“The Gunny”
When I first went into the Marine Corps my DI was a Platoon Sergeant, he was something akin to a God, Officers were beyond that because we only saw them once or twice. Then when we went to the Rifle Range at Camp Matthews and were snapping in with our M1 rifles. I’m afraid I still had some of that softness remaining from civilian life (from just a few weeks before) and fell asleep while snapping-in in the Prone position. I was awakened by being picked up by collar and seat to a great height and dropped. I landed atop my M1, my chin hurt, my chest hurt and I believe my knees hurt somewhat also. I looked up into the flaming eyes of a Gunnery Sergeant who had to be something between a God and the Devil, if I read those eyes right and the flow of language, I felt I was near Death. He then picked me up off the ground and set me to doing Off Hand with him watching my every move. When the rifle muzzle dipped I got a whack and I got madder, another whack and I got so d-mn mad I was going to lower my rifle and slug him.
“Want to hit me, HUH, take your best shot cause then you’re going to die, Lad.”
Later when I missed Expert by a few points, he came over to me and told me if I hadn’t been sleeping while prone, I would have made Expert.
“Yes. Sir”, I said swallowing the pride I had by getting the score I did. “Keep it up, Lad. You’ll make a Marine yet. Still want to hit me?” He said smiling. I never knew his name only that Sweaty Dusty Campaign hat and the Gunny stripes on his sleeve.
The Gunnery Sergeant was created by the Marine Corps in 1898 and was the Highest Paid enlisted man, above a First Sergeant (this was corrected in about 1908 or so when the First Soldier was paid more than the Gunny, but the records about pay rates, rank status, and rank insignia are a bit fuzzy when you try to read about them. The Gunny had, in the beginning 1898, 3 chevrons, with a Busting Bomb in the center over crossed rifle and naval gun, then it went to crossed rifles. World War I seems to be the beginning of our present ranks structure. The picture shows what a Gunnery Sergeant looked like in WWI.
The Gunny was always like a God to me, there were only two ranks in the Marine Corps, Gunnery Sergeant and Marine Gunner, as I saw it during my Career. I made Gunny and Retired as a Gunnery Sergeant. (I’ve always hated that E7 bit). Back when I came in a Gunny was Grade 2, I believe, Private was Grade 7.
Making Rank was always who you were, where you were, and what you were. Electronics, and such got all the ranks. Infantry Weapons Armorer hung around and waited for someone to die o retire so they could get promoted, later I was in Research and Development for the weapons Marines used, and was the Chief Armorer for the AR15/M16 Rifle Project at Camp Lejeune.
Why did I become a Marine? The only Marine I ever knew before was the old man that owned the Duck Pin Alley in my home town who was a Retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant, Tall and he walked like he marched in the Marine Corps, always leaning a bit back. I worked there with his grandson setting pins in the bowling alley who told me that he was a Retired Marine. That was before the War and who cared.
GySgt. F. L. Rousseau, USMC Retired
Thank you, my husband was Gunny, Korean, Viet Nam wars. Our children couldn’t wait to leave home when they were old enough. They were tired of being brought up by a Drill Sergeant. The child are now adults. Their Father has passed away, we remember the stories. Miss him always.
Gunny always knew how to think out of the box. A Marine general was looking for a assistance, he had a physical condition, he didn’t have any ears,He interviews several candidates, at the end of the interview, he asked if they noticed anything different about him, they all responded to the obvious, that he didn’t have any ears, bad answers. He asked the Gunny the same question. The Gunny replied that the General was wearing contacts. The General, asked the Gunny how he knew he had contacts on.The Gunny replied, without any ears you wouldn’t be able to wear any glasses.
Being a Gunnery Sergeant was the best 6 years of my Marine Corps career, even if it did include the last few months of my Annus Horribilis, 1975. Regardless of the unit or position assigned, you would never get some lame ass excuse as to why the task assigned could not be done by any Gunny worth his salt. The Gunny may not like it, and he may bitch about it the whole time, but the job always got done, one way or the other. I actually felt some loss of prestige for the first few months after I was promoted to Master Sergeant. I think that it had a lot to do with some people who still called me Gunny. Semper Fi!!! Top Pro
I had the great privilege to serve as a grunt with GySgt Larry Zeigler in 2/3 during Vietnam. “Gunny Z” was smart as a whip, the funniest person I’ve ever known and tougher than flint. We had both essentially memorized the novel CATCH-22 and could quote passages whenever needed to respond to any absurd situation. I was “zapped” during Tet and evacuated to an army hospital in Japan (as a Marine I considered the 106th Army General Hospital in Yokohama to be a real novelty and I must admit the food there was an amazing improvement over C Rations). After a bunch of surgeries I ultimately wound up as a patient at St. Alban’s Naval Hospital in NYC where, after a few months, the Marine Corps declared me 100% disabled, and decided to medically retire me and send me home. On the very day I got home I learned that Gunny Z had perished in a firefight on 17 May 68 and I remember that homecoming–which should have been one of the happiest days of my life–as being the saddest. Since then there’s not a day that I don’t spend at least a few minutes thinking about my friend and personal hero, GySgt. Larry Zeigler, USMC.
Terence,
Did you know that there is a 2/3 Vietnam Veterans Association.
Dan Rom
Sgt. 66-67
Semper Fi Gunny,
I was a Force Recon Marine in the early 70’s. The toughest person I ever knew was our Gunny (Gysgt Heinz).
He saved my butt several times. Looking back, I wish I could thank him.
God Bless you Gunny Heinz ?? where ever you are!??
I’ve long believed that Gunnery Sergeant is the best rank in the Corps. You’re high enough that the officers (even the ones who didn’t listen in TBS and OCS when they were told “Listen to your SNCOs, they’ve been there and you haven’t”) would (usually) listen to you, and yet low enough (even more important) that your junior Marines would honestly talk with you.
I made Gunny in 1987, after 13+ years’ service, and retired in 1995.
During my second career (Los Angeles cop, 1996 – 2017), I always wore an EGA on my breast pocket flap (yes, it was within regs, and it was sad how rarely insignia from other services were seen….however, there was one Navy Chief….awesome gent….Hi Scottie!), and it was amazing and very gratifying how many cops, after stopping me to ask about my service (lots of Marines on LAPD….strange, that….not), would from then on address me as “Gunny”. Quite a few, oddly enough, and even more gratifying, from our sister services.