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A Little HumanityAt Vietnam’s Hill 110

LeatherneckMAGAZINE OF THE MARINES

JAN

UA

RY

20

12

www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck

SMEDLEY D.

BUTLERDid He SaveAmerica FromA Coup D’etat?

Leatherneck—On the WebFor more News, Photos and Video, see our

Website at www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck

Exercise Dawn Blitz:

Yes, We AreAmphibious!

Flag Flap:One of the

“10 StrangestWorld Series

Moments”

http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck


Digital Edition

Welcome to

Leatherneck Magazine’s

Our digital edition brings you more of the Marine Corps story with custom links to related articles and images from our Leatherneck and Marine Corps Gazette archives as well as multimedia content such as photo slideshows and videos.

11 An Open Letter From the President and CEO of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation By MajGen Ed Usher, USMC (Ret)

12 The War on Terror Edited by R. R. KeeneLeathernecks kick off Operation Tofan Sharq (Eastern Storm) to drive the Taliban out of the Upper Sangin Valley.

18 Marine Aviation Centennial: Marine Helicopter Operations in Korea—The Early DaysBy Warren E. ThompsonMarine Observation Squadron 6 quickly deployed to Korea in 1950 to make a significant combat contribution during the three-year war.

26 Exercise Dawn Blitz: A New Approach to an Old Theme By Ed VasgerdsianA West Coast Marine brigade-size amphibious exercise provides seasoning for younger leatherneck salts.

32 Vietnam: A Time to Heal—Then and NowBy Mike HoeferlinVietnam veterans of “Mike,” 3/5 from 1967 pull together once again, this time to aid a disfigured Vietnamese child.

36 The Marine Who Saved the Republic, or Did He? By Dennis R. CarpenterMajGen Smedley D. Butler, a hard-nosed hero in combat, may have made his most significant contribution to America during retirement.

46 The World Series of 1992: How a Miscue by a Marine Corps Color Guard Triggered an International Incident By Col John M. Shotwell, USMC (Ret)Rapid response softened impacts of a Marine color guard carrying Canada’s flag upside down.

48 Joining the Marines: The Beginning of a Lifelong Adventure By David H. HugelThis introduces a three-part series describing the impact of the Corps on one individual.

55 Provisional Rifle Platoons Mean More “Boots on the Ground” By Capt George HierroHeadquarters and Service Company, 2/1 leathernecks “train up” at Yuma’s Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course prior to combat deployment.

ContentsLEATHERNECK—MAGAZINE OF THE MARINES

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 2 , V O L . X C V , N o . 1

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

2 Sound Off

24 Leatherneck Laffs

42 We—the Marines

45 Crazy Caption

52 In the Highest Tradition

58 Leatherneck Line

60 In Memoriam

62 Books Reviewed

70 Mail Call

72 Gyrene Gyngles

COVER: John Chalk, a Leatherneck staffer in the 1950s, created the sculpture of MajGen Smedley D. Butler in 1995 after extensive research and visiting with MajGen Butler’s son, Thomas Butler, at his home in West Chester, Pa. Copies of the cover may be obtained by sending $2 (for mailing costs) to Leatherneck Magazine, P.O. Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134-0775.

263212

Delivering more scoop on the Internet. Look for this indication that additional content found online in our digital

edition is available to subscribers and MCA members.

Leatherneck—On the Web

Letter of the Month(Leatherneck will pay $25 for the Sound

Off Letter of the Month.)In October 2011, while visiting my sister,

I had the occasion to go with her to the doctor. In the waiting room was a copy of Leatherneck. As I read the articles and stories, I was reminded again of the heritage we Americans have in our armed forces as exemplified by the U.S. Marine Corps. As barbaric as war is, there is no other country in the world that fields a military which strives to maintain the personal moral integrity, honor and valor within its ranks. The torch is faithfully handed down to the next generation. It seems to me that the Marines do not just go into harm’s way, they lead the way in.

A few years ago I was given a copy of “Flags of Our Fathers” by James Bradley with Ron Powers. The battlefield valor and courage displayed by those Marines and their Navy corpsman was riveting. How did they do it?

My dad flew B24 Liberators in Europe. Although not a Marine, I’m sure he was cut from the same cloth. I hope that I have followed in my dad’s footsteps and that I have also developed the moral integrity, honor and valor exemplified by the Marines.

As a beneficiary of the sacrifices of the armed forces, I am sincerely indebted to the young men and women who are exposed daily to the ravages of warfare. I pray for the families of those who are in harm’s way.

I very much enjoyed the magazine; it was excellent. I will not cease praying for you and giving thanks to God for the Marines.

Gary McQuaid

San Antonio

How To Wear the Medal of HonorI have a question about the cover pic ture

of Sergeant Dakota Meyer on the November 2011 issue. Hopefully, I’m one of hundreds, maybe thousands, of Marines who want to know where the ribbon that goes around the neck for the Medal of Honor is.

Was it purposely left out so the eagle, globe and anchor is visible? If so, I question why. Our dress blue uniform leaves no

doubt about which service we are. Also, the title, Leatherneck: Magazine of the Marines, is also a good indicator of which service the cover photo represents. The Medal of Honor looks like it is a “clip on.” For this Marine, the missing ribbon is a serious error.

CWO-3 Patrick “Rick” Leach, USMC (Ret)

Bristol, Conn.

On the cover of the November 2011 issue is the photo of Medal of Honor winner Sergeant Dakota L. Meyer. The Medal of Honor is placed on his blouse near the throat area. It should be attached to a circular ribbon around his neck as shown in the photo on page 54.

The cover photo without the ribbon makes the medal incomplete and unacceptable. Why would Leatherneck photograph him in this way?

James H. Byrne Jr.

USMC, 1955-58

San Ramon, Calif.

• We only received letters from you two. Perhaps that’s because you didn’t do your research? Marine Corps Uniform Regulations, Chapter Five, Paragraph 5202: “WEARING LARGE MEDALS” (see illustration above) states: “Medal of Honor. On the officer’s evening dress and all other dress ‘A’ uniforms, the Medal of Honor will be worn around the neck with the ribbon under the coat or jacket collar. The medallion will emerge at the opening between the collar hook and the top button of the coat or jacket, and hang 1 inch below the bottom edge of the col-lar. On the SNCO evening dress uniform,

the Medal of Honor will be worn around the neck with the ribbon under the jacket collar. The medallion will hang 1 inch below the men’s bow tie.”

Also, the photograph was taken by an official photographer during Sgt Meyer’s induction into the Pentagon’s Hall of He-roes. Keep in mind that the photographer’s angle was upward.—Sound Off Ed.

Ye Ole Corps LingoKudos to Leatherneck and Robert

Hall and Dave Rydberg for the article in November 2011, “Old Corps Marines.”

I guess I qualify as an Old Corps Marine as I joined the Corps in 1949, and the terminology was sure different than what I read in Leatherneck and hear from young Marines. I found out just how Old Corps I was when I visited Camp Pendleton, Calif., for a First Marine Division Association function.

After a tour given by a sharp young sergeant, I offered to buy him a beer at the Slop Chute. He looked at me with a puzzled look and after a few minutes, he smiled and said, “You mean the ‘club’?” This started a lengthy conversation where he taught me the new terminology and I taught him the Old Corps lingo.

He was surprised that I did not experience the yellow footprints, but rather the DI’s “boondocker” (another unfamiliar term to him) and that we did not have a “Guidebook for Marines” or that I thought the M1 was the best rifle. He countered with the M16. I, of course, never ever saw one, so I could not disagree.

There were some areas of agreement. He said the mess hall is still called the “mess hall,” although technically a dining facility, and some new Marines have been known to “borrow” equipment from the Army or Air Force.

The experience was a great one; we have become friends. I recently received an email in which he informed me he had “shipped over” and had been promoted to staff sergeant, and the new Marines now refer to him as “Old Corps.”

SSgt Joe McKeown

USMC, 1949-52

Rio Vista, Calif.

Have a question or feel like sounding off? Address your letter to: Sound Off Editor, Leatherneck Magazine, P.O. Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134, or send an e-mail

to: [email protected]. Due to the heavy volume, we cannot answer every letter received. Do not send original photographs, as we cannot guarantee their

return. All letters must be signed, and e-mails must contain complete names and postal mailing addresses. Anonymous letters will not be published.—Sound Off Ed.

Sound OffEdited by R. R. Keene

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

R E U N I O N S & A S S I S T A N C E

Insignia Branch of Service

PresidentialUnit Citation

Medal of Honor

Blue Dress Coat(Male)

Insignia Grade

Large Medals

2 LEATHERNECK JANUARY 2012 www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck

mailto:[email protected]


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The article “Old Corps Marines” in November’s issue caught my eye. I wish there were more articles about the Old Corps, since I consider myself to be part of that group.

I was sworn in at Parris Island, S.C., on my 17th birthday, Sept. 22, 1941. Parris Island was a very quiet place in those days (before Pearl Harbor). We had to wait a week or so until enough recruits drifted in to form a double platoon. Our platoon was number 148. We trained throughout with sister platoon 149. Our platoon was under the watchful eye of Sergeant Harrison, a true gentleman from South Carolina and a salty veteran of the Nicaraguan wars. Our drill instructor was a very unpopular Corporal Hoey, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y.

The DIs all carried swagger sticks in those days and used them frequently on the recruits’ pith helmets, when a little discipline was in order. Pith helmets were the order of the day. In fact, we were allowed to wear them into the 1945era when stationed at a desert base.

We were one of the last platoons at Parris Island to wear onepiece fatigues. The interesting part is that the quartermaster had only one size left in the inventory at that time—large. I am 6 feet 2 inches tall, so I had no problem with this. However, we had a bunch of recruits who were in the minimum height bracket of 5 feet 6 inches tall. We called them feather merchants, and they struggled when they tried to march or run and keep up with us taller guys at the head of each squad. It was almost comical.

I look forward to more stories of the Old Corps in the future. There may be only a few left to tell these stories, but I’m sure all future Marines are interested in “what it was like in those days.”

I was a regular and did serve four plus years, including 18 months in the South Pacific area in 194244, all in Marine Corps aviation.

SSgt Walt Augustyniak

USMC, 1941-45

Barnegat, N.J.

The “Old Corps” article brought back a few memories. To me and the few of us left, the Old Corps existed before World War II. I graduated from high school in 1940 and, due to the scarcity of jobs, enlisted for four years.

Promotions in the Corps were few and far between. As a rule, you made private first class during the first cruise and shipped over for corporal. When you made corporal or higher, your name was published in Leatherneck. Usually, all the promotions for the month were on one page. The Commandant was only a threestar general. In the November 2011 “Sen

ior Leaders of Our Corps 2012” Leather

neck supplement, I counted 109 generals.After Pearl Harbor the Corps grew at a

fantastic rate, and not always with good results. In the Old Corps, you could throw your wallet on your bunk, take a shower, and it was still there and intact when you returned.

When my fouryear enlistment was up, I was informed that there was no ship available going back to the States and I was “retained in service for the convenience of the government.”

Among my proudest possessions are the Iceland Polar Bear patches, American Campaign Ribbon with bar for Iceland and my Combat Action Ribbon. I am pushing 90 and realize there are few of us left. At our Marine Corps League meetings, we are down to seven World War II vets and I am the only prewar Marine.

James Flowers

USMC, 1940-45

Southport, N.C.

Kudos to Robert Hall and Dave Rydberg

for the great article [“Old Corps Marines”] in the November issue.

Having volunteered for the Corps 60 years ago, I am pretty sure I qualify as an “Old Corps” Marine, and it changed my life forever!

I completed two enlistments, but I can’t give up the old Marine slang. It is still the “head,” “ladder,” “bulkhead,” etc., but that’s not all. I still think I would jump at the chance to be an 18yearold private first class wearing the eagle, globe and anchor. Being a Marine never leaves you. You have a tendency to look at the world through a gunnery sergeant’s eyes.

The Corps is directly responsible for all my successes in civilian life, as it taught me honor, responsibility and standing up for this Republic, which I love more than life.

John H. “Moose” Creighton

Tucson, Ariz.

• What all of us wouldn’t give to be PFCs again.

The late Marine and author William Manchester once wrote: “Nevertheless there was an old Corps. It existed and is definable. … He [the Old Corps Marine] bowed out in late 1941, when the First Marine Division landed in North Carolina after Caribbean maneuvers and was herded into 1,000 chigger-infested tents. The months bracketing that encampment saw the shelving of squad drill and the campaign hat, together with the iron kelly—the World War I steel helmet—the square field scarf, highquarter dress shoes, and the ’03 Springfield rifle. The whistle was blown on foreign enlistments; and expansion began in which the old-



President/CEO, Marine Corps Association & Foundation

MajGen Edward G. Usher III, USMC (Ret) Publisher/Executive Editor

Col Walter G. Ford, USMC (Ret) Deputy Editor

Nancy Lee White Hoffman Associate Editor

MGySgt Renaldo R. Keene, USMC (Ret) Staff Writer

Clare A. Guerrero Copy Editor

Nancy S. Lichtman Editorial/Production Coordinator

Patricia Everett Art Director

Jason Monroe Web Content Editor

Margot Cornelius Asst. Web Content Editor

Michael Langston Jr. Advertising Director

G. Scott Dinkel (718) 715-1361

Advertising Representative

Richard Guillopo (718) 576-1286

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1 year $35; 2 years $64; 3 years $89 Leatherneck also is available in digital format at www.mca-marines .org/leatherneck.

All overseas and foreign addresses add $16 postage for each year’s membership except APO and FPO military addresses. Periodicals postage paid at Quantico, Va., USPS #308-080, and additional mailing offices.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please send your new address six weeks before the date of issue with which it is to take effect, if possible. In-clude old address with new, enclosing your address label if conve-nient. Mail to: Leatherneck Magazine, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:Leatherneck Magazine, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134.

Leatherneck (ISSN 0023-981X) is published monthly by the Ma-rine Corps Association & Foundation, Bldg. #715, MCB, Quantico, VA 22134. Copy right 2012 by MCA&F.

All rights reserved. Stories, features, pictures and other material from Leath

erneck may be reproduced if they are not restricted by law or military reg-

ulations, provided proper credit is given and specific prior permission has

been granted for each item to be reproduced.

Opinions of authors whose articles appear in Leatherneck do not necessarily

express the attitude of the Navy Department or Headquarters, U.S. Marine

Corps. “Marines” and the Eagle, Globe and Anchor are trademarks of the U.S.

Marine Corps, used with permission. Manuscripts, art or photographs should

be accompanied by self-addressed envelopes and return postage. Query

first on all submissions, except poetry. The publisher assumes no responsi-

bility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, poetry, drawings or photographs.

Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement by MCA&F

ex cept for such products or services clearly offered under MCA&F’s name.

The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising order

at his absolute discretion. www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck







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timers were lost. There were so many promotions that chevron stocks ran low, and new noncoms wore stripes on one sleeve.”—Sound Off Ed.

Remembering Stan WawrzyniakGreat article on the induction of the late

Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Wawrzyniak into the Ranger Hall of Fame [“We—the Marines,” November 2011]. “Ski” was company “gunny” of “Easy” Company, 2d Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment when I reported as a wet-behind-the-ears combat correspondent sergeant in Korea during the winter of 1951.

I remember my first incoming mortar barrage and hunkering about as far down in a bunker as I could. The shelling had hardly stopped when I received this boon-docker in the ribs: “C’mon, Sonny. Time to go write some stories and you can’t do it down there.”

Why he took it upon himself to look out for me I do not know. He was already a near-legend, having won his first Navy Cross before I joined the battalion. He would win another later on.

In the spring (I believe) of 1953, I ran into him on Barnett Avenue at Quantico, Va. I was a staff sergeant on the Infor ma tional Services Office staff, writing base ball and basketball stories. Stan was an of ficer

candidate on his way to a commission.We later hooked up again when I was

at the old 6th Marine Corps District in Atlanta in 1969 and Stan was a lieutenant colonel and Inspector-Instructor in Mo-bile, Ala. He wanted to know if I would be interested in subbing for him for several weeks while he went off to another school. He then remarked that it was during the Mobile Mardi Gras, so I accepted. We had a brief reunion on my arrival, but I never saw him again.

Like the old section in Reader’s Digest, Stan was my most unforgettable character!

Jack T. Paxton

Wildwood, Fla.

Birthday Present for Marine GranddadI am a retired U.S. Marine. I had to tell

Leatherneck how I received the most awe-some U.S. Marine Corps Birthday present.

The evening of Veterans Day in 2011, I received two phone calls. The first was from my great-granddaughter, age 9. She said, “Papa, I went to the Veterans Day parade today. I wore a red, white and blue dress. Why didn’t you wear your Marine uniform and walk in the parade?” I had no response.

The second call was from my great-granddaughter, age 7. When I said, “Hel-lo,” I heard her sing the first verse of “The

Marines’ Hymn.” She knew every word and sang it with heart. I had tears in my eyes and pride in my heart. Again, I had no response.

After a few minutes, I was able to thank them both and tell them how proud I am of them.

Wow! Two beautiful great-granddaugh-ters remembering their great-grandfather, a U.S. Marine on Veterans Day—how wonderful is that!

Capt Albert R. Lary, USMC (Ret)

Kansas City, Mo.

Recon Was Not Deactivated After WW IIThere was a small glitch in Stewart Nus-

baumer’s excellent history, “Force Recon-naissance: The Commander’s Eyes and Ears” in the November 2011 issue. Re con was not deactivated after World War II, as I got the best training of my career with 2d Recon at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Little Creek, Va.; and the Caribbean from No-vember 1946, just after boot camp, until April 1947, when I transferred to Tientsin, China, with 1st Battalion, First Marine Regiment.

As I recall, Recon companies continued in First and Second Marine divisions as well as a Recon platoon on Guam until 1949 with the 1st Provisional Marine Bri-gade. Platoon commanders were tops. My


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platoon sergeant was Harry Manion, who went on to become sergeant major of the 1stMarDiv in Vietnam.

