Category: Proud to be a Marine

Marines do not lie down

Sgt. Grit,  In your  14 April 2011 Web Site Shows was a Cake Topper with Marines Down. Marines Do Not lie down for a Marriage or much else either.  A Cake Topper like this is Degrading to the Marines and to the Wives and to the Institute of Marriage. I was married in 1947 and my wife of 64 Years still stands at my side, I think she was as much Marine as I. She raised five Children while I was either overseas or in a War. Also, Inclosed  is a pictture I carried with me through all those years unitl I retired After 26 Years Marine Corps and 20 years in Business with my Son, serving the Movie/YV Industry as Military Tech and Weapons Tech. , My Swan Song was "Navy Seals". Lets not let any one, Any One, Degrade our Marine Corps or our Marines with Cake Toppers like that. GySgt F. L. Rousseau, USMC Ret.

One of the finest Marines I ever had the honor of serving with…

Semper Fi, Sgt. Grit…This story is about one of the finest Marines I ever had the honor of serving with….and would like to hear from anyone who might have served with him also….His name was SGT.Major Richard R."Big Red" Ebert….I arrived on Okinawa in April of 1957 and was  assigned to Hdqrs Bn under Sgt.Ebert….before being assigned to Kilo Btry. 4thBn. 12th Marines heavy artillery….Before enlisting I had seen all the Marine Corps movies with the John Wayne's, Major Huxleys and all the Hollywood Marines, but none ever came close to Sgt. Major Ebert….I had just turned 17 yrs. old  and thought this man was the epitome of what a Marine should be, and what I wanted to be….He was a big man standing around 6'3 or 6'4 and weighed around 270lbs with red hair…When he spoke he sounded like a foghorn and always had the respect of everyone….I remember every morning he would personally step out of his quarters and blow Reveille with his own bugle….He'd get us on the road for PT and start us out with 100 pushups along with everything else….Every Monday night he lead us on a 20 mile hike and I mean lead us…even though he walked with a limp……Young guys were falling out behind him but he never looked back or slowed down the pace….He had seen combat in WW11, Korea, and was tough as shoe leather…The rumor was he had seen action on Guadalcanal, but no one ever dared to ask…..One evening after our 20 mile hike he came into the shower bay I was in and when he dropped his towel I noticed the ugliest scar I had ever seen on his leg,it had turned purple from the long hike but he didn't let it slow him down… And even though I knew better than to ask I couldn't resist… I said Gunny what happened to your leg ? Without even looking up he said…"caught some shrapnel" I didn't dare push my luck by asking more questions…. He wasn't the kind of man to carry on idle conversation….All business and all Marine…    From the research I've done I found He had a small part in the movie Battle Cry….His line was " Hey fellows strike up the band, Huxleys Hookers finally got here"….I've been able to find a lot of accounts of the kind of Marine he was….He was a Legend at that time to anyone who knew him…..I am very proud to have served under him and to have known such a fine Marine….  I just found out a while back that he passed away in Feb. 2002 at the age of 84 in the Clear water Fl. Area…..He had come from the Wilkes Berre/ Scranton Pa. area and was of strong Irish heritage…If anyone out there remembers this great Marine I'd enjoy hearing the great stories you might also have to tell….I'm sure when he passed away and got to the gates of Heaven, a Marine Honor Guard was standing there waiting to escort him in.   My name is Howard W. Kennedy h.kennedy[at]comcast[dot]net

Semper Fi

To all concerned,  This should end the dust up about the term "Semper Fi". Pictured is the back of my headstone. No, I'm not dead yet, just preparing my final redoubt.   Semper Fi has been around for a long time as a salutation, a sign of comradeship, esprit de corps. Used only by and in reference to Marines and the Marine Corps.   So, there it is, "Written in stone". Hopefully it will be around for a long time to come even after our names have faded into history. Who would have thought two and a half thousand years ago, the words and deeds of a small group of men would still be remembered today? They were the Spartans at Thermopylae. It is my belief that the exploits of Marines and the Marine Corps will also be remembered for a long time and the term Semper Fi will carry on in history.   Cplcharley U.S.M.C. 64/68 Chu Lai 66, DaNang 68

Marines “One of a Kind”

First of all to the Marine "I think" who was upset about Semper Fi. I was in the Corps in 1952 and my dad was in WW II, Korea and Nam.  We all used Semper Fi and were proud of it.

