Category: Marine Corps Stories

Early 1967, I arrived at the An Hoa Combat Base from FLC (Fork Lift Command) at Red Beach, attached to the LSU (Logistic Support Unit). One of the first nights there, I attended the outdoor movies that were famous, or infamous, for showing war movies especially from the TV series “Combat”. There I sat watching the make-believe combat scenes on the movie screen while just a few hundred yards outside the perimeter real-life fire fights were taking place. We’d watch as our tracers crisscrossed with theirs. Strangest thing, the grunts sitting on the ground watching the war movies would break out in cheers when our tracers (I think) would engage the bad guys. read more

When my buddies back in the United States were studying for their mid-terms, I was walking point for the first platoon of Bravo Company in the tropical jungles of Vietnam. Unlike the many occasions students are afforded leisure time – it was a rare day in Vietnam when we were given time off to relax and have fun. Therefore it was a marvelous treat when, one day, we were given the opportunity to spend a couple of hours swimming in a muddy river. We placed guards on either side of the river for security and the rest of us went swimming in our birthday suits. read more

As a life-long believer in personal responsibility, decided that even as a field grade officer that if I was going to get kilt in a MVA (Motor Vehicle Accident), it was going to be because of something I did (or failed to do?) and not the fault of a Lance Corporal who was still using zit cream as after-shave. In other words, if I was in a Marine Corps vehicle, tactical or non-tactical, the Major was going to be driving. This occasionally caused some consternation among my brother officers, who would have questions like “how do you get the vehicle washed (or fueled, or ???)”… you know, that is sort of manual labor, which in garrison, is somehow deemed not fitting for officers… and somehow, the critics never quite made the connection between the fact that they had driven themselves into work that day… probably in a car that they had hand-waxed in the driveway of their quarters the preceding weekend… at any rate, at the Stumps in the mid-70’s, duty occasionally called somewhere off base, which meant a vehicle from the Commercial Motor Pool (10th Street, still there last time I flew Google Earth over the base)… The C-Pool had quite a mixture of civilian vehicles (including the CG’s sedan)… pickups, flat bed cargo trucks, cattle cars, MP vehicles (Plymouth Belvederes… four-door sedans, with a 318 Mopar)… and for some odd reason, exactly one Ford… a two-door small sedan, Marine Corps green on bottom, white on top… can’t say for sure but it was either a Pinto or a Maverick… and usually available, as it was just not cool for trips off base, when you could reserve a sedan, sit in the back and look important while PFC Johnny 35XX drove. It was my first choice every time, for trips to Pendleton, LA, the San Bernardino County prison (to deliver pothead/dopers BCD papers… always timed to be there at lunch in the guards’ mess… prison guards eat well… very well… and they like Marines… “what would you like, sir? T-bone be OK?, how would you like that? etc.”)… and the reason for the Pinto/Maverick? It’s a long way from the Stumps to anywhere… and this was the ONLY vehicle in the C-Pool that had a radio… AM only, to be sure, but a radio nonetheless. At the time, the radio was a ‘delete option’ meaning that if the buyer didn’t specify “no radio”… the car came with one. read more

It’s the summer of 1968 in Vietnam, a sergeant with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment was forced into a position he never could have imagined. He had to lead his entire company through a deadly enemy ambush after the company commander, platoon commander and senior enlisted leadership were wounded in the fight. read more

Right after Dewey Canyon we received a new platoon commander, Lt. R. We were his first command and I’m sure he wanted to do everything right. I’m almost positive it was operation Apache Snow, of course the Lt. was the last one on the chopper to lead us off. This was only my second operation but after life in the Valley it seemed I had been in Vietnam forever! Our new Lt. with map and compass in hand stood by the ramp ready to lead us into combat. Thank God it was a cold LZ, we touched down and he walked off the chopper? Still looking at his map and compass, a lowly private ran past him and the others followed to set up our section of the perimeter. That lowly private just happened to be me, little did I know I was about to receive a royal a$$ chewing. After all was secure I was singled out and told in no uncertain terms never to run past my commanding officer(putting it lightly). Later on that day our new Lt. called a break, our 10 minutes was almost up when in the distance we heard the tupe, tupe of incoming mortars. Needless to say we all did the Marine Corps disappearing act. I looked up from my small depression in mother earth only to see the new Lt. still looking at his map and compass oblivious of what was about to happen. Thankfully the mortars fell short of the target and all of us were spared. I’m not sure whether he got a heads up from our NCOs or he just figured it out all by himself but later that evening I received a visitor with an apology, it was our new Lt. He turned out to be one of the best officers I ever served under. Wishing you well Lt. R and hope life has treated you well! Semper Fi
W. Whitley, Corporal of Marines! read more