1stLt Bob McEwen, USMC (Ret)

Indian Shores, Fla.

A Question About Oversized Flags Used at Ceremonies and Events

The Flag Code states that the U.S. flag should never be carried flat to the ground, as it should be aloft and free. The military is tasked to follow the Flag Code, so why do they participate in events where the flag is carried flat to the ground?

1stLt Rudy Heyse, USMC (Ret)

Waller, Texas

• Yes, it is contrary to the Flag Code (United States Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, The Flag, Section 176, Respect for flag), which reads as you stated. However, Sec. 178 of the Flag Code states: “Any rule or custom pertaining to the display of the flag of the United States of America, set forth herein, may be altered, modified, or repealed … by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, whenever he deems it to be appropriate or desirable.”

I could not find that a change has been authorized, but do not doubt that such a change would be approved by the Presi-


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dent if brought to his attention, in as much as displaying exceptionally large flags has become rather commonplace and done with patriotic and good intentions.—Sound Off Ed.

Remains Dumped in a Landfill? How Could This Happen?

Recently, it was reported that returning deceased war casualties were cremated and their ashes unceremoniously dumped into a landfill! We are the United States of America where incidents of this nature do not happen—or so we thought.

Who authorized this disgusting treatment of America’s heroes? To serve your country and pay the ultimate sacrifice only to have your remains dumped into a landfill is not what this country is about. This act of total disrespect cannot be tolerated. There has to be accountability and those responsible should be punished.

I am a disabled American veteran of the Vietnam War and totally sickened by this treatment of our fallen heroes. This is Ameri ca, and we are certainly better than this.

Lawrence A. Mould

Port Charlotte, Fla.

• Couldn’t have said it better.—Sound

Off Ed.

Celebrating the Corps’ Birthday On a River in Germany

On a river trip in Germany during November 2010, I noticed a gentleman with a Marine baseball cap. We began to talk. His name is Michael Clemons and he served from 1948 to 1952. He told me of another Marine on the boat: Marc Harbison, who served from 1979 to 1999.

We got together and decided we should celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday. In true Marine style we adapted and overcame obstacles to our plan. Marc searched the next town and found a surplus military store with a Marine flag for sale. Next, we talked to the restaurant manager and he agreed to provide a table for our group that now included another Marine, John Fitzgerald, who served from 1955 to 1959. With our wives, there were eight for our Birthday dinner.

Word of our plans spread throughout the boat, and on Nov. 10 we were greeted with a welcome by all in the dining room. Everyone joined in our toast to the Corps. The baker had made us a special cake—a work of art for an Austrian who had no previous knowledge of Marine customs. After the appropriate ceremony, slicing and serving the cake, we enjoyed our meal and fellowship for the rest of the evening.

This just goes to prove that Marines can

find other Marines anywhere in this world when the need presents itself.

George LaFrazia

USMC, 1954-57

Vancouver, Wash.

Emblem in Foreign PlacesMy wife and I took our whole family

on a trip to Hungary this past summer. We visited relatives that I had not seen for 63 years.

While at my cousin’s house, his son arranged a trip to the fire station in Szentes. He thought it would be interesting because my son is a volunteer firefighter and my grandson is a junior firefighter in the town where we live.

When we returned to Connecticut, I saw the video my granddaughter took at the fire station and noticed a Marine Corps em blem decal on the wall in the station. Unfortunate ly, at this point the film ran out and I was unable to hear why the decal was there. Through a series of emails I learned the following information: Őrnagy Rajmund Kálmán of the Szentes fire de partment wrote that every year on Sept. 11, the Kiskunfélegyházi, Kecskemét and Szentes fire fighters organize a remembrance marathon.

This is done in memory of, and to honor, the New York firefighters. They always

9www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck JANUARY 2012 LEATHERNECK


in vite firefighters from the United States to join them. Two years ago several war-disabled Marines also were invited. The emblem decal came from these Marines, and Őrnagy Rajmund Kálmán said they guard it to this day.

MSgt Endre O. Farkas, USMC (Ret)

East Hampton, Conn.

At 82, George Was Still a “Mean Marine”The story that follows is about a Marine

I knew in the early 1980s. I am sure George will smile down as I relate his story. At the time, George and his wife owned a small, mom-and-pop grocery store in a rural lo-cation in Kentucky’s Appalachian Moun-tains. I owned a refrigeration busi ness and provided service for his equipment.

I don’t believe the bumper stickers that say: “Not as lean, not as mean, but still a Marine.” I believe George was every bit as mean at 82 years of age.

He had wanted to be in the Corps in World War I, but was too young, so he joined in 1919. After training, he was sent to Haiti in 1920 to participate in the jungle fighting.

By the time I had the privilege of getting to know George, he was quite crippled with emphysema and had a hard time speaking. Still, no difference in years or generations stood between us as brothers who served, proudly wearing the eagle,

globe and anchor. This was a man who evoked honor and respect.

One morning, he called me to come to his store, where he related the following story: Two days previously, a car with two young men had pulled into the gravel lot of George’s store. As soon as the auto stopped, the passenger quickly entered the store brandishing a pistol, demanding: “OK, Pops, gimme your money!”

George was taken aback, even a bit startled, so his first inclination was to com-ply with the intruder’s demands. George went on: “As I started to go back to the cash register, I saw my broom standing against the wall. That is when all that train ing from 1919 came back to me, and you know, that little so-and-so had made me so mad, I decided I wasn’t going to give him my money. At my age, what do I have to lose?”

George grabbed the 1-inch diameter broom and employed bayonet tactics he’d been taught more than 60 years prior.

He continued, “I used the broom to disarm him. As the pistol hit the floor, I proceeded to give him the beating of his life, using the broom like my rifle. I kept after him as he ran for the front door, letting him have it all the way. As soon as the would-be bandit exited the store,

[continued on page 66]


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Dear MCA&F Member,

Over the course of the last month or so you may have noticed a difference in our logo and

tagline. I want to assure you that we as an organization have not changed, that we continue

to embrace the roots of the association as fi rst established by then-LtCol John A. Lejeune

back in 1913. You should also expect our continued attention to the MCA&F mission —

supporting today’s Marines by Advancing Leadership and Recognizing Excellence, and that

all of your member benefi ts, including your magazines, remain in place.

The purpose for the logo revision is to brand MCA&F as a singular organization refl ecting

the synergy between the Association & Foundation. We believe it will simplify and unify

our communications.

Since we launched the Foundation in 2009, many members have asked our staff and me

what are the responsibilities of each organization. In truth, the Association and Foundation goals are the same —

supporting Marines — but the Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, performs two critical roles that the Association

cannot. First, it opens up membership to the Friends of the Corps. These are the Moms and Dads of Marines who

want to be part of the same organization as their courageous sons and daughters, and the many Americans who

want to demonstrate their support to the Corps and learn more about what it means to be a Marine. Secondly, it

provides an opportunity for members and Friends of the Corps to support the organization through tax deductible

donations — many of you are well aware that these donations, along with membership dues, support the MCA&F

Commanders’ Awards Program, Commanders’ Unit Libraries, and various events such as the Gettysburg Staff Ride.

I encourage you to view this moving video if you have not already done so. http://www.mca-marines.org/news/

watch-mca-takes-wounded-warriors-gettysburg

One further step we have taken in an effort to reduce confusion and appeal to a broader audience is a unifi ed pricing

structure as we move into 2012. MCA&F members with an Active Duty, Reservist, Veteran, or Retiree status will

continue to be members of the Association, while our Friends of the Corps will be enrolled under the Foundation.

As we move forward, we’ll continue to adjust fi re as the need arises. We will be there to aid today’s Marines in

any way feasible, and we’ll continue to connect the Warriors of the past with Today’s Marines. We will continue to

preserve the traditions, espouse the history, and foster the spirit of the Corps. It’s in our DNA.

Finally, 2011 has had its challenges and rewards. I appreciate all of the support you have provided. Quite simply, your

support provides us with the means necessary to accomplish the MCA&F mission.

Semper Fi,

MajGen Ed Usher, USMC (Ret)

MCA&F President and CEO

http://www.mca-marines.org/news/watch-mca-takes-wounded-warriors-gettysburg

http://www.mca-marines.org/news/watch-mca-takes-wounded-warriors-gettysburg

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOMn Kajaki Sofla DistrictHelmand Province1/6 Marines Push Through Kajaki Sofla

In October 2011, leathernecks of 1st Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment engaged in Operation Tofan Sharq (Eastern Storm), a major offensive to root out the Tali ban-led insurgency in the Upper Sangin Valley region of Kajaki.

The battalion began securing Route 611 from Sangin to Kajaki by moving com-panies into designated areas across the dis-trict and relying on individual platoons and squads to operate independently through heavily vegetated and rough terrain.

The men of 2d Platoon, Company B, 1/6 inserted by helicopter under the cover of darkness and, at first light, began a five-day march prior to establishing Patrol Base Pennsylvania.

“Things have been going pretty slow, but good,” said Lance Corporal Joshua

Kennedy, an M240 machine-gunner. “We don’t want to go fast. It’s been pretty successful. … Nobody’s been hurt. We expected it to be way more kinetic, but luckily it hasn’t been too bad so far.”

Carrying all the ammunition, weapon-ry, food, water and other assorted equip-ment they could fit into their packs, they traveled roughly three miles amid infre-quent but abrupt ambushes and, at times, rounding corners that put them face to face with enemy fighters armed with rock-et-propelled grenades.

“Everyone’s feeling the pain. Everyone’s sore,” said Kennedy. “It’s hard to pick up your feet as is, and going through the canal systems and cornfields [with all our gear], it’s bad on your knees and feet. …”

Kennedy, who is about 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 180 pounds, carries approximately 120 pounds of equipment, including rounds for his M240B medium machine gun, the weapon itself, a slew

of other munitions, and a few personal comforts, such as a sleeping bag and hy-giene supplies.

Seeing a column of Marine Corps in-fantrymen move through a maze of corn-fields, each leatherneck more laden with gear than a pack animal, one would expect a ceaseless chorus of complaints and sighs, but the few moans they make are drowned out by an endless stream of banter and sur-prisingly upbeat humor.

“We pick up morale by joking around,” explained Kennedy, who proudly fulfills the role of stand-up comic for his squad. Humor serves as an indicator of the unit’s morale, which, with all they have been through, remains high, explained First Lieutenant Danny Graziosi, 2d Plt com-mander. “The morale is never a question; they can accomplish whatever I ask them to do. They just look to the left and right, and that’s all the motivation they need.”

“Kajaki Sofla is now buzzing with citi-

THE WAR ON TERROREdited by R. R. Keene

CPL

JAM

ES C

LAR

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Marines of 2d Plt, B/1/6 take up positions and

prepare an ambush for insurgents. “Bravo” Co was

participating in Operation Eastern Storm to drive

insurgents from the area and open Route 611.



zens who have never seen the Afghan National Security Forces and have known only murder and intimidation for the last several years,” said Brigadier General Lewis A. Craparotta, Commanding General, Second Marine Division (Forward)/Task Force Leatherneck. “Villagers are now approach ing our coalition forces and returning to their homes.”

Cpl James Clark

Combat Correspondent, 2dMarDiv

n Camp LeatherneckMarine Air Key to Major Offensive

Under the veil of darkness, a team of Marine Corps CH53 heavylift helicopters sped over Afghanistan’s Helmand River Valley in early October 2011.

Carrying nearly 100 Afghan commandos and their Marine advisors, the helicop ters delivered them into the valley, just south of the Kajaki Dam.

The Afghans and Americans were the first coalition forces in a massive offensive, Operation Tofan Sharq (Eastern Storm), aimed at rooting out one of the last insurgent strongholds in the region.

As the Southwest Regional Command, in NATO’s International Security Assist ance Force, undertakes the operation, Second Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) has provided invaluable support in the coalition’s efforts to secure Afghanistan’s Route 611.

“Our big support for Eastern Storm was getting [1st Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment and 2/12] into position,” said

Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Finneran, 2d MAW (Fwd)’s operations officer. “The threat level going into this was unknown.”

But coalition forces have met little confrontation, Finneran said. “I think the fact that we were able to get in with relatively little resistance and establish patrol bases is only going to lead to positive relations with the local populace.”

After the initial insertion of Afghan commandos and Marines, 2d MAW’s role has entailed providing resupply and close air support missions.

Finneran said much of the wing’s operations to support Eastern Storm comes from AV8B Harrier attack jets, and UH1Y

Super Huey and AH1W Super Cobra heli copters watching overhead. “We’ve been able to fly and support in any way [the ground combat element has] asked up to this point. The wing’s flexibility to meet the challenges of the ground combat element has been key. We had a very wellsynchronized aviation plan.”

Captain Joseph Fry, an AH1W Super Cobra pilot with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, recently flew one such mission.

Fry said that during the summer he had flown a few missions into the area in which Operation Eastern Storm is focused and he witnessed a relatively heavy amount of

Above: Marines of 2d Plt, B/1/6 prepare to move out after a short break during Operation Eastern Storm.

Right: A B/1/6 leatherneck lowers himself from a rooftop after being shot at during Operation Eastern

Storm. (Photo by Cpl Benjamin Crilly)

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•

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TAJIKISTAN

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Kabul✪

AREA OF DETAIL



combat, but “the ground presence wasn’t really there yet.”

“Almost overnight, the valley turned into a string of Marine-controlled out-posts,” said Fry, adding that his recent mission was completely uneventful.

Cpl Brian Adam Jones

Combat Correspondent, 2d MAW (Fwd)

7th ESB Brings Commerce, Growth To Helmand Province

As Operation Tofan Sharq (Eastern Storm) continues in the upper Sangin Valley of Helmand province, Marines with 7th Engineer Support Battalion, Second Marine Logistics Group (For-ward) conducted multiple route repairs throughout early November 2011.

Operation Eastern Storm began in Oct ober as the Marines of 1st Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment routed the Taliban from Sangin to Kajaki—the last enemy stronghold in Helmand province—in an effort to secure Route 611.

The engineers moved slowly and me-thod ically along the route between Patrol Base Alcatraz and the Kajaki Dam, help-ing to improve and repair the road. The area previously was impassable in some areas due to erosion and improvised ex-plosive device damage.

Along the way, there were several ob-servation posts to be built, a command

outpost and a forward operating base that were all going to be constructed, said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Smith, the officer in charge of Heavy Equipment Platoon, Security Company.

“First Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment now mans all those positions and holds the route from [Patrol Base] Alcatraz to the

dam so we could come in and build and repair the route. Now, commercial trucks can start transporting the proper materials and assets up to the dam for the turbine work they have to do there to start produc-ing more electricity in the area.”

According to the United States Agency for International Development, this tur-

Kajaki Dam is a key position in southwestern Afghanistan. Marines and Afghan forces, with the cover of leatherneck airpower, have kept the dam safe while

eliminating one of the �nal insurgent footholds in the area.

CWO-3 Brandon Smith, OIC, Heavy Equipment Platoon, greets an elder during operations in Helmand prov-

ince Nov. 3, 2011, as elements of 7th ESB repaired points along Route 611 and worked to improve re-

lationships with local Afghans.

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bine will be the third in an ongoing project to bring more reliable power and irrigation to Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

The additional turbine is key to growth in the area and will allow the dam to provide enough electricity to some of the fartherreaching villages of Helmand province, said Staff Sergeant Davison Slivers, motor transport platoon staff noncommissioned officer in charge, as he explained how important the route improvement project is.

The work the Marines are performing in preparation for the upgrade in the region’s infrastructure also has improved relationships with the local Afghans, as evidenced by their positive reaction to the Marines and convoy operations.

“Every day we go out on the road, we see little kids, people waving,” said Slivers. “We are actually making a difference for the people here, even on a small level. We have made routes to places locals couldn’t even get to before with vehicles. It has improved a lot.”

Cpl Katherine M. Solano

Combat Correspondent, 2d MLG

n KandaharMarines Provide First Line of Defense For Kandahar Airfield

Marines guarding Kandahar Airfield support ground troops by ensuring Marine aircraft are safe and ready to fly, and by providing the first line of defense at the base.

Sergeant Jason Van Zile, a Marine Attack Squadron 513 airframe mechanic, typically spends his days working on attack jets. But like all Marines, he is a rifleman first.

“It was 5:30 in the morning, and we got a call from post saying four people were crossing the [fence] into base,” said Van Zile. “When we came up to them, they took off running. Then one of them turned around and began engaging us with smallarms fire.”

Van Zile returned fire, halting the insurgents’ attempt to infiltrate the airfield.

Each month Marines like Van Zile take a break from their normal duties and are temporarily folded into Kandahar Airfield’s military police ranks to assist in vehicle and compound searches.

“We’re the first line of defense against vehicleborne improvised explosive devices,” explained Corporal Frankie Col lins, a Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 40 airframe mechanic.

The Marines inspect dozens of trucks during their shifts, and searching 100 or more is not uncommon. They scan each ve hicle for drugs, weaponry and other contraband.

“It keeps you on your toes,” said Collins.Collins also said that the rapport built

between the Afghan National Army and the Marines while standing duty together is key in protecting the troops and civilians who live and work at Kandahar Airfield.

LCpl Sean Dennison

Combat Correspondent, 2d MAW (Fwd)

n MarjahMarine Engineers, Afghans Improve Critical Intersection

Combat engineers with Company A, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, along with Afghan workers, improved road conditions by repairing a key bridge in Marjah, Nov. 12, 2011. The bridge, located at a major

IT IS ABOUT SECURITY—Cpl Joshua Melendez, squad leader, and LCpl Joseph Streeby, artillery forward observer, provide security during November

2011 patrols in the Garmsir District, southern Afghanistan. Members of 3d Battalion, Third Marine Regiment teamed with Afghan National Security

Forces to establish a secure environment and to develop district government.

CPL

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GARMSIR DISTRICT



inter sec tion between Marjah and Nawa, needed critical foundation repairs, and it is vital for both local travel and military missions.

