Category: Blog

Marine Corps Command Chronologies for the Vietnam War

This series primarily consists of command chronologies of U.S. Marine Corps units that served during the time of the Vietnam Conflict, and includes the records of those units that served in Vietnam as well as domestically and throughout the world. Most of these chronologies include four common sections of information: organizational data, narrative summaries of events, accomplishments and losses, sequential listings of significant events within the unit, and supporting documentation. More extensive chronologies include lists of commanders, lists of staff officers, lists of location(s) where units were stationed, lists of awards and training received, lists of operations participated in, situation reports, and records relating to community relations activities. read more

WORST MOM EVER??……….from Dec 7, 2002 Newsletter

WORST MOM EVER??

Dear Sgt Grit,
I feel like the worst mom ever.  My son is in boot camp (Marine Corps) of which I am very proud.  To make a long story short, he left in September, got hurt after 3 weeks, went to MRP, was kept there for 3 weeks and was told off and on that he would be sent home.  His moral dropped to an all time low.  After being given a clean bill of health he was picked up by another PLT and regained a good deal of his motivation.  Last week he failed his rifle quals and was told that if he failed again on Friday, he would be set back two weeks.  He wrote me stating that he would not be set back if he failed because he would just go to MRP and
tell them he was going to hurt himself and then they would send him home.  He also went on to complain about how he had just set too high a goal for himself on becoming a Marine.  At first I was shocked, then I became enraged.  How could this knucklehead son of mine come up with this pile of sh–?  It didn't sound like him.  I couldn't sit back and let him quit.  A Marine once offered that if I ever had an emergency he would help get me in contact with my son.  I explained the situation to him and although this wasn't an emergency he said he would do what he could.  He spoke with the SDI and they agreed to let me  speak with my son.  I think they were all expecting me to give him some words of encouragement but I was so consumed by my anger that I just let him have it.  I can't even remember all that I said but I do remember some statements such as “You will NOT F—–g quit.  The only way you're getting
off that island is broken or as a Marine!  Suck it up!”  etc.
Now that it is all said and done I feel like total crap.  I never
once asked him how he was, or wished him a happy birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years.   I used up my one favor on yelling at my son!  I'm sure it didn't go too good for him having his mom called either.  I wrote him a letter but I don't think it will get there by Friday.  I want to know if any of you Marines were ever yelled at by your mom in boot camp when you were low and if so how long it took you to forgive her. read more

New River flight memorial christens two new aircraft, honors fallen hero

A collection of legends of Marine aviation gathered aboard New River Air Station recently to dedicate two new additions to the air station’s aviation memorial and to honor a fallen brother.

The memorial was dedicated in 2006, a simple plaque in honor of the pilots who had given their lives flying New River-based aircraft. Eventually, three of the air station’s signature choppers were installed as monuments at the memorial site — a CH-46 Sea Knight, a CH-53 Super Stallion, and a UH-34D Sea Horse. read more

WWI Marine killed in France

Mount Mora Cemetery wouldn’t seem to be where one would expect to find the U.S. Marine Corps. But it is a place where young recruits found one of their own.

 

“The original plan for the men was to do a car wash on Saturday to raise funds for next month’s poolee event,” said Staff Sgt. Gerardo Banda, one of the recruiters attached to the St. Joseph office. read more

Marine Mathematics

 

 

Marine Mathematics

   A while back this story about Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller appeared on the internet. It had been excerpted from the Burke Davis biography of Puller, “Marine” written in 1962. After receiving the story I did my analytical interpretation of the math involved in this exchange for the benefit of non-warrior civilians.

    The story…

    The Korean War, in which the Marine Corps fought and won some of its most brutal battles, was not without its gallows humor.

    During one such conflict a ROK (Republic of Korea) commander, whose unit was fighting along with the Marines, called legendary Marine Chesty Puller to report a major Chinese attack in his sector.

    “How many Chinese are attacking you?” asked Puller.

    “Many, many Chinese!” replied the excited Korean officer.

    Puller asked for another count and got the same answer “Many, many

    Chinese!”

    “X*#dammit!” swore Puller, “Put my Marine liaison officer on the radio.”

    In a minute, an American voice came over the air: “Yes sir?”

    “Lieutenant,” growled Chesty, “exactly how many Chinese you got up there?”

    “Colonel, we got a whole shitload of Chinese up here!”

    “Thank God,” exclaimed Puller, “at least there's someone up there who

    knows how to count!”

    —————–

    An organizational and mathematical analysis of this situation.

    You just have to know the terminology to understand this story. “Many, many” is an inexact number, however a “shitload” equals 1000, or a Chinese battalion. A “whole shitload” equals 3000, or a Chinese regiment. And of course you have a “half shitload”, which equals 500, or about two reinforced rifle companies (or burp gun companies, as they were called during the Korean War), and a “quarter shitload”, which equates to 250, or about a reinforced rifle company. A “mini shitload” referred to a squad, which could normally be taken out with several well aimed bursts of a tripod mounted light machine gun at ranges up to 1000 meters along the Korean DMZ. Although I never actually served with him, Puller was rumored to be a stickler for numbers and was renowned throughout the Corps for his mathematical genius.

