One of my fathers favorite stories to share was about being a DI at MCRD in 1966. The story goes that the new recruits were brought to an assembly area close to the fence facing the San Diego Airport. All the new recruits had their ill-fitting utilities on and shaved heads so everybody looked the same on day one. Mixed in with the recruits was another DI wearing utilities. One of the DI’s was telling the new recruits that going AWOL would get them shot for desertion during a time of War (Viet Nam was going hot and heavy at the time). Well the fake recruit gets up, says he can’t take it anymore and runs for the airport fence. One of the DI’s happens to have an M14 locked and loaded (with blanks) during the desertion speech. The fake recruit starts climbing the fence. The DI with the M14 yells a warning and then Bang Bang, that was the end of that recruit because he falls to the ground and a life changing impression was made on all of these future Marines. S/Sgt Roger D. Marsh (Ret) is now guarding the gates of Heaven. God Bless America and the US Marine Corps.
Sgt Grit wants to hear from you! Leave your comments below or submit your own story!
This is a different version of a similar performance which occurred to our platoon in May 1964. We had arrived at MCRD SD at zero-dark-thirty, originally on the grinder-side of Receiving Barracks, stood on the yellow foot prints and began the standard drill of processing. We had moved around to the back of Receiving to get our bucket issue when one of the recruits (planted imposter) started a ruckus and cussing at the DI. I remember thinking “what an idiot that guy was,” when the DI stepped back, drew his .45 and shot him dead in the chest. Of course, being a “Hollywood” Marine, he grabbed his chest (and a movie blood pack) and fell, profusely bleeding and moaning to the ground. All of the recruits, including myself, were totally stunned and wondering what the hell we had gotten ourselves in to. I knew one thing for certain, I was not going to say or do anything to piss-off that or any DI. Conveniently, there were four Marines standing nearby and the DI told them to “Get rid of that piece-of-shit!!” They commenced to pick up the (supposed) dead recruit, carried him to the dumpster and tossed him in. Holy crap! These people are really serious about this. I didn’t discover the truth until the night before graduation. After boot camp, while assigned to teletype school, our barracks was right next to Receiving Barracks. Often we would stand on top of the arcade and watch the DI’s work the new groups as they came in, and actually seen the shooting performance done once during a very early morning, weekend reception. I guess it just depended on the imagination and daring of the particular DIs involved. Semper Fi!
Sgt. Marsh was my senior D.I. In boot camp in Jan. 1966, platoon 110. He was the ” good D.I”. However, I do remember one time during the first couple of weeks of boot camp while we were all still so constipated that hei called me to come here. I was standing about five feet away from him. When I came to attention I received a fist to the stomach because I walked those five feet rather than running them. Shortly there after I had the squirts worst then I ever had in Vietnam. Sgt. Marsh became very concerned. He sent me back to the Quonset hut and told ,me to to hit the rack. Later on he came in and ask me if he could get me anything, apple juice, etc. The other two D. I.’s were Sgt. Van Lenten,the middle of the road guy and. Cpl. Charles Crocker, the s.o.b. D. I. Sgt. Van Lenten went on to be a world renowned martial arts instructor after he retired from the Corps. I will forever be indebted to those three men because they took a skinny 5 foot 5 inch 118 lbs drafted farm boy from Tennessee and made him a United States Marine. We thought that these three men were monsters. However, after reading about other D. I. ‘s we were lucky Rest In Peace Sgt Marsh and Sgt. Van Lenten.
Always good to hear from a Marine that knew my Dad. He made great friends with his fellow DI’s. He always said that being a DI was the most demanding job but also gave him the greatest satisfaction. You can find more about S/Sgt Marsh at http://www.findagrave.com. Memorial #27721251. God Bless,
Those are some great stories. Unfortunately in our platoon ( PI 1969) a recruit dropped his rifle and would not pick it up. The DI’s said he went AWOL but drowned in the swamp and showed us his water stained wallet. While in Vietnam a bunch of us were brought back to testify in the trial against the DI. The recruit has been shot in the head and died.
