I want to tell you of a great marine. His name is Gunnery Sergeant Jerald J. boullion. He was a crew chief on a "Sea Stallion". He recieved two medals for service above and beyond the call of duty. His first came when he had all of the CH-53's in the Marine Corps grounded, when, after losing one of his 'copters in the Indian Ocean, he found a weak shear-pin in the main prop shaft. His love for his country and the Marine Corps still sounds true today, every time I speak to him. His three trips to Vietnam, and multiple deployments throughout the U.S. and abroad teaching and instructing other Marines about the mighty CH-53 "Sea Stallion" are just a few of his many great accomplishments. I should know. He's my dad.
Category: Marine Corps Stories
AnHoa Fire Base
I served with G Company, 2Bn. 5th. Marines out of An Hoa from Jan. to Sept. 1970. Actually, we spent most of the time in the brush. But I do recall a few happy hours at the E.M. Club—just not many. I'm wondering if there are any other Marines out there that I might have served with during this time? I have lost all my pictures of the A.O. we served in. Sure would like to see some if anyone has any.
More on the infamous bucket
As a member of platoon 3013 in Janruary 1970, one of the most amzing uses of the bucket I witnessed was by the "motivational" platoon. We were in the quanset huts by the back fence line to the airport and had a sand area next to us. One day we were going out to PT and the motivational platoon was building a sand pile and moving it from one side to the other. The pile and recruits were gone when we got back in an hour.
Bar Girls at 11th. Marines
I believe we served at An Hoa together in 1969, so I am sending a picture of the bar girls that I have. I picked out a few other pictures that may look familiar to you. There are 2 pictures of a Marine named Ray receiving his NCO stripes, arms and legs, that should bring back memories. I wonder if they still do that. There are a couple of pictures of me with scrapnel and a midwife at the orphanage I spent a lot of time at. The rest are pictures of An Hoa and people you may or may not be familiar with.
Japanese brought to Guard Company Marine Barracks on Guam
Sgt Grit
I was stationed on Guam in 1951-1952 with Guard Company Marine Barracks when nineteen Japanese stragglers were brought in from Anatahan. These nineteen japanese didn't know WW2 was over. I have a paper where one of the Japanese drew a picture of a soldier explaining to me his name, rank and where he was from. These nineteen were on Guam for several weeks being processed for their return back to japan. I'm enclosing a photo of the nineteen Japanese that was in the Navy Times on 1 July 1951. I would like to see if any other Marines stationed at Guam remember this. Thanks Sgt Grit
Marine Corps Birthday Menu – 1963
Sarg,
I was at PI for the Marine Corps Birthday in 1963. I was in Plt. 179, and owe a real debt of gratitude to Jr. D.I. Cpl. James D. Henry – a truly great man.
Attached is the menu for the Birthday dinner. True to tradition, the meal was OUTSTANDING!
A True Marine
No name on the item "Get Him A Coke" but I wanted to comment back to the writer of that article. I also joined as soon as I turned 17 in 1956 only I arrived at MCRD the last week of June and due to the overcrowding we had to wait a few weeks before going on schedule of our actual "Boot" Oh, we were able to receive some advance instruction at the grinder and privileged to be allowed to exercise and double time everywhere until the day our D.I. arrived and our schedule began. Our Sr. D.I. was Sgt Essex but the real driving force and true Marine was not SSgt but Sgt D. Herbertson
Ontos Park at MCAS Kaneohe Bay
Sgt Grit,
Remember you talking about Ontos, well here is the Ontos park at MCAS Kaneohe Bay
in 1962.
We got to fly over the USS Arizona as the memorial was being built,
Weapons Carrier too
LE
Teaching Vietnam
Dear Sgt. Grit,
For the last ten years I have been asked to give a talk about Vietnam to history classes. A few years ago a teacher told me her class was reading "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien and wondered if I could talk to her students and give them a little better understanding of what they were reading.
Old Cold War Marine
Here I am during war games when stationed with the 4th Marine Regiment 1958 I was in Bravo Anti Tank Co and we had the first Ontos.They were mostly out of commission and not reliable at all. The small engine and transmissions did not hold up. This was post Korean War area and the corps was downsized. We seldom got new equipment but rebuilt and hand me downs from the army. We still had M1 Garands, the Army M14s. In the pic I had a 45 cal submachine gun which was very cheaply made. Civilians hated military in that era and it carried into the Vietnam War. This attitude by civilians made me forget the Corps as a lifer. I still consider myself a Marine and am proud of my service. It made me successful my career later.