On 19 June 2014, Cpl William Kyle Carpenter, USMC (Ret.) was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on 21 November 2010 while serving as an Automatic Rifleman with F Co, 2d Bn, 9th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st MarDiv (fwd), I MEF (fwd), in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Category: General Info
Future Marines
Jones Beach Marines putting the Poolee recruits through the paces… 6/7/14.
Ended Up On Ulithi Islands
"What did you do during the War?" This was a title for a movie, books and stories that always come with an answer.
Let me tell you a story of something that happened to me during WWII. Because I was only seventeen and looked much younger I was often transferred. For some reason I ended up on Ulithi Islands awaiting transfer to somewhere else. There was an ship with smoke coming from it and people took off afraid the ammo aboard might explode. Now on the Ulithi Island of Mog Mog, you couldn't go very far. Due to my innocence or gullibility or what, my friend and I went to the ship, there were two men working on it and they were leaving. One was working in the hold loading ammo boxes on an elevator and sending them up. The other guy took the boxes from the elevator and then he removed the boxes so they could be placed on barge next to the ship. The smoke was coming from the opposite side of the ship where the ammo was so I went aboard with my friend and went down in the hold and started loading ammo into the elevator and sending it up to my friend on the deck.
USS Texas
I'm always up for military history in my travels. Several years ago on vacation with the family we found the USS Texas, now a museum ship.
Attached are a couple of photos about the formation of the 1st MarDiv. The 1st MarDiv. guys probably already know this and have been there but for the rest of us… a little more history.
Dog Tag Of The Korean War
In a recent letter, one lad asked about Dog Tags. But in the old, old days one of the Sergeants or Officers went back over the battle field to identify the Dead, or the Dead were just buried without concern for the identity. During the "Cold Harbor Battle" of the Civil War, men on both sides sewed their name and address on their coats so they could be identified and the family informed of their Death. I'm sure it happened more often than not.
Clutching An Ammo Can
Comment on Amphibious Landing Problems.
Ken Schweim's comments on going down the nets for an amphibious landing are pretty much the way I remember it. It looked easy in the movies, but very tricky in rough seas. I am surprised more Marines did not get hurt just getting off the ship. But those who suffered from sea sickness did not care… they just wanted to get off the ship and on dry land. I will also add that going from the landing craft to board ship was just as bad. Grab the net when the landing craft was high… then before you could get your feet in the net you were dangling in the air. Grab the net when it was low… the net is bunched at your feet. Climbing up the net with all your gear was a bit harder than going down.
Power Strips 4 Troops
Powerstrips4troops.org was created by Marine Veteran Dave Waller after he suffered a debilitating injury while serving as a Marine Security Guard at the U.S. Embassy in Morocco. Power Strips are unique, herbal pain relief patches. The Power Strips are listed as a Class 1 Medical Device by the FDA because of their ability to provide temporary relief of minor aches and pains. The are patented and doctor formulated.
No Longer Green
Here is a photo of my Scarf which was green in 1966, the year that I join Marine Corps, this item was part of uniforms issued to us at MCRD, I never wore it while I was in the Marine Corps. But, just as Sgt Reeder stated… it was (rayon or ??). This item was a pain in the wazoo during a Junk on the Bunk inspection because it tended to literally crawl off the display. It is 11"x 48". As you can see it is no longer green after 40 plus years and a few washings, I must say that it has come in handy on cold mornings when riding my motorcycle.
She Also Noticed The Attitude
Sgt. Grit story on Summer Dress Uniforms, Green Field Scarf and Best Duty Station.
Like many other Marines, I start off my Thursday mornings reading your Sgt. Grit Newsletter. And I want to express my appreciation and thank you for providing such a great service! I know that editing the Sgt. Grit Newsletter takes a tremendous amount of time and a whole bunch of love. Thanks for Loving our Corps and fellow Marines!
Cool Kids And Salty
The green field scarf was part of our uniform issue at MCRD San Diego in the summer of 1962. We were never instructed on what to wear it with, how to wear it or when to wear it. I remember it being kind of silky. Is that my Alzheimer's starting to kick in? Still had it until several years ago or maybe I still do. I recall being shocked that we were required to pay for our sea bag issue and our bucket issue. Sure put a hole in my meager paycheck.