Category: Proud to be a Marine

Ragtag Motley Herd

Sgt. Grit,

Love reading the stories in the newsletter every week. I recently read
a few about our DIs. I too had as a Senior, SSgt F.X. Muldowney. I was
in Plt. 2048, and graduated on 20Sept1966. It is amazing, when you
think about it, how under their (gentle) guidance, a ragtag motley
herd of sh-tbirds were turned into an honor platoon with outstanding
pride in themselves, Corps, and Country. We all knew where each of us
would wind up, and I believe with SSgt Muldowney's leadership (and a
few knocks) we did everyone proud. read more

America’s Top Female Guitarist

Desiree Bassett, daughter of a Marine and a proud Sgt Grit customer, is America's Top Female Guitarist. She is currently the Lead guitarist for the Cirque De Soleil Michael Jackson, The Immortal World Tour.

When telling of how she got started playing the guitar she said, "My daddy was an E-4 in the USMC stationed at Kaneohe bay, Hawaii from '83-'88 as a 6060 (Flight Equipment Marine), and he did two WestPac tours. He actually bought a guitar in a pawn shop on Okinawa, Japan, and subscribed to guitar player magazine and taught himself how to play below deck on a Helicopter Carrier; when he got out of the Corps, he got married, they had me, and he taught me how to play on that same guitar, which we still have. read more

Boot Camp

I was wondering how many out there remember duck walking around their area for a few hours in the middle of the night? At Parris Island many moons ago I was a f-cking recruit in the 5th Bat. We had 92 in our platoon. Half from the North and the other half from the South. Resulting conversations were priceless. And one of those led to 3-hours of duckwalking around our huts, in formation, counting cadence from 1am to 4am. We finished up as the Depot Honor Platoon in spite of our backgrounds and the fact that in 13-weeks we had 13 ddifferent Drill Instructors. In that 13 weeks we only lost 2 kids who could not make the grade and one of the Drill Instructors knew that from the beginning. Him, I'll never forget, Sgt Weatherford. He may not remember me, but he and his attitude helped make me a Marine. I am very proud to still carry the title at 77. read more

Good Number Of Misguided Recruits

Dear Sgt Grit,

Sgt. Dennis Warn's comments about D.I.s and San Diego International
Airport (aka Lindberg Field… see SW corner) brought back a few
memories from my time at MCRD (June-Aug 1968).

MCRD formed a triangle… along one side was the Interstate, along
the base of the triangle was a pond… with the Navy boot camp on the
other side… and the airport on the third side. Perhaps not as
grisly as P.I. for a recruit trying to "flip the fence" but tough
enough. Airport security turned over a good number of misguided
recruits to SDPD who returned them to the Depot. read more

Many Squat Thrusts

Hey Sgt Grit,

I shot these photos late summer of 1968, flying out of San Diego. I was at MCRD for Radio/Electronics school.

The first shot is of the Quonset huts at the south end of MCRD; I was there for boot camp, Plt. 152, A Co., 1st Bat. The close proximity of the airport is obvious. I remember waking up to the sound of jet engines starting and the smell of jet exhaust. read more

Cactus Air Force Marine

Our brothers who have gone before us beared greatly on the fabric of
the Corps we are privileged to wrap ourselves in as Marines past and
present. It saddens my heart as I read the letters in Sgt. Grit and
learn how those from the greatest generation diminish in numbers with
each passing year. I have been blessed to cross paths with a few of
these Marines and cherish those events. read more

Sea School Class E-7

As promised, I am attaching a photo of my sea school class.  We were class E-7.  We graduated in December 1962 and I received my ship assignment to the USS Shangri-La in February 1963.  Most of us got our sea going orders in January after spending Christmas leave at home, but a few were assigned in December 1962.  I can identify some of the Marines in the photo, but I am having some difficulty attaching names on some of them.  If anyone can name anyone in the photo, please respond.  I am the first on in the third row.  I believe four or five of the people in the photo served with me aboard the "Shang". read more