Category: Marine Corps Stories

the family

Just a little family involvement. My Uncle John Holmes served in ww2 in the pacific, I served in Vietnam, 2 nephews, a neice and her husband (retired master gunny Rick Perry}, Their daughter and her husband,their son, their other daughters husband, have been serving ever since just about in every conflict we have been in. And in case all the above confused you that is 4 generations of Marines and counting. The rest of my family also have served in the Navy and Army throughout the years. read more

Hill 55 and Liberty Road

    1966 / 67, Hill 55 south of DaNang in the background.   We were starting our morning mine sweep.  I was a combat engineer with c/1/26. This 1.5 mile stretch this side of the river (Song Thu Bon River in background) was called Liberty Road.  We swept it every morning to open it up for resupply traffic out to An Hoa.    We had a squad of engineers and a squad of grunts split on each flank and also a tank.   That day I was driving the mule.  We rotated the jobs so you only had to sweep about every third day or so.  On the lower left corner on the mule you can see the mine detector.    The sea bag had our explosives, det cord supplies.   Our platoon HQ was on top of Hill 55 which can be seen in the background.  We would routinely find mines one way or another and also receive sniper fire during the sweep.   I have more photos if anyone is interested.  This is my first posting and am trying to contact some of the guys in my unit during that time.   I can't remember names. read more

Mounted Color Guard

I had the extreme pleasure of serving for one of the finest Marine Commanders – LtGen William M. Keys when he was a LtCol Commanding 3rd Battalion 5th Marines  in 1977-1979.  He was also a horseman and allowed me to participate on the Camp Pendleton Mounted Color Guard in a TAD status.  While on the Color Guard I came under the Command of another great man – Major Jim DiBernardo (deceased 2009) who spent 62 months as a POW in Viet Nam.  The Mounted Color Guard came under Joint Public Affairs MCB Camp Pendleton.  After saying all that, here is my OOORAH story …. read more

Legend Has It

SIR… In reply to some of the questions about where the word Ooorah may have originated… After a lot of research this explanation seems to be very good possibility… If anyone reads this and knows these facts not to be true please feel free to correct me…    It seems 1st Amphibious Recon can be credited with introduction of Ooorah sometime around 1953… Shortly after the Korean War Recon. Marines were serving aboard the USS Perch, a WW11 diesel Submarine retrofitted to carry Navy UDT and Recon Marines…   Whenever the Sub was to dive the 1MC would announce "Dive Dive"  followed by the AHUGA-AHUGA of the ships diving horns…    In 1953 or 54 while on a conditioning run Sgt. Major John R.  Massaro serving with the 1st Amphibious Recon Battalion simulated the AHUGA as part of the cadence… Legend has it he took it with him when he went to serve as Instructor at Drill Instructor School at San Diego, there he passed it on to the student D.I.s who in turn passed it on to their recruits where it eventually became part of Recon cadence…    Overtime the AHUGA sound morphed into OOORAH… Today the Official Marine Corps Reference Manual on the history of the Corps is titled… AHUGA…    Howard W.Kennedy USMC 1956 1962