Colorado Mounted Marines 1958-1962

In 1957 my dad B.A. Weil took me to the Denver coliseum to see the scotch drum and bugle corps the Black Watch. It was spectacular; a chill ran up and down my spine. The USMC had a Color guard in the show that was real eye catching. While there dad became reacquainted with Captain Gene Martin USMC who was in charge of the color guard. Dad a 4th Cavalry Captain who served in China, Burma and India [including a horse back reconisince thru Mongolia to Tibet] had known Captain Martin somewhere along the way. After much talk over some time Martin got permission to start a mounted color guard with dad. Many mounted color guards use English saddles and tack which was not at all true Horse Marine equipment. Dad wanted the project done correct as he was the real deal, in the last of the real mounted Calvary. Dad had horses for his outfitting hunting business, the use of which he offered. He sourced and purchased 5 sets of authentic McClellan saddles and tack made in India. Marine volunteers mostly from the Denver recuting center were trained by dad with me being the young gopher stable man. The Denver post and Rocky mountain news ran stories on the colorful mounted guard doing many parades in Denver. We still have photos and news stories. At 19, I enlisted in the Corp spending 6 years in the reserve. Captain Martian retired to Crested Butte as a major. Dad received an accommodation from the Corp for his Mounted color guard work. He had received recognition as well in WWII, shot twice while jumping behind Japanese lines as an OSS officer, captured and tortured. He was rescued by Burmese teens younger them I when I enlisted. He took the surrender of main land Japanese as the XO, lt. colonel for the day. We still have the samurai surrender sword.

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