Category: Main

I’ve heard different stories about the hit on 3/7 on Good Friday of 67 at Duc Pho. My recollection we started taking incoming about o200hrs.I was w/H&S Co We were at the base of the hill and about the middle just above the J4 fuel dump.We were taking small arms, rockets and some 57 recoilless rifle. What hit the fuel dump I don’t know, but let me tell you that was a sight to behold. Best fireworks display I’ve ever seen. I talk to some Marines later at Chu Lai said they could see the flames from their. I was about 75 meters from the dump. Does any other Marine remember being their that night. Semper Fi , my friends read more

Soon it will be 50 years since I took the oath to become a Marine.10 Oct 1967 I walked down the sidewalk of my home,got into my Dads car and left for the Federal Building in downtown Pittsburgh and ,along with four other recruits was sworn in.That same afternoon we were on a plane headed south.The first stop was the airport in Charlotte NC. While there we met a Marine that just finished 0311 training and,was heading home on leave then on to WestPac.We went to a bar in the airport and had a few beers while listening to his stories and advice about bootcamp. Some of the stories turned out to be true some not so true.Our next stop was the airport at Charleston SC. We were sent to a kind of staging area of some sort. There we met up with a bus load of other recruits and headed for Parris Island.On the way,someone started passing around a couple bottles of Jack or Jim can’t recall which.By the time we reached “The Island” I had a pretty good buzz.When the,I think,the driver announced that we were approaching gate the bus became a little quieter.Everything after that is a little fuzzy I do remember getting off the bus and standing in some sort of formation,Were there the “Yellow Footprints” maybe I can’t really remember. read more

It is my sad duty to inform the many readers of his stories over the years, that GySgt Frank Rousseau has passed away. He was a 3-war Marine, but I knew him as a Bermuda marine. We all enjoyed his stories and recollections over the years. He was
a weapons expert, and what most people don’t know is that after retiring from the Corps, Frank started a very successful
business supplying Hollywood with weapons, many of which he designed and built himself, including the rifle that Chuck Norris used in his “Braddock” movies. Also, in “Rambo 2”, he designed the machine gun used in the helicopter scene where Rambo and
the POW’s he rescued are abandoned by the rescue helicopter. Frank told me that nobody in the cast could handle the gun, so he fired it himself. He can be seen in the door of the helicopter firing the gun. His business was carried on by his son Chuck. If you take the time to watch all the credits at the end of “Rambo”, “Missing in Action”, and other films, you will see his name listed as
“weapons consultant”. If there are ever any weapons required behind the Pearly Gates, you can be sure Frank will handle it.
Cpl. Paul W. Lindner 1959-1963 read more

FNG stories, we all have one, what is yours. Here’s mine.

I got to Nam March 3, 1969 along with Goog, Hunts and Kelly. (now Ret. SgtMaj Kelly) The four of us remained the FNG’s past June ’69. Towards the end of June we got a “new guy”. I go running down to the hootch area yelling something about FNG’s, I slash open the hootch door with much bravado and what do I see? I see grizzled 13 months in country with 5th Comm. Cpl “Dirty Dick” Leyden. I don’t say a word to him. I just turn and leave the hootch leaving some explicatives behind knowing the four of us are still the FNG’s of the Comm Plt. Towards the end of June the 3rd MarDiv was pulling out and going back to Okinawa. Some of them extended and got reassigned to 1st MarDiv units. Dick is the reason I am a Sgt and a good friend to this day. read more

L/Cpl R. W. Hoffman, and all of Charlie 1/13 who missed their hot turkey Christmas dinner,

As one of those tasked with bringing your hot chow to the field, I apologize for missing you. It’s a pretty good bet that we were diverted to pick up med-evacs in hot LZs or extract recon teams in contact. I putted around in a Huey covering -34s and -46s, and know that every time we were promised a holiday meal, most if not all the helicopter crews who were tasked with missions to deliver food made did as many as we could, and at the end of our day – after we’d post-flighted, serviced, and repaired our battle damaged aircraft, – we went to late chow (if the mess hall was still open) and ate cold spamwiches. Since we had a mess hall we didn’t have much access to C rats, so most of us hoarded a can or two when we did get rations for those many late nights when the mess hall closed before we could make it. read more

I got to Korea Christmas day 1950, No Christmas dinner there, peanut butter sand, cold coffee

3rd bat 7th Just got out of Kotare and moved to nesaun we landed at Pusan from a Japanese ship, Christmas eve spent from Sasabo to Pusan, we stacked rifles put cig. pks on for decorations and they played white xmas over and over again. I went out on deck and there coming in to Sasabo was the prinston, My best friend was on the prinston hadn’t seen him for a couple of years, That really made me home sick, my first Christmas away from home. read more

In my experience, this was one of those fads that didn’t last long… don’t recall hearing it much after 1966, nor before… do recall, however, hearing the term used by a Brigadier General.

One of the standard expectations of those in leadership positions at the platoon and lower levels is that those so privileged is that they will know everything about those Marines in their charge, down to each Marine’s Mother’s maiden name, and her boot size… The CG of the forces involved in operation Hastings was General English, and the operation’s name was most likely chosen because it was to occur on the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in England… the original having been in 1066 (you can look it up…) read more