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.
Aug 1970: Got to Nam, immediately assigned to 1st Recon, two weeks recon training at Monkey Mountain, then assigned to a team.
On day one I could tell the jarheads were leery of this new, untested doc in their midst and were warily checking me out. On day two I walk into our hootch and my team leader is standing there with a couple minor cuts on his abdomen and a seriously deep cut on his forearm.
GySgt. J. C. Strauss wrote of his experience in what we called an APA (Amphibious Personnel, Assault) or an AP (Amphibious Personnel) in World War II. They carried more than 1200 troopers and if I remember right the Mess Halls were open all the time. One of the great meals the Navy had on Wednesdays and Sunday Breakfast was “BEANS”.
I was stationed with MACS-3 in 1956 at an isolated radar base on the east coast of Korea. In the chow line one day a Marine ahead of me asked the Mess Sgt. “What’s for dinner?” The mess Sgt replied “Owl sh-t” The Marine replied “Oh I thought it might be something we couldn’t eat.”
’76-’77… Camp Schwab (Okinawa), at the time home of the Ninth Marines and 1st Tracked Vehicle Bn (composite of two tank companies, two of amtracks (P-7’s, etc.), and of course, a H&S company. H&S included, besides the Bn Staff sections, the Comm Platoon, Supply Platoon, etc., the Bn Maintenance platoon… Tracked vehicle mechanics, known as ‘fit-shisters’ are by the very nature of their jobs, scruffy-looking. Grease and oil, dust, mud, tight spaces are their daily lot, and it is generally conceded that ‘satisfactory, with major discrepancies’ is the best to be hoped for at any major personnel/uniform inspection.
We put this picture on our Facebook page. Following are a few of the responses.
Kevin Kirby: Can’t really argue with someone who has been awarded the Navy Cross five times.
Arthur Ware: And an Army cross, if I’m not mistaken.
Timothy S. Pruitt: Hard core, HIS Corps!
Many of us air wingers had back seat passes but just as many never got a chance to use them.
My first look(up close) with an F-4B
Phantom was jaw dropping. A twin engine rocket with 12,500 pounds of thrust per engine. All the time I served this beast was with respect.
Back tattoo
He found himself walking a ridgeline, traversing through frost-biting air and shoveling through snow waist-deep in enemy territory. They decided to stop for the night, but he and his men patrolled the area by order of his commanding officer. The enemy was waiting; bunkers were dug to ambush the U.S. Marines, and they ran into a Korean bunker, who were showering grenades onto them.
Boot SDiego Sep 61 Plt 272 -1985066- Cpl Petri SSgt Marez, and ole Corps SSgt then passed test 2d time GySgt Myers who always came back to Plt at 2AM (but they not suppose to do that – recruits need 8 hours duh). Walking with Jesus… Walking with Jesus Left right left right… Get out of those racks you &&&&
I went to boot camp in 1951, we were using the 03 for sniper training, our regular weapon was the M1, at that time you fired every weapon the Marine Corps had, 50 cal, 30 cal. Rifle grenade, flame thrower, 45 and 38 hand weapons BAR, which I ended up with in Korea, carbine, bazooka. and of course the M1. also at Camp Mathews we had a couple of weeks of hand to hand, went to infantry training just up the road Tent Camp 2 for more weapon training. Retired Jan 1971 at Headquarters Marine Corps in Arlington, Va. Tours in Korea, Lebanon, Vietnam. Good life wish I was still in.
