Iwakuni, Japan in the mid 1950's, My good buddy Nick Dubovick and I returned to base after a pretty wild night on the town. The next morning I found a crumpled piece of paper in my pocket, entirely written in Japanese. Didn't ring any bells with me so I asked Nick if he had a clue. He said that he found the same paper in his pocket so we showed them to our Japanese houseboy. He said that they were from a tailor shop and that we had bought a couple of sport coats.
That evening we went back in to town to see exactly what the h*** we had bought. They turned out to be bright red velvet coats with baby blue silk linings and our initials on the pocket in gold thread. After we got over the shock we wondered if we would have the b***s to wear these in public. We decided we would wear it, only if the other one wore his too. The enclosed picture was taken in the Miss Iwakuni Bar. Nick is the short one. We never did remember having these jackets made and/or paying for them. I think they cost us 3,000 Yen which was under $10 back then.
Nick is now serving in Post Everlasting and I often think of the years of absolutely crazy stuff that we did while in Japan. I could write a book but only a few would believe it.
Semper Fi
Sid Gerling
Sgt. of Marines
Category: Other USMC
Springfield Man To Receive Marine League Award For Heroic Action
WESTFIELD, Mass.—-A former Marine Corps Lance Corporal who lost his Springfield home in the June 1 tornado that ripped through Western Mass will be cited for heroism at the Westfield River Valley Detachment 141, Marine Corps League (MCL), pig roast and annual family picnic on Sunday, July 3, for saving the life of a man attempting suicide from the Tower Square Garage in downtown Springfield.
Jingle Bell Special model
Plastic model photos of the "Jingle Bell Special" taken off the internet.
Something to share
For those that watched "After The Catch" who saw Capt. Andy Hillstrand wearing a Marine shirt, here's the reason why:
While not a Marine, Capt. Andy was at a NASCAR event in Charlotte, NC where he met a group of wounded servicemen (Andy is pro-military and has a lot of respect for those who serve). One of the men in the group was a Marine who had been seriously injured while serving and they spent quite a bit of time talking and hanging out at the race. He was wearing that particular shirt and Andy was in a Time Bandit shirt so they decided to swap shirts as a sign of mutual respect and admiration.
21 Club Card and Geneva Convention Card
Sgt. Grit,
The only Liberty cards I was issued, I had to turn back in at the end of the liberty. When I was stationed at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, being the age of 21, I was issued a 21 Club card which ment you were of age to drink all types of alcohol. Along with saving my 21 card I also saved my Geneva Convention card from when I served in Vietnam.
Semper Fi
Sgt. Giuseppe (Joe) Mastrangelo
1973658
Our Marine
Hey Sarge! Just wanted to share a photo of 'our' Marine – as his parents and I call him. My nephew, LCpl CL Vuchetich has been serving overseas with the 1/5 Marines for the last few months. Many thanks to him and all the Marines and Sailors who are sacrificing. Semper Fi!
Women Marine Drill Instructors & Battery Creek Photos
Sgt Grit,
I was reading the comments about the Women Marines having male Drill Instructors in recent Newsletters and I am here to say "I was One".
After putting thru 14 platoons at MCRD PI in January 1971 to March 1973, I was transferred to OCS Quantico for the summer programs but as luck would have it The Printing Shop at Quantico was civilianized that summer so i had to spend the rest of my tour as an Instructor at OCS and also at the SNCO Academy. I was the NCOIC of Casual Plt for some time. After SNCO Academy and as my last duty before receiving orders back to my MOS, I was sent to the OCS Women Marines Company where I taught drill to the last Company of Women Marines before they were to begin training with the male Marines or so I was told.
Couple of old cards
Sgt Grit,
Here are a couple of old cards. The bottom left was issued when I arrived at Wpns Co, 3Bn,2ndMar in March of '51, following Boot at PI. The one above was issued at Camp JHP, Little Creek Va in June '51 while there for Amfib trng and the other I got at Lakehurst NAS, Lakehurst, NJ in '52.
100 Harrison St. & Battle Jackets
Right on about no bad lookers among the WMs at Harrison St. I was there for a few months with the Escort Detail in 1951. Maj.Gen. Noble was CG. San Francisco was a first class liberty town back then.
Gunny Rousseau:
Exactly right about the changes to the rank structure. When I reported to my first duty at MB Portsmouth, NH in ‘46, the SNCOs had both types of chevrons. We differ on the Battle Jacket. I thought it looked sloppy. It was comfortable though and the bloused bulge was convenient for stashing cigarettes and other goodies such as half or full pints of refreshments. This picture was taken at the Portsmouth train station in 1947. Two of us were leaving for Pendleton. I’m the ‘Feather Merchant’ on the left. Notice my belt buckle, we no longer had the leather belts. It was a sad day when we lost them.
On a personal level. Were you in 6th Mar. at Pendleton between 1947 and 1949?
Marine Issued Cards
G'day Sgt. Grit,
I have been enjoying the stories behind the older Liberty cards that have been shown, very much. While I have no liberty card today, I do have a Geneva Convention Card issued to all FMF Corpsmen going into RVN. (To this day, I detest the word "Medic"!) Mine was handed to me just minutes before we flew the several hours in a C-130 from Okinawa to Da Nang air strip in early 1966. The second photo shows the inside of a leather wallet given as a Christmas present to any who wanted one in the Third Division. The outside of the wallet showed a gold Eagle, Globe and Anchor. It has many Grunt miles on it, as do most of us today… but I thought you might like to see these items.
Doc john Patrick 1964-68