“Today’s project involves a bridge which has wing-walls that are eroding,” said First Lieutenant Steven Thomas, platoon com-mander with “Alpha” Co. “Our goal is to replace those wing-walls to make them last longer and make the bridge more stable for the civilian and military traffic.”

Wing-walls provide the bridge with struc-ture to support the heavy foot and vehicle traffic passing through the intersection.

“The water flowing through here also provides water for the farmers, and this bridge is vital to the locals traveling to the bazaar,” added Thomas.

“By improving this intersection, the travel conditions will improve for the lo-cals, as well as our convoys that come through,” said Corporal Logan Homstad, a fire team leader.

The combat engineers managed to con-trol local civilian traffic while complet-ing their work, leaving local commerce unaffected.

“The biggest challenge is that it’s right next to a bazaar,” said Homstad. “There’s a lot of traffic moving around the area.”

“We have to keep the locals out of the way because there’s a lot of heavy equip-ment moving around,” explained Thomas.

Some of the locals even lent a helping hand to the Marine engineers, as they clear-ly understood repairs to the bridge would be beneficial to the local community.

The mission was easier because of the support and manpower of the locals, said Cpl Travis Dye, a combat engineer.

The Alpha Co Marines worked quick ly, digging out the existing structure with heavy equipment and emplacing the new wing-walls that will keep the bridge supported in the years to come.

The Marines “had to wade into the water, sometimes getting waist-deep into the mud,” explained Thomas. “Some even had to get pulled out with the help of a few Marines, because the mud was so thick.”

The bridge is one of Alpha Co’s many projects supporting infrastructure develop-ment in southern Helmand.

“We’re happy to be here,” said Cpl Hom stad. “We’re happy to do projects that matter.”

LCpl Alfred V. Lopez

Combat Correspondent, RCT-5

Cpl Eric McMullen, combat engineer, checks the progress of work and the equipment used to repair the support structure of a bridge that handles heavy traffic

between Marjah and Nawa districts.

LCPL

ALF

RED

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Cpl Samuel Escuita Jr., combat engineer, Co A,

CLB-1, cuts through a wing-wall, Nov. 12, 2011,

to repair the support structure on a bridge that

con nects Marjah and Nawa districts. The repairs

allowed for foot and vehicle traffic to the local

bazaar as well as Afghan and coalition convoys.

CPL

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By Warren E. Thompson

The U.S. military first used helicopters during the latter stages of World War II—mainly for train

ing, but also for airsea rescue and medical evacuation missions. The Marine Corps formed its first rotarywing squadron, Marine Helicopter Squadron (HMX) 1, in December 1947. With North Korea’s invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, the helicopter was given the opportunity to come into its own.

On 7 July 1950, HMX1 was ordered to

provide personnel to Marine Observation Squadron (VMO) 6 for deployment to Korea. They would be operating the Sikorsky HO3S1 helicopters and would have the distinction of being the first helicopter unit to fly in combat. One week later, the squadron shipped out on USS Badoeng Strait (CVE116). The squadron would have a significant impact on the war, and during the next three years, its place in military operations was etched in stone.

Captain Norman G. Ewers, one of the experienced pilots who flew with VMO6 during the early months, said, “With the

start of the Korean War, the Marine Corps mobilized its Reserves, including pilots and mechanics. Many of these were sent to HMX1 to be trained to fly and maintain helicopters. They formed the early cadre of replacements to VMO6.

“In January 1951 (right after the Chosin Reservoir campaign), I was sent out from HMX1 with some reservists I had helped train to join VMO6. The HO3S1 was a primitive machine. In the movie ‘The Bridges at Tokori,’ it was the same type flown by actor Mickey Rooney’s character. The helicopter cruised at about 65 knots,

Marine Helicopter Operations in Korea —

THE EARLY DAYS



was single piloted and designed to carry two passengers. It had a sling hoist for lowering people from or lifting them into the chopper.

“Most importantly, as a single-engine/single-rotor aircraft, it had a very small center of lift. Flown solo, it was tail-heavy and needed ballast added to the cockpit in the form of sandbags or whatever else was handy. With passengers, it became nose heavy, and the ballast had to be moved to the baggage compartment in the tail of the aircraft.

“During the early stages of the war,

VMO-6 used their helicopters for several utility missions: mainly transporting com-manding generals and others, along with carrying wounded Marines from the front lines back to a MASH unit which saved countless lives. For the latter mission, we had two covered Stokes litters that were attached to the sides of an HTL’s [Bell HTL-4 helicopter’s] landing skids, and a window could be knocked out of the HO3S so that a litter could be inserted into the cabin right behind the pilot.

“The HO3S was also used on one of the most dangerous missions we flew: the

rescue of downed pilots behind enemy lines. On this mission, the [helicopter] pilot was normally accompanied by one of the squadron mechanics that was armed with his M1 rifle.

“These were known as ‘Silver Star’ missions because the pilot was more than likely recommended for it when success-fully completed. I flew some of these mis-sions, and on one of the successful ones, it took a flight of F-51 Mustangs to make sure that the enemy troops didn’t get too close as I went in to pick up a downed Navy pilot. My crewman lowered the sling hoist down to him, and we plucked him off the side of a steep hill. On most of these type missions, we were shot at with small-arms fire, and on one of them, a single rifle round hit our radio and knocked it out.”

The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed at Pusan on 2 Aug. 1950, and the four HO3S helicopters immediately were put into action for determining enemy troop movements and concentrations. That enabled the command to determine the best strategy to use to counter the North Koreans. At that point in the fledgling war, the U.N. forces were in dire straits as they were pinned down in a narrow pocket known as the Pusan Perimeter. VMO-6 was one of the unique Marine squadrons to fight in Korea in that it op-erated three different aircraft types: the

Inset: MASH personnel unload a wounded Ma rine

from one of VMO-6’s helos at Honchun, a few miles

behind the front lines. The medevac helicopter

saved hundreds of lives.

Left: VMO-6 operated three different types of air-

craft in late 1950: the HTL-4 (far left), the HO3S-1

(center) and the OY (right). These VMO-6 pilots

pose in front of the aircraft at Wonju in May 1951.


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Stinson OY Sentinel, the Sikorsky HO3S-1 and the Bell HTL.

During that first month of operation (August 1950), VMO-6 logged 580 flights, which equated to 348 flight hours. The following month would not give the squad-ron much relief because the brilliant In-chon landings would take place on 15 Sept. That would break the back of the North Korean People’s Army bogged down around Pusan. The VMO-6 pilots who were in the action early on have many interesting stories to tell.

One of the most experienced was Capt Gene Morrison, who flew 186 missions during his tour. His combat experience dated all the way back to Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 122 on Peleliu under the command of the legendary Colonel J. Hunter Reinburg. Morrison would be one of the Marine “chopper” pilots who had the good fortune to fly the famous Col Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller in the forward areas during the Chosin Reservoir campaign.

Capt Morrison arrived in Korea and made his first flight, a test flight, on 12 Oct. His tenure in helicopters dated all the way back to February 1946, which put him in an elite group within the Corps. He recalled some of his memorable ex-periences while serving in the early phases of the Korean War.

“The first few flights out of Kimpo [air-field] were routine, but about nine days after that first test flight, it began to get serious as we moved up to the captured North Korean airfield close to Pyongyang at Yonpo. On October 20, the 187th Reg-

imental Combat Team’s paratroopers made a drop north of the retreating enemy troops to cut them off from getting into Manchuria. Not long after this, some of the U.N. forces were all the way up to the Yalu River, looking across at Manchuria. The 187th took heavy casualties, and that is when we started a heavy flight schedule to help get their wounded out. We re sponded with everything we had available.”

The roads and rails in North Korea had been bombed out, and getting supplies and equipment moved up into the forward areas was difficult. Most of it depended on transport aircraft, and the only airfield capable of handling so much traffic was at Yonpo.

Morrison added, “At that time, a lot of the big C-119s were landing and taking off, which stirred up so much dust it was hard to tell where to set our helicopters down. Also, we did not have any of our sup port personnel with us at Yonpo, so we had to pump our own gas. This meant pumping it into 5-gallon cans from the 55-gallon drums and carrying it over to our aircraft and putting it in. You can imagine the effort it took because our choppers had 100-gallon fuel tanks! On my first day up there, we hauled out eight casualties, and the following day it was worse. We lost a mag [magneto] and con-tinued on carrying more wounded out with only one mag.”

Marine General Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps, best described the importance that the heli copter had meant to the war effort in

just a few months when they served val-iantly during the Pusan Perimeter, Inchon landing and the Chosin Reservoir battles. “Due to the rugged terrain in North Korea, it would have been extremely difficult to operate effectively without helicopters. They have been a godsend to our Marines!”

The helo pilots who were operating from Yonpo had their hands full. They rested there at night, and at first light they would take off for the division command post to help transport the casualties. Capt Mor-rison recorded that he evacuated 18 Ma-rines out of the hot area on 30 Nov. during the roughest battles between Marines and Chinese troops. The weather always was a factor at that time.

“A few days later, I was in the air again as the weather had lightened up a little. I was told that a Navy plane had gone down on the east side of the reservoir. I headed that way and flew over the reservoir be-cause there would be no ground fire to worry about. Minutes later, I saw two guys walking south, and they were wearing green uniforms, which were indicative of our Ma-rines or the British. The Chinese always wore uniforms that were a mustard color. Anyhow, I looked for a spot to land, which was almost on the top of a hill. Both of them came running over to me and jumped in while I hovered. Fortunately, they had not gone down close to enemy troops!”

At that early point in the war, the fact that the helicopter was having great suc-cess in transporting wounded to the rear and moving into enemy territory to rescue downed pilots proved to be a great morale

Below left: Capt Norman Ewers, on the left, prepares to fly another mission in his HTL-4 from the squadron’s home base in South Korea.

Below right: Capt Gene Morrison, one of the first Marine helicopter pilots in Korea, stands by his HO3S-1 at the captured North Korean airfield at Yonpo in

the fall of 1950.


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booster for both the ground troops and the pilots who were flying the close-air sup-port missions. The HO3S helicopters proved to be extremely rugged, and some days when they finished their “rounds,” they had taken multiple hits from all the ground fire they attracted over enemy-held ter-ritory. Unless they were hit in a vital area, they continued to fly their assigned missions.

In November 1950, the Marines were spread very thin between Hagaru and the division command post at Hungnam—a distance of more than 60 miles. Major General O. P. Smith stated that the main supply route to the Chosin Reservoir area should be strengthened immediately, and he ordered an airstrip to be built at Hagaru. The onslaught of Chinese who went up

against the Marines’ front-line positions created a situation where the division was divided into self-contained perimeters. This put a tremendous burden on VMO-6 because it was a principal means of contact between the enclaves. In such a critical situation, communications were the key to survival.

During this trying period in the early part of the war, the commanding officer of VMO-6 was Lieutenant Colonel Vincent J. Gottschalk, recently promoted from major. Commenting on what Marine chopper operations meant to the brigade during the last four months of 1950, he said, “Perhaps its most important use

Inset: MajGen O. P. Smith, CG, 1stMarDiv (left),

and BGen Lewis “Chesty” Puller, Assistant Divis ion

Commander, 1stMarDiv, are pictured alongside an

HO3S minutes before they climb in for a reconnais

sance flight over the forward areas in early 1951.

Above: Flying at low levels proved to be danger ous.

This HTL4 hit a wire and it shattered the bubble

canopy, but the pilot, Capt Harold G. McRay, brought

it, along with his passenger, BGen Chesty Puller,

down safely. (Photo courtesy of Harold McRay)

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during this period concerned command and control. The flexibility provided the means for the brigade commander to control his forces, change direction of movement, give personal instructions to subordinate commanders and observe the resultant battlefield movement in a dynamic fast-moving situation which provided a new dimension to tactical con-trol of the battlefield in a difficult terrain setting.”

As early as 1 Dec., the Marines began fighting their way from the Chosin Reser-voir to the coast through heavy resistance from the Chinese. Their first leg would

be from Yudam-ni to Hagaru (a distance of 14 miles), and it would take 59 hours to complete. Six days later, they began the roughest part of their breakout from Hagaru to Koto-ri. By 10 Dec., the lead elements made it to the port of Hamhung. Every VMO-6 aircraft was working overtime.

By 15 Dec. 1950, the Marines all had been loaded on ships, and the evacuation from North Korean soil was almost com-plete. The light observation aircraft from VMO-6 already had been loaded on ships while the remaining helicopters were stationed on the beach, standing by for any

emergency rescues that might crop up. The Navy provided heavy firepower

support with its four Iowa class battleships that were in close to aid in the evacuation. During the time of the Chosin Reservoir battles, USS Missouri (BB-63), with her big guns, was on station off the east coast. On some occasions, VMO-6 was ordered to fly its HO3S helicopters out to rendez-vous with Missouri. Capt Morrison was one of the first to fly that mission.

“On December 18, we got a message for three of our choppers to fly out to USS Missouri (code name ‘Battle Ax’). The day before this, I had flown out to the cruiser USS Rochester (CA-124). The day turned out to be bright and clear, but bitterly cold, as you might imagine, with a 50- to 60-knot wind blowing out of the west. One of our ‘birds’ would not start, so it would be two of us making the flight. Our rendezvous with the ship was at a point about 30 miles from Yonpo, which meant if our navigation was off, and we missed Battle Ax, we probably could not have made it back to our starting point because of a tremendous headwind. We could fly at about 60 to 70 miles per hour, so the wind would have almost neutralized our forward flight. Our fuel would have

Below: A group of VMO-6 pilots talk about the day’s missions out of Kimpo AB in late September 1950.

Note the mission hacks already logged by this HO3S.

Above: Maj Bill Mitchell (left), Executive Officer, VMO-6, and Capt Norman Ewers stand by the newly

arrived HRS-1 transport helicopter.


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been depleted quickly. Fortunately, we sighted the ship with no problem!”

The turbulent weather was normal for that time of year, and the ocean was not its normal blue, but an ominous white because of the wind speeds at water level. Capt Morrison contacted the ship on the radio, and they turned around and ran downwind at flank speed as he maneuvered into position to land on the battleship’s fantail facing the wind.

“We had about 20 knots of wind over the deck when we landed. Touching down wasn’t too difficult because we were landing aft of the gun turret, which had plenty of room. Battle Ax was a heavy ship, which helped it ride steady in those turbulent seas. If by some chance we had missed the rendezvous and had to ditch, we wouldn’t have lasted more than 10 to 15 minutes due to the extremely cold water temperatures. After spending the night on the ship, we launched without incident and returned to base. This type of mission was no place for an inexperienced chopper pilot!”

The use of helicopters in the Korean War was a great learning experience for all branches of the military. While that war was very unpopular with the public, it was the “schoolhouse” for the future

of warfare, not only with the rotarywing aircraft, but also in developing tactics in the jetversusjet arena. Many of those tactics on the latter still were valid many years later in the Vietnam War.

Military records on aircraft losses in Korea state that the Marines lost their first HO3S1 on 21 Sept. 1950, with the second loss coming eight days later. Those would be the only recorded losses of that type from VMO6 in 1950. The first HTL4 was lost on 27 Jan. 1951.

Editor’s note: Warren Thompson has written about military aviation history for more than 40 years, leading to numer

ous published magazine articles and books. He contributes regularly to the Ma rine Corps Aviation Association’s Yellow Sheet and eight other aviationrelated magazines. Check out Amazon.com to find his book “American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2,” which covers Marine, Navy and USAAF aces.

To see more Korean War helo photos,

go to www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/

koreawarhelos


Above: Immediately after Seoul

was retaken in the early fall of

1950, VMO-6 based its operations

out of Kimpo AB. The squadron

would stay close to the advancing

Marines as they moved north.

(Photo courtesy of Gene Morrison)

Inset: This HO3S took two rounds

in the cockpit while flying out

of the North Korean airfield at

Yonpo.


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http://Amazon.com


http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/koreawarhelos

http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/koreawarhelos

“Sir, it’s a Kevlar umbrella.”

HUMOR

Leatherneck Laffs

“I saw a cartoon in Leatherneck magazine. A Marine was in a muddy foxhole. It was raining. In his misery he moaned, ‘If I wuz where my ol’ dog wuz and my ol’ dog wuz where I wuz, I’d shoot my ol’ dog.’

Seemed funny at the time.”

“Wow! Excuse me, sir. Can I see that jar on the top shelf? For some reason, it’s just screaming ‘Semper Fi’ to me.”



“Aw, c’mon, dude. Call off your little sister.”

“What’s the matter? I took him for a walk around the lake like you told me to.”



By Ed Vasgerdsian

Amphibious landings have been the hallmark of the Marine Corps since its inception in 1775. That

was our inheritance and our legacy for the future.

Today, we are fortunate to have among us veterans of campaigns of a more immediate generation: Marines who fought and endured Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Tarawa,

Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Korea and Vietnam. They are now the old salts and gyrenes who easily recall the blaring announcement over a ship’s squawk box instructing their units to “lay up” to embarking stations. With steel helmets covered in herringbone twill or cotton cloth of tan and brown or green and brown, armed with M1, M14, new M16 rifles, .45caliber pistols and KaBars, young Marines, dressed in utilities and boondockers, climbed over the ships’

sides, scampering down 20 feet of cargo netting and into bobbing landing craft.

Some of these old salts may have stepped off the deck of an amphibious ship into a helicopter with blades turning, ready to launch. War tactics of Iraq and Afghanistan, however, turned that amphibious identity into a peripheral image for a new generation of Marines and for the American public. It appeared for many that the “Soldiers of the Sea,” having become

Exercise Dawn BlitzA New Approach to an Old Theme



Inset: Leathernecks of 3d Assault Amphibian Bn,

1st MEB were embarked in USS Rushmore (LSD-47)

for Exercise Dawn Blitz in September 2011.

Dawn Blitz brought together all the elements of the Navy-Marine team

necessary for an amphibious operation. Here a Navy landing craft,

air cushion is offloading heavier logistics support vehicles and equipment

at Camp Pendleton’s Gold Beach. (Photo by Cpl Michele Watson)

engaged in Middle Eastern conflicts, were grounded. Not so. The Corps and the Navy’s amphibious forces represent an efficient and effective hedge against America’s most likely risks.

