Category: Marine Corps Stories

Monkey Mountain Moments 69-70 MACS-4 “Vice Squad ch-77, mode-3 code 23, Echo-Charlie 214 your pigeon

I got to DaNang via staging in Pendleton and through Okinawa.  With a history of pneumonia already from the tear gas chamber at ITR in '67, my '69 arrival in Vietnam after the staging area training's own tear gas choral emsemble had my lungs blowing dark green chunkies.  The Corpsman at the 2 day transition/gear storage shenanigans on Okinawa shrugged, handed me two 1000 mg Bayer aspirin, and quipped, "Can't help you here, kiddo.  Go die in Danang… NEXT Marine!"  I actually laughed.  You had to be there to see the insanity and chaos… revisited on the way home 2 tours later.  The Navy really is way-cool.  My uncle was a Sailor in WWII.  Besides, they're actually our mom.  We're fed, clothed, taken to "after school games" and church.  "She" also pimp-slaps our butts when naughty.  If you were REALLY crazy, you were "grounded" in your room… at Portsmouth Naval Prison, NH.  When I got to my unit after a day in the Danang runway transit barracks, with the self-cleaning and debugging screens from insects compliments to the chameleons skittering about all night, the MACS-4 "Doc" up on Monkey Mountain (Son Tra)  scowled at the minute flecks of blood in my green chunked sputum sample, and hissed, "He said WHAT?" Our unit "limo," a '48 canvas topped weapons carrier, tossed me into the DaNang Navy Hospital down by Marble Mountain.  read more

A-Frame

A-Frame

Sgt. C.S. Martin

3068 M Company

1995

 

While in boot camp I was no stud, but I wasn’t a slouch either. Every challenge I faced came to me with relative ease and I was succeeding with high marks on everything that was thrown my way until the day came when I had to face the A-frame. Now, growing up, I was athletic and relatively fearless but I had what my mother called “a healthy fear of heights”. If I didn’t have to jump off of it, I wasn’t going to.  So, I attacked the A-frame like I had everything else that had been thrown at me and was cruising until I reached the top. I reached out to grab that rope and it hit me, I have to swing off of this thing with one hand and then grab the rope with the other to slide down. Confidence lost!! read more

My Son Survived Boot Camp

When my son left for Boot Camp, I was a lunatic. Our family had no military experience and this was my oldest son. Being the computer dummy, that I am, I naturally took to the Internet for information about how I could help or support my son. The first thing I found said "send letters, lots of letters". Well, my son joined in June, but didn't leave for Boot Camp until October, so I started writing, every day, in June. When I finally got his mailing address, I took off to the post office with 105 letters. His first mail call was more like an avalanche of insanity that was not appreciated by his Sgt. The next thing I learned was a list of all the things Poolies needed at Boot Camp, like band aids, gel foot inserts, foot powder, socks, mole skin (didn't even know what that was).  So, off I go to Walmart, then directly to the post office. After I got back home, I read the part that says NEVER SEND ANYTHING UNTIL YOUR POOLEES ASKS FOR IT AND HAS GOTTEN PERMISSION TO RECEIVE IT. Oops!  When he received this package his Sgt asked why he had gotten all this stuff and my brilliant soon to be Marine said "I guess because this Poolees Mom thinks his feet hurt, Sir."  That really cost him. Now 8 years later and after several deployments, that Marine, is a Sgt himself and getting ready to come home for good. He will be coming home to us a proud, confident and much stronger man than the boy that left all those years ago.  read more

Our 4 Generations

We are 4 Generations Marine Strong.

PFC Donald Carson….Korea

L/Cpl Greg Sims……….VietNam

Cpl. Brad Sims…………Perian Gulf

L/Cpl Scott Nokes…….Afghanistan (2x)

As a Life Member of the Marine Corps League, I displayed my Espirit De Corps with my MCL, New Jersey Plate. Now I am in Kentucky, I continue to show my pride, with my adopted state's Marine Plate. read more

Looking for Sgt Clinton from the story about “BABE” the dog

I read the story about Babe on this site. I remember "BABE" & Sgt Clinton. I am Cpl. Clarence Mann who in Vietnam I served with Sgt. Clinton who saved my life during an attack on Dong Ha. I was the Marine that drove Sgt Clinton in to town one night where he jumped off the back of the truck. If you read this please contact me at email: read more

M14

This isn't as much a story as a request. Why don't y'all have more merchandise with the M14 on it? A t-shirt or something. I know that today everyone loves the M16. I trained with the M14 at Parris Island, carried it on a Med Cruise, fired it in the Dominican Republic, and staked my life on it in Nam. When I was in Nam you couldn't give me an M16. Far as I was concerned, back then they were a p.o.s. My 14 never failed to fire and would punch through almost anything. I know that they were, and are, being used in the "sand box", or at least the firing mechanism. The barrel and gas plug profile is unmistakeable. At five hundred yards, with iron sights I could put one in your chest 9 out of 10 times. And I 'm not the best shooter around.  It never seemed too heavy while I was shooting at the Cong or the rebels in Dominican Republic. read more

Flaming Rats

Here is another rat story. While my platoon was in Hoi An, we had squad tents to sleep in. Due to the fact there wer so many pallets laying around ,we started to put them in the tents to keep our gear and cots out of the mud. This was a perfect place for the rats. They got so bad we started having a weekly rat round up. Due to the fact we were Amtrackers, sometimes known as tractor rats, we had access to gas and oil, not to mention oil cans that could squirt a nice stream of oil. One fireteam of men would drive the rats out of the tent and an ambush team would burn them as they ran out. We had good ole Zippos. We would strike the lighters and squirt a stream of gas and oil accross the flame. A really great small flame thrower. One way to have some fun and get rid of rats. read more

Should Be With A Marine

SGT. Grit,

Can someone identify the following coin?

1-1/2" diameter, 1/8" thick, smooth thin edge, rope type fluting on
both flat edges.

Top Side has a Gold Eagle, Globe, and Anchor on a red background,
1-1/8", surrounded by a black ring with United States (from 10 to 2
positions), Marine Corps (from 8 to 4 positions) with a star at 3
and 9 positions in gold. read more