Military

[Varmit]

Army gets a 48 hour pass to get drunk and visit Red Light districts.

Damn Skippy HOOAH!

[larryJ]

Can't wait to hear the fraggin story. 

None of the places I visited for those two years were anywhere close to an ocean.  I had to come home on leave to see that. 

As far as the smog--------------------If you can't see it, it ain't worth breathing.

I spent ten weeks at a medical school with army and marines and I can tell you, most assuredly, that the Marines did visit the Chaplain (he needed a ride to the red light district), they did write their moms asking for more beer money (I mean, donations for the church), and I never met any of them who could out drink me.

My body may be going, but the old brain is still working on all cylinders especially if you remember I am a member of this forum!

This is how it works----------The marines go in and make a hole.  The army comes in behind and fills the hole with decent living arrangements, PX's, and somewhat decent bars for the marines to relax in.  The marines then leave town and the army cleans up the mess they left behind. 

I have even met marines who could not tell me what "Semper fi" meant.

Always faithful

Larryj

[jarhead]

Larry,
If a Marine don't know what Semper Fi means, then he must have be drunk'n a waltzing piss ant
You sound like Sarge's granddad, my great uncle. He was an old WW-I vet. He always said the army went to battle and kicked arse--then the Marines came in to get their picture taken--after the battle.
   The "fragging " aint much of a story.  We only had one fragging that I know of and it was in our sister company. It was a racial thing. A Bro thought a white Lt. was "mean to him" so he threw a frag in a tent. Trouble was he threw the frag in the wrong tent. Killed a couple guys and wounded several more. We were having what we called "stack Arms"., kinda like in in country R&R at Cau Viet Beach on the China sea. Teresa would have loved being there. No one had swimming trunks so a couple hundred ,lean, mean, fighting shape Marines----and all naked !!
Second night there was a typhoon hit and the huge tent I was in blew down. We were trying to get out from under a ton of wet canvass when that dude threw the grenade in the tent beside us. We shot out from under that downed tent like we were greased pigs. I bet we looked like a bunch of super moles burrowing around.
My brother Steve was down near Da Nang at Red Beach. They had a fragging one night while a USO show was going onl. It was also a racial fragging. Three Bro's threw 3 grenades over a fence into the crowd but some REMF put electrical tape around a frag to keep the spoon in place, and two out of the 3 frags did not go off because they didn't remove the tape. It killed one guy and it seems like there were 60 -70 guys wounded---which seemed like alot for just one M-26 grenade but I googled it once and read about it. have to go look it up again because if I remember right they caught the 3 guys but none  ever served any time for the deed.

[sixdogsmom]

When you guys get ready to sell some of this stuff, let me know as I need a load to put on the garden spot next spring!   

[jarhead]

SIXDOG, I guess I miss your point.
Larry, I meant to ask you---do medics and Navy Corpsmen go to the same med school , and I mean back in our days. I'm not postive but seems like one of our Corpsmen I'm in contact with, said he went to school at Balboa . Aint that out your way ?
Did you stay in some medical field after the Army ? Both my Doc's had all of it they wanted. Dobt many people know it but Dr. James McDermott that runs the Moline clinic was a Navy corpsman in Nam. My hat is off to all medics /corpsmen.

[larryJ]

No, there are several medic training sites.  It was the time (1966 and on) that the services were using any and every facility they could find.  The Navy pretty much stayed to themselves as far as training, as well as the marines.  But, some marines were sent to army facilities to be trained.  Nam was really heating up and they needed medics as fast as they could get them out there. 

SDM------------I am shocked at your statement.  Referring to our memories and war stories as so much doo-doo is hurtful and a slap in the face to those of us who experienced these events.  These things actually did happen and are very real in our memories.  There were those who did die and those who were injured. 

Now, would you prefer your shipment in the 20 Lb. or the large economy 50 Lb. colorful recyclable plastic bag? 



jarhead, no, I didn't want anything to do with the medical profession after the service.  I didn't enjoy being a medic and knew it wasn't for me when I got out.  I do have a cousin that was also a medic about the same time as I.  He went on to medical school and became a doctor and remains so today.

Larryj

[Mom70x7]

An Op-Ed article from The New  York Times, on saluting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/opinion/01winfrey.html?th&emc=th

[larryJ]

Agian, I think it is a matter of opinion or how one feels about saluting.  I was told at one time that agrees with this article, that saluting is only done under cover (hat) and outside.  But, as I said, different places had their own rules.

My wife and I were in Hawaii on vaction one time and there was a big parade going on.  Several sailors were in the crowd dressed in civvies.  When the flag approached, they stood and gave a hand to the brow salute.  I thought at the time they were just being overly patriotic.  But, I approached them and asked why they did the hand salute.  They told me they were in the Navy and always saluted the flag that way. 

Then there was that look.  You know, well, veterans know----------the look that says--------------

I will defend you to the very death.

Larryj

[flintauqua]

I have an honest question, please read no politics into it.

The military has a civilian CIC, the President.  Where does the Sec't of Defense fall as it relates to saluting?  Some say the Sec't is between the President and the Joint Chiefs, others say on par with the Joint Chiefs.

Your veteran thoughts, please.

Charles

[Sarge]

Ah yes, war stories.  I was a dog handler in Vietnam '67-'68.  On one dark night during the TET offensive of '68, I was on partol with my dog Shep. We were searching an area called "The Ridge" which was a tall ridge that went down into a swamp. As we made our way to the bottom of the ridge into the swamp, Shep went on alert. His head was high and his ears were standing up forward. I knew it was a human alert; if it was an animal alert his nose would've been on the ground. I followed Shep's lead and as we slowly moved forward he became increasingly nervous and was pulling hard on the leash. I had to lean backwards to keep him from pulling me off balance. I could see his muscles bulging and straining against the resistance of the leash I held tightly in my hand. He wanted to go faster, but I knew caution was absolutely necessary. Then, he slowed and became rigid, his head high, nose sniffing.  And from the depths of his chest I heard a low rumble, almost undesernable. The hair on the back of my neck raised like the hackles on Shep. My eyes tried to pierce the darkness to see some sign of movement or a silouette, something, anything, but it was useless. We both stood like marble statues in the pitch dark, fear wrapped around me like a blanket. I wanted to be someplace else, someplace safe, comfortable, someplace where I could feel secure, but that wasn't going to happen. I very slowly got my radio, keyed the transmitter and very softly whispered into the mic that I had a strong human alert in the swamp below "The Ridge".  I then put the radio receiver to my ear with the volume turned very low. I could hear the person at security control say that they were having a mortar battery fire a flare over the area. My heart sank and my blood ran cold, before I could say anything I heard the whistling of the mortar round in the darkness above me.  The flare ignited, speading a white glare over the area and there 20 feet in front of me was a zapper squad consisting of 6 Viet Cong, each carrying a satchel charge and armed with AK 47 rifles.