I was an early Vietnam Marine (’65-’65). I was a Combat Engineer and worked out of Carmon Bay. To this day I have disagreements with people about Navy Corpsman.
Here is the way I explain it and when they hear this they say no more. The only difference between a Corpsman and a Marine is they wore Navy Rank on a Marine uniform. As far as Marines went they were part of us. They deserve all the honor that goes to the Marines. They fought alongside of Marines, they died with Marines. They are, as far as I am concerned, Marines.
Cpl. E. Morris
11th Engineers TAD
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I want to thank you for what you said. Being a FMF Corpsman with 3/9 Viet Nam 1965-1966. I am more loyal to the Marines than the Navy. It was an Honor to serve with the BEST. Semper Fi
I agree whole heartedly that the corpsmen are marines. They have saved numerous of us doing combat semper fi till I die
Corpsman are Marines from a different boot camp. 11th engineers formed up at camp Lagune fall of 66, shipped over to nam in November, spent the Marine Corps birthday in Hawaii.
Thanks, Cpl. Morris. It was a great honor to be with our “real” Marine brothers. Doc Hays, D 1/4, 3rd MarDiv, RVN, ’68-’69.
You got that right. L/Cpl. Joe Nichols “A” Co. 9Th Engineers
Could not agree more. Oorah. Semper Fi., !st Lt. “Barney” Lenihan 1/5 RVN 69-70
That is no sh*t. “G” Co 2/26
Hey Steve… How are you? Indeed we always thought of our Corpsman as “the Marines MARINE”… E Company, 2/26 Dec 68 – Dec 69 0331. See you in Vegas in August! See http://www.26thMarines.com
I’m on board. The Marines had Brother Doc’s .
Roger That. They are the ones who “clean” our wounds and care for us in battle.
“We are the Few and the Proud”. Without our Corpsmen, we would be a lot fewer. I aught to know. I was in Korea from October 1950 to March 1952. My unit is the only unit that I know of the received the Army Unit Citation for action during the winter of 1950.
The Navy Corps knew their job and did it well. We considered them part of our platoon. The 4th Marine Regiment received the Army Unit Citation for the defense of Corregidor during WW II. I wasn’t there but I served in the 4th Regiment in 1961-63.
God created Corpsmen so that Marines would have someone to look up to.
Indeed Lt…
Yup. Our One Nine Doc’s are still looking after us…
AMEN! I always said “Doc” with the upmost respect!
There would be alot of dead Marines if it wasn’t for the Corpsmen. They start out Navy but after Corpsmen school they train in Marine Corps tactics to live and fight with their Marines. They are Marines!
The Devil Docs stopped the bleeding, kept the air flowing and treated the shock for me twice in I Corps 67-68
I have always said the quickest way to start a brawl was to screw with a Marine’s Corpman. Corpmen are special people, especially to Marines. God bless them all.
l/cpl james blakeman 1/3 REG 3rd MAR DIV Viet Nam nov 65-sep 66 I agree 100%, do not mess with our Corpmen or else!!!
There was a Corpsman named Doc Deneza at 2/1 in 1970 that everyone admired, sure hope he is still with us and enjoyed a good life!
Where the f*ck is Carmon Bay and Camp Lagune
LOL… think!
One is West of MCRD. Never heard of the other… Beck 2/9 65 1/9 66.
How about Cam Rahn Bay, RVN; and Camp Lejune, NC.
Right On. Marines ’67-’70 Chu Lai ’68-’69
Chu Lai July 69…. Operation Brave Armada. Noon July 31… first man to ever fondle me… Doc Charlie Klotz shoved his hand up my butt to stop the bleeding prior to medivac. Doc is still alive, but recently diagnosed with Lou Gherrigs disease. Prayers please!
Hell yes they are MARINES ! They saved my life after losing my right are / foot in Aug.1965 E 2/9 .
Hi Freddy. Beck, Rockets. E/2/9 65. A/1/9 in 66. Our Docs in the associations are still looking after us.
TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERYONE’S COMMENTS—CORPSMEN ARE MARINES !!!!!!! WE HAVE A V-WAR CORPSMAN, AS A MEMBER OF OUR LOCAL “SEMPER FI” SUPPORT GROUP & HE RECEIVES THE SAME LEVEL OF LOVE, RESPECT, COURTESY, & ATTENTION, THAT EVERYONE ELSE DOES. HE FREQUENTLY WEARS A REALLY NICE COVER, THAT SAYS—“USMC CORPSMAN”. NOT A SINGLE MENTION OF THE WORD “NAVY” ANYWHERE. YES, EVERYONE KNOWS WERE HE WAS TRAINED, BUT HE IS STILL A JARHEAD / LEATHER-NECK / DEVIL-DOG-DOC——-PERIOD !!!!!!! OOORAH & SEMPER FI ………MICHAEL S. WHITLOCK (SEMPER FI VOLUNTEER & HON. E-1) MOS#0000, SEALY, TX. 77474
I agree with Cpl. Morris, I have great respect for the Navy Corpsman. Served in VN 1965 to 1966. I was aided by a Corpsman while on a Recon patrol south of Danang. These men were always by our side fighting and giving us aid when required.
