Category: Marine Corps Stories

Stop me if you heard this one before, I was with Golf Co., 2Bn. 5th. Marines out of An Hoa. We were resupplied in the field with fresh water that came in BIG WHITE JUGS that would glow at night. I S—T you not! They could be seen for miles and miles at night. We had to take turns humping the things because they were so bright during night movements. Then, the C.O. (Lt.) gets his orders for flight training and leaves the bush. His replacement was Cpt. Darling and there was a lot of talk about him being a Grunt Officer. One of the changes he ordered is no more resupply of fresh water—which tasted bad anyways. He explained that we would get our water from the wells and so forth in the bush and for the most part we did. The few times during the summer that we could not find a water source; we learned something about ourselves and what we were willing to do to deal with our thirst. Yes, we drank some very disgusting water and it’s true some of us got some strange affects from the water but we never had to carry a target on our backs. Which was a fair trade as far as we were concern—Cpt. Darling never took unnecessary risk with our lives and that was “o.k. in my book” if you know what I mean…..Semper Fi Marines!! read more

On August 8, 1966 a four man recon team from the First Force Recon Battalion was inserted just below the DMZ in northern Quang Tri province. The team went by the name Groucho Marx and was led by Staff Sergeant Billy M. Donaldson. They were eventually discovered and trapped by the NVA. A reaction force from Echo Company, Second Battalion, Fourth Marines was sent to the rescue and part of that unit was also surrounded and trapped. A vicious over night fight ensued and eventually helicopters from HMM-265 and VMO-2 were involved. During the fight one Marine, Howard V. Lee, earned the Medal of Honor. Four Marines, including Donaldson, earned the Navy Cross, one the Silver Star and six the Bronze Star. Navy Corpsman Nicholas Tarzia also earned the Silver Star. Many were wounded and 5 Marines lost their lives. This story is thoroughly researched and included in my book Marines, Medals and Vietnam. read more

I joined the Marine Corps in June of 1965 and graduated from Platoon # 342, 3rd Battalion in September of that year. After Advanced Infantry Training at Camp Geiger, I was on my way home for leave, looking forward to seeing my girl and old friends. I didn’t realize that the recruiter in my hometown of Norristown Pennsylvania, had been reporting my progress to several high school classmates that had expressed interest in joining the Corps. Attending a high school dance with the girl I was dating at the time, I ran into one of them Michael Baronowski, or Mike as I had known him since the 6th grade, already knew about my prowess on the rifle range and that I had been promoted meritoriously at graduation, but he wanted to know more. We talked briefly about the Corps and I shared my experiences with him and told him what I thought. He thanked me and we shook hands and went our separate ways. Fast forward to the summer of 1966. I was walking thru Dogpatch on my way back from the Hill 327 PX outside of Danang to the Marine Base at Marble Mountain. It was a tropical hot, dusty afternoon and I was doing my best to keep out of the way of the never-ending stream of military traffic that was passing within an arm’s length as I made my way along the narrow shoulder between the gravel edge and the hooches clustered along the right of way. Suddenly, I became aware of a vehicle coming up fast behind me and sliding on the gravel as the driver braked hard, stopping a few feet from where I stood. At first, I could only make out the driver’s goggles as he sat there, the dust settling around us. Then I saw that big, wide smile and I knew it was Mike. How he ever recognized me from behind on that dusty, crowded street, thousands of miles from home, I’ll never know. But there he was. I jumped in and we pulled back into the never ending line of military traffic and headed for the gate at Marble Mountain. On the way, we talked about everything and laughed and joked. I commented on the dusty condition of his M-14 which lay bouncing between the seats. He jokingly told me he didn’t use it. Then reached under his seat and pulled out an open box of M-26 frag grenades. That was Mike, always making fun of every situation. When we arrived at the gate, I asked him to stay for chow, but he had to get back to his outfit that was out by the river south of Marble Mountain. We agreed that I would try to get out to his unit the next off duty time I had and we parted. A week later I was hitchhiking down the road past the Marble Mountain and ran into a Marine roadblock. An armor company was performing a search and destroy and I watched the tanks tearing around back and forth across the road for a half hour or so before heading back to MAG 16. The next opportunity to catch up to Mike didn’t come for a few weeks and I doubted his outfit would still be there, but I was preparing to give it a shot when I came back to my hooch and found the mail man had left several of my hometown Newspapers on my bunk. They were always out of date, but news from home was always welcome, so I began to unwrap each one. The last one had Mike’s picture on the front page. He’d been killed in action. I always wanted to go to Mike’s family and tell them about our last meeting, but I never did. I did find out that National Public Radio had done a program about Mike in their “All Things Considered” format, titled “Lost & Found Sound”. I have the disc which is titled, “National Public Radio’s Broadcast Of The Vietnam Tapes of Lance Corporal Michael A. Baronowski”.. Mike’s picture is on the cover with that same grin I saw so many years ago on a dusty road in place so far away. read more

This isn’t a story, but I wanted to share it. On 31 August 2017 I lost a friend, mentor and brother Marine. This is a tribute to him. Rest at Ease and Semper Fi Bobby Hill!

The United States Marine Corps’ last remaining Mounted Color Guard continues to celebrate their 50th year in service, attending rodeos, parades and other events across the country, but it’s the day-to-day life that keeps them grounded.

Members of the MCG proudly represent the Marine Corps and serve their community and country with honor. They travel extensively to participate in as many events as possible, and the invitations keep rolling in with event organizers requesting their presence. As the only remaining MCG, they are spread thin, their schedules packed with events from shore to shore, to include retirement ceremonies and high profile events such as the Tournament of Roses Parade. read more

‘The Warrior Monk’

The legend of the Warrior Monk started 45 years ago when 18-year-old Jim Mattis signed up for the Marine’s Platoon Leaders Course, or PLC. He had often admired the challenge to excel offered by the Marine Corps. With typical humility, he now downplays the decision to join up. read more