Category: Marine Corps Stories

A good friend

In 1957 while serving with Kilo Btry, 4th Battalion, 12th Marines on a 155 Howitzer Btry. in the Philippines during Operation Strongback… I was surprised one evening when a small Rhesus monkey wandered into my tent from out of the jungle… For  some reason he took up with me and was always close  to me… He got to making his way around camp picking up anything he could carry back to my tent… I had at times a dozen or so Zippo's… The guys soon realized when they were missing something to come to me, knowing my little buddy had paid them a visit… He slept curled up next to me every night and would wake up screaming mad if anyone got too close to me… I just called him Monkey Buddy and hated to leave him behind when I had to return to Okinawa… Over these 55 years I've thought of him often and considerd him a great little Marine… Semper Fi Monkey Buddy… Howard W. Kennedy… USMC 1956  /  1962 read more

Big Influence

To One and All,

I would like to give my thanks to one and all, for your help, friendliness, and dedication to helping your customers. This does not go unnoticed, even when at times I am sure it seems so,
and is greatly appreciated.

I am writing this because this year I decided to attend the Marine Corps Ball in my Dress Blues, while this may be the normal course of action for most Marines, I have been off of active service for 20 years, and have never worn my medals, just the ribbons. I do still fit in my Blues, even though they have seem to have shrunk just a touch between the chest and the waist
over the years. I would not have been able to get my Blues ready without the help of everyone at Sgt. Grit, Semper Fi for everything you do! read more

Leatherneck Tartan

Sgt. Grit,

Enjoyed the photo of the "old guy in a skirt" in your last newsletter. The kilt he's wearing is in the Leatherneck Tartan, which I designed with some input from the Scottish Tartans Society and registered in Scotland back in the 80s. Attached is a photo of my wife and I after the Naperville, IL, USMC Birthday
Ball this year. read more

Area 13 Barrack’s Tree

This group of Marines was destined to spend the next two years together in VMA-212, MAG-13, 1st. Marine Brigade at Kaneohe Bay Hawaii. It would be a nine day voyage on the USS George Clymer from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, but first we had to spend a month or so at Area 13, Camp Pendleton, a staging Battalion for over 600 Marines waiting to be shipped out to Pacific duty stations. It was April, 1961, and Area 13 was hilly, hot, and dry. In order to keep all these young Marines busy the Officers and NCOs had us run up and down those brown hills several times a day whenever we weren't field daying the barracks. read more

Madison Rising

Sgt Grit, brother and sister Marines,

I'm a deputy sheriff and had the fortunate opportunity to work a
security detail for a patriotic rock group, Madison Rising. The
event coordinator knows I am a Marine and told me the lead singer, Dave Bray, was a corpsman. Dave was meeting with fans and when there was a break in the action I approached him and asked if he was a Doc. He said he was and was stationed at Camp
Lejeune, NC. I asked him what outfit he was in and he said 2/2.
Amazingly enough, I was with Regimental Headquarters at that same time he was with 2/2! Such a small world and even smaller Corps. We exchanged stories about our units and places of deployment. read more