I arrived at MCRD on February 28, 1961. I was in Platoon 315 right next to the San Diego Airport. Gy. Sgt. McDowell was our senior DI with Staff Sgt. Day and Sgt. McKelvie. We had about a week before graduation when a platoon of new recruits came into our area. Our DI decided to pull this on them. A member of our platoon ran for the fence and the DI shot twice. The recruit had a bag of ketchup that he smeared on his skivvy shirt. Two other recruits took a wheel barrel out and put him in it and took it right through the new recruits area. On the way through their area they were talking about how many others have tried to climb the fence and didn’t make it. I’m sure it scared the hell out of them.
Al I was about to send a reply with a story a former DI from MCRD SD told me. This was in 1964 so he was a DI sometime prior. SSgt Day was his name. We served together in Iwakuni/1st MAW as well as the 9th MEB. I wonder if it was the same Day? He said they’d no soon graduate a platoon then they’d pick up a new one. And he said he’d stay back in the barracks and had the House Mouse from the recently graduated platoon come back & stick around. The other DIs would march up the new recruits and bring them to a halt. Then the House Mouse would burst through the hatch running like Hell, followed by Sgt Day with his trusty 45 (with blanks). He’d said something like come back her you son of a B!!! Halt or our shoot. and the H Mouse would keep making tracks to the fence. Day would blaze away and the H Mouse would dramatically fall, bite down on a “blood capsule” Day bought from an acting supply place in S Diego. “Blood” would ooze out of the seeming dead H Mouse. All of this happened in minutes of course. After which the new recruit’s formation would implode, many running for their life. I never heard of anything like this in PI, so I’m guessing around the 60’s at least this is something the DI’s passed around.
Don, that sounds like Staff Sgt. Day I knew He liked to pull that kind of stuff. Of our drill instructor Day was the one that enjoyed punishing recruits. The others hit you and that was it. Day would go much further.
I’d have to dig into some records, but L.M. Day comes to mind. I ran into him & served with him in the 1st MAW in Iwakuni, and while there we both deployed with another guy to Stage 1 of the 9th MEB (which later was the Marine unit that landed in Denang in early 1965. He was there in Iwakuni when I got there. Sgt Day was a piece of work. Squared away…but would do things outside the box, lived on the edge of annoying the system and officers, especially if he didn’t like them. We were in G2 1st MAW, and likewise with the 9th MEB. in the latter, floating around on ships. He got some aerial photos he wanted to string together and he found a long table in some space co-habited by Navy flyers. One in particular he didn’t like. snooty. So he quietly turned to me and said “follow my lead”. And from that point we used the foulest language we could dredge up..in earshot of said flyers. He could see it bothered the pilot, & that he felt it fit the profile of Marines. I think we subjected him to about an hour of it, til the guy left. Sgt Day enjoyed it immensely
I recognize a couple of those pictures on the wall behind the DI’s desk. President Johnson, of course, and (L-R) CMC General Wallace M. Greene, and Base Commander General Bruno A. Hockmuth. The others I do not recognize. I heard a while back that those wonderful Quonset huts and my DI’s ice plants are no more. Too bad, they will always be etched into my memory. It’s tough when you’re Old Corps !!
The far right pic is Capt. E.J. McDonough, C.O. A Company
I was at San Diego August 2015 for a reunion. Yes all but 4 of those huts are gone. We were fortunate to get a base tour and got to see those old huts. They are used for storage now. The base has taken on a huge change.The theater area and the other buildings are as you remembered them.
Ahhhh! MCRD, ’65-’66! Taking in draftees for the first time since Korea! But I have a hard time thinking that CG Hochmuth would have condoned that – – I just don’t remember anything like that! He was killed in a hello crash in the DMZ in later ’67.