I have seen Corpsman’s go where no other medic would go without regard to their own safety to bring a wounded Marine back to his unit HURAHHH and SEMPER FI
Amen to that!
I don’t care what you were, Engr., Mortorman, Scout, riflemen, Motor T…..or Corpsman. A Marine s a Marine and a Corpsman is a Marine! There is no argument…..they come to us at the most crucial time….combat!
As a young lieutenant the two people you quickly learned to take especially good care of were your radioman and your corpsman. I never thought of my “Doc” as anything other than a brother Marine.
They are welcome to join the Marine Corps League as regular members. That says it all. Joe
Totally agree with Cpl. Morris, as an 0311 in Nam I saw them treat wounded under fire even when they knew the Marine had no chance to survive but lived upon to their duty with honor, commitment an Espitit-de-Corp, some even were KIA along us. Semper Fi
Thank you all. I was with B 1/4 3rd Mar Div 1969. Taking care of you was an honor and will be forever indebted to you for taking care of me. I, to this day and to my grave I cherish the time I spent with Corps and life lessons that I learned. HM3 Clay.
Thanks Marine!!
We don’t salute enlisted men but dam if the Doc’s don’t deserve to be saluted!! Marines all the way!!
Good comments all the way around. A Corpsman is a Marine. I have a Nephew (through marriage) who IS a Corpsman at this time I served with 1/3 3rd Mar.Div 1/7 1st Mar.Div. in Chu Lai ’65-’66 and then in 2/1 1st Mar.Div in ’69.Da Nang. are Corpsmen were the best.Semper Fi Devil Docs.
When you heard “Corpsman up”, you knew he was coming! Hell or high water!
The Corpsmen assigned to D/2/11 in 1966, at all the various locations we served in the RVN, were as brave and aggressive as any Marine in the unit. We considered them as nothing but fellow Marines and I’ve always had the utmost respect and admiration for FMF Corpsman. What more can you say about an individual that would sacrifice their life to save another Marine’s life, which Robert Ray did at Liberty Bridge.
This comment is for “Cpl Steve Radcliffe (G/2/26)…..when where you in Nam & were you @Khe Sanh for the siege? I was with F/2/26 and your name kinda sounds familiar to me. Semper Fi. Gary Ross 2377xxx
Hey Gary… Steve is a member of our 26th Marines Association… see http://www.26thMarines.com (as you are as well). Hopefully we will all see each other in Vegas as this years annual reunion!!
I frelate more to the Marines than the navy. The year I was there (3rd put. Echo 2/9) was the most meaningful year of my life.
Ken… you didn’t say when you were there. Another Marine I joined on the buddy plan with was with 2/9 from Dec 68 – Dec – 69. His name was Tommy Holt… got hit through the thigh with an AK 50 in I think June 69. Perhaps you knew him.
The Corpsman was the Marines MARINE!! Indeed created by God so we would have something to look up to. I was with 2/26 Marines, Echo, Guns, Dec 68 – 69. Our Corpsman were the best. Doc Charlie Klotz is a long time member of our association, the 26th Marines Association, see http://www.26thMarines.com (recently diagnosed with Lou Gherrigs Disease – prayers please). If you are a Marine, regardless of what unit you served with, you can attend our annual reunions. Contact me via the website for info. This years annual reunion will be in Las Vegas, August 11-13, 2017. Semper Fi!!
Amen!! Morris
The doc was always there for the Marines. I saw them go from carry the unit 1 on their shoulder along with a 45 to sewing pockets inside their flack jackets to carry the items from the unit 1 and carrying a m14 with ammo They are our brother Marines! God bless them all
I was with K3/9 in 1968-69. When I got back to the bush after a minor leg wound I got on Dewey Canyon, I got kicked up to the CP. At that point I had the honor of [ stupid machine won’t let me print “hooch”] bunk with our Sr. Corpsman. Doc Wilde was a little guy that was a big man and carried one hell of a load. He told me he was in D.C. yelling “hell no we won’t go” . He joined the Navy to avoid going to “The Nam”. I think his name was Micheal Wilde. I never met a Corpsmen I didn’t respect. Semper Fi.
Quite similar to your Doc Wilde I rallied against the VN war. But paradoxically, volunteered for the Nav — partly so I could avoid poundin’ ground for the Army as a rifleman, crapping my pants every day of an inevitable tour in the ‘Nam. As my dad was an Army field medic in WW2 and being able to choose HM “A” school after boot camp, I went for it knowing absolutely nothing about where the majority of male HMs were destined to go after graduation. (Are you grinning or laughing out loud about my sorry 23 y/o ass yet?) Yeah, I’ve appreciated the irony all my life. My FMF “C” school training, thank God, was thourough, extensive and intensive. And by the end of it my mindset about my service was radically altered. Given the choice of grooming, I went green without a moment’s hesitation. I lived a hundred stories as a “Devil Doc”. Some of them make my chest swell with pride over what I accomplished for My Marines in that year; many of them just fuckin’ break my heart, and always will. But I am truly grateful for the opportunity I had to serve my fellow Marines, to be a Marine. Equally grateful am I for the reliable courage any man next to me showed and the incredible bravery demonstrated to keep me alive and safe under fire. My wife thanks y’all, as do four daughters, fourteen grandchildren, and two “greats”. Life’s ironies don’t always mean a bad break. It can be the chance of a lifetime. Semper fi, my brothers and sisters. Semper fi.