In February 2011, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James F. Amos, announced completion of a force structure review that called for a drawdown from 202,000 to approximately 187,000 active-duty Marines. The anticipated force re duc-

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tion will begin after forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan. Even a cursory glance into Marine Corps history reveals that change and reduction in manpower isn’t a new experience. Determined or willed by presidential power, motivated by interservice rivalry or fiscal needs, the Marine Corps has rolled with the punches and continued a relentless tradition of excellence, regardless of structure changes.

It has become inevitable that as the world’s economy shows signs of diminishing returns, changes once again are necessitated in our military structure, both in personnel and equipment. Gen Amos re cently noted that the Corps would be a middleweight fighting machine with a lethal punch. Divisionsize deployments appear to be a thing of the past, and very capable Marine expeditionary brigades will be the order of the day.

Whether Marines are deployed to secure a beachhead under hostile conditions or to lend humanitarian assistance in a dis aster re lief effort, getting it done is a fair trans lation of what was being said. For a mili tary component steeped in amphibious land ings, the Commandant’s message was a reawakening for some and a revelation to others.

So, Exercise Dawn Blitz was planned to train a middleweight force. It began Sept. 28, 2011, as embarked Marines departed San Diego, and ended on Oct. 2, 2011, in time to coincide with the opening of San

Francisco’s Fleet Week. The exercise is one of many designed

to place more Marines on a fast track to what they always were: amphibious profes sionals. Almost 700 leathernecks from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.’s 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade with 3d Assault Amphibian Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 17 and Marine Aircraft Group 16 participating under the command of Major General Melvin Spiese, deputy commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force and Commanding General, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Many of the Marines were embarked in USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD6).

ShipboardAccording to the U.S. Navy, “The pri

mary mission of USS Bonhomme Richard is to deploy and land elements of a Marine landing force in amphibious assault operations by helicopter, landing craft and amphibious vehicle.” A Wasp class amphibious assault ship, Bonhomme Richard, along with the dock landing ship USS Rushmore (LSD47), was part of a U.S. Navy amphibious squadron participating in Exercise Dawn Blitz, a series of sce nariodriven events designed to train Ma rines alongside Navy personnel on amphibious operations, a firsttime experience for many.

An MP element with

Combat Logistics

Regiment 17 loads a

Marine Heavy Helicopter

Squadron 466 CH-53E

Super Stallion on board

USS Bonhomme Richard

(LHD-6) for a quick flight

to Gold Beach during

Exercise Dawn Blitz.

(Photo by LCpl

Joshua Young)



But for Sergeant David Arredondo, Corporal Jeffrey Santalla and Cpl Matthew Carstarphen, the 0600 call from the squawk box from a boatswain’s whistle was proforma. Arredondo joined the Marine Corps from his hometown of Garden Grove, Calif., after he finished high school. Today, at age 21, he’s a data network specialist with a deployment to Afghanistan under his belt and embarked in USS Comstock

(LSD45). Santalla and Carstarphen serve as field radio operators sending/receiving messages and setting up radio equipment.

Getting his sea legs for the first time in four years was Cpl Dave Vargas. “It took a couple of days to get used to things, like where things were and which way to go, but I can find my way around pretty much now,” he said. For Vargas, the piercing and shrill sound of a boatswain’s whistle was less appreciated than the pure sound of “Reveille” from a brass trumpet.

During a lull in the morning’s routine of calisthenics, Arredondo said, “Going back to an amphibious model … it’s a lot more fastpaced, and there are more moving parts. We’re getting back to the basics of what we do.”

Santalla, who spends his free time sketch ing and playing ice hockey, spoke pragmatically about what is being described as returning to our roots. “We’re born to adapt,” said the Charleston, S.C., leatherneck.

On the Flight Deck An important part of any amphibious

landing includes combat cargo transportation. Thus, the exercise would include MV22 Ospreys and CH53E Super Stallions. Ensuring a safe landing or takeoff from a flight deck doesn’t rest on any single person. Like a handcrafted clock of gears and weights, each part must be in perfect synchronization with the other.

Marines not usually associated with assisting Navy deck crews were put to the task of doing so as part of a familiarization process.

Standing more than 6 feet tall with the appearance of an athlete, 21yearold Private Joseph Ringler wore a “red patch” on his cover, designating him as a landing support specialist. Despite less than 18 months of experience, he has earned a reputation as a Marine who knows his job. He was put in charge of the Marines on deck and asked to keep a watchful eye on the civilian observers. The flight deck poses inherent danger from flying debris, the aircraft and the open sea. Ringler infused confidence in his group as he laid out the dos and don’ts of flight deck safety.

With protective headgear and eyewear and flotation vests on all, Ringler spoke from just inside a smallenclosed area shut off from the adjacent landing deck.

“Once we’re out on deck, trying to hear someone call out, for whatever reason,

isn’t going to help. You have to have your head on a swivel at all times, looking out for yourself, your crew and the job you’re doing. The downwash from the Ospreys can exceed 200 miles per hour, and you would do well to drop to one knee to counterbalance the velocity or risk being blown to one side, or worse, overboard.”

According to Department of Defense news, some tests have shown deck tempera tures as high as 350 degrees.

The group moved on to the flight deck, and it was immediately obvious that Ringler wasn’t exaggerating. Flightdeck crews move, depending upon one another to do their jobs and ensuring the safe arrival of MV22 Ospreys. Experienced Navy deck crews dropped to one knee and others held on to whatever was available as the two threeblade, turbopropengine Osprey seemingly hung in midair, then came to rest on the ship’s deck. Landings and takeoff drills with the Osprey and CH53E Super Stallions were conducted for several hours throughout the day.

For many, shipboard life is a mixture of physical activity and emotional reaction. Boredom, exhilaration, practice live firing, riotcontrol training, calisthenics, training, anticipation, amazement, more training and a hope that there’s a strong enough signal to make a call on your cell phone all come to pass in one form or another.

Marines effectively employed the agility of the

MV-22 Osprey off USS Bonhomme Richard to get

into and out of the Gold Beach beachhead during

Dawn Blitz. (Photo by Ed Vasgerdsian)



Commanding officers also faced an amalgam of concerns, primarily with planning a successful Marine amphibious landing on one of Camp Pendleton’s beaches designated as Gold Beach for the exercise. Elements from the 200 Marines embarked in USS Rushmore would be the first to land on Sept. 30. Preparation and execution would be put to the test.

Ships like Bonhomme Richard and Rush

more discharge and land AAV7 amphibious tractors and aircushioned landing craft astern from their well decks. There are no cargo nets from which Marines can fall. So, there is no need to be warned by a platoon leader to descend by holding the vertical lines in the net to avoid being stepped on by the Marine above. Instead, platoons of Marines enter the AAVs as walkons from the well deck.

Beachhead SecuredAn experienced Lieutenant Colonel

How ard Hall, Commanding Officer, 3d Assault Amphibian Bn, had a oneday practice run. Because of the more than 100 amphibious landings the Marine Corps has made since 1991, he contends the Corps has never lost its amphibious identity. Amphibious landings historically are identified with Iwo Jima and the invasion of Europe at Normandy.

There is another concept of amphibious landings, or Marines coming from the sea, that receives little attention: humanitarian assistance in places like Panama, Bosnia, Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Japan, to name but a few. It is without question that the vagaries of world politics, social and economic issues and even weather conditions continue to demand immediate attention as attested to by Hurricane Katrina and the recent tor nadoes in the Midwest. Few, then, can argue against the need for a welltrained force to meet the challenge.

For Hall, “The success of sending off 30 AAVs in a single splash or wave is a

complex operation. It worked extremely well due to the dedication of and professionalism of our junior Marines and sailors and the leadership, mentoring and guidance of the noncommissioned officers and commissioned officers who have done this before. We met the challenge.”

Once the AAVs landed on Gold Beach, taking with them trucks, troops and cargo, Marines from CLR17 laid into the task of securing the beach for any impending supplies or emergency assistance. The Marines from the AAVs moved inland, conducted training exercises and returned to the beach for transportation back to their ships.

Back to the Mother Ship While the aircushioned landing craft

requires fewer moving parts to become operational, the return of a 26ton AAV is slightly more complicated. Guiding the craft’s return into the well deck by Navy deckhands requires perfect synchronization between Marines and sailors. Upon the return of an AAV, the well deck is flooded with water by lowering the stern

See and hear more on Exercise Dawn Blitz at

www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/dawnblitz



http://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/dawnblitz


gate and allowing water to enter. As the ship settles in the water, the well deck is low enough to allow boats or amphibious tractors into it. Once the vehicles and other craft are in and secured, the water is pumped back out, resulting in the dry-docking of the boat within the stern.

As the cargo was restored, the vehicles washed down and the Marines changed from dirty, greasy camouflage utilities into clean uniforms, their ships headed for Fleet Week San Francisco. The com-mand ing general issued a “well done” to all hands. For many, Dawn Blitz was a true water baptism, whether from the shipboard experience itself, splashing into the water from an AAV or entering the action from the flight deck. All objectives were accomplished, and more was done to reinforce the Corps’ amphibious roots.

Editor’s note: Leatherneck contributing editor and Marine veteran Ed Vasgerdsian embarked in USS Bonhomme Richard to cover Exercise Dawn Blitz for our readers.

Overall, Exercise Dawn Blitz provided an exceptional training opportunity for Marines and sailors. Many

leathernecks, including some from 3d AA Bn, who were embarked in USS Mount Rushmore (LSD-47), had

never been aboard a Navy amphibious ship.

During Exercise Dawn Blitz, the Marines set up

communication sites and pushed inland, taking

advantage of Camp Pendleton’s maneuver areas to

train over extended lines of communication.

(Photo by Ed Vasgerdsian)

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In May of 1967, U.S. Marines and the 2d North Vietnamese Army Division fought a protracted and furious battle that impacted many lives—then and now.

In the northern quadrant of the Republic of Vietnam in May 1967 during Operation Union, not far from Hill 110,

Captain James R. “Judge” McElroy Jr. commanded the venerable and storied Company M (commonly referred to as “Mike” Co), 3d Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division, or just Mike/3/5. On 12 and 13 May, Mike Co was in heavy contact with the enemy. Decades later, those dates and the battles that transpired are eerily and strangely significant because of the actions in 1967 and more recently those of a former Mike/3/5 lieutenant, Byron E. Hill.

“It Was 44 Years Ago; It Was

Yesterday”

On 12 May 1967, First Lieutenant Hill had been in South Vietnam only a few months when he was thrown into an intense battle for control of the Que Son Val ley in Quang Tin Province, a battle whose impact still echoes more than four decades later. Archives indicate that in the general vicinity of Hill 110, 3/5 Marines came under intense enemy fire, from mortars, small arms, RPGs (rocketpropelled grenades) and various automatic weapons and machine guns.

The soldiers of the 2d NVA Division whom the 5th Marines encountered were welldisciplined, numerically superior and itching for the battle that ensued. As the fighting intensified, 1stLt Hill, an artillery forward observer (FO) from the 11th Marines, who was attached to Mike Co, moved to an open area to call in close air support and adjust artillery and mortar fire against the NVA. He stayed there under withering fire for hours, according to a Marine Corps citation.

McElroy recalled, “Already, Lieutenant Hill, artillery forward observer, Lance Corporal [Frank] Jurney and Staff Sergeant [Tom] Hitchcock, Weapons Platoon commander, were meeting [with] firesupport Marines from Kilo Company, and [they] continued Kilo’s [fire missions] and started calling additional supporting arms all over the battle area. I remember feeling the utmost confidence … [knowing] they

would provide the best supporting arms possible to stabilize and give us the advantage on the battlefield. We had the NVA positioned. Now, we had to depend on Lieutenant Hill’s proven technical skills, coordination expertise and perseverance to put rounds and bombs on target.”

Shortly thereafter, 1stLt Jack Richards, 2d Plt commander, was severely wounded and evacuated.

McElroy continued, “With the most intense fighting on the left side of the knoll by the 2d Platoon, I decided to send Lieuten ant Hill down to take over the platoon … and for him to continue calling in supporting arms at that most forward position. I watched Lieutenant Hill descend the knoll and crawl [under fire] through scrub brush and dirt in the intense midday heat, through wounded and dead Marines. Talking to him via the radio, he set about reestablishing the platoon’s base of fire and called in supporting arms [artillery and air] and suggested targets for the 81 [millimeter] mortars. Lieutenant Hill developed a substantial list of preplanned oncall fires from which any or all of us could adjust. … This was highly effective.”

As McElroy watched Hill maneuver across the field of fire to take command of the 2d Plt, he wondered if he had “sent that young lieutenant to his death.” In addition to his new duties as 2d Plt commander, Hill also was expected to continue to function as artillery FO, forward air controller (FAC) and potential naval gunfire spotter.

Hill’s calm demeanor and confidence under fire inspired his troops while they inflicted heavy damage on the enemy.

Throughout the daylight portion of the battle, Hill brought overwhelming artillery and mortar fire to bear on the NVA, while also directing devastatingly accurate air strikes incorporat ing guns, rockets and bombs delivered by Marine Corps F8 Crusaders and Marine and Navy F4 Phantoms. Hill credits the initial napalm runs by the F8s parallel to the enemy’s entrenched front lines as one of the deciding factors in the deadly duel. Air sorties ceased in the late afternoon of 12 May, and the company relied

A Time to Heal—Then and Now

By Mike Hoeferlin

VIETNAM

As the commander of M/3/5

in 1967, Capt J. R. “Judge”

McElroy was focused on helping

the South Vietnamese by

driving out the North Vietnamese

Army and bringing democracy

to the south. Today, the Marines

of his M/3/5 continue to assist,

but in a different way.

(Photos courtesy of Col James

R. McElroy, USMC (Ret))



mainly on artillery, mortars and M60 machine-gun fire to keep the enemy at bay. As twilight approached, Hill con tinued to facilitate the effective bombardment of the enemy.

As the battle unfolded, Hill recalled, “We were on the north side of the Song Ly Ly [Ly Ly River], and the NVA were about 200 meters to our front in hedgerows near a dried-up streambed. We could clear-ly see and hear them. After nightfall, the enemy approached to within 100 meters of our front lines, and we were withdrawn to the military crest of a small hill where we tried to dig in for the night. Unfor tu-nate ly, the ground was incredibly hard, and it was impossible to dig adequate fight-ing holes.” In the darkness, the Marines and corpsmen did the best they could to find cover and concealment while con-solidating their positions.

Around midnight, loud and shrill whistles plus glaring bugles portentously signaled the NVA’s first deadly attack. Without hesitation Hill again exposed himself to intense enemy fire while again directing and adjusting artillery barrages and mortar fire. “We continued to hit them with HE [high explosives] and air bursts throughout the engagement,” Hill stated. “The rounds were very near our front lines, but so was the enemy; we had no choice but to bring the fire in as close as possible.” No “friendlies” were wounded from Ma-rine artillery fire, but NVA casualties were staggering.

Hill called for continual illumination rounds to silhouette enemy soldiers, there-by making them visible and vulnerable to Marine machine-gunners and riflemen. Ma rine forces accounted for more than 200 enemy confirmed killed with an esti-mated 300 or more dead or wounded dragged from the battlefield. Finally, after numerous failed attempts to overrun the Marines’ positions and after engaging in vicious and mostly unsuccessful hand-to-hand combat with 3/5 Marines, the NVA withdrew from the battle as dawn approached. Throughout the battle, death and carnage were the constant companions of 3/5 Marines.

“They came at us in waves,” Hill said. “They launched four deadly and well-planned attacks before they were finally defeated.” During the fray, a bayonet-wielding NVA soldier came within an inch of ending the war for Hill then and there, leaving a bloody gash on the left side of his face. The wounded lieutenant and his Marines fiercely fought on.

“It was chaotic,” Hill admitted. “It was surreal and unreal at the same time. We had incoming and outgoing mortars, small-arms and machine-gun fire from all directions, plus enemy soldiers coming

through our lines.” Hill’s heroic efforts were credited with helping turn the tide of battle. For his actions, he was awarded the Silver Star. “By his steadfast courage, exceptional professionalism and selfless devotion to duty, First Lieutenant HILL was an inspiration to all who served with him,” the citation reads in part.

A pensive Hill admitted, “Even today in my mind I can still hear the cacophony of sounds of a pitched battle. I can still feel the thumping and concussions of high explosives going off nearby and bullets impacting around me … the sounds of

In May 1967, 1stLt Byron Hill was an artil lery

forward observer attached to M/3/5. But at

the Battle of Phuoc Duc (4) on 12 May,

when his company ran up against a numerically

su perior NVA force, he found himself in

com mand of an infantry platoon in severe

danger of be ing overrun.

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people screaming and burning and the unmistakable and lingering acidic aroma of gunpowder, bombs, napalm and, yes, even the smell of death.” He added, “That battle irrevocably shaped, changed and, in many ways, defined my life, then and now.”

Vietnam, 2009

Fast-forward to March 2009. Colonel Byron E. Hill, USMCR (Ret), and a number of other Mike/3/5 veterans, returned to Vietnam on a pilgrimage to seek closure and, Hill said, “to commemorate the memory of several of our fallen Marines and the Navy corpsmen who had served with us.”

To Hill, Vietnam was and is both a des-tina tion and a destiny, and he now knows why he had to return, to revisit and to remember. “I went to Vietnam the first time looking for challenges, answers and meaning,” he said. Things were different 41 years later. Hill and his comrades were drawn to the obscure hamlet of Phuoc Duc (4) where they all had faced and witnessed death more than four decades earlier. “I

really didn’t know why, but I just knew I had to be there again,” Hill said. “It was as if some unknown force compelled me to return to that very battlefield.”

