Category: Marine Corps Stories

Favorite Marine SNCO Story

Another inspection at Marine Barracks, Naha… the inspecting officer is Lt.Gen Alan Shapely, at the time the CG, FMF PAC. On December 7th, 1941, he was aboard the USS Arizona, as a Major, and had just been relieved the previous day as the CO of Arizona's Marine Detachment. He had stayed aboard, as his Marines were scheduled to play in a championship baseball game that Sunday. He was aloft, with a cup of coffee, when the Japanese struck. He was blown, naked, into the water… and helped others swim ashore on Ford Island. Note, if you can see the detail, that those are brass claws, just above my left hand… meaning that we had leather slings… field marching pack, one canteen… read more

Ingenious Jarheads

Sitting here watching a Military Channel program on the Browning 'Stinger' 30-cal as used by the Marines in WW2 – very interesting story behind it; Marines took Browning A-2's out of damaged SBD's and used an M-1 rear stock, BAR rear sight, bipod, and carrying handle, plus a modified trigger and lighter barrel, to make a light machine gun. Showed re-enactment of Marine PFC Tony Stein using one to take out numerous bunkers and pillboxes on Iwo – kept running to and from the beach to replenish the 100-rd ammo belts… took off his shoes and socks to run better in the sand. Pretty neat little MG, supposed to have a 1300rpm rate of fire! read more

Custom Made Marine Corn Hole Boards

The 3 attached photos are of my totally handmade Corn Hole games. I searched far and wide for a store made game set depicting Marine Corps lineage. Finally decided to build my own and adorn it with Sgt Grit decals. The decal story line on the boards tracks my time in the Corps from MCRD Parris Island (Sept '59) to assignment with the 1st MAW Iwakuni, Japan to Soc Trang, Vietnam and discharge rank E4 Corporal (Sept '63). read more

Doc Hall

I just finished reading this week's (25/26 June) newsletter, and in response to "MARINE Jim McCallum's (the ole gunny)" post concerning corpsmen, I thought I'd share a photo of "Doc" Hall. He was the ranking corpsman assigned to Lima 3/7 during the approximately six months (late December '66 to early June '67) that I had the privilege of serving as that company's Artillery Forward Observer from India 3/11. With a little luck, maybe one of your readers also served with him, and can give me an update on him. read more

Operation Colorado

Operation Colorado, August, 1966, 1/5 and 3/5, and don't recall who all else. I had left MCRD SD with orders to Staging Bn, etc. earlier in the year… and a couple of other DI's that I knew got orders to the I-I staff with the Reserve Engineer company that was based at Fort Omaha… smallish installation, mostly brick buildings, probably has some interesting history. My pregnant wife and toddler daughter were to be well cared for, as her parents had plenty of room at their house in Omaha, basically just a mile or two up 30th from the Fort. So far, so good… then, on the 9th of August, somewhere northwest of Tam Ky, in the wee hours, we took mortar and recoilless rifle fire. Long story short, I managed to make an up close and personal connection with a few mortar fragments… not a BFD (although Joe B might have thought so), and it was what used to be recorded as "WIANE" or "Wounded In Action, Not Evacuated". (have hurt myself worse when shaving with a hangover… and a 'safety razor') However… I had neglected to check the "Do Not Notify NOK in case of… whatever… box on the old RED. (Record of Emergency Data) form… so… that meant the finely functioning bureaucratic chain would swing into action, because our Doc filled out a medical tag, generating a TWIX (Naval Message) to the Casualty Assistance folks nearest my NOK (Next Of Kin)… that being, of course, the I-I staff at Fort Omaha. These guys are Marines… and we take care of our own… goes without saying. Soooooo… when the TWX is on the message board first thing in the morning, the guys read it… and since it happens to be someone they know, they swing into action immediately!… by calling the house, identifying themselves, and asking my wife if she is going to be home later in the morning because they need to come talk to her… at about 06:30 in the morning… as she is standing there with my daughter hanging on to her nightgown, holding my by then six-day old son in her arms. They showed up in a sedan promptly at 0800. Wife has always referred to that period as the longest hour and a half in her life… had the name on the TWX been unfamiliar, I am sure that they (the CACO team) would have handled the situation in routine professional fashion… but when it's somebody you know… it's a little different. At the time, I could have gone full Gy Ermey on them… later, as an I-I, having to make injury/death notifications, gained a new understanding of one of the hardest assignments (IMHO) that the Corps can assign. read more

Life At War

One of the best times of being a Ordnance Man is when you take ordnance material back from the front lines to a rear Area where it will be repaired. In Korea, at the Punch Bowl, we took some tanks back to Masan, Korea where 1st Combat Service Group was. I was appointed one of the Train Guards and got to ride the train all the way back. Now as there were Guerrillas about we sometimes rode inside the tanks (mostly just for something to do) but when the train stopped to refuel coal and water we had the luxury of using the steam let off pipe to warm our "C's". We put them in an empty water expeditionary can and pulled the can up over the steam let off pipe. Then the engineer turned on the steam and heated our rations so hot we had to wait to open them. I took advantage of being a Train Guard by having my picture taken with the engineer (of course, he didn't want anything to do with it and sat on top). Korea was the first time, as I recall, it was legal to carry a camera, you weren't supposed to in WWII but guys did any way. I can still remember the bullets zinging off after hitting the Tank. How easy it was to enjoy the little things in life at War! read more