Tom,

I enlisted was 17 years and 3 months old when I went to Boot Camp in 1969. Will sleep at my Sister's tonight about 10 miles from the USMC Recruit Depot at Parris Island, SC.

Thanks, I hope to do so.

AJ

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

That brings back memories July 1967 in that decrepit LA induction center. Standing at the USO counter waiting for release as headed for the the USN, I do recall they were drafting Marines.

__________________
Never fly the "A" model

Not long into bootcamp one of the DIs announced that the Navy had a recruit shortage and 6 volunteers were needed to go to Navy bootcamp. A bunch of arms shot up. I had been firmly instructed to never volunteer for anything no mater how good it seemed and refrained. Those that raised their hands were separated from the rest, roundly cursed for not wanting to be in the DIs beloved Marine Corps while being PTed to exhaustion.

Hot stuff, all the way to a combat theater.

Attached Images

Scan_20240509.jpg (68.1 KB, 73 views)

Much more accurate than most like to admit.

Attached Images

IMG_1155.JPG (120.8 KB, 70 views)

Open post means the girls get to come on.

Attached Images

Scan_20240512.jpg (55.1 KB, 71 views)

We didn't play Air Force either.

Attached Images

IMG_1157.JPG (78.3 KB, 58 views)

Was tougher in the old days!!!

Attached Images

Reginmental Manicurist.jpeg (143.4 KB, 60 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I was told the DIs can no longer curse you, call you ladies or maggots let alone grab you by the throat or plain old beat you. I was however assured they had methods of mental and physical torture.
I suppose now days taking their cell phones away at the get go must completely destroy most of them mentally.

Go see the Company therapist.

Welcome back AJ.

Thanks, good to be back!

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Things have been changing for years. I sent a young Sgt. to the Drill Field and within six months he was back. He had 156 counts of troop abuse against him. I asked him what had he done. he said "I just treated them the way I was treated in Boot Camp". Eventually all charges were dropped for lack of witnesses. Will ask Grandson what Boot Camp was like for him. All he has ever mentioned was PT as punishment.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

My niece went to boot camp maybe 12 years or so ago and she manage to get bruise up falling down the stairs just like my brother who was in the new multilayered concrete squad bays did.

My platoon and company were in Quonset huts and all our our bruises came from falling on the pavement.

But, the PT punishments were often more brutal than any DI roughing you up. I "fondly" remember once, PTing in the heat and a pvt passed out, the DI went over and touched him and said . bury him he is dead, we all started tossing sand on him and the DI screamed stop, stop, we will all go to jail, tossed some water on him and he came to. Up and on shoulders forever, ready begin.

I was the go to therapist in 67-68. I think it may have had something to do with the bottle of Jim Beam I kept "hidden" in my M151.

My Grandson did mention being made "Sugar Cookies". There were sand pits filled with fine white sand at various spots in his barracks area. He said they were ut in the sand pit and had to PT until they were very sweaty and covered with sand. When they looked like "Sugar Cookies", the DI would stop them and put them back in formation.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I would love to have a small bottle of sand from the PT area at MCRDSD. I forgot to get some when I visited in August of 2019, 50 years to the day after first standing on the footptints. My brother and I have talked about being put "in the pits" and doing PT and watching some small snail shell or other tiny object moving as you disturbed the sand with your movement. Focusing on things like that took your mind away from the physical and metal exhaustion. My brother said sometime he would focus on being invisible so as not to attract the DI's attention. Which is hilarious as he is 6'8", but I knew what he meant because I always tried to avoid their attention too.

This guy didn't scream at me once.

The DI's didn't yell at me either. I had been ratted out by my Grandson and two DI's who knew me ( a friends Niece and her husband)as a retired 1stSgt. they were in the process of tearing down my old barracks at 3rd Battalion. The construction area was secured so you could not get in. I told the two DI's that I wanted a brick. About a week later I got one in the mail.

As a side note stayed at my Sister's in Bluffton, SC last week and again on Sunday night. Saw a sign that read Parris Island. She lives very close, was tempted to go.

Attached Images

Brick MCRD PI.jpg (54.6 KB, 42 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Hey steelslaver, I bet that DI could hurt somebody by yelling at him if he wanted to.

Here are a couple DI's from my stay at Ft. Polk, summer of 1968. Good guys to know in a bar fight.

Attached Images

Scan_20240514.jpg (113.0 KB, 52 views)

AJ, some cartoons are Brit…..

Not bad. I didn't mind the roommates. But it did have an angry "landlord" that was always yelling for some reason.

Attached Images

IMG_1146.jpg (71.1 KB, 58 views)

Yes, I know. They do have a different sense of humor, but at least they have a sense of humor.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Sure isn't the Chief's Mess! For those who have never eaten in a Chief's Mess it is better than any Air Force Chow Hall or Officer's Mess that I have ever seen. We could bring our OIC's to dinner every so often and they would argue who was going to get to go!

Attached Images

Not the Chie's Mess!.jpeg (95.2 KB, 55 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

57DD751E-4431-4316-B96D-51CB53DA85CF.jpg
This is the same as we had in reception station 2 weeks before basic.
This pic is from F.I.G. back in 90s, leftover WWII barracks.

It sure did seem like a lot of the music reminded you that there was something missing...........