As they approached the little hamlet near where many of their fellow Marines were killed or wounded, they were awe-struck by the bucolic beauty, serenity and tranquility of the scene before them. As they hiked about the area, Hill and John Lobur, a Mike/3/5 rifleman during the battle, came upon a young Vietnamese woman with a tiny boy cradled in her arms. The child’s face was grotesque.

“With a cleft lip and palate, the poor little boy looked like a monster,” Hill recalled. At that precise moment, Hill was overcome with emotion as he realized that the encounter with the boy, named Minh Duc, and his mother was the reason he had returned to Vietnam after all those years.

He felt he had been “summoned” by an unknown force to a specific part of Viet-nam 41 years after he almost lost his life there. Hill’s and Lobur’s eyes met, and they knew what they had to do. After speaking through an interpreter to the

boy’s mother, Nguyen Thi My, they vowed to do whatever was necessary for the child to receive the medical attention he so des-perately needed.

The determined and excited duo of Hill and Lobur returned to the United States. They did not care what it would cost or how long it would take. They were on a mission, and nothing was going to stop them. “Something deep inside had taken over and was driving us to help that unfortunate child,” Hill recalled.

Trying to locate and communicate with Minh Duc’s mother was difficult. Dealing with the Vietnamese bureaucracy was daunt ing, but Hill and Lobur were relent-less. Fortuitously, they learned it was pos-sible to have the surgery performed in Vietnam by U.S. surgeons working with Smile Train, an organization specializing in repairing cleft lips and palates on chil-dren throughout the world. Since 2008, more than 2,500 Vietnamese children have had corrective surgery through Smile Train. Hill and Lobur were elated because the surgery would be expedited and per-formed not too far from Phuoc Duc (4).

Then-1stLt Byron Hill (inset) enjoys a bit of combat liberty on China Beach in the Republic of South Vietnam in 1967. In 2009, he returned to that location and

the battlefields of South Vietnam with fellow Marines of M/3/5 and took on a new mission—helping a disfigured Vietnamese child. (Photos courtesy of Byron Hill)



The first surgery was scheduled for the summer of 2010, but blood tests revealed Minh Duc suffered from malnutrition and was too weak for the procedure. Hill and Lobur immediately sent money to the boy’s family for nutritious food. Minh Duc’s health improved, and he finally was able to undergo the corrective surgeries. The final procedure took place in November 2010. “Today, the cute little boy is thriving and leading a normal life,” Hill said.

“Minh Duc has a new smile,” Smile Train’s Vietnam country manager Dzung T. Nguyen said. Before the surgeries, his mother would not allow anyone to photograph the boy because she and her family “did not want to document their shame,” Dzung said. Now, however, photographs of Minh Duc are not only allowed but encouraged. “He is an extremely photogenic little boy,” Hill said.

In 2010, on the anniversary of the bloody battle about six clicks east of Hill 110, Byron Hill told an audience in his adopted hometown of Columbia, Mo., “Exactly 43 years ago, an unlikely chain of occurrences led me to an obscure valley in a warravaged country that no longer exists and to a battle that, in retrospect, was inconsequen tial from a global and historical perspective.

“But then and possibly even now, it was the most significant event of my life. Out of that terrible battle something very positive emerged, and I don’t think it was purely by chance or happenstance. Had I not been there, fighting for my life and the lives of my Marines, I certainly would not have felt compelled to return to what was once a valley of death, but today is a peaceful, tranquil and happy place. Had I not returned, I would not have encountered that hapless and helpless little peasant boy who will now have a chance at a normal life.

“Thanks for listening to a former lieutenant of Marines whose life was inexplicab ly and inextricably altered forever by a chance encounter with a precious and precocious little Vietnamese peasant boy in a small, sleepy and peaceful rural hamlet near an almost forgotten battlefield in Vietnam.”

Author’s note: Capt McElroy was awarded a Silver Star for his actions in Vietnam and retired as a colonel.

Editor’s note: To find out more about Smile Train, and its efforts around the world, visit www.smiletrain.org. In the early 1970s, Mike Hoeferlin commanded at the platoon and company levels in the 1stMarDiv and later was a helicopter pilot in 3d MAW.

After multiple surgeries, Minh

Duc, at right and above holding

the hand of his mother, Nguyen

Thi My, can smile and look

forward to a happier life.

The commitment to others

that a young 1stLt Byron Hill

had demonstrated in Vietnam

was evident in his battle

with the Vietnamese

bureaucracy to help

Minh Duc receive surgery

to correct a cleft palate.

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http://www.smiletrain.org


The

MajGen Smedley Darlington Butler,

“Old Gimlet Eye,” stands in a very

characteristic pose, with thumbs hooked

in pockets. (USMC photo)



By Dennis R. Carpenter

Smedley Darlington Butler is one of the most fascinating figures in American military history. An

iconic Marine Corps hero, he led Marines in combat all over the globe: Cuba, the Philippines, China, Nicaragua, Haiti and France. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1914 for his role in the capture of Veracruz, Mexico. Within a year, he won a second Medal of Honor for his command of a Marine detachment in Haiti.

Some historians have argued that Butler might have been awarded an earlier Medal of Honor for action near Tientsin, China, 13 July 1900, had the award been authorized for Navy, Marine and Coast Guard officers at that time. Instead, he was awarded a Brevet Medal. In addition to the combat valor Butler exhibited abroad, did he “save” the American Republic after he retired from the Marine Corps?

In a nation closely attuned to conspiracy theories, volumes about the New Deal can be read with scant mention of a littleknown plot to seize the White House. While testifying before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in 1934, retired Major General Butler outlined a detailed con

spira cy to overthrow the gov ernment. That alleged plot received little attention, and a silence about the event prevails. Perhaps Butler’s deposition, given under oath, was simply an aberration justifiably consigned to the dustbin of history. Or, is a more thorough examination of the evidence long overdue?

The Great Depression began with the 1929 stock market crash and persisted, with out interruption, until the United States entered World War II in 1941. Rather than a single traumatic crisis that played out over time, the Depression was a series of smaller crises that coincided with and were shaped by one another. During that era, America’s political and financial order came under vicious attack. Within the vol atile political climate, MajGen Butler was thrust into the midst of one of the most bizarre episodes in American government.

The outspoken general’s first opportunity to reach a mass audience was as a re sult of his relationship with the Bonus Ex peditionary Force (BEF), also known as the Bonus Army. The selftitled group of unemployed WW I veterans wanted immediate payment of bonuses scheduled to be paid in 1945. In the spring of 1932, the Bonus Army, some 20,000 strong, marched on Washington, D.C., demanding a payout of veterans benefits. By July, after weeks of demonstrating and lobbying, the Bonus Army failed to influence Congress to pass a Bonus Bill. The legislation was de signed to pay veterans more than $2 billion in bonus certificates in advance of the promised 1945 due date.

President Herbert Hoover adamantly opposed the Bonus Bill, and although it was passed by the House, it was defeated soundly by a Republican majority in the Senate. After the bill failed to pass, many members of the Bonus Army, by then a somewhat ragtag group, remained in Wash ington. Their families camped along the banks of the Anacostia River and in vacant Washington buildings, and while not starving, they were hungry. The demoral ized demonstrators began disbanding.

James E. Van Zandt, the leader of the

Veterans of Foreign Wars, urged MajGen Butler to show his solidarity with the Bonus Army. Seething with rage over what he be lieved was the shabby treatment of Ameri ca’s veterans, the general decided to address the thousands of remaining demonstrators. The veterans, some of whom had fought under MajGen Butler, revered him in peacetime as they had in war. He stood up and said, “You hear folks call you fellows ‘tramps,’ but they didn’t call you that in 17 and 18. … [Y]ou have as much right to lobby here as the United States Steel Corporation!” He urged them to remain politically organized and united in spite of the powerful opposition.

The general also advised the marchers to stay peaceful and thereby retain the sympathy of the great majority of the Ameri can people. President Hoover, however, called out riot troops, led by General Douglas MacArthur, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, to clear out the campground at bayonet point. Wearing gas masks, the soldiers moved down Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues and fired tear gas. The White House unleashed the force of the U.S. military on American citizens, and it was an eerie reminder of the veterans’ suffering on the Western Front.

The Hoover administration’s insensitive provocation influenced the general, a lifelong Republican, to become a Franklin D. Roosevelt supporter. A week after the Bonus Army disbanded, Butler offered FDR his help in the upcoming presidential campaign. Roosevelt welcomed the general as a campaign speaker, and Butler proved to be especially effective addressing veterans’ rallies. FDR trounced Hoover in the general election. Then, during President Roosevelt’s first term, the general was contacted by a clandestine, nameless group of corporate powerbrokers.

As FDR’s New Deal grew in strength, it came under attack from several quarters. Business leaders and disaffected conservative Democrats formed the American Liberty League in 1934 to lobby against what they viewed as the New Deal’s reck less spending and radical reforms.

Marine Who Saved the

REPUBLIC, or DiD He?

BGen Smedley Butler, his 3d Brigade headquarters, the recently organized Sixth Marine Regiment and

Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 3M arrived in Shanghai, May 1927, to reinforce the 4th Marines. The 3d

Brigade parade at left was in Tientsin in 1928. (Clem Russell Collection)



The Liberty League’s leadership was a showcase of corporate America’s gilt-edged captains of industry. The league called for the retention of the gold standard and a tightening of the money supply. For mer Democratic Party presidential nominees Al Smith and John W. Davis were prominent Liberty League directors who lined up against FDR’s policies.

After his bitter experience with the Bonus Army, MajGen Butler embarked on a series of national speaking engage-ments. His theme, “War Is a Racket,” resonated with his audience. The biggest racketeers, he said, were Washington pol-iticians, arms merchants, Wall Street bank-ers and corporate America. The general’s barnstorming speeches electrified vet-erans and jobless workers, who turned out in ever-increasing numbers. Nevertheless, one interest group was less than enthusi-astic about MajGen Butler’s searing indictment of America’s mistreatment of its disinherited citizens.

A group of industrial leaders moved to entice the fiery military hero to rally the nation’s disgruntled veterans to support a shadowy plot to bring down the New Deal. Those corporate heads saw Butler, probably the nation’s most recognized and popular military figure, as indispensable for a successful political putsch.

The plot germinated in 1933 when shadowy characters began to wend their

way to MajGen Butler’s home in Newtown Square, Pa. The most active and frequent visitor, bond broker Gerald MacGuire, worked as a liaison between MajGen But-ler and the group’s leaders, including Gray-son Murphy, a prominent Wall Street bank er and MacGuire’s boss. A founder of the American Legion, Murphy also was director of numerous industrial conglom-erates. The conspirators encouraged But-ler to help mobilize and prepare 500,000 veterans to march on Washington.

MacGuire assured the general that his army’s weapons and equipment could be obtained by the Remington Arms Co. on credit through the du Pont family. He claimed that the mere show of force in Washington would allow the plotters to take over the government peacefully in a few days. Once Roosevelt was forced to step aside, MajGen Butler would become “secretary of general affairs.”

Butler wrote that immediately after first meeting the plotters’ agents, he “smelled a rat.” He strove to

learn more about their motives and decided to play along with their venal scheme. During the next year, Butler met with several of the leaders, who assured him that he could count upon endless financial resources to support the movement. On one memorable occasion, in September 1933, MacGuire visited MajGen Butler in Newark, N.J., when the

general was scheduled to speak at a VFW gathering.

The bond salesman prodded the gen-eral to make a speech in support of the gold standard at the American Legion convention to be held in Chicago. Ever the skeptic, MajGen Butler probed Mac-Guire’s claim about access to unlimited financial resources. The bond broker pulled out his bulging wallet and deposited 18 $1,000 bills on MajGen Butler’s hotel bed. MacGuire said that the money would cover expenses for the general and his veteran entourage during their stay in Chicago.

MajGen Butler was fuming, but he did not want to reveal his true feelings. Either he was being set up or the plotters actually believed that they could have him for a price. The general chided MacGuire to take the money back and indignantly as-

Below: As commander of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., each year BGen Butler would march his men

to a prominent Civil War battle�eld and re-enact a campaign. In this photo, from the left: General of

the Armies John J. Pershing, President Warren G. Harding, MajGen John A. Lejeune and BGen Butler

(pointing) tour the Gettysburg re-enactment camp in July 1922.

Right: ADM C. S. Williams, Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet, escorted by BGen Butler and staff, visited

the 3d Brigade in Tientsin, probably in 1927, as ADM Williams was relieved by RADM Mark Bristol in

September 1927. (Clem Russell Collection)

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serted that he did not deal with lackeys or go-betweens. If the principal conspira-tors were ready to negotiate, then Butler would deal with them on a one-on-one basis.

By November 1934, the general was determined to reveal the plotters’ identities and their plan to overturn the government. Butler was sworn in before the House Un-American Activities Committee, pre sided over by Representative John W. McCor-mack, who would become Speaker of the House. The committee was in special ses-sion, and Butler’s testimony exposed some of the most powerful men in America. Included in the group were Murphy, the du Pont brothers and John W. Davis, then the chief attorney for J.P. Morgan and Company.

“This was no piker setup. This was no shoestring khaki-shirt fascist movement,”

BGen Butler stands with

his wife, Ethel Conway Peters

Butler—he called her Bunny.

They were married in

June 1905.

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said MajGen Butler. The Marine hero’s evidence was confirmed by the prize-winning journalist P. Coley French of The Philadelphia Record. On balance, the committee found Butler’s charges cred-ible. The general, however, was frustrated by what he perceived as the investigation’s failure to put the upper-echelon conspira-tors under oath. In their defense, some committee members claimed that they were wary of confronting widely known individuals with the evidence presented at the hearing.

The national media, including Time magazine and The Washington Post, de-rided Butler’s charges, and many news-papers suppressed the story. Time described Butler’s testimony as tantamount to a “plot without plotters.” The committee’s final report, published in February 1935, con-cluded, “There is no question that certain persons had made an attempt to establish a fascist organization in this country.”

Moreover, they were able to “verify all the pertinent statements made by Gen Butler.” While the public’s reaction to the general’s accusations bordered on indif-ference, veterans rallied behind the be-leaguered Marine officer. James Van Zant, the VFW president, supported Butler’s testimony, stating that he, too, had been approached by the same Wall Street con-spirators. In his book “1000 Americans,” respected editor George Seldes wrote of

the existence of “one of the most repre-hensible conspiracies of silence in the long (and disgraceful) history of American journalism.” The pro-business bias re-flected in the press was partly attributable to its dependence on corporate advertising.

Did a conspiracy actually exist? There were no indictments, criminal prosecu-tions or public identifications of the alleged plotters. Moreover, an aura of Hollywood drama certainly was associ ated with the alleged Wall Street conspira cy. The committee’s hearing ended abruptly after MajGen Butler’s testimony. Yet, a number of congressional observers be-lieved that a group of well-connected Americans conspired to seize the White House.

John L. Spivak, a noted foreign corres pon dent, was one of the few reporters to read the committee’s

uncensored 26 Nov. 1934 report to the House of Representatives. Interviewed in the 1970s, Spivak said, “Those who are still alive and know the facts have kept their silence so well that the conspiracy is not even a footnote in American histories.”

He believed that the Justice Department did not initiate criminal proceedings against the plotters because of pure politi-cal pragmatism. In his book “A Man in His Time,” Spivak speculated: “What would be the public gain from delving

deeper into a plot that was already exposed and whose principals could be kept under surveillance?”

Americans should be grateful that MajGen Butler, who rejected the opportu-nity to become a dictator of the United States, was instrumental in keeping others with political aspirations from assuming the same position.

After he retired from Congress, Rep. Mc Cormack was interviewed, at age 81, by historian Jules Archer. McCormack confirmed the role that the long-forgotten Marine general played in saving America from a political coup d’etat. He said, “I cannot emphasize too strongly the very important part the general, hero of the Marines, played in stopping this attempt to overthrow the government.”

Editor’s note: There is a review of the book “Smedley D. Butler: A Biography” in the August 2011 Leatherneck. The book is available from the MCA bookstore at www.marineshop.net/index.htm.

Dennis Carpenter, a writer and professor of history at Brooklyn’s Long Island University, wrote a twovolume set, “Anyone Here a Marine?” His most recent Leatherneck article was “The Marine CorpsLaw Enforcement Foundation: A Foundation to Build On,” published in August 2010.

ADM C. S. Williams, Commander in Chief Asiatic Fleet (saluting),

and BGen Butler, standing immediately behind him, prepare to depart

Tientsin in early 1927. (Clem Russell Collection)



http://www.marineshop.net/index.htm.Dennis

http://www.marineshop.net/index.htm.Dennis

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Retired Aviators:“We’re Still Marines”■ A pair of veteran Marine aviators, former Captain Bob Lutz and Lieutenant Colonel Kingman Lambert, USMC (Ret), teamed up behind the controls of an L-39 Albatros on Aug. 27, 2011, to take what may be a record-setting flight through the skies of southeastern Michigan.

Lutz, 79, and Lambert, 82, brought nu-merous years of experience to the cockpit. “I think we set the record for the highest combined age of a pilot and copilot flying a military aircraft,” said Lutz, who served as both a Reserve and active-duty Marine from 1954 to 1965. “I bet you wouldn’t find two Air Force guys our age in the same shape as us.”

The pilots became close friends while stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, in the 1950s. “Flying with Bob Lutz was an unforgettable adventure down my Marine aviation memory lane,” said Lambert. “[Lutz] has been a good friend all these years, since we first rode motorcycles together in Japan.”

Over the course of his 23 years in

the Corps—eight years on active duty and 15 years in the Reserve (1952-75), Lambert flew multiple aircraft, including the F6F-5N Hellcat, F4U-5N Corsair, AD Skyraider, F7F Tigercat, F9F-2 Panther, F9F-8P Cougar, FJ-3 Fury and the A-4 Skyhawk. His buddy, Lutz, primarily flew the A-4 Skyhawk during his 11 years of service.

The two leathernecks also were success-ful in their private careers, a testament to the Marine Corps’ promise to return qual-ity citizens back to the civilian world.

