With the Death of Senator Frank Lautenberg, the last WWII Veteran serving in the Senate and only two left serving in the Congress, and the so-called data that WWII Vets are dying at an average of 2,000 a day, I figured this old Hat is pushing calculations. When I retired in 1969 with 26 years, I figured the best days were ahead and they were until I turned 65 years of age… then I went on Medicare. I had to choose a Doctor and found one who immediately demanded I have a bunch of tests and shots. So I told him for too many years I had to put up with some of the most humiliating, undignified, and embarrassing medical examinations.
Category: Other USMC
Discipline And Leadership
In last week's newsletter, SGT Dave Charbonneau left a remembrance to his Senior Drill Instructor, GYSGT C.D. Mortis. A real tribute to a Marine's Marine. But, if I could be so bold, since I did not know the GYSGT, but I do know the Marine to his left in the Platoon photo, Assistant Drill Instructor SGT J.C. Pleasants. Platoon 353 was Pleasants last at MCRD PI. Joe Pleasants passed on to me the 7 platoon books that he helped train at PI, to research the names of the new Marines for possible KIA's in Viet Nam. For the research I do, trying to find photos of Marine KIA's, this was a 'gold mine'.
C-Rat Creativity
We used to open the can of peanut butter and add the powdered cocoa. After kneading the mixture well you ended up with something like a turd that tasted much like a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup.
J. Strayer
VMFA-122
HML-771
'79-'87
U.S. MARINE RAIDER in WW11 my dad
This is to the man in this pic. Thank you for all you did. May you ALL R.I.P, Semper Fi, AND TO MY DAD IN THIS PIC. Miss you POPS. Semper Fi.
Something Of An Anomaly
Gunny McCallum's letter allowed me to look back to when I had a Spec Number of 521, Basic Marine, later it became a 745 Rifleman Spec Number when I earned it. Then in 1946 we went from Spec Numbers to MOS and I became an 0311. Through my years of Service I have been A Rifleman, a Photographer, A Sentry, Prison Chaser at a Naval Prison, Chief Night Cook on a Troop Ship returning home, Recruiter, Weapons Tester, Recon, Small Arms Repair, Rifle Team Armorer, even a Nuclear Weapons Specialist, and even doing duty as Rifleman at Burials (when they returned the bodies at the end of WWII). I've always looked at my Career as something special because I was able to do what I was called on to do (not always to my liking).
B/1/13/5 Vietnam Reunion
Bravo Battery, 1st Bn, 13th Mar, 5th MarDiv, Vietnam Reunion in Mancos, Colorado.
MGYSGT Terry Read 0811
'65-'91
Parris Island Reunion
I was at the Island June of 1962 and out posted Sep 13, 1962… I was in Plt 238… our series was 236-237-238 and 239. I was able to find 150 Marines from this series in the last couple of years. About 20 of them have passed away. I worked with 2 other Marine Brothers and we pulled off a reunion at the Island this past April. I would suggest not waiting like we did to do this. This was one of best things that has happened to us in a long time. We had a ball… We spent two days on P.I. and the last day saw a graduation from the other side of the parade deck next to the reviewing stands. The Marines at the Island treated us so good and couldn't do enough for us. It was just great. It had been about 50 years since we had seen each other and we bonded right away. It was one of the best times we could have ask for . We had 27 Marines and and 17 spouses that attented. As you can see we are wearing covers that I brought for our group from Sgt Grit. We bought 37 covers and they did a very nice job on the wording we had done on the back of the covers and treated up right . Thanks to Sgt Grit for all your help. By the way, there are 7 more Marines that missed this group picture due to being at Colors.
Yellow Footprints
I reported aboard MCRD San Diego, CA on July 20, 1956. We spent three weeks in the receiving barracks prior to starting our 12 week training cycle. The yellow footprints were there and a lot of time was spent standing on them between working parties, etc.
Chaplain
Reunion time, is just around the corner.
I served as an Marine '66-'72, reaching the rank of SGT. This week I will gather with my fellow Marines from Vietnam. I haven't seen most of them since 1967-1968 when we served in HMM-364, Purple Foxes, a CH 46D Squadron out of MCAF, Tustin in Santa Ana, California.
Camp Hannah
Regarding Gene Lang's story "Fired on the Hucks". I too served in H&S, 1/12, 3rd MarDiv in Okinawa from July 1957 to Sep 1958 and I remember well Operation Strongback and Camp Hannah. I have a few photos of the place. We had an area called "Jack's Bar" set up with San Miguel beer sold for 10 cents a bottle. I also remember encountering a small band of "Negritos" and trading whatever gear we could spare for their hand made weapons. What stands out in my mind is how we got from Okinawa to the Philippines. In Dec 1957 we were mobilized and set sail to the South China Sea. My unit was on an LST. We sailed around in circles, never seeing land, for about a month on water rations, food rations and salt water showers. It was a miserable trip. The ocean was as calm as glass and it was hotter than hell. We spent the 1957-8 holidays aboard that ship before finally putting in to Subic Bay where we were housed in a compound in Olongopo which I believe was an old Japanese POW camp. At the time I had no idea why we were deployed to the South China Sea, but many years later I learned that it was a plan by Pres Eisenhower and Sec of State John Foster Dulles to assist in the 1958 Rebellion in Indonesia. The plan was to send “one cruiser one destroyer division all U.S. amphibious forces available in the Philippine area with embarked Marines plus necessary logistic forces” in the direction of Indonesia, staying “out of sight of land if at all practical.”