Machine gun rounds start fire

[Jo McDonald]

Oh My Gosh --- I have enjoyed reading all of these post.
  Janet.....I'm so glad you asked the question that got these great guy's memories charged up.

  Our country is indebted to all the military personnel since our country was born.

  THANKS TO ALL OF YOU !!

[Jane]

I pulled up Rachaels picture's while she was in Iraq and they could shoot anywhere  for miles and not hit anything but sand.

[doobie]

Hey Jar; I thought I read somewhere that R. Lee was from Kansas, any truth? (Yeah, I can read a little bit)

[jarhead]

Aw Waldo, I pity you if R. Lee Ermey ever finds out you referred to him as a drill Sgt.  R.Lee will do a tap dance on your head. Army has drill sgt's--the Corps has drill instructors. Before I'm done I'm gonna have you and ol Larry straightened out. Aint nothing I can do for ol Sarge, Patriot and WARPH---them Fly Boys dance to a different drummer.
Think I read somewhere that Ermey was also recovering from a car wreck and was kinda banged up when they filmed FMJ. I know he was injured in Nam and medically retired as a S/Sgt. Did you know he was born and spent a few years of his young life in Emporia? He was in Emporia a few years back for a Veterans deal. He's quite a guy.
Now Larry I have a friend that served in Nam in 68 with the 101'st and he don't call them the Screaming Eagles but calls them the Puking Buzzards. He calls them that but won't allow me to. Not positive but I think it was Operation Virginia Ridge that we did with the Screaming Eagles. I know we were told we would be a blocking force---which I thought the Puk---I mean Screaming Eagles were gonna drive the NVA out of the A Shau valley and we would be blocking their escape route-WRONG !!! All we did was hump, hump hump and hump some more. No wonder I never reached 6 ft 3 in like both my brothers cause I wore my legs down to a nub humping them damn mountains/hills. Oh yea, never did see any Screeching Eagles but did stumble across a couple nice bunker complexes----where Mr. Charles invited me in to share a bowl of rice and share a big fat doobie for dessert. Yea life was good back then-------OK, that part is another big fat lie.

[jarhead]

Whoops---missed your post doobie---but just answered it

[W. Gray]

Jarhead,

Yes, I knew he was born in Emporia: in 1944. His first name is Ronald, which I guess he does not like. He attended the University of Manila, but I dont know whether he graduated. That was his connection to getting a role in Apocalypse Now, which was filmed with the cooperation of the Philippines Army.

There are some scenes in the movie Full Metal Jacket where he does not move his left side because of the automobile accident.

I looked up his screen bio and he has over 60 credits for motion pictures, TV dramas, and his stint on the two History Channel series.

He had something to do with a Spongebob Squarepants movie.

Surprisingly, he spent only 11 years in the Marine Corps and was medically retired. Believe it or not he was an E-6 when he was retired but was promoted after retirement to E-7. He is the first man in the history of the Marine Corps to be promoted after retirement, but I think it was only honorary with no pay increase.

[jarhead]

Waldo,
The Leatherneck magazine had an article about when the Corps made Ermey an "honorary gunny". I think it was when he was doing his Mail Call history channel show. They said he was the best recruiting tool the Marines had at that time. Think a bunker caved in on him in Nam that caused his injuries, but not positive about that. Watched a you tube thing once of all the bloopers in FMJ-----and there was a bunch.
I think Platoon was filmed in the Philippines too---but again not positive

[Janet Harrington]

Jo, I'm glad I asked that question, too. And when I asked it, I thought, how dumb are people going to thiink I am. I have never laughed as much at jarhead's post as I have on this thread.

When I get a minute, I'll think of something else dumb to ask. LOL

[Janet Harrington]

All that information on Ermey has been fantastic. I love him in Full Metal Jacket and have enjoyed wathcing him on that other stuff. I really love him on that one commericial where he throws the tissues at the psych patient.

[W. Gray]

I wanted to say, above, that R. Lee Ermey besides being the only person in the history of the Marine Corps to be promoted after retirement may have been the only person in the history of the military to be promoted after retirement.

However, that is not the case. Both George Washington and Black Jack Pershing were promoted after retirement to 6-star general rank, i.e. General of the Armies so that the 5-star General of the Army men such as Eisenhower, Bradley, etc. would not outrank both of them. George was given a date of rank back to the late 1700s, I think, so that he would out rank everyone.

The insignia for a 6-star general was designed on the drafting board as a single star within a circle of five stars but the design has never been placed into practice.