In his civilian career path, Lambert said he followed his natural inclination for sports and went to work for the Monsanto Company’s AstroTurf division, Dunlop Sports and the Spalding division of the Russell Corporation.

Lambert, a former world-class tennis player, also built two large tennis facilities in Southern California. In his prime, he played at Wimbledon and was an inter-service tennis champion.

Following his Marine Corps service, Lutz became an executive for automotive

com panies, most notably serving as the vice chairman for General Motors. During his time working in the automobile in-dustry, Lutz was behind the development of vehicles such as the Dodge Viper and Chevrolet Volt.

He also wrote two books about his ex-perience. Lutz credits the Marine Corps for his extraordinary success in his career. “I would not have had my business career without the discipline and leadership training I received in the Marine Corps,” said Lutz. “Marines leaving the Corps and entering the workforce today will be disappointed by the lack of discipline they will find,” he said.

Lambert offered some advice to leather-necks on finding success in the private sector. “Search the myriad careers avail-able in the marketplace, and if additional education is required, do it,” he said.

As for the flight, Lambert said, “We’ve flown together a few times before, and I certainly hope, God willing, that we can do it once or twice more.”

LCpl David Flynn

PAO, MCRC, Quantico, Va.

3d MEB Brings PHIBLEX 2012 to Close■ U.S. and Armed Forces of the Philip-pines (AFP) military personnel concluded Amphibious Landing Exercise 2012 (PHIBLEX 2012) with a ceremony at Fort Bonifacio, Republic of the Philippines, Oct. 28, 2011.

The ceremony culminated the 12-day exercise that included Marines and sailors from 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and mil-itary personnel from the AFP. They trained together to improve interoperability, in crease combat readiness and build profes sional relationships between the two countries.

AFP and U.S. personnel conducted dif-ferent training evolutions during the exer-cise, including an amphibious mechanized raid, a boat raid, jungle warfare training and a variety of air training missions.

In addition, PHIBLEX 2012 participants completed a series of civil operations, including engineering, dental and medical civic action projects.

“We conducted two engineering [civic] action [programs], three medical [civic] action projects, where we treated a total of 4,260 patients, and three dental [civic]

B A S E S , S TAT I O N S & V E T E R A N S

We—the MarinesEdited by Clare A. Guerrero

From left, former Capt Bob Lutz and LtCol Kingman Lambert, USMC (Ret) flew Lutz’s L-39 Albatros over

southeastern Michigan, Aug. 27, 2011. Lutz, 79, and Lambert, 82, brought decades of combined exper-

ience to the cockpit.

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action projects, where we treated 852 patients,” said Captain Alistair E. Howard, the 3d MEB civil affairs team leader.

Other civic action projects included com munity-relationship building activities that gave leathernecks and their counter-parts the opportunity to spend time with local children and interact with the com-munity throughout the island of Luzon, lo-cated in the northern part of the Philippines.

According to Howard, Marines and sail-ors distributed more than 1,500 notebooks, 1,000 pens and pencils, and 100 sports balls to elementary schools during those events.

“We accomplished some great things, and it wasn’t just about the military exer-cise itself,” said Brigadier General Craig Q. Timberlake, Commanding General, 3d MEB. “Yes, we increased interoperability, and yes, we decreased our response time to certain scenarios; but perhaps more im-portantly, we were also able to conduct some medical and dental projects and serve over 5,000 patients.”

LCpl Brianna Turner

PAO, Marine Corps Installations Pacific, Okinawa, Japan

Marines Outrun British to Keep the Cup■ It’s a tradition that stretches across the pond and promotes healthy, active lives and espirit de corps. Marines from the men’s

United States Marine Corps Running Program kept their title as winners of the Challenge Cup, besting the British at the 36th Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 30, 2011.

The competition has been a yearly chal-

lenge since 1978. Colonel Steven Peterson with the USMC Running Program said that British Royal Marines have won the cup 22 times, and the U.S. Marines have won it 11 times.

“The past six years though, we have

SSgt R. B. Barsenas, Battalion Landing Team 12, Naval Forces West, Armed Forces of the Philippines, instructs U.S. Marine combat engineers with Combat

Logistics Battalion 31, 31st MEU, 3d MEB, during renovations to Ranzang National High School, Palawan, Republic of the Philippines, Oct. 22, 2011.

CHINA MARINES DEDICATE MONUMENT—From left, China Marines Association leathernecks

Maj William “Bill” Sager, USMCR (Ret); MajGen Constantin “Dean” Sangalis, USMCR (Ret),

the association’s president; and CWO-3 William J. “Bill” Parker Jr., USMC (Ret) attend the

ceremony dedicating a monument to Marines who served in China from 1819 to 1949, at the

National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, Va., Sept. 27, 2011. The China Marines monu-

ment is located along a trail at the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park.

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been getting the better of them,” Peterson said. “It has a lot to do with how we train. We have a lot of dedicated runners that made this win possible.”

The team with the lowest average marathon time wins the Challenge Cup trophy and bragging rights for the entire year.

This year, the USMC Running Program finished with a combined average of 2 hours, 35 minutes, 42 seconds.

“It was a great feeling crossing that finish line,” said Second Lieutenant William Prom, who ran in the marathon. “We have a great team out here … and we came ready to win.”

Prom was the team’s fastest runner, finishing in 2:29:44. He also was the first Marine to cross the finish line.

USMC Running Program coach Joe Puleo said that it was Prom’s first year on the team and also his first marathon.

The British Royal Marines finished with a combined average of 2:47:09. Ryan Kestle, their fastest runner, finished in 2:43:42.

Because of the rich history between the nations, Puleo said that these types of friendly competitions strengthen the bonds between both services.

“This is more than just a friendly competition. We fight side by side with these guys in Afghanistan. This tradition reinforces bonds between us and the British Marines,” Puleo said.

LCpl Emmanuel Ramos

PAO, MCB Quantico, Va.

8th Communications Battalion Completes Expeditionary Field Training■ They are stealth; they vanish into the tree line. They are silent and noiselessly fade into the sounds of the forest. They are predators lying in wait as their prey approaches. “Open fire!” a leader shouts. Gunfire shatters the silence, and a squad with 8th Communications Battalion completes an ambush exercise.

This scene played out repeatedly when leathernecks with 8th Comm Bn, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, II MEF conducted a 10day field training exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Oct. 1726, 2011.

The battalion’s training began in a classroom where leathernecks received instruction on convoy operations, patrolling, land navigation and crewserved weapons. The Marines also earned martialarts sustainment hours through lessons in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and were taught squadlevel tactics that incorporated both offensive and defensive operations.

The field training focused on giving Marines skills that will help them in future deployments. It also reviewed some of the basics that Marines learn early on, such as how to work an entry control point and a vehicle checkpoint.

“I’ve never been deployed,” said Pri vate First Class Yvonne McKinney, a warehouse clerk with Headquarters Company, 8th Comm Bn. “But I know when I deploy I’m going to need the skills we’ve learned throughout this training. Especially with things like the entry control point, which is more than likely something I will actually be doing when I deploy.”

The training provided scenarios that put Marines’ offensive and defensive tactics to the test, such as establishing a patrol

QUANTICO MARINE ATHLETES OF THE SIXTIES UNVEIL

TRIBUTE PAINTING—IR Technologies representatives Henry

Friedman (left) and Ronald Eckert (right) present MajGen Ed

Usher, USMC (Ret), President and CEO of the Marine Corps

Association & Foundation, a painting on behalf of the Quan-

tico Marine Athletes of the Sixties Inc., Oct. 20, 2011. The

painting is one of two copies of a larger original by David

Clemons of Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho, which celebrates legend-

ary Marine athletes of the 1960s. The painting initiative was

launched by Peter Optekar, membership chairman of the

Quantico Marine Athletes of the Sixties. It will be displayed

at The Marine Shop in Quantico, Va. IR Tech plans to present

the original painting to the Marine Corps Heritage Founda-

tion, for possible placement in the National Museum of the

Marine Corps in Triangle, Va. Another copy will be displayed

at the Colonel William E. Barber Physical Activity Center at

Marine Corps Base Quantico.

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More than 20,000 runners finished the 36th Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 30, 2011, in Arlington, Va.

Leathernecks with the USMC Running Program took home the Challenge Cup trophy, besting the British

Royal Marines and other service teams during the yearly challenge.



base and sending out patrols in search of the enemy. The leathernecks also were required to build fighting positions to defend against assaults and ambushes.

“The ambushes were intense,” said McKinney.

Throughout the training, the Marines were evaluated through the use of the Integrated Target Environment Scenario

Tool (ITEST), a system that operates much like an advanced version of the equipment used in laser tag. The ITEST recorded information such as where the Marines were physically hit by an enemy’s laser, GPS positioning and the number of blank rounds fired.

“The Marines have done a remarkable job,” said Lieutenant Colonel Michael Schweighardt, commanding the 8th Comm Bn, “especially because many of the Marines haven’t been out to the field training areas much. … [F]or a lot of them, it’s a new experience.”

LCpl Joshua J. Hines

Combat Correspondent, 2dMarDiv

Quick Shots Around the Corps

TA Benefits Restored for Marines■ LCpl Michelle S. Mattei, Public Affairs Office, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., reports that the Marine Corps has restored the tuition assistance allowance to fiscal year 2012, rescinding proposed cuts to higher education benefits.

According to Marine Administrative Message 639/11 released on Oct. 27, 2011, up to 100 percent of the former allotment for tuition and fees has been reauthor ized

for Marines who want to improve their education.

Marines currently enrolled in classes and affected by the changes are eligible for TA funding that would have been paid by TA prior to the change.

MACS-4 Enhances Communication During Readiness Exercise■ LCpl Courtney G. White, Public Affairs Office, Marine Corps Installations Pacific, Okinawa, Japan, reports that leathernecks with Marine Air Control Squadron (MACS) 4 established a Tactical Air Operations Center (TAOC) on Oct. 24, 2011, to support the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army during the quarterly Local Operational Readiness Exercise (LORE) of the USAF 18th Wing, Oct. 2628.

“The LORE affords all three services the opportunity to crosstrain, hone joint integration and information exchange procedures, and maintain the high standards of the air defense and air control communities,” said Major Anthony J. Rayome, operations officer with MACS4, Marine Air Control Group 18, First Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

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Crazy Caption Contest

“Is this what you mean by full bird?”

Submitted bySteve Wysocki

Dingmans Ferry, Pa.

Winner

Dream up your own Crazy Caption. Leatherneck will pay $25 for the craziest one received.

It’s easy. Think up a caption for the photo at the right and either mail or e-mail it to us.

Send your submission to Leatherneck Magazine, P.O. Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134, or

e-mail it, referencing the number at the bottom right, to [email protected].

The winning entry will be published in two months.

(Caption) ___________________________________________

_________________________________________________

Name ______________________________________________

Address _____________________________________________

City/State _________________________ ZIP ______________

1-12

This Month’s Photo

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These 8th Comm Bn, II MHG, II MEF leathernecks

are wearing the new ITEST vest during expedition-

ary communications �eld training held at MCB

Camp Lejeune, N.C., Oct. 24, 2011.




Story and art by Col John M. Shotwell, USMC (Ret)

Sports pundits pitched the 1992 professional baseball championship as the first “true” World Series. For

the first time in history an international team, the Toronto Blue Jays, faced a U.S. team, the Atlanta Braves.

To most American baseball fans, it was just another World Series. For Canadians, a national brand identity was at stake. Their entire nation was captivated.

At the time, I was the deputy director for the Division of Public Affairs at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps and was not much of a baseball fan. However, I did watch the second game of the series, which was televised from Atlanta on Sunday evening, Oct. 18.

After a commercial break that aired dur ing the two national anthems, the CBS commentator mentioned in passing that the USMC color guard had displayed the Canadian flag upside down.

Baseball box scores accord errors with the significance of hits and runs, and we had committed a whopper. Years later, Jeff Merron of ESPN.com would list the flag incident as among the top 10 “Strangest Series Moments.”

The next morning, I arrived early at HQMC PA, which was located in the Navy Annex, Arlington, Va., to find the office in a hubbub. When the broadcast aired in Canada, the national anthems had not been preempted by a commercial. The inverted maple leaf was there for all the Canadian audience to view, and they were livid.

The video would have gone viral in this 21stcentury socialmedia environment, but even in 1992, word of the gaffe spread like an epidemic. Overnight, the situation had escalated from embarrassing to toxic.

What seemed like a goof to most Ameri cans was viewed as a sacrilege by Canadians.

As PA crises go, a flag miscue seemed a minor faux pas which I thought could be ameliorated with a prompt apology. I quickly drafted a statement for attribution to the Corps’ Commandant, General Carl E. Mundy Jr. Expressing sincere regret over the incorrect display, the Commandant cited the Marines’ pledge of life and honor to our own flag and stated that “this incident occurred due to unfortunate human error and was in no way intended to defame the flag of one of our closest allies.”

The news release conveying the Commandant’s statement was broadcast by 10 that morning.

One of the cardinal PA guidelines is to quickly admit a mistake, apologize and move on. I reckoned that the matter had been laid to rest. Not! What could have been a PR home run turned into a flimsy pop fly, and the Canadians wouldn’t even accept it as a sacrifice.

Many Canadians expressed opinions through their media that the incident was a deliberate attempt by the United States to belittle our northern neighbors. An

inverted ensign is traditionally a sign of surrender or distress. Many Canadians inferred that the inadvertent symbolic gesture impugned Canada’s status as a nation.

A Toronto Sun editorial characterized the flag mistake as evidence of “the appalling ignorance many Americans suffer whenever it comes to dealing with any country other than their own.”

Some Canadians demanded that the Marines in the color detail be courtmar tialed. We learned that the Marines involved were as distraught about the error as anyone else was. When they arrived at the stadium, they were unable to locate a point of contact who was to provide the Canadian flag. That connection was made only as the sta dium announcer was asking fans to stand for the anthems. One of the Marines hastily and incorrectly hooked the flag to the staff as the detail made its way toward the diamond.

As is often the case in egregious error, public opinion and human nature demand identifying blame and seeking retribution. Dave Winfield, the Blue Jay’s elder statesman, was quoted in the New York Times as saying, “There’s no excuse. … Even

How a Miscue by a

Marine Corps

Color Guard Triggered

An International

Incident

The World Series Of 1992:


http://ESPN.com


if they were handed the thing at the last second. Whoever handed it to them should be fired.”

For our part at headquarters, we didn’t want to fire anyone, but we did see the need to deflect the attention away from inter nation al relations and back to baseball. The Commandant convened a panel of senior HQMC officers to brainstorm a solution.

We found out that at the next day’s game in Toronto a Marine detail again was scheduled to march out the colors. The commit tee began to visualize a worstcase scenario with Canadians verbally and possibly physically assaulting the Marines and brawling with American fans.

For Canadian fans, it seemed that the game was no longer a matter between the Jays and the Braves. It had become “them” vs. “us.”

The ad hoc brain trust started hashing out ideas that were coming in from wellmeaning external sources. The consensus quickly settled on a tactical counterattack.

The group recommended that we approach the Canadians with a proposal for a dualcolors presentation, but with a break from tradition. In our proposed scenario, the Marines would carry the Canadian flag, and the U.S. colors would be displayed by a Canadian detail. Rather than a Canadian armed forces unit, we rec ommended that our flag be carried into the stadium by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), arguably a more potent national symbol.

Gen Mundy approved our proposal. By that time, Game 3 was only about 24 hours away. I started the long trek up the chain of command. The clock was ticking to orchestrate the unique display.

Our Navy counterpart quickly concur red and referred me to Department of Defense PA. Senior officials there had no problem, so long as I ran it by the White House. The White House military liaison conferred with the press secretary and dir ected me to the State Department. While diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Canada were generally positive, sensitive negotiations were underway among the two countries and Mexico regarding devil ish details in development of the North Ameri can Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Support of the proposed treaty had not been accepted unilaterally on either side of our border.

State bounced me to the Canadian embassy. An official there was amenable to any suggestion that would remove the flag misstep as a potential destructive diplomat ic speed bump and offered to contact the RCMP.

On Oct. 20, details for the dual colorguard performance began to fall into place. Marines from Detroit were en route to Toronto, and by then the Mounties were on board.

The stakes were high. A World Series game never had been played outside U.S. soil. Some Canadian tailgaters outside the Toronto SkyDome wore Tshirts em blazoned with an inverted Stars and Stripes with “Sorry, eh” stenciled underneath.

As game time approached, I realized that the stadium announcer needed to know the plan so that he could prepare the possibly surly crowd. I hammered out the script for an announcement while trying to figure out how to get it to the right person at the SkyDome.

CBS Sports was broadcasting the game, so I called the Pentagon’s CBS correspondent, David Martin. He hooked me up with a CBS sports producer in Toronto, and I faxed him the script along with a bytheway note that CBS might not want to switch to a commercial during the national anthems.

This time CBS not only broadcast the presentation of the colors, but also the

audio of the script as it was read verbatim, concluding with “to correct this unfortunate error and to show their true respect for the Canadian people, the Marine Corps has requested that the Stars and Stripes be carried by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Will baseball fans from these two great nations stand together while both national anthems are played?”

To my great relief, all 57,000 Canadian and American fans stood together and cheered so loudly that one Canadian newspaper reported that the anthems, led by Canadian Anne Murray and CubanAmerican Jon Secada, were nearly drowned out.

“I thought it was classy,” said Blue Jays spokesman Winfield. “[The Canadians] dealt with it very well. They sang, they ap plauded, and then it was just baseball.”

“All is forgiven,” wrote Stephen Brunt in the next day’s Toronto Globe and Mail. “Any thought that [the game] might turn nasty or political or impolite dissolved be fore last night’s first pitch.”

For the record, Toronto won that game and won the Series in the sixth game. And, incidentally, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Presidents George H. W. Bush and Carlos Salinas signed a ceremonial NAFTA treaty two months later.

Editor’s note: Col John Shotwell retired in 1994. He later earned a Ph.D. (Com-munications, Journalism & Telecommuni-cations) from the University of Kentucky, where he currently is a Donovan Scholar.

