Category: Marine Corps Stories

Bob Hope – All American

I have to agree with all the great comments about the Bob Hope USO Christmas shows.  I had the honor to see his show aboard the flight deck of the USS Shangri-La (CVA 38) in 1963.  We were anchored in the bay of Naples, Italy.  I celebrated my 21st birthday that year on the flight deck standing guard duty on the "Ready Bombers".  The Crusaders had nukes strapped to their bellies and I got to spend the night of my birthday looking across the bay at Naples.  I didn't get to go ashore for my birthday, but I did get ashore the next evening, Christmas day, 1963… Old memories. read more

M14

At the 500 yard line, the gas cylinder on my M14 would build up with carbon rendering the rifle useless. Whenever I fired a round, you could see dirt kick up in front of me.  My Drill Instructor saw what was happening and fired the rifle himself.  His solution was to clean out the carbon after each round.  He said that if you were in combat that's what you would have to do or die trying.  Not only was I under time restraints to qualify, now I had to clean the gas cylinder everey time I fired a round.  To make matters worse, there was fog drifting across the target.  In spite of the problems that I had to deal with, I became an expert that day.  Thank God, I didn't have to take that rifle into combat.  When I went to Sea Duty, I was issued an M1.  What a relief.  Instead of a gas cylinder, there was a spring.  Front and rear sights were the same.  Kept my Expert Badge. read more

Great Reunion

Sgt. Grit,

I love your newsletter and have a story for you. The only thing I've
ever won in my life was the draft lottery in 1967 (#67). I was in my
last quarter of college and due to graduate from the University of
Minnesota in Dec '71. My student deferment expired. I stopped by a
Marine recruiter on Lake Street to check my status. We called my
local draft board. I was next on the list… read more

Ragtag Motley Herd

Sgt. Grit,

Love reading the stories in the newsletter every week. I recently read
a few about our DIs. I too had as a Senior, SSgt F.X. Muldowney. I was
in Plt. 2048, and graduated on 20Sept1966. It is amazing, when you
think about it, how under their (gentle) guidance, a ragtag motley
herd of sh-tbirds were turned into an honor platoon with outstanding
pride in themselves, Corps, and Country. We all knew where each of us
would wind up, and I believe with SSgt Muldowney's leadership (and a
few knocks) we did everyone proud. read more

America’s Top Female Guitarist

Desiree Bassett, daughter of a Marine and a proud Sgt Grit customer, is America's Top Female Guitarist. She is currently the Lead guitarist for the Cirque De Soleil Michael Jackson, The Immortal World Tour.

When telling of how she got started playing the guitar she said, "My daddy was an E-4 in the USMC stationed at Kaneohe bay, Hawaii from '83-'88 as a 6060 (Flight Equipment Marine), and he did two WestPac tours. He actually bought a guitar in a pawn shop on Okinawa, Japan, and subscribed to guitar player magazine and taught himself how to play below deck on a Helicopter Carrier; when he got out of the Corps, he got married, they had me, and he taught me how to play on that same guitar, which we still have. read more

Boot Camp

I was wondering how many out there remember duck walking around their area for a few hours in the middle of the night? At Parris Island many moons ago I was a f-cking recruit in the 5th Bat. We had 92 in our platoon. Half from the North and the other half from the South. Resulting conversations were priceless. And one of those led to 3-hours of duckwalking around our huts, in formation, counting cadence from 1am to 4am. We finished up as the Depot Honor Platoon in spite of our backgrounds and the fact that in 13-weeks we had 13 ddifferent Drill Instructors. In that 13 weeks we only lost 2 kids who could not make the grade and one of the Drill Instructors knew that from the beginning. Him, I'll never forget, Sgt Weatherford. He may not remember me, but he and his attitude helped make me a Marine. I am very proud to still carry the title at 77. read more