Upon arrival to my destination, May 1968, 3rd Recon Bn, Quang Tri Province, I found the battalion still in tents on the ground. Food wasn't great, but we did have warm food. Below are before and after photos of our chow halls. By the way, serving with 3rd Recon was a great honor for me and I've been proud to be a part of such an outstanding Marine Bn.
REUNION
GOT TO VIET NAM ON MAY 12TH 1967. LANDED AT DONG HA AND CHOPPERED OUT TO THE USS OKINAWA WHERE B/1/3 WAS STATIONED.
GOT MY WEAPON AND AMMO AND CHOPPERED TO THE BEACH WHERE I WAS ASSIGNED TO CPL. DANIEL SQUAD.
SPENT THE NEXT 7 WEEKS IN THE JUNGLE WITH THE SAME CLOTHES ON AND HAD ONLY ONE HOT MEAL. NEVER SLEPT IN A BED…ONLY THE GROUND AS MY BUNK.
Thanksgiving In Vietnam
Grit:
Every Thanksgiving, I think about the Thanksgiving I spent in Vietnam. One of the few I spent away from my family during my life.
For some reason, this year made me think about the meal we had on Thanksgiving Day, 1970 at Force Logistics Command just north of Danang. So after the confusion of dinner yesterday, I pulled out my old boxes of Corps keepsakes and found the Thanksgiving Day Menu.
My Future Marine… Most Beautiful Picture…. True Love of the Corps
This was taken at my sons MCJROTC Marine Corps Birthday Ball. This is one of the most Beautiful and memoriable moments of my life. My son bowing his head during the Marine Corps Prayer, I am so very proud of my future Marine, who will be signing his enlistment papers in May of 2014…
WW2 & Korea Era Patches for 95th Birthday
Dear Sgt. Grit Staff,
Attached are a couple of photos then and now of my dad Lonnie M. Massey that I would like to share with you. The badges and devices yo supplied were a big surprise for his birthday. Thank you for your help.
In the recent photographs taken on his 95th birthsay, he is wearing the devices and patches that you shipped. He was extremely pleased to recieve the patch of the 3rd Marine Amphibious Corps that you located and sent. That was the first patch to be sewn on to his jacket for his birthday. He had been a Gunner in WW2 with the 3rd throughout the South Pacific.
Desert Shield / Storm Thanksgiving
I was with 1stMarDiv Forward in Saudi when we were all told to clean our vehicles for a visit from President and Mrs. Bush, who were coming to have Thanksgiving Dinner with us. We cleaned our vehicle as best we could using brooms and a little bit of water.
Beautiful Marine Mailbox
I wanted you to see the most beautiful mailbox I have ever seen! It is made from Sgt. Grit materials and lots of love from my son!
My son worked with Theresa at your shop and she helped with the items and information, and he came up with the rest. It is awesome!
Oldest Marine At 105
Marine Corps League Detachment 1198, Harford County Maryland celebrated the 238th Marine Corps Birthday with Marines living at Oakcrest Village in Parkville, MD. Richard Rhinehart is the oldest Marine at 105. Richard served as an aviator in Nicaragua during the Banana wars. He served with Major Smedley Butler.
We Were Never Attacked Again
In the early 60's, MAG 13, consisting of two A4D squadrons, one F8U squadron, and a helo squadron of H-34s plus support squadrons was part of the First Marine Brigade at Kaneohe Bay on Oahu. I was a Plane Captain in VMA 212, one of the A4 squadrons, from '61 to '63. The First Brigade had two distinct factions, The Air Wing and the Grunts. Each had its own part of the base and had little or no interaction. We didn't mix well. Even though we wore the same uniform, utilities, you could tell at a glance the difference because grunts bloused their boots and air wingers didn't. You might say there was a bit of animosity between the two groups. Grunts thought air wingers had it easy and wingers thought grunts were, well, grunts.
Semper Fidelis
This tattoo was for the love of my life… SGT William Clinton Bruner.