True story. My wife, at the time, and I were truck drivers. She was an Air Force Brat. We had stopped in Los Vegas for fuel and in doing so they would give you a free dinner. When we went into the Casino she went to the rest room and while in there a fellow truck driver came by and said "Semper Fi" I had on a Marine Corps T shirt and USMC hat. We talked for a few moment then he left. A short time latter my wife came out of the rest room. read more

Welcome Home Party – Nov. 2010

Kristy and the entire Sgt. Grit Family :
 
 First let me apologize for it taking so long to get back with the photos, my laptop crashed and I've been rebuilding files and so on. Please for give me but I had to start from scratch again.
 
 So as you'll see in the photos it was a GREAT DAY ! We started out the day with a poker run,and about the time they got back from the poker run the cruise-in was going on .Our local community turned out in force to be on hand to meet and great the the troops as they arrived on the bus. The men had a blast,as you can see from the smiles on their faces. Each and every Marine their that evening received something from the Sgt.Grit family. Your kind and wonderful donations of hats,T-shirts , flags, where awesome and helped out so much. We where able to raise funds for the Semper-Fi Fund, which helps all the branches of service from 09/11 thru current, with all wounded vets, coming home and their families.
 
Now we are going to try to make this into a semi-annual event, to get the men out twice a year , along with raising money for the Semper-Fi Fund and Toys' for Tots' as well. And we'd like to ask the Grit Family if you'd like to be a part of this on going effort to help our Wounded American Heroes.
 
 Never ever let it be said that " The Marines Don't Take of Their Own !! " We DO ! And we do it better than anyone else. Semper-Fi !!!!
 
Again Thank you for all of your help and support………..
 
Thank You
GySgt. Robert C. Rogers _ U.S.M.C.-Ret.
Force Recon
Semper-Fi ! read more

Father and son – Platoon 2006

I joined the Marine Corps because of my father, Walt Chingo. He is a Marine, and I saw the pride he had in being a Marine, and I decided I wanted to share that pride with him. My father was a Grunt in Force Troops Fleet Marine Force from 1968 – 1970, and served in Vietnam 1969 – 1970. I was a Heavy Equipment Operator in the reserves, 6th Engineer Support Battalion from 1999 – 2005, and served two tours in Iraq – the initial push in 2003 and then again 2004 – 2005.    But the greatest thing in this Father-Son Marine Corps story is the fact that we graduated from the same platoon in boot camp. My father graduated from platoon 2066 in 1968 and I graduated from platoon 2066 in 1999. What are the odds in a father and son graduating from the exact same platoon 31 years apart?   A higher power certainly saw fit to fate us to being a part of something special together in a very special way, and for that I am eternally grateful.   Semper Fi,   Travis Chingo

Why I Joined the Marine Corps

There are two people who are most responsible for me joining the Marine Corps…..Jack Webb and Leon Uris.  Webb because of "The D.I."  The first time I saw that movie I was absolutely entranced by the (*beauty?*) and discipline of boot camp.  It seemed so logical and organized.  Then someone gave me a paperback copy of Leon Uris' "Battle Cry" and I was completely hooked.  After reading about Danny Forrester and his squad, through bootcamp and into the South Pacific, I was hooked.  In 1967, recently an ex-college student and facing the certainty of the draft, there was no place for me except Parris Island and the United States Marine Corps. (Oh, the follies of youth.)  But I survived and, to this day, I'm proud that I can still call myself a United States Marine.  Thank you, Jack and Leon.  May god smile over your eternal souls. read more

Vietnam

I am looking to make contact with the Marines picture in this article, or to communicate with anyone who can assist me in locating them.  The picture was taken on LZ Cunningham during Operation Dewey Canyon in February 1969. Pictured from left to right are: LCPL  Rodney Button, SGT John Devine (ME), LCPL Moses Garcia, and Burkhard.  We were assigned to Whiskey Btry 2-12.  I retired after a full 30 as a SGTMAj. read more