Sgt Grit is a place where Marines can come and meet other Marines, share tattoos and stories, keep up with Marine Corps news, or shop for USMC gear.
A critical skills operator with 3rd Marine Raider Battalion, Marine Raider Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command received the Silver Star award aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 6, 2018.
The Raider received the award for acts of valor, saving dozens of hostages following a terrorist attack in Mali in 2015.
Attention family & friends of RICK KING as I expect EVERYONE to get right on this and for anyone else who is willing. My dad has terminal cancer and has been chosen for the Honor Flight in May, however, due to his condition he will be unable to go. They are working on a virtual reality experience for him so this is where I need your help…….. they want to do a “mail call” and issue him a bag full of letters & cards to thank him for his service. So even for those that don’t know him you can still just send a quick thank you to a veteran simple as that. But please hurry as I really do not know how much time he has left so quickly is a very important factor. Trying to get the virtual reality equipment to him within next 2 weeks. Please send letters or cards to :
The name of the exercise has changed from ‘CAX’ (Combined Arms Exercise) to ‘Mojave Viper’ (If I’m up to date on that… no guarantees), but it involves infantry battalions, plus attachments and re-enforcements, moving to the Air-Ground Combat Training Center… or whatever they call that particular chunk of California Mojave desert… more commonly known as ’29 Palms’ or, ‘The Stumps’. There might be as many as ten of these exercises in a year, and were about half and half First and Second Division evolutions.
“A Marine is a Marine… There’s no such thing as a former Marine.”
–General James F. Amos, 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps
Iraq, 2004
Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Hagee, visited his Marines in Iraq for some photo ops at the Al Faw Palace in Baghdad. Marines stood in line to have their picture taken with the Commandant. At the end of the line stood an Army CW04 (me). I informed the Commandant that I served in the Marine Corps in Viet Nam with 2/5 at An Hoa in 1967. I then asked if a former Marine could have his picture taken with the Marine Commandant.
When I open my eyes, I wonder if I’m dreaming. This entire operation has seemed unreal from the start.
It is pitch black and silent. I loosen the top of my sleeping bag, and my fingers reach out to feel the icy metallic floor. I move my body and bump into full ammo boxes. I remember now, I fell asleep in a Humvee.
In deference to a well-known movie actor re-educating his Recon gang, I must step up and clarify his “Gung Ho” phrase of “Adapt, etc.” We have all heard it numerous times, but the best one I ever heard was from our D.I. Sgt. Richardson. He referred to himself as “the meanest SOB you’ll ever meet, if you f-ck up!” He used a simple phrase/law of his called “The Dinosaur Rule”. If you don’t want to become extinct like the dinosaurs, you WILL adapt or you Will die! Battle plans are good until the first round is fired, then throw it out the window and adapt until you win!
The Marine Detachment USS America CVA 66 (early edition 1965-1969, but others welcome) will hold its sixth reunion in Washington, DC, from June 21 to June 24, 2018. Contact Les Holzmann by email – lesholzmann@verizon.net, for details.
Semper Fi!
PS: Thank you Sgt. Grit for your generous support with our reunions.
“My definition, the definition that I’ve always believed in, is that Esprit de Corps means love for one’s own military legion – in my case, the United States Marine Corps. It means more than self-preservation, religion, or patriotism. I’ve also learned that this loyalty to one’s corps travels both ways: up and down.”
-Chesty Puller
The United States Navy commissioned the Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyer, USS Ralph Johnson March 24 in Charleston, South Carolina. The ship is named after Private First Class Ralph H. Johnson who was posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honor in 1968 after diving on a hand grenade to shield two fellow Marines.
On March 26, 1945, Marines secured the island of Iwo Jima after 36 days of combat.
The battle may be over, but the memories live on through these Marines.
Semper Fidelis.
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