The Medics have my greatest respect, glad they were with us. After my tour as a field radio operator in the Corp, I later became a nurse and worked at the VA Hospital in Kerrville TX. There I had the honor to take care of a ‘Nam Corpsman during the final year of his life. I was honored to give back to him a small portion of what he gave to us. Corpsmen are true Marines, through and through.
made the landing at Chu Lai with the 4 Mar. Reg. With LtCol ( bull) Fisher. The very first major operation for Marines operation,was ( operation starlight ) AS FOR SQUID CORMAN, BEING MARINES, Hell yes, corpsmen, some times they were more marine than Marines them selves. CORMAN!!! ANYTIME, WHERE ,ANY PLACE, I got your back. Semper Fi
Corpsman no question are Marines. The confusion is because they wear funny uniforms and hats sometimes.
My best friend in the Marines was a Corpsman. Him and I would sit and discuss all of the medical needs that my platoon would need in any combat situation. If he was hit, our cross training would let me treat my men. I received a comment from someone that said a ” Corpsman” was a Navy person. I responded that a Corpsman was a “Marine” for life. Corpsman are the ones that run toward the sound of battle and bullets no matter the danger. This makes them MARINES.
I have always said I only respect three types of sailors. Number one are our Corpsmen, Two are the Seals and three are the Seabees. I served with I Co 3/5 in 1970 in Vietnam as a Sergeant.
I fully agree with Cpl. Morris. Our Doc’s in India 3/1 were very brave men. They always went beyond the call of duty to take care of our wounded, including me. I have the utmost respect for Navy Corpmen.
I was a Medevac corpsman in 1969 with MAG 16 at Marble Mountain. On Nov.10th we were alerted that Charlie was going to hit us. I was on the MABS line checking the guard posts with the Sgt. of the Guard. We returned to the CP and found the LT handing out C Rat pound cake to celebrate the Marine Corps birthday. When a piece of cake was passed to me I declined telling the LT I wasn’t a Marine. He Told me “Doc I’ve flown a lot of Medevac missions with you and you are just as good of Marine as any man here. I had to leave the bunker so they wouldn’t see me tear up. Acknowledgment that I was a Marine was the greatest honor I have ever received.
Anyone who argues that the Corpsman weren’t Marines probably wasn’t out in the bush to see them in action. They earned the right to be considered Marines.
I was stationed on Okinawa, “I” Co. 3/4 back in ’75. I wrote this story once before but all the talk about Corpsmen brought it all back. It was a hot day and very humid (as always) and we were doing some sort of demo practice when I noticed that I wasn’t sweating anymore. I was just a dumb kid and had no clue what was happening. They finally gave us a break and told us to sit down and cool off. Before I knew it, I was having trouble breathing and one of my buddies noticed and went and got Doc Blackmon. The next thing I know I was waking up in the hospital with a bad case of heat stroke. Wish I could find him and buy him a big steak dinner! Thanks Doc, where ever you are.
Amen Brother!!!! Any Marine that says our Corpsman “aren’t” never served with a combat unit. Our Corpsman HM3 Doc Brown was a saint!!!! God’s gift to the U.S. Navy and more importantly to the USMC. Wish I could locate him to say thank you. Semper Fi Doc Brown.
I will always think of the platoon of Marines I served with as “MY MARINES”. The only pictures I have of myself from my time in service is in MY Marine Uniform!! With Great Pride!!HM 8404 Davis
So what if corpsmen wear funny looking insignia on Marine uniforms? That doesn’t make one any less of a Marine. If it weren’t for them, how many of our brothers would not be around today? Thank God we have them.
Ours went with us everywhere…even into the bars & houses of ill repute that we somehow found no matter where we went. They “saved” a lot of us from the unwanted consequences…LOL. They are part of our Devil Dog pack. We protect our pack – violently and without remorse. Semper fidelis.
When a brother Yelled Corpman up,and he is there,he may be a navy corpman,but he’s a brother Marine who just ran through shit to get to you. 3rd engineer bn, with 1/9 68-69
The Corpsmen I served with would not stand by to being called Marines. They knew they were one with us though. But proud to be Corpsmen.
“God made Corpsmen so Marines would have someone to look up to”
I think you will find that any 03 will agree that a Corpsman is a Navy Marine. Corpsman up and they were always on the run, love those guys. As you know not everyone can be a Marine, but a Corpsman can.