Anybody remember EH Walker and the HQ Regimental school he ran at Pendleton between ’64 and ’66? What a riot that man was. We all respected him. I liked him.
Cpl Re Allen
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.
Anybody remember EH Walker and the HQ Regimental school he ran at Pendleton between ’64 and ’66? What a riot that man was. We all respected him. I liked him.
Cpl Re Allen
While on the drill field ('63-'65 and '67-'70) I wore trops during the summer. I ran, jumped, excersized and marched proudly every day. Never an itch. After being cleaned and pressed a few times, they held a much better crease especially in the trousers after having to sit at a desk for an hour doing paper work.
Although the Marine recruiting stories glamorize everything we do, some jobs in the Corps are about as exciting as watching paint dry.
One of those jobs was flight line avionics repair for helicopters.
I was with the reserve air wing unit, HMM-764, in the late 1960’s and we had metal fatigued UH-34’s that had made their way back from Viet Nam complete with bullet holes and worn out avionics.
I was wounded by an rpg on 11 july 68. I was told that I would get my ph but never did my main problem is they wont give me my 100% rating for PTSD can any one possibly help? I was in mag 11 mabs 11 thanks.
Cpl John McMackin
USNC 67-70
Semper fi till i die
Our friends at the P.O.W. Network have assisted us for years on determining the actual validity of decorated Marine Corps veterans from the posers seeking to benefit from Stolen Valor. Recently, we received a picture from the network Chairman, Mary Schantag, showing a display of what a poser may look like. Semper Fi ladies and gents.
After serving 6 yr, 5 mo, and 19 days US Army, 27Feb1961 to 15Aug1967, and being civilian for approximately 5 years, I decided to re-enlist to be able to retire from the military with 20 years service. At age 29, and having an Honorable Discharge from the US Army as an E-4 with over 6 years service, the only branch that would take me was the USMC. I was sworn in 24Jul1972, passed the initial PFT with a dislocating left shoulder doing the pull-ups that was witnessed by one of the DI’s, the rest of the PFT was a piece of cake, even for a 29 year old, old man. I was also the only man in my platoon with Jump Wings on my breast as I was in the 82 Airborne, while in the army. During my first 28 days of training I was able to help the YOUNG men in my platoon learn , ‘The Code of Conduct, General Orders, Chain of Command, how to make a rack, and how to field strip and reassemble a M-14 Rifle, blindfolded in under 2 minutes. Then one day while I was on a message run from Medical Rehabilitation Platoon, the same DI saw me, I wish I could remember his name, had me strip to the waist, and instructed to “give me one good pull-up” if I could. As I jumped to grab the pull-up bar, my left arm dropped useless to my side. The Drill Instruct told me, with a string of usual expletive delete’s to go to sick call and instruct the corpsman to have my shoulder repaired. The next 8 months was a different story as they were spent at Balboa Naval Hospital. During that time before and after my shoulder surgery, I assisted the Master Chief (E-9) with control of the Marine and Navy recruits during their recovery and subsequent discharge from the military. Also while there I was told the recruit platoon I started with graduated number one in the Training Regiment. I didn’t get my EAG, and because of that some say I'm not a Marine. However with what I did, I feel as much a MARINE as any that successfully complete their training. Am I a Marine? I don’t know, but from what I learned while at Balboa Naval Hospital, and the fact that I have an Honorable Discharge from The Marine Corps. I feel I AM A MARINE. Semper Fi! I welcome any and all comments, but will not change my mind!
On Sunday, 21 September 2014, the Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Northern California holds its annual YOUNTVILLE "ALL MARINE DAY" BBQ AND PICNIC. It is a free event to all Marines, Marine Veterans, FMF Corpsmen, their Families and Guests in camaraderie and brotherhood.
Love reading the Sgt. Grit Newsletter, I have a contribution some may find interesting.
In the summer of 1986 Clint Eastwood was directing and starring in 'Heartbreak Ridge' as GySgt Thomas Highway. It's a bit hokey with lots of inaccuracies but still contains enough to hold the attention of most Marines. Highway's recon unit is supposedly based out of Camp Lejeune but in fact the movie was filmed at Camp Pendleton and MCAS El Toro only one month before I reported to VMGR-352 / MAG-11 / 3rd MAW (my last duty station before leaving active duty). Clint had even signed the overhead control panel with a Sharpie on the flight deck of tail # 019, a KC-130F. (The KC-130 is a rugged, reliable, versatile, awesome aircraft, been flying now more than 50 years)
In 1954 I was assigned to Brig Company at Camp Pendelton and one of the areas of responsibility in addition to guarding the brig was to man the two most northern gates at Pendleton and to serve as shore patrol in San Clemente. To do this there was a small MP station in the southern edge of San Clemente that housed and fed those stationed there. It was duty to die for as we had rooms with closets instead of lockers and only two to a room. The mess hall was supplied by the 1st Division mess hall out at the tent camps. It was almost like have your own short order restaurant. Breakfast chow was ordered with eggs how you wanted them followed by in many cases steak, or bacon, maybe some sausage, and if you were homesick for the larger mess halls, SOS on order. Fridays were at that time fish and most of it wasn't fit to eat, not there, we had it fried, baked, broiled and each piece done just for you. The only problem on Fridays we would attract visiting brass and seats were hard to come by. It's no longer there but there are lots of fond memories as I pass the site today. How did they do it, easy, what the hell was a mess feeding 5000 going to do with a box of left over steaks or fish or an extra box of pork chops.