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Started By
Message
Memorial Day is NOT just a day for partying....at least for me.
Posted on 5/24/20 at 10:27 pm
Posted on 5/24/20 at 10:27 pm
Fiftytwo years ago I was a member of a group of highly trained, naive, young men who graduated from MCRD Parris Island, also known as US Marine Corps Plt # 254. Vietnam was in our future. Today I still remember the names of 12 brothers-in-arms who never returned with the rest of us in 1969.
I still remember their faces, where they came from, and the back stories that led them to become US Marines. These thoughts will never leave me. I still grieve for these fine young men to this day.
Tomorrow I will celebrate their lives and the times we had together. Tomorrow I will also pay tribute to all who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great country!!!! I hope you will do the same. Oorah!
I still remember their faces, where they came from, and the back stories that led them to become US Marines. These thoughts will never leave me. I still grieve for these fine young men to this day.
Tomorrow I will celebrate their lives and the times we had together. Tomorrow I will also pay tribute to all who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great country!!!! I hope you will do the same. Oorah!
This post was edited on 5/24/20 at 10:29 pm
13
Posted on 5/24/20 at 10:29 pm to TigerMikeAtl
Posted on 5/24/20 at 10:30 pm to TigerMikeAtl
Those guys are the true heroes. And thank you for your service.
Posted on 5/24/20 at 10:30 pm to TigerMikeAtl
quote:
Tomorrow I will celebrate their lives and the times we had together
You will NOT be Alone Brother!
Posted on 5/24/20 at 10:50 pm to TigerMikeAtl
PFC Gerald LeBlanc
My father's first cousin. We had a conversation just 2 weeks ago about his death and the impact it had on our family. He had never really talked about it until then.
My father's first cousin. We had a conversation just 2 weeks ago about his death and the impact it had on our family. He had never really talked about it until then.
Posted on 5/24/20 at 10:58 pm to TigerMikeAtl
memorial day is and always should be a somber day
Posted on 5/24/20 at 10:59 pm to TigerMikeAtl
Where were you in Vietnam? I’m assuming you were either in the 1st or 3rd MAR DIV. I guess your platoon number is the one you had for basic. I think we may have been in the same AO in 1969. I was Army Infantry in northern Quang Tri province.
Posted on 5/24/20 at 11:01 pm to Woobie
My 36 year old cousin's father was in the Air Force. He said he wanted to as a teenager but was too scared to actually do it. He started getting the urge to go join. He'd have to quit his job and the recruiter said he had to lose 70lbs. He just finished boot camp at 36 last week because he wanted to carry on that family tradition of serving. Pretty freaking amazing. The recruiter was shocked when he showed up months later shredded.
Posted on 5/24/20 at 11:17 pm to TigerMikeAtl
12 is a tragically high number to not make it home alive. I'm sad to hear this.
Were you 0311? If so, what can you tell us about your infantry tactics training before you shipped out to Vietnam?
Were you 0311? If so, what can you tell us about your infantry tactics training before you shipped out to Vietnam?
Posted on 5/24/20 at 11:22 pm to beachdude
3rd Marines. Yes, I was there. Caught the end clean up
at Khe Sanh then moved up and down Route 9 past the Rockpile and back.
at Khe Sanh then moved up and down Route 9 past the Rockpile and back.
Posted on 5/24/20 at 11:29 pm to Champagne
Yes. 0311... All tactics pretty much ended going out the window when we went in country. Too many restrictions to really allow us to fight as we were trained. Politicians back home too worried about the optics if we were allowed to fight as Maines.
Posted on 5/24/20 at 11:39 pm to TigerMikeAtl
quote:
Yes. 0311... All tactics pretty much ended going out the window when we went in country. Too many restrictions to really allow us to fight as we were trained. Politicians back home too worried about the optics if we were allowed to fight as Maines.
I'm just trying to get an idea of what kind of infantry tactics training the USMC recruits received before they shipped out. I'm interested in this kind of history.
Did they train you in infantry tactics? Fire team reaction to fire? Squad? Platoon? How to react to an L shaped ambush?
You used the phrase "out the window". Does this mean that your training on infantry tactics was useless in Vietnam?
I have had a life-long interest in infantry tactics and how we train our folks in infantry tactics. That's why I'm asking. It's rare to have the opportunity to hear from a Vietnam combat USMC 0311 veteran on this issue.
One thing comes to mind for the Marines and any other US infantry fighting from a Fire Base fortification. Sure, I can see how training in infantry tactics wouldn't directly apply to fighting in defensive siegeworks. If a Marine spent most of his tour defending a firebase, the only mobile infantry tactics he'd use would be on patrol. I'm sure all the firebases did security recon patrols.
Thanks very much.
This post was edited on 5/24/20 at 11:44 pm
Posted on 5/24/20 at 11:55 pm to RobNation
quote:
My father's first cousin. We had a conversation just 2 weeks ago about his death and the impact it had on our family. He had never really talked about it until then.
Blue is good people
Posted on 5/24/20 at 11:57 pm to TigerMikeAtl
(no message)
Posted on 5/25/20 at 9:03 am to Champagne
I've heard that USMC basic recruit training during the Vietnam era contained no infantry tactics training. It was all close-order-drill on pavement, firing range, road marches, obstacle courses, pugil stick fighting, bayonet training and harassment designed to mentally provoke and break-down the recruits.
Is that true? If it's true even to some extent, I wonder why our military system would send ill-trained infantry battalions into fierce infantry combat against a very well-trained and battle-tested enemy light infantry force. Thank God that the USA learned from that mistake.
Is that true? If it's true even to some extent, I wonder why our military system would send ill-trained infantry battalions into fierce infantry combat against a very well-trained and battle-tested enemy light infantry force. Thank God that the USA learned from that mistake.
This post was edited on 5/25/20 at 9:05 am
Posted on 5/25/20 at 9:35 am to TigerMikeAtl
You and your friends are what this day is all about! You can bet that my wife and I, as well as my two boys, will day a prayer on veterans behalf. My kids understand the meaning of this day and are aware of the tremendous sacrifice of our beloved service men and women. May God bless you all and give you peace and comfort in your remaining years. You have most certainly earned every minute of it sir!
Posted on 5/25/20 at 11:06 am to TigerMikeAtl
We don't get off on Memorial Day so no partying over here.
Posted on 5/25/20 at 11:07 am to TigerMikeAtl
Posted on 5/25/20 at 11:16 am to Champagne
quote:
I've heard that USMC basic recruit training during the Vietnam era contained no infantry tactics training. It was all close-order-drill on pavement, firing range, road marches, obstacle courses, pugil stick fighting, bayonet training and harassment designed to mentally provoke and break-down the recruits.
Depends on how you look at it. From PI we went to Camp Geiger for the Marine School of Infantry (SOI) and Marine Combat Training (MCT). This usually last about 59 days, however we were rushed through and finished early due to the demand for Marines in Vietnam. That's where we received our advanced training.
This post was edited on 5/25/20 at 11:45 am
Posted on 5/25/20 at 11:18 am to cajunangelle
We must never forget our fallen heroes ..... respect to all that have served ...
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