For Canadian fans,

it seemed that the game

was no longer a matter

between the Jays and the

Braves. It had become

“them” vs. “us.”



http://themvs.us

http://themvs.us

Part I of a three-part series

Igrew up in one of those suburban com munities that sprung up after World War II. It was a blue-collar

neighbor hood where our dads worked at one of the nearby factories or for a local small busi ness and where most moms stayed home to raise the kids.

Most of us knew we wouldn’t be going to college, and with the draft still in effect, for many of the boys, joining the Armed Forces after graduating from high school looked like a good option. Since I grew up watching movies about the heroic WW II exploits of Marines in the Pacific, and seeing television news film of their determined struggle against North Korean and Communist Chinese forces in Korea, I decided to enlist in the Corps.

In June 1960, just two weeks after grad-ua tion, I signed the papers under a 120-day delayed-entry program that allowed me to work that summer and report for ac tive duty in September. Having been warned of the physical rigors in boot camp, I spent the summer running and working out to get in better shape.

In early September I boarded a charter flight from Baltimore’s Friendship Airport (now known as BWI) to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., just a few miles

from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. While Marine recruits who were headed for Parris Island during that period generally took a train from their hometown to Yemassee, S.C., the fact that we were flying was not for our convenience, but necessitated by a railroad strike that had shut down passenger rail service along the East Coast.

However we traveled, we received the traditional Marine Corps recruit welcome: a noncommissioned officer yelling for us to get off the plane and board the bus for the brief ride to Parris Island. The weather was hot and muggy, and an odor that I never had smelled before but never will forget was in the air. I later learned that the nearby swamps give off that distinctive odor when the tide is out, exposing swamp mud and rotting vegetation.

For those “Hollywood” Marines who graduated from boot camp at San Diego and others who never have been there, Parris Island really is an island surrounded by water and accessible to the mainland and civilization by a narrow manmade cause way that ends at the base’s main gate. We all had heard stories of the notoriously tough Marine recruit training conducted there, but it was too late to turn back. The forbidding and forsaken place would be our home for the next 12 weeks.

This 1960s aerial view of mainside MCRD Parris Island shows 2d RTB and the recruit processing buildings in the foreground, and the parade field with the 1st

RTB area across from it in the background.

Pvt David H. Hugel, 1960

We all had heard stories

of the notoriously tough

Marine recruit training

conducted there, but it was

too late to turn back.

Joining the Marines The Beginning of a Lifelong Adventure

By David H. Hugel

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Passing the main gate, with Marines stand ing watch in their crisp summer tropi cal uniforms, white belts, helmets and gloves, was the last thing I clearly remember about that first day. After that, it was all a blur as we were hustled off the buses by a tough Marine drill instructor, whose gruff authoritative voice made it clear who was in charge. Our first stop was the reception center. There we completed paperwork and then “marched” off to the hygienic unit where we were stripped of our civilian clothing, which we packed to be shipped home, given a quick skinhead haircut and issued Marine Corps green cotton utilities.

I put the word “marched” in quotation marks because none of us knew how to march at that time. The DIs accurately said we moved more like a herd. Next, we received basic toiletries as well as other items we would need during our training. Many of those items, including a can of Brasso, small scrub brush and personal sewing kit, were less familiar to us, but soon would become part of our everyday lives. Buying cigarettes was discouraged; however, they were available for a little less than $2 a carton. It was a great deal, even though smokers could light up only three times a day, once after each meal. We didn’t know it at the time, but we’d pay for all those items from our first pay call a few weeks later.

Our new home was a white twostory, Hshaped wood barracks. The building housed four platoons of recruits, two on each deck at both ends of the barracks with DI quarters, showers and toilet facilities, which we quickly learned to call “heads,” in the middle section connecting the two wings.

Rows of doubledeck bunks lined the bulkheads of the barracks, sitting on wood decks, wellworn from years of recruit scrubbings. In addition to being used to scrub barracks decks and our laundry, the scrub brushes served another useful purpose. Exactly 6 inches long, they made a handy gauge for measuring how far items such as our buckets and bunks were to be placed from the bulkhead and to ensure that the folds on our sheets were the right width.

Early the following week we were is sued our “782” gear—so named for the Department of Defense equipmentinventory Form 782—including a backpack, helmet, shelter half, cartridge belt, canteen and poncho, a useful piece of equipment in that southern climate’s sudden heavy showers. We also received a helmet liner painted silver, called a “chrome dome,” to ward off the hot sun. A few days later, we were issued our rifles, the combattested M1 service rifle, used so effectively by Ma

rines during WW II and Korea. The rifle became a big part of our train

ing. We learned the manual of arms, used it for marching and for physical training and disciplinary purposes. Unless you’ve held one over your head while doing a rifle drill or at arm’s length by the stacking swivel, it is hard to believe how heavy the rifle, weighing only 9½ pounds, can be.

As our training shifted into high gear, we spent a lot of time trying to master the basics of marching, from “Landing Party Manual” maneuvers to more intri cate eightman squad drills. We also received

classroom instruction on Marine Corps history and traditions. Physical training included running to increase our stamina, pushups, situps and chinups to improve our strength, and the confidence course enhanced our climbing and maneuvera bility skills. The training was demanding, and I was glad I had spent the summer pre paring for the challenges I faced.

Marines always have taken pride in the fact that every Marine is a rifleman, and we were given a solid working knowledge of the M1 rifle and the Browning Automat ic Rifle, universally known as the

This is a preserved 1st RTB barracks used when Pvt Hugel went through boot camp in 1960.

Platoon 185 group photo prior to boot camp graduation, MCRD Parris Island, S.C., December 1960. Pvt

David Hugel is second from left in the first row on bleachers.

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BAR. Only after we had that training un der our belts were we ready to put our knowledge to practical use. We packed up and marched across the base to the rifle range for three weeks of intensive training to build our proficiency with the M1.

The first week at the rifle range was de voted to learning the primary rif le positions and mastering how to get into those positions and fire the rifle with the least body movement, a process known as “snapping in.” Then came the day we all waited for: a chance to fire the weapon. Shooting at targets, even those 6 feet square, from 200 to 500 yards without a scope was not easy.

Some days I did better than others, but after shooting hundreds of rounds during two weeks at the range, when Qualification Day arrived, I failed the test. With a score of 187, I fell just three points shy of qualify ing. It was the only time I did not pass a test or meet a challenge during my bootcamp training.

Following our time at the rifle range, we returned to our old barracks for a few busy weeks. We were issued and fitted for dress uniforms, competed in drill competition and prepared for graduation. Despite my disappointing showing on the rifle range, I knew I would soon become a United States Marine. What I did not know was what the future held in store for me or how well the knowledge, skills and confidence I had gained in boot camp would serve me in the years to come. I

had begun a fabulous journey that continues to this day.

Like all Marines of that era, after graduating from boot camp I boarded a chartered bus for the trip up the coast to Camp Lejeune, N.C., for advanced infantry training known then as ITR—Infantry Training Regiment. After completing ITR in February 1961, I was selected to attend the

Naval Photo School in Pensacola, Fla. Photo school was an intensive 16week

program teaching all the skills that Navy and Marine photographers needed in order to operate successfully in aviation photo labs at bases and in ships around the globe. Graduating in August 1961, I was designated an aviation photograph technician with a military occupational specialty of 4611 and received orders for my first duty station, Marine Corps Air Station Quantico, Va.

The photo lab at Quantico was a great first duty station. Located along the Potom ac River east of the main base, then known as Marine Corps Schools, it was a small photo lab where all the photographers had to be versatile and prepared to handle a variety of photo assignments. I soon applied the skills photo school taught: shooting aerial photos with handheld cameras from helicopters, as a crewman on aerial mapping missions in an old twinengine SNB5 photo plane, taking I.D. photos and portraits in the photolab studio and doing gripandgrin promotion and awards photos.

Every now and then an assignment covering a special event came my way, like photographing a newly named Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, who at the time was the air station’s sergeant major, Thomas McHugh, or covering a visit by VIPs like Vice President Lyndon Johnson. When I was lucky enough to land such an assignment, I’d submit photos to The

MCAS Quantico Sergeant Major Thomas J. McHugh

poses for a publicity photo after being named Ser

geant Major of the Marine Corps in May 1962.

Vice President Lyndon Johnson chats with a fellow Texan, Cpl Joe Prather, during a brief visit to MCAS Quantico in December 1962. Secretary of the Navy Fred

Korth is behind the Vice President greeting GySgt Mac McIntyre, another Texas Marine on hand.

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Quan tico Sentry and eagerly await the base newspaper’s publication each week to see if any of the photos would appear. It was always a thrill when one was used with a photo credit.

MCAS Quantico was an exciting place to be during the early 1960s. One of the projects that kept the photo lab busy during my tour was photographing the construc tion and testing of a Short Airfield for Tactical Support (SATS) strip that was built next to the main runway. The objective of the SATS project was to design a small airfield that could be transported into a forward combat area, where it could be built and made operational in much less time than building a traditional runway from scratch.

The short runway, measuring 2,000 feet long and 72 feet wide, was constructed of large, sturdy but lightweight interlocking metal panels and equipped with a catapult and arresting gear. Work on the SATS strip began in late 1961, and each step of its construction and testing was documented by our photo lab.

Once the airstrip was finished, a rotating crew was assigned to photograph the arrested landings of recently arrived A4D Skyhawks, using a 70 mm motordriven camera known as the Combat Graphic. The camera, about twice the size of a standard 35 mm, held a cassette with enough film for 60 exposures, allowing us to photograph sequential photos of several landings for later analysis by the SATS project staff.

I’m not sure how long the testing continued after I left Quantico, but in June 1965, a SATS strip based on that design became operational at Chu Lai, Vietnam.

The other exciting project underway at the Quantico air station at that time was the evaluation of a new helicopter to join Marine Helicopter One’s (HMX1’s) presidential fleet. Flying the President since 1957, Marines were looking for an aircraft with enhanced safety features to replace the aging HUS1Z, a VIP version of the UH34 Seahorse.

In August 1961, HMX1 pilots began testing the Sikorsky Sea King, HSS2. It had been built for use by the Navy as an antisubmarine warfare aircraft, with a watertight fuselage and pontoons over the two main landing wheels that could be used for emergency water landings. Powered by twin G.E. turbine engines, it offered safety features its predecessor lacked.

After several months of vigorous testing, the first of four executive models, designated the HSS2Z, arrived at HMX1 in April 1962. Painted a shiny dark green with white tops, they proudly displayed the word “MARINES” in large white

letters along their sides. Sometime during the Johnson administration, “MARINES” was replaced with “United States of America.” Later redesignated the VH3A, subsequent models of the aircraft are a familiar sight around the world nearly 50 years later as they continue to transport America’s President.

In February 1963, after spending more than 18 months at Quantico, I received orders to report in midMarch to MCAS El Toro near Santa Ana, Calif., to join a draft of Marines bound for the Far East.

To hold my travel expenses down, I decided to make the crosscountry trip by bus. After a few days leave at home, I left the Baltimore Greyhound station late one afternoon in early March to begin a journey that, unknown to me at the time, would find me in Vietnam less than two months later.

It was a fascinating trip that I will never forget. Sleeping on the bus many nights, I missed much of the beautiful scenery, but still saw more of the country and its people than I had seen before. Once I checked in at El Toro, I joined other Ma

rines bound for the First Marine Aircraft Wing, who spent the next few weeks receiv ing inoculations for every imaginable tropical disease, attending lectures on the culture, customs and vices of the Far East and becoming familiar with the M14 rifle, the newest weapon in the Marine Corps inventory.

We were told to pack two seabags, one to be stowed in the ship’s hold and the other to carry on board for the threeweek sea voyage. We also were allowed to bring a small carryon bag, but that was it. Whatever we needed for the next 13 months had to fit into one of those bags.

To deter anyone’s second thoughts about missing our cruise to Japan, the buses from El Toro were driven into a warehouselike structure on a San Diego pier next to the ship. There we waited until each bus drove to within a few feet of the ship’s gang way. We disembarked, picked up our seabags and boarded the ship. Late on one afternoon in early April 1963, our ship, USS J. C. Breckinridge (TAP176), departed the harbor.

Editor’s note: David Hugel has been a longtime contributor to Leatherneck mag azine. Dave enlisted in the Marine Corps following graduation from high school in 1960 and later served with the 1st MAW where he covered early Marine Corps operations in Vietnam while stationed in Da Nang as part of Operation Shufly. This is the first in a series of articles based on his service in the Marine Corps and his career spanning the following 45 years. They are excerpted from his forthcoming memoir.

Sleeping on the bus

many nights, I missed

much of the beautiful

scenery, but still saw more

of the country and

its people than I had

seen before.

HMX-1 rolled out its new presidential helicopter, a Sikorsky Sea King designated HSS-2Z, in April 1962.

It was painted a shiny dark green with a white top and, at that time, had the word MARINES in large white

letters on its side. Nearly 50 years later the aircraft, later redesignated the VH-3, still is a familiar sight

to millions around the world as it transports the President of the United States.

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Silver Stars Presented to Recon SNCO And MARSOC Fighters

Three Marines were awarded Silver Stars in October and November 2011 for various acts of heroism during combat actions in Afghanistan.

Master Sergeant David A. Jarvis was recognized with the Silver Star and the Bronze Star with combat “V” for actions while serving as the platoon sergeant

for 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Reconnais sance Battalion, First Marine Division in Afghanistan in 2010. Major General Ronald L. Bailey, Commanding General, 1stMarDiv, presented the medals during an awards ceremony, Oct. 5, 2011, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Silver Stars also were presented to Staff Sergeant Graham Jacobs and the family of Staff Sergeant Charles Cartwright of Company A, 1st Marine Special Op erations Battalion (MSOB), Marine Corps Forces Spe cial Operations Com mand (MARSOC) during a ceremony conducted by Major General Paul E. Le febvre, Commander, MARSOC, at head quarters, 1st MSOB, Camp Pendleton on Nov. 10, 2011. SSgt Cartwright’s award was a posthumous award.

On Oct. 25, 2010, in the Upper Sangin Valley of Helmand province, Afghanistan, thenGunnery Sergeant Jarvis was on patrol when his platoon was hit by an improvised explosive device. A helicopter was dispatched to evacuate the wounded and enemy forces gathered in a building near the helicopter. Jarvis saw the threat, stepped into the open with a rocket launch

er and fired into the building, destroying it. His actions bought time for the helicopter to clear the zone with two wounded men.

The Bronze Star citation specified actions that occurred in Jarvis’ 70 combat patrols including 40 direct battles with the Taliban and five complex ambushes.

SSgt Jacobs and SSgt Cartwright were leading their team in vehicles on a reconnaissance patrol in Farah province Sept. 5, 2009, when they came under heavy fire. They led a patrol with Afghan soldiers on an assault that cut through the alleys separating compounds. Jacobs killed three enemy fighters, coordinated fire and evacuated the wounded.

SSgt Cartwright had killed two of his opponents. Although wounded in the chest, he continued to lead Afghan soldiers through the heavy fire. When one of the Afghan soldiers was wounded and separated from the team, Cartwright would not abandon him. He ran to the wounded soldier, dragged him to cover and treated his wounds.

Although he survived his wounds in that engagement, two months later, SSgt Cartwright was killed in action in Farah province.

Compiled from various reports

VA L O R & H E R O I S M

In the Highest TraditionEdited by R. R. Keene and Lawralynn Diehl

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MSgt David Jarvis, battalion training chief, 1st

Re con Bn, is presented the Silver Star and Bronze

Star with combat “V” by MajGen Ronald Bailey,

CG, 1stMarDiv, Oct. 5, 2011, for his actions in

Afghanistan during 2010.

MajGen Paul E. Lefebvre, Commander, MARSOC, presents SSgt Charles I. Cartwright’s posthumous

Silver Star to SSgt Cartwright’s widow and parents during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton. He earned his

medal in combat on Sept. 5, 2009, with SSgt Jacobs, and was killed in action two months later.

SSgt Graham Jacobs wears his Silver Star Nov. 10,

2011, after presentation at headquarters, 1st

MSOB, Camp Pendleton, for action Sept. 5, 2009,

in Farah province, Afghanistan.



Personal Combat AwardsThe awards records in the Marine Corps’ Award Processing

System (APS) and Improved Awards Processing System were used to populate this list, which reflects personal combat awards from the start of the global war on terrorism presented to Marines and sailors serving with U.S. Marine Corps forces only. This list may not reflect certain personal combat awards processed outside of either system and/or

approved by another branch of service. Any questions on the content should be submitted in writing to the Personal Awards Section (MMMA-2) at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Manpower Management Division, MMMA-2, 2008 Elliot Rd., Quantico, VA 22134.