Newly arrived at MCRD SD I actually thought about climbing the Convair fence. The DI said “If anyone tries to make it over that fence they will be shot and buried in the little grinder”. If you think anyone will say anything about it just look around, of course no one looked around and no one thought it was BS.
I was there in August 1967, and our DI’s told us that same story, some lost it anyway.
Started Boot Camp July 7, 1969. I was standing on the Yellow Footprints shaking in my shoes about to pee my pants. A Gunnery Sgt was walking up and down screaming at us. A the sudden in front of me he stopped, turned to me and hit me in the stomach the hardest I have ever been hit in my life. I went down and right back up as he returned to screaming at everyone. I do say though that made me try to fly under the radar as much as possible through Boot Camp. You here all the comments about P.I.versus San Diego. I believe that airport being there has a big physiological effect on people. You see the planes leaving and it works on you.
Those jets had a big psychologicall effect on me in my early weeks of boot camp there. In the evening standing on the “road” , smoking lamp lit for that last cigarette of the day those planes would be taking off and I would be watching them leave wondering where those people were heading, wishing I was one of them. I was a volunteer and still wondered what the hell had I got myself into. LOL
MCRD, San Diego , Yellow foot prints, Trying to Hear your DI over the jets taking off , Yeah looking over that fence wondering if you would ever see the outside again? Quonset huts were still there in 1966 when I was there, seem so long ago? SGT Troutman, S/SGT Estrada, SGT Garcia Thanks for what you did all those years ago.
Roger, this would have been a great story to submit for my book, “SH*TBIRD! How I Learned to Love the Corps.” If you will submit it to bootcampstories4@gmail.com, along with your platoon number, date of enlistment and your dress blues boot photo I will save it for a possible follow-up book 2.
I will work on getting the info to you as soon as possible.
MCRD San Diego, We called those recruits, HOLLYWOOD MARINES.
I was one of those “Hollywood” Marines in Plt 2048 in 1968 and over the years have told other Marines that went to Paris Island that we were issued sunglasses! lmao. I really believed a few of them thought we were!
This story could have or not have happened. I personally doubt it, but it is good entertainment. I was a ‘boot’ there in July 1966 in platoon 3063. The thought of having died and gone to hell did cross my mind. Platoon S/Sgt Rainer, Sgt Sar (spelling?) and Sgt Tucker were tough but with a purpose. The morning our group from Ohio arrived in the San Diego bus station from the L.A. train station it started. Deserting was definitely mentioned and made clear that it would NOT end very good for you. A lot of yelling and no sympathy. It was do or else. Stepping off the bus at MCRD San Diego was the beginning of a whole new and ,at first, terrifying life. Nothing about it was easy. Every thing about served a purpose & was worth enduring, surviving, and learning from. AH, the stinking new and ill fitting uniforms. Let’s definitely not forget the yellow sweat shirts from which we got our new boot nick name. “CANARIES!” We were billeted in the Quonset huts right next to the ‘small grinder’ and as close to the airport as you could get. The sound was deafening at first. The world we had just left was feet and a fence away from freedom. If you dared. No one tried. Some didn’t make it through ‘boot camp’, but those are other stories.
MCRD Jan 27 1966, platoon 234
…my Uncle (1950s Marine) told a story of escorting (convicted Marine) prisoners…if the prisoner escaped…he would serve out the rest of the prisoner’s sentence…else he would be fined the cost of the ammunition expended…
The 5th M.P. Bn never told me about the charge for ammunition when they assigned me as “Escape Risk Prisoner Chaser”. The other part they did mention. Fortunately, I never had to test that part of the system.
…Thank you Sgt. Hermsen for replying…I think it was to emphasize that would be the only consequence of expending it…
Out friggin standing devil dogs!
That picture makes the recruits look like they are wearing Doggy (USArmy) “fatigues”. Give me the old herringbone grey-green utilities to look like MARINES, Damnit.