CH53 Crashes on ammo dump at Vandergrift Combat Base

On 9 April 1969, Lima Company, 3/9, was Standing Lines at VCB after Operation Dewey Canyon.  I had been In Country about three weeks.  The fighting hole I was assigned to was about 30 yards in front of an ammo dump where supply choppers would fly in and get hooked up with external loads in a net and then deliver them to other fire bases.  read more

Marine Corps Trivia

For many of us, General Shoup was Commandant of the Marine Corps when we enlisted. For those of us that had the pleasure to serve under his command, his picture is in our platoon books. I for one, never really looked at the picture until today when it hit me. “Is that the Congressional Medal of Honor on his chest?” A little research showed that General David M. Shoup, Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1960-1963 is indeed a Medal of Honor recipient and his citation reads as follows.
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Why I joined the Marine Corps

This is why I joined the Marine Corps. This picture was taken on Nov 8, 1955 when I was 5 years old in downtown Baltimore, Md. It was published on Nov 10, 1955 in the Baltimore Sun newspaper celebrating the Marine Corps birthday. From that point on I knew that I wanted to be a Marine. I fulfilled that dream in June 68 and served four glorious years. I was able to find the Marine Staff Sergeant pictured with me in October 2001. He is Retired Sergeant Major Francis C. Rohrs. Hope you enjoy. read more

Vietnam

I am looking to make contact with the Marines picture in this article, or to communicate with anyone who can assist me in locating them.  The picture was taken on LZ Cunningham during Operation Dewey Canyon in February 1969. Pictured from left to right are: LCPL  Rodney Button, SGT John Devine (ME), LCPL Moses Garcia, and Burkhard.  We were assigned to Whiskey Btry 2-12.  I retired after a full 30 as a SGTMAj. read more