Trash Barrels

[srkruzich]

Quote from Steve
Dang jarhead 3309 feet is no hill its a small mountain!  Brasstown bald is almost 4500 feet in ga and is considered the highest point in georgia.  Takes 2 1/2 hours to climb it

Yea Steve, was that with 75-100 lbs of gear you're carrying PLUS hacking part of the way with a machete thru vines and crap PLUS walking most of it on a ridge that was like walking on a knife blade AND not to forget the 2-3 walking wounded
and one WIA being carried because them sneaky little sum bitches decide to lob a few mortar rounds down on us the 1st day of the hump. Kinda changes things don't it?
Hell if  it had just been  me I would have dumped all my gear and RAN up that SOB in 2 hours just so I could hide in a bunker !! 

Its amazing how we do not perceive the size of the terrain there by the military calling them hills.  I knew there were some sizable mountains but didn't know that the hills they talked about were mountains. 
Had a buddy that was there who talked about crawling up one of them there hills over downed trees and burnt vegitation to get up to them sum bitchs.  i understand that it is a beautiful country as far as scenery goes. 

[jarhead]

Steve,
It makes no sense to me why 1103 was called a hill when  a stones throw to the south- east was Tiger Tooth" Mountain", 1739 meters high. Marines did go up Tiger Tooth a few times  but not me---I would have said "not only no--but hell no". At that heights I get a bloody nose !!
I imagine Nam is a pretty country but I would hate to cut firewood there. Pieces of shrapnel the size of plow shears imbedded in the trees and a metal detectors nightmare with all the metal  laying around (unless by now it's all rusted away )
I would love to go to Nam today but the places I would want to go to, I doubt even a dirt bike could get me there---and this bum knee is the ONLY reason I can't hump to them places--Hack--cough--pant--wheeze !!

[Janet Harrington]

jarhead, I would have loved to have seen that run back down the hill. I didn't know much about that war. What exposure I got was when I went to college right out of high school and I remember how many vets were in school and how bitter they were about that war.

I have to say, Thank you, Lord, for getting jarhead back to Kansas in one piece, so that he can relate stories to those of us who were not there, especially when he paints a picture of him running down a mountain to help his fellow soldiers. Thank you, jarhead, for your service.

[jarhead]

Janet,
That's strange that vets you knew in college were bitter about Nam. All my buddies I served with are all proud to have served and say they wouldn't have missed it for the world. I think a lot of the bitterness was whether you joined or got drafted. Most don't know it but the Marine Corps also drafted during Nam time. You know one, J.C, a rancher from Busby. J.C. was at KC getting drafted thinking he was bound for Ft Leonard Wood when a Marine recruiter walks in and says"you, you, you and you,come with me" J.C. said it was kind of a shock but glad it turned out that way. Guess it was his punishment for being short haired and clean cut.
Whoa there, I didn't run down no mountain to help anyone. They MADE me do it !!! 
Uh, don't want to sound nit picky but Army is soldiers--Marines are called----we will just let ol Sarge finish that one---and then I will punch him in the eye---again !!
Steve, I wrote my ol platoon commander and asked him why we called the mountains, hills. He said it was because if he had said 'we are going to take "mountain" 484 on Mutters Ridge that he knew I would be going to the Corpsman begging him to send me to the rear for an in-grown toe nail or jungle rot or something. but when he says"boys were are gonna be taking "hill " 484 tomorrow my reasoning would be" just a hill--not a problem" . Maybe that's why he was an officer and I was a lowly peon.

[Patriot]

... I was a lowly peon.

Was?  Oh, sorry Jar, I was typin out loud again.  <snicker>

[jarhead]

Don't press your luck there Fly-Boy

[Patriot]

Don't press your luck there Fly-Boy

LOL

You either Buster Brownshoe... I buy keyboard ink by the barrel!  

[W. Gray]

I posted this in early 2008 concerning the draft during Vietnam. This event occurred after about 195 men had reported to the Kansas City Induction Station at 7:00 am that morning. Five of these men were enlistees and knew they were going into the army. The rest were draftees and had no idea which branch of the armed forces they would be serving.

About 6:30 pm, an Army master sergeant walked in and blew a whistle. He shouted for all draftees to line up in four lines. Many of the draftees were eager to do something after a long essentially boring day consisting primarily of waiting, so most promptly complied.

After all were lined up, the master sergeant started down one line counting. When he got to the 17th man, he told that group to move to another room. As they departed, he shouted, "You men are in the Marines Corps!" Most did not like what had just happened and one or two started to argue--but to no avail.

The master sergeant counted the next batch and said, "You men are in the Navy." After the next batch, he said, "You men are in the Air Force." Then he advised that everyone left was in the Army.

[larryJ]

I was drafted in Denver.  During the orientation and oath taking (and giving), we were asked to volunteer for the mar....Marines.  Nobody did.

As far as bitterness, it was a combination of bitterness toward our government for running a bad war, bitterness because when the troops returned, they were cussed at, spit on and generally insulted being called baby killers...........bitterness toward a country that drafted them away from their families.  Had Johnson quit the politics and ran the war like it was supposed to be run, it would have been different.

IMHO

Larryj

[doobie]

I was eligible for the draft in dec of '72.  I therefore took part in the govt sponsored lottery (# 233 ) drew a big sigh of relief!! I was enrolled at Emporia State at the time, and had made plans to join up if my lottery went bad. I had a few friends that pulled really low numbers.  I don't recall what was a "safe number" Do you remember ballpark what was considered a  safe number Jarhead? I do know any friends of mine that went I had nothing but complete and total respect for their service and still feel that way today.  18 years old, plucked from elk co. to there..........................one helluva change in scenery for sure.....