    And, then you have the “micro shitload”, which equates to a fire team. The term “shithead” refers to the individual Chinese soldier, as in, “You shitheads keep off the skyline, or that machine gun will get the entire mini shitload of you!” At the other end of the scale there is the “gigantic shitload” which equals a Chinese infantry division, and the “mega shitload”, which equates to a field army. In the case of the situation with Puller as described above, we know that the ROK unit in questions survived the Chinese assault because they were confronted with only a “whole shitload”. Had it been a “gigantic or mega shitload”, no one would have been around to tell the story as they would have been over run and destroyed.

    The question of why a reinforced Chinese rifle/burp gun company (or “quarter shitload”) was so much larger than an equivalent US formation can be easily answered. The Chinese “quarter shitloads” were usually reinforced with machine gun teams using the obsolescent Soviet SG43 7.62mm Goryunov Heavy Machine Gun, which was mounted on a heavy steel-wheeled carriage and weighed a ton.. Since it took a large number of “shitheads” to move these weapons, the overall head count of the “quarter shitloads” was quite large.

    See how easy it is when you know what you're talking about.

    “Analysis” by Dirck Praeger

 

Clearly, Dirck Praeger needs to re-evaluate his data, since there were actually 8 Chinese Divisions (estimated 60,000 soldiers) of the PRC 9th Army (consisting of 12 Chinese Infantry Divisions) committed to the battle in the Chosin campaign…

 

Chesty and his MARINES,  while reducing (militarily, plus the winter cold & Chinese lack of food/supply) three Chinese divisions to a non-combatant status, were successful in their fight to the sea and naval extraction with more equipment (from the retreating US 3d Army) than they took into Korea; and, because Chesty would NOT give the motorized equipment left behind by the Army, he got into “hot water” with the brass.

 

In knowing the history of the encounter and the story, it becomes plainly clear that Chesty's Marine Liason Officer must have actually said was:  “Colonel, we have a whole  helluva   shitload of Chinese up here” -which would give rise to yet another exponential factor that, according to the Chesty Mathematical Handbook,  WOULD ACTUALLY have been BIGGER than the “gigantic or mega shitload…” (Dirck alluded to) making the battle outcome all-the-more miraculous, and,  would now explain Dirck's oversight and low Chinese troop estimate in his attempt to explain the actual Marine Mathematics used by Chesty in this remarkable historical event… (he said smiling)…so …there….

Semper fi,

Jim Meyers

 

 

 

THAT’S WHAT THE 8 ROUNDS ARE FOR…from 2002 Newsletter

THAT'S WHAT THE 8 ROUNDS ARE FOR

This is in reply to Chuck Sarges comments about falling out to witness a Marine being “Drummed Out”. I was also in the 2nd Service Regiment, H&S Co. Engineer Maint. Plt. Building #308. In fact I was sent to Lejeune the day after my graduation from P.I. I spent the next three years there in the same squad bay, April '54 to Jan.'57. I only remember one such incident. The reason I do is because the pvt. getting the D.D. had been someone I had to
pick-up at the brig and march back  to his company to take care of some private matters before he was discharged. In those days whenever you pulled guard duty , you had to serve as prisoner chaser also. I was only a PFC at the time and the whole matter made a lasting impression on me. I remember being given a clip of 8 rounds for my M1 Garand and being instructed by the Sgt. of the guard to load my rifle as I left the brig and march three paces
behind my prisoner and to allow no one to get between us. I had arrived at the brig at noon chow so I had to wait for my man to finish his work detail. While I was there one of the brig guards asked if I had chow yet. It was something I'll never forget. Being a PFC I was not used to being waited on .I can still see those prisoners waiting on me as if I was “Chesty Puller”.  What is still vivid in my mind was the way they moved about, it was a half step ,it was called of course a brig step.  Before I left the brig I got more instructions from the duty warden that made me realize how serious this duty was. He told me that this man was under my command, he only did what I said he could do. He said no one was to talk to him while in route and once we got to the company only those in command there could talk to him. The warden continued telling me that the circle on his back was my bull's-eye and if he tried to escape , well that's what the 8 rds. were for, and if he did get away I would have to serve his remaining  time. I don't know if that last remark was true, but it impressed the “h*ll” out of me. Anyway it was a long walk from the brig[ in those days it was across the street from the base theater] to the 300 area.  I started out at port arms but before I got out the gate one of the brig guards told me it would be a lot more comfortable to rest the butt on my right hip and hold the rifle by the pistol grip with my right hand.  This I did and I got through the detail
without a hitch. The man getting the D.D. was in a company down the street from mine, I was in  building 308 he was in 310 or 312 and some times he would act as regimental bugler. I remember his name but I don't think it would be proper of me to mention it. I don't know what he did to warrant his D.D., but I hope he was able to get his s-it together in later life.  He wasn't a bad kid, thats what we all were 18-20 year olds, he was  little to wild and had a problem with booze.       
Jim {Hap} Harrington  Cpl USMC
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