Sgt Grit is a place where Marines can come and meet other Marines, share tattoos and stories, keep up with Marine Corps news, or shop for USMC gear.
The way I left MCAS Kaneohe in JANUARY 1963 was, I rescued a
tourist surfer in Waikiki. He got hit in the head by another
novice surfer, a blond, who just took off. I pulled his head out
of the water and asked him his name.
No response, outta of it. I put him on his board and toe towed
him to the beach yelling for help.
In recent Sgt. Grit Newsletters many subjects have been
addressed, some of which I would like to give my personal
accounts as a Marine. I enlisted August 6, 1946 in Houston and
graduated boot camp at MCRD San Diego October 12.
1. We never used or heard the expression "OORAHH". It was
always "Semper Fi" or "Gung Ho".
Sgt Grit….
Enjoy the newsletter every week, great stories and memories.
For those that endured Okinawa some time during their enlistment here’s a Marines first tour!
1950-1955 our family was based on The ROCK. Dad, Major Douglas J Ash, Sr. was an operator with THE COMPANY. Before joining that outfit he severed in the Corps during WWII as 105 Howitzer training officer at Camp Pendleton, then landed on Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa as a 105/155 Battery CO, served as the Provost Marshall of Nagasaki and then brought home the 1st Japanese Army from Manchuria.
Sarge
Here are three cover page only scans of some humorous books
I got while in Vietnam back in 1970.
Later time permitting will send some photos of the area and of some
Marines I served with. maybe they will see themselves, and remember when!
also you can forward email to me.
Sgt. Grit,
Just wanted to check in and say how much I enjoy the Thursday letter; (it makes my week) and also the pictures. The personal stories and pictures bring back so many memories. I was with 3rd MAR.DIV., Hqs. Bn., Comm. Co., Rad. Rel. Plt. Which meant I was T.A.D. most of the time, so I was located from Quang Tri to Vandergrif ,with the 4th Mar., and 3rd Mar. Regt’s. Back at Dong Ha we were close to the ARVN unit that I think, if I remember right, was called I.T.T., they were the ones that “extracted” info. From the POW’s.
I got this tattoo as a surprise for my boyfriend while he was away at boot camp. It turned out to be a HUGE motivator for him while he was at Parris Island & he loved it so much that he came back & got the same tattoo. So now were matching <3
1966 / 67, Hill 55 south of DaNang in the background. We were starting our morning mine sweep. I was a combat engineer with c/1/26. This 1.5 mile stretch this side of the river (Song Thu Bon River in background) was called Liberty Road. We swept it every morning to open it up for resupply traffic out to An Hoa. We had a squad of engineers and a squad of grunts split on each flank and also a tank. That day I was driving the mule. We rotated the jobs so you only had to sweep about every third day or so. On the lower left corner on the mule you can see the mine detector. The sea bag had our explosives, det cord supplies. Our platoon HQ was on top of Hill 55 which can be seen in the background. We would routinely find mines one way or another and also receive sniper fire during the sweep. I have more photos if anyone is interested. This is my first posting and am trying to contact some of the guys in my unit during that time. I can't remember names.
Just a little family involvement. My Uncle John Holmes served in ww2 in the pacific, I served in Vietnam, 2 nephews, a neice and her husband (retired master gunny Rick Perry}, Their daughter and her husband,their son, their other daughters husband, have been serving ever since just about in every conflict we have been in. And in case all the above confused you that is 4 generations of Marines and counting. The rest of my family also have served in the Navy and Army throughout the years.
my first tattoo
One of three Marine tats