Attached Images

I Wanna Go Home!!.jpeg (170.5 KB, 58 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

that cartoon has an error, the good looking lady would have not been sitting there without a crowd of men and most likely SNCO or Os

For me it was Sky Pilot by Eric Burton and the Animals, all the way through flight school and in country.

Yea, where did the round eye come from? Probably an Lt. nurse.

While on my third unaccompanied tour WestPac, I imported my own "round eye"......my Wife. Brought her to Japan for six months. She did turn heads when we would go to the SNCO Club for dinner. However, most of the guys were more enamored with my two year old daughter. They got some laughs because of her. Watching a movie at the club one night she saw a truck in the film. She was trying to say truck , but it did not come out that way the word she was calling it started with an F. Could not get her to stop and the Wife wanted to hide!! All the SNCO's present got a huge laugh out of it, needless to say we didn't go to the Club for dinner for a while.....

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

While at Iwakuni, I was in "my bar" when a guy and a gorgeous blonde walked in. I asked the barmaid to find out who they were. It turned out it was a Swedish sea captain and his wife. Apparently the captain could tale his wife on voyages with him. Lucky guy. Oh the fun we had.

An accompanied tour in Japan sounds like a great deal, if you can keep the little girl from dropping the...bomb. I'm not even going to talk about 6 months in Panama.

It was not an official accompanied tour. I paid for my Wife's and Daughter's airfare out of my pocket. Found a house to rent on the economy and got transportation. Was a bit tight as I still had a home in the States that we had to pay for. Very glad that we did it as she got to come to some place we will never go again. I was lucky that one deployment to the PI went before she got there and another to Korea went after she left.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Met Miss America and her “ crew” in RVN. One went to school where I had several good friends, she knew one. We talked about home for 20-30 minutes.

Do you think he was aiming for the glowing end?

Attached Images

Sniper.jpeg (115.2 KB, 51 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Know which box all my “ Willie and Joe” books are and if I can get to them in June might post some….

I have posted all of "Up Front" here.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Seeing the smoke coming out of the barrel makes me wonder who shot the cigar.

The Lt. needs better light discipline.

And why not ?

Attached Images

IMG_1166.JPG (109.0 KB, 51 views)

I would say "no doubt the sentry did it!"

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Only 20 pounds???????????????? Most of us a lot more than that!

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Hated to use the insect repellent that they gave us. Had my Mother send me a two cans of "Off" a month in my "Care Package".

Attached Images

Bugs on patrol.jpeg (114.9 KB, 53 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Some of us resemble this now........some will later!

Attached Images

Old RVN Warriors.jpeg (157.1 KB, 47 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

April of 75 to April of 2024 = 49 years.
18+49=67 which would be the youngest Vietnam vet at this point.

Lots enlisted at 17, but policy for deployment was 18 or older

There are a dozen that were killed in Viet Nam that were 17. Also 5 that were 16. At some point public opinion caused the military to limit combat duty to 18 years of age. The 16 year old had gilded the lily about their ages to get in.

I was in an attack squadron in Da Nang. but I was an old guy of 19 by that time, even though I had enlisted at 17. What unit were you in?

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

There was a big political deal about 17 year olds being deployed to Vietnam and McNamara stated on Nov 10th, 1965 that no more 17 year olds were to be deployed and those that were there were to be pulled out.

I know guys lied and I know about the 16 and 17 year olds and even one was just 15, but all those were long before 1975 when it was over. I doubt there were any there at the very end.

I was with 1st MEF but TAD to 3rd Marines. I just ran a computer, that kicked out lists like Ammo stores, personnel list, including MIA, KIA, WIA, payrolls, who was where, what was where etc. The only thing I ever did with a remote chance of anything serious happening was stand at the gate during the Okinawan riots. Well, being out on the town the night when it started and being completely out of it while they tipped over cars etc, may have been more hazardous, but we just went inside and stayed there. But, even when rioting most of the Ryukyuans were polite.

I went in in Jan of 69 and turned 18 in boot camp. Got orders in August of 70 went to staging in Sept/ Oct and when I got to Hansen they held me back and sent me TAD to McT. I will turn 73 in August.

The game you least like to play...........

Attached Images

Tunnel Rat.jpeg (176.6 KB, 40 views)

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I joined at 17 in March of 1969 and was sent WestPac in June of 70. I did staging in May of 70 at Camp Pendleton. I passed through Hanson/Butler before being sent to Japan. In Japan I requested a split tour and spent six month in Japan and six in RVN. Rotated home and decided I liked it overseas better, so requested another tour WestPac. Again spent six months in Japan and six in SEA. We flew missions out of Thailand and Da Nang. I will be 73 in December.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Of all the things that I remember of my Military days, the one thing that I will never forget,
was meeting our Boot Camp company DI, whos name was

Sgt Strange !!

Oh the hurt, he could put on you, Mercy.

No one forgets their Senior DI, and even the assistants remain in my mind!

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

My great-great grandfather enlisted in the Union Army at age 14 and served for the entire Civil War. He re-enlisted at 16 and got veterans reenlistment bonus. I guess they didn't ask too many questions back then.

According to family history and the family Bible, we lost a set of twins at Gettysburg. They were age 14.

__________________
USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.