT SERVING AS A NAVAJO CODE TALKER
More than 70 years ago, during World War II, a group of Native-American Marines known as Navajo Code Talkers used their native tongue, Navajo, to transmit secret strategic messages via radios.
Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima: the Navajo code talkers took part in every assault the U.S. Marines conducted in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. They served in all six Marine divisions, Marine raider battalions and Marine parachute units, transmitting messages by telephone and radio in their native language – a code that the Japanese never deciphered.
MARINE OF THE WEEK // NO GREATER LOVE:
MARINE OF THE WEEK // NO GREATER LOVE:
Cpl. Jason Dunham
3rd Battalion, 7th Marines
Iraq, April 14, 2004
Award: Medal of Honor
Cpl. Dunham’s squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt a distance away. Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander’s convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Dunham and his Marines advanced, they received enemy fire. Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led a fire team on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles attempting to depart, Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Dunham. Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. He immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat and, aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. (DoD & U.S. Marine Corps photos)
The Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller starts the Washington Nationals game by throwing the opening pitch. This game is devoted to honoring our corps, country and families.
The Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert Neller
starts the Washington Nationals game by throwing the opening pitch.
This game is devoted to honoring our corps, country and families.
Sgt Grit wants to hear from you! Leave your comments below or Submit your own Story !
PRIDE AND PASSION: HOW ONE MARINE FOUGHT THROUGH HARDSHIPS AND IMPACTED HIS COMMUNITY
Marine, fitness instructor and community leader – These are just a few of the titles used to describe a Wyomissing, Pennsylvanian, resident who has dedicated his life to serving.
The past 12 years of Christopher T. Kaag’s life have been a journey of discovery in which he has overcome his own personal challenges in hopes of supporting others to do the same. It has been a path marked by tragedy, pain, challenges and the euphoria of overcoming all of them to achieve a dream. It was a dream that took root when he was a young boy with a desire to grow in the footsteps of his father as a U.S. Marine.
Best Memories of Parris Island
I grew up as a Marine. My late grandpa, a retired MSgt, always shared with me and my siblings the places, stories and lore of the Corps throughout his service in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. He was a bad-ass, not-so-lean, but green and mean 5’6″ Marine. He was as old school as they get. He went to PI back when they ferried recruits in. My father, a retired Gunny, served twice in Viet Nam in 1st Marine Division. While he did go to boot camp at San Diego, he served two tours as a DI and Senior DI at Parris Island. My family bounced around the country quite a bit over his 20+ years in the Corps, but our time at PI constituted some of my most formative years. It was kind of strange now that I look back at it, knowing dad as the loving, kind and wise soul of a father but also witnessing him as the hard-as-nails, in your face, barking bad ass DI that humbles everyone. All of those memories served me well when I went through PI at the tender young age of 17. When I got my ass chewed, I knew it wasn’t personal. That DI in my face was yelling at a tree like he did in DI school (yes, I’ve seen that too). But I knew that DI still instilled the fear of God and Chesty Puller into my soul. He was doing his job to make me a Marine. My brother and I both proudly made it through Parris Island. I even came out with a meritorious PFC. I almost made it through without any of my DI’s knowing of my family history, but was found out the week before graduation. One of my DI’s saw a plaque in A Company HQ with my father’s name. It’s an unusual name so he connected the dots, and that was all it took to make my last week there a living hell. Well, on grad day after the ceremony, it was the coolest thing in life to see my DI’s and Senior DI lock it up and present themselves to my father and grandpa, who both came in their dress blues, adorned with their chests full of medal. That was my second-best memory at Parris Island back in ‘81. But my absolute best memory of Parris Island came years later, when my oldest son graduated in ’09. Seeing him out front as a PFC squad leader on the parade deck, knowing that he was carrying on the family tradition (the family business, as he refers to it) was absolutely awesome. He went on to serve in Afghanistan. He returned a hero and is now retired. Every time I go back to PI, I walk away with an even keener sense of what my family’s history is and what I hope it continues to be. We are Marines.
Radio repair in combat
My time was 1959-1963. I was a 2771 (Ground Radio repair) and always worked “In the rear with the gear”. I’m really curious if any other 2771 people ever got into a combat situation. If so, were you expected to fix radios or just fit in with the grunts? Did you spend time out in the bush? If you were expected to fix radios, what kind of repair gear did you have with you? One of the reasons I ask is during the Cuban crisis we were shown a photo of the beach where would land and I remember I was assigned the 4th wave in. At the time I think I was temporarily assigned to 2/8. Ever since I have always wondered what my duties would have been once we hit the beach.
Charms
Does anyone really know why we weren’t aloud to eat the charms from what seemed like decades old MRE’s in boot camp? I vividly remember a night in boot camp on Camp Pendleton. We had just given our nightly report and were in our shelter halves. My good friend and I started enjoying our evening ritual of crCking open a few pieces of charms candy when to our surprise the shelter half was ripped open by the meanest drill instructor to roam the earth. We got yelled at for about 15 minutes straight then he left. We innocently thought that was the end of it but as soon as day-light cracked over the mountains the whole platoon was marching up and down Mt. Mother until we couldn’t stand. I didn’t eat another charm in boot camp and had real reservation when I got to the fleet.
Iwo Jima and Beyond
I have not written a story to be posted here before, but after reading the latest post about Iwo Jima, I feel compelled to I also have a couple of Marine related questions I can’t find answers to. I am gladly attaching my e-mail, so if anyone can help me-Please Do. I served in The United States Marine Corps from 1966-1970. There is no such thing as a former Marine-I am temporarily unassigned. I was in Vietnam from September of 1967 to October of 1968. I was stationed on Hill 55, a radio man with the 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marie Division. Our regimental Colonel was Col. Reverdy Hall, our regimental Sgt. Major was “Iron” Mike Mervosh.. Right before I retired, I was a bartender at The Marine’s Memorial Club and Hotel, San Francisco, California.