Category: MAW

Hard Duty

Just read this article about a MARINE that was at K-Bay. I was also there from '63-'64 as my last duty station. I was at Station Special Services, hard duty. I was a lifeguard at the Enlisted Pool… shower shoes and a bathing suit was The Uniform of the Day. I also had the privilege of going to the Aviation Physiology school so that I could go up in a jet. One of my bosses was a pilot and had to fly so many hours to qualify for flight pay, so he gave some of us the opportunity to fly with him. WE got these pictures from the gun camera.   John Cerullo 

True Difference Between Aviators

On a carrier, the Naval Aviator looks over at the Catapult Officer ("Shooter") who gives the run up engines signal by rotating his finger above his head. The pilot pushes the throttle forward, verifies all flight controls are operational, checks all gauges, and gives the Cat officer a brisk salute, continuing the Navy/Marine tradition of asking permission to leave the ship. The Cat officer drops to one knee while swooping his arm forward and pointing down deck, granting that permission. The pilot is immediately catapulted and becomes airborne. read more

SeaKnight

While I was not a Marine, my son is an inactive air winger.  Our family has served this nation from our great-great-grandfather who was a member to Co "E", 76th Reg of the PA Volunteers, Zoaves that landed in Hilton Head.  I myself served in Korea landing in Inchon just as the phony truce was signed.  Starting out as a member of Co "B", 502nd Reg of the 101st.  I was transferred to 8th Army FWD in Korea, taking a cruise on the troop ship, TAP 114, William Mitchell going over and coming back!  On board, 2,000 Marines and 3,000 Army!   I was the last of a long line of first cousins who fought in WWII. They all survived fortunately.  One of my cousins, Gunny William Mowbray joined the Marines in 1937 and was one of the original Marine Raiders and survived the islands.  I had two cousins at the Battle of the Bulge, one was shot down on a Polesti raid and was a prisoner of the Germans for three years, another was in the Merchant Marine Engineering Officer running through a few Wolf Packs.  William is buried in Arlington Cemetery not far from Audie Murphy, Lee Marvin and Joe Lewis. You have no idea how disgusted I am when that what sits in the WH enters Arlington for whatever reason.  Bad enough for Ted Kennedy being buried there disgracing the cemetery.   The reason I'm writing you is that I made a small contribution to the cause when I worked the original plywood mockups of the CH-46 SeaKnight & CH-47 Chinook Helicopters at Piasecki Helicopters in Morton, PA.  I've attached a few pix.  I started out as a bench mechanic and worked my way up to the pubs department where I made some of the master structural repair manuals for the CH-46.   If anyone of you jarheads are interested about the development of the SeaKinight, just contact me Jim Webb at jwebbartist@comcast.net & spiderwerks@comcast.net.   Regards, Jim Webb

March Ourselves With Purpose

I read with interest Dennis Krause's tour of Camp Hauge and attachment to the 9th MEB. We were breathing a lot of the same air, trudging around Hauge's streets of gold, and bouncing around the South China Sea.

Like Dennis, Camp Hauge and the 9th MEB are bolted together in my mind. For me it all began on August 4, 1964, when I was minding my and the Marine Corps business in Iwakuni. I was an E4 in 1st MAW's G2/Intelligence, nominally per my MOS, an Aerial Photo Interpreter. On August 4, I caught G2 Duty NCO and was bunked down in the office as per SOP. At 0330 the Duty Officer woke me. We were on Def Con 3, due to The North Vietnamese attack on the USS Maddox in the Bay of Tonkin a couple of days ago. read more

F4 Phantoms Screaming

Been following stories about the tough duty at K-Bay. I was stationed at K-Bay with Station Operations and Maintenance Squadron (SOMS) from Oct '74 through Oct '77, then got out and stayed in Hawaii until 1984. I arrived as a 19 year old newly minted LCpl who got married en-route. In those days you had to be "Command Sponsored" to be authorized quarters and/or a wife, but we were too young and too dumb to know how poor we were while living in a tiny apartment in town and sharing our one bicycle for transportation. Road that bike about 5 miles to/from work daily, more often than not in the rain. Worked GCA Radar just off the middle of the runway with F4 Phantoms screaming by non-stop. That's our yellow trailer in the middle of the asphalt in the picture. Too far for most folks to walk out to bother us so for the most part it was just me and my Gunny. Yes, it was "swinging with the Wing" at times and couldn't have asked for better duty. read more

Fred Killebrew

By Gary Wilson, Ph.D.

I first met Fred E. Killebrew on a golf course near Houston, Texas in April, 2013. I arrived at the golf course by myself and the person behind the counter asked if I would play with two brothers, Fred and Charley Killebrew. I soon learned that Fred was 90 years old and his brother, Charley, was in his early 80’s. Before long I also discovered that the brothers were former Marines. Fred had fought in World War II and had served two tours in the Pacific and Charley had fought and been wounded in Korea. After getting to know Fred better, I asked if I could have an interview. I conducted a series of interviews with Fred and the first was on June 7, 2013 at his home in Seabrook, Texas. read more