The following awards were announced in October 2011:

Bronze Star With Combat “V”SSgt Bryan E. Carter, Second Marine Logistics Group (Forward)LtCol Kyle B. Ellison, First

Marine Regiment, First Marine Division (Fwd)SSgt Gerald V. Gavin, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 2dMarDiv LtCol David W. Hudspeth, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Fwd)SSgt Zacharia S. Kindvall, 1/8, 2dMarDiv LCpl Nathanael C. Small, 3/7, 1stMarDiv Capt Francisco X. Zavala, 3/3, 3dMarDiv

Air Medal With Combat “V”Maj William J. Bartolomea, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, Third Marine

Aircraft Wing

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal With Combat “V”Capt Douglas J. Abdiel, 1st Marines, 1stMarDiv (Fwd)

SSgt Michael J. Andrews, 1st Marine Special Operations Bn, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) GySgt Michael D. Bass, 1/2, 2dMarDiv Cpl Daniel W. Blesi, 3/4, 1stMarDiv GySgt Stuart C. Blum, 7th Engineer Support Bn, 1st MLG Sgt Carlos A. Boquin III, 2d Combat Engineer Bn, 2dMarDiv Sgt Lee R. Bowden, 7th ESB, 1st MLG LCpl Jared A. Butcher, 2/7, 1stMarDiv 1stLt Peter O. Carothers, 1/8, 2dMarDiv LCpl Zachary A. Castor, 3/2, 2dMarDiv SSgt Ryan E. Clay, 3/6, 2dMarDiv GySgt Gage F. Coduto, 7th ESB, 1st MLG

Sgt James E. Connelly Jr., 1/5, 1stMarDiv 1stLt Matthew A. Fink, 2/8, 2dMarDiv 1stLt Roy V. Fish, 2d MLG (Fwd)SSgt Jacob S. Godfrey, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Capt Nicholas L. Guyton, 2d MSOB, MARSOC Cpl Isaiah P. Jones, Headquarters Bn, 2d MLG (Fwd)Sgt John A. Lynch, Hq Group, II MEFHM3 Jonathan C. Marroletti, 2d Maintenance Bn, 2d MLG (Fwd)Capt Michael B. Martin, 1st CEB, 1stMarDiv SSgt Lucas J. Mathews, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Cpl Joseph W. McCullar, 3/2, 2dMarDiv 1stLt Benjamin M. McKee, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Sgt Ryan T. Menke, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Sgt Michael V. Middlebrooks, MARSOC Sgt Jake P. Milkovich, 3/4, 1stMarDiv PFC Zachary M. Moravec, 3/4, 1stMarDiv Cpl Sean T. O’Malley, 3/4, 1stMarDiv GySgt Robert A. Osbeck Jr., 3d Marines, 3dMarDiv Capt Mark P. Paige, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Cpl Jared M. Personius, 1st Air/ Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, I MEFSgt Jacob R. Pope, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Cpl Gabriel I. Ramirez, 3/4, 1stMarDivSgt Jerry P. Saunders, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Capt Anthony E. Schmit, Hq Bn, 2d MLG (Fwd)Cpl Kyle R. Schneider, 1/5, 1stMarDiv Sgt Matthew L. Schwaller, 3/2, 2dMarDiv GySgt Timothy J. Scott, 7th ESB, 1st MLG

SSgt Christopher D. Sfarra, 2d MSOB, MARSOC Cpl Barry G. Smith, 3/2, 2dMarDiv GySgt Robert C. Steiner Jr., Hq Group, II MEFSSgt Eric W. Summers, 7th ESB, 1st MLG 1stLt Sean R. Taylor, Hq Bn, 2d MLG (Fwd)

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal With Combat “V”Cpl Boyan N. Athanassov, 3/6, 2dMarDiv

Cpl Joshua A. Bailey, 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Bn, 1stMarDiv 1stLt Paul G. Bailey, 1/8, 2dMarDiv LCpl Christopher D. Bamberg, 3/4, 1stMarDivLCpl Joshua A. Barnes, 3/4, 1stMarDivSgt Jayme L. Bates, 3/2, 2dMarDiv LCpl Kevin R. Bauer, 1/2, 2dMarDiv Cpl Charles P. Bell, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Cpl Brenden D. Boyle, 3/4, 1stMarDivLCpl Kyle T. Brimmer, 3/4, 1stMarDivHM3 Spencer D. Bristol, 3/4, 1stMarDivCpl Harrison O. Brooks, 3/4, 1stMarDivLCpl Hollis E. Burton III, 3/2, 2dMarDiv SSgt Walter R. Cardenas, 3/5, 1stMarDiv Sgt Jesse C. Cash, 2d CEB, 2dMarDiv Cpl Nelson J. Castillo, 1/2, 2dMarDiv Cpl Michael B. Cervantes, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Cpl Joseph M. Chevalier, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Sgt Michael D. Chludzinski, 3/2, 2dMarDiv LCpl Patrick J. Collopy, 3/2, 2dMarDiv LCpl Erik A. Cuellar, 3/4, 1stMarDiv



LCpl Ronald F. Curaba, 3/2, 2dMarDiv LCpl Sean M. Donohue, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Sgt Luke J. Doty, 7th ESB, 1st MLG SSgt Lee E. Eckert, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Cpl Curtis L. Feathers III, 2d CEB, 2dMarDiv Cpl Zachary T. Ford, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Cpl Mason S. Frick, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Sgt Steven A. Garrett, 1/5, 1stMarDiv Cpl Matthew A. Gearhart, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Cpl Matthew B. Gibbons, 3/4, 1stMarDivCpl Jonathan L. Godley, 3/4, 1stMarDivSgt Samuel A. Gomez, 1/2, 2dMarDiv LCpl Michael C. Gonzalez, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Sgt Joshua A. Gray, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Cpl Joshua M. Greene, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Sgt Tyler W. Grogg, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Sgt Jacob C. Hostetler, 7th ESB, 1st MLG

HM2 Mark A. Jacob, 2d Maintenance Bn, 2d MLG (Fwd)Sgt Nathan A. Jenkins, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Sgt Christopher M. Kase, 1/8, 2dMarDiv LCpl Cody M. Klein, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Sgt Christopher M. Limberg, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Cpl Garrett D. McArdle, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Sgt Andrew M. McCune, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Cpl Ryan M. Murphy, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Cpl Richard A. Pandiscio II, 1/8, 2dMarDiv Cpl Thomas G. Raio Jr., 3/2, 2dMarDiv Sgt Matthew D. Rentfrow, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Sgt Gerardo M. Rosales, 3/2, 2dMarDiv HN Giancarlo E. Rosasco, 3/4, 1stMarDivCpl Nevan L. Sager, Hq Group, II MEF1stLt Cade A. Sanchez, 3/2, 2dMarDiv

SSgt Patrick H. Seiler, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Sgt Christopher J. Sevigny, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Sgt Maurice D. Sharpe, 2d ANGLICO, II MEFLCpl Allan G. Siders, 1/8, 2dMarDiv SSgt Glen A. Silva, 1/8, 2dMarDiv LCpl Dwayne S. Smith, 3/2, 2dMarDiv SSgt Matthew T. Spare, 1st MSOB, MARSOC Cpl Jordan R. Stanton, 2d Recon Bn, 2dMarDiv Sgt Chase A. Toon, 3/2, 2dMarDiv Sgt Guido C. Torres, 7th ESB, 1st MLG Capt Aaron A. Tyler, 3/4, 1stMarDivLCpl Daniel E. Wernke Jr., 1/8, 2dMarDiv Sgt Jonathan S. West, 3/4, 1stMarDiv1stLt Tyler A. Yoder, 1/5, 1stMarDiv Sgt Craig R. Young, 7th ESB, 1st MLG

Compiled by the Personal Awards Section, HQMC

5 - 19 Feb - 44th Anniversary ofTet Offensive & Hue City

12 - 26 Feb - Operation “Dewey Canyon”

23 Mar - 4 Apr - 40th Anniversary 1972“Easter Offensive” & Col Ripley Dong Ha Bridge

14 - 26 Apr - USMC Tankers & Ontos in I Corps

20 Apr - 3 May - 50th Anniversary of SHUFLY &HMM-362 Arrives in Vietnam

20 Apr - 4 May - Battle of Dai Do

10 - 23 Jun - 1st MarDiv & 3rd MarDiv I Corps

9 - 16 Mar - 67th Iwo Jima Reunion - GuamPre-Tour: 6 - 10 Mar - Saipan & Tinian

Post Tours: 16 - 20 Mar - Hawaii16 - 21 Mar - Peleliu

13198 Centerpointe Way Ste 202 Woodbridge VA 2219313198 Centerpointe Way Ste 202 Woodbridge VA 22193Colonel Warren Wiedhahn, USMC (Ret) President/CEOColonel Warren Wiedhahn, USMC (Ret) President/CEO

703-590-1295703-590-1295 • 800-722-9501 • Fax• 800-722-9501 • Fax 703-590-1292703-590-1292Email: [email protected] • Website: www.miltours.comEmail: [email protected] • Website: www.miltours.com

VIETNAM BATTLEFIELDSVIETNAM BATTLEFIELDS

Serving Veterans, Educators,Serving Veterans, Educators,

Historians and Their Families Historians and Their Families

Since 1987Since 1987

MILITARY HISTORICAL TOURS, INC.

PACIFIC BATTLEFIELDSPACIFIC BATTLEFIELDS

Chuck Meadows takes you back!

Ripley under bridge!

With Ambassador Michalak!

1 - 6 Jun - 70th CommemorationBattle of Midway

9 - 18 Jul - Yap - Manta Ray Dive Tour

19 - 28 Jul - “Marianas Island Campaign 1944”Liberation of Guam & Tinian & Saipan too!

18 - 28 May 94th Anniversary of WWI Battlefields

BATTLE OF THE BULGE TOUR

Post WWI or Pre-D-Day: 28 May-2 Jun

1 - 9 Jun 68th Anniversary D-Day:Normandy to Paris

A toast at Gallipoli!

2nd MarDiv Monument on Tinian

NEW TOUR!18 - 27 April

Turkey - Istanbul & GallipoliANZAC Day - Troy - WWI Battlefields

EUROPE BATTLEFIELDSEUROPE BATTLEFIELDS

More than just the beaches!

9 - 16 March67th Iwo Jima Reunion - Guam

Pre-Tour: 6 - 10 Mar - Saipan & TinianPost Tours: 16 - 20 Mar - Hawaii/16 - 21 Mar - Peleliu

Dog tags onMt. SuribachiTOUR

HIGHLIGHT!

A great day to see the Great War!



http://www.miltours.com

http://www.miltours.com


Story and photos by Capt George Hierro

The mantra “every Marine is a rifleman” reminds leathernecks, regardless of military occupational special

ty (MOS), that warfighting is the Marine’s primary occupation. Administration clerks, food service Marines and data network specialists must possess an understanding of critical combat fundamentals in order to shoot, move and communicate in any clime and place, to respond to any crisis and be flexible enough to serve in any capacity to meet mission requirements.

In keeping with the spirit of this philoso phy, 45 Marines with Headquarters and Service Company, 2d Battalion, First Marine Regiment, First Marine Division trained as a provisional rifle platoon during Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTIC) 112 in Yuma, Ariz., Sept. 29Oct. 30, 2011, to build and validate individual, team and squadlevel skills.

In the unforgiving desert heat at Yuma Proving Ground, near the CaliforniaArizona border, H&S Co drilled repeatedly

on speed reloads, immediate and remedial actions, combat formations, reaction to con tact, withdrawing under fire and basic combat lifesaving techniques. The leathernecks then conducted close marksmanship and live grenade training.

After each of the three, sevenday training packages, noncommissioned officers and their Marines completed livefire and maneuver exercises—during which squads reacted to farambushes, established fire superiority, destroyed Larue steel sil houette targets and balloons, and reacted to a counterattack—after having assessed the fighting condition of their squads.

Sergeant Joshua D. Acevedo, an infantry man with 2d Bn, 1st Marines, helped develop and execute the comprehensive training plan, which was crafted by selecting key mission essential tasks from the Infantry Training and Readiness Manual.

While going over the training plan with his company commander, Acevedo said he would first review basic individual skills with the platoon and ensure they know their weapon system inside and out. “Then

we’ll teach them how to operate as a fire team, and then [as] a squad,” the Bronx, N.Y., native added. “I’ll appoint noninfantry Marine squad leaders and shadow them through events so that I can build their proficiency.”

Sgt Erik Markel, an infantryman and native of Darlington, Md., said that “noninfantry Marines don’t always get the same opportunity to sustain and refine the skills they learned at Marine combat training, so I felt it was important that we used every opportunity to prepare them as best we could.

“I also felt the training program helped develop my abilities as a teacher, coach and mentor, and sustained my MOS skills,” he added.

Infantryman Sgt Johnny Serna, a Texan, led H&S Co in a livefire relay competition that tested the Marines’ abilities to engage targets accurately after performing a series of physical conditioning exercises. Marines in full combat load performed 10 pushups, sprinted to a firing position and fired five rounds at a target, and repeated the exercise several times. The squad that destroyed the target first was exempt from range cleanup duties.

“Marines thrive in a competitive environ ment,” said Second Lieutenant Joseph P. Guerrero, the company’s executive officer, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Our goal was to give them the fundamental baseline they needed to confidently operate in a combat environment, and I truly feel we accomplished—and in some cases, exceeded—our initial missionessential task list.”

After acquiring the necessary know ledge and techniques to successfully conduct basic squadlevel offensive opera tions, the provisional rifle platoon underwent a twoday training package that introduced them to Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT).

During this period, H&S Co learned how to safely approach an urban environment and tailor its posture, formations and de cisions to respond to the enemy threat. Room clearing, reacting to sniper fire and improvised explosive devices, and casualty evacuation procedures were covered in detail to prepare the Marines for the final training exercise. The final

Provisional Rifle Platoons Mean More “Boots on the Ground”:

H&S Company, 2/1 Trains at WTIC 1-12 in Yuma

Leathernecks in the H&S Co, 2/1’s provisional rifle platoon conduct scenario-driven field training during

WTIC 1-12 at Yuma Proving Ground, Yuma, Ariz., Sept. 29-Oct. 30, 2011.



mission: to capture a high value individual (HVI) and return him to the forward operating base unharmed.

After receiving fragmentary orders from 2dLt Guerrero, squad leaders led their Marines through one of the urban facilities to conduct a cordon and search of a house that served as the beddown site of the targeted HVI. Trainers added friction to the final exercise by simulating attacks on friendly forces with blank ammunition, artillery simulation canisters and by inflicting mock casualties.

After each training event, Sgt Acevedo led leathernecks through a detailed debrief to prepare the Marines for the following training mission.

“Dispersion, dispersion, dispersion!” he stressed to the platoon. “The best initial treatment for any casualty is to establish fire superiority first—only then should you perform combat lifesaving techniques. Always weigh the enemy situation first!”

All the Marines listened intently as they prepared to undergo the scenario again and again, until they perfected the operation.

“Focus on the mission, gents,” Acevedo told them. “If you receive ineffective sniper fire from 500 meters away, and your mission is to return the HVI unharmed, how should you react?”

Leadership skills were sharpened as noninfantry NCOs were forced to make

sound, forceful decisions under a wellcrafted combat scenario that demanded mental and physical endurance.

Only six months earlier, during 2/1’s sevenmonth deployment to Garmsir, Afghanistan, intelligence analysts, motor vehicle operators and wiremen with H&S Co often were required to conduct static

security operations and participate in, and at times lead, dismounted combat patrols.

“I volunteered for the training package after learning that the sergeant I replaced in the communications section became a fulltime squad leader in Afghanistan during 2/1’s last deployment,” said Sgt Brandon R. Rivers, a Chicago native and

Some of the leathernecks in H&S Co’s provisional rifle platoon pause in Hangar 220 at MCAS Yuma after completing a helicopter training event during their

30-day WTIC 1-12 course.

An H&S Co leatherneck rushes an objective during a squad live-fire and maneuver exercise at the Graze

Range Complex, Yuma Proving Ground, Oct. 21, 2011.



wireman with H&S Co. “Because of my experience over the last 30 days, I am more capable, confident and motivated. And I know the junior Marines feel the same way.”

Corporal Ryan S. Fanter, an intelligence analyst from Escondido, Calif., said the training differed from previous predeployment cycles because H&S Co chose not to rely on the battalion’s infantry companies to coordinate and execute a training plan aimed at developing basic combat skills.

“This was by far the best training we’ve participated in. The MOUT training marked the first time I was put in a leadership po sition since my promotion to corporal, and I feel significantly more confident in my abilities to control a squad in combat,” said Fanter. “As an intelligence analyst, I also feel I have a much better understanding of the intelligence support [that] squad leaders need to be effective.”

The battalion’s religious program specialist, RP3 Johnnie Howard, earned his place alongside the Marines. “[The] RP was probably one of the most aggressive and competent squad members during some of those evolutions,” said Sgt Aceve do. “He

can shoot too—he impressed all of us.”“I’m just more comfortable with my

weapon system,” said Howard, a Florida native. “I threw a grenade for the first time ever and learned to operate as a member of a Marine rifle squad—the training was absolutely excellent and I feel significantly more confident in my abilities to protect our battalion’s chaplain.”

After establishing its reputation in the battalion as a cohesive maneuver element, the provisional rifle platoon then joined the four maneuver companies to support the WTIC 112 events as the ground combat element. It established blocking po sitions in support of livefire heliborne raids and even conducted one event in dependently, during which the entire pla toon boarded CH46E helicopters, dismounted at an objective, established perimeter security and flawlessly executed Marshalling Area Control procedures.

Prior to returning to the assembly area via helicopter, the Marines pushed their earplugs in a bit farther as the CH46Es they rode in engaged targets from the air with .50caliber machine guns while AH1W Super Cobra gunships fired rockets overhead.

“Raise your hand if this was your first helicopter ride,” said Gunnery Sergeant David Menusa. The company gunnery sergeant seemed pleased as half the platoon raised their hands high up in the air, each of them noticeably content after exper iencing all elements of the Marine airground task force in action and par ti ci pating in the execution of such a phenomenal event.

The Marines returned to Hangar 220 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., that evening more confident, capable and motivated—ready to contribute to the battalion’s mission whether turning a wrench, resolving a pay issue or conducting combat operations against enemy forces, but always as Marine riflemen first.

Editor’s note: Capt Hierro is the Commanding Officer, H&S Co, 2/1 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. He has deployed with 2/1 to Iraq and Afghanistan.

H&S Co Marines engage in live-fire, close-marks-

man ship training at the Graze Range Com plex,

Yuma Proving Ground, Yuma, Ariz., Oct. 13, 2011.



Command Hosts FestivalTo Thank Military Families

Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSAB), Md., hosted the Celebrating Military Families Festival, Nov. 5, 2011, during Military Family Appreciation Month, which was sponsored, in part, by Operation Homefront.

To kick off Military Family Appreciation Month, two cakecutting ceremonies were held Nov. 1—one at the Wounded Warrior Barracks, and the other at the outpatient building at the Walter Reed Na tional Military Medical Center in Bethesda.

During the ceremony that took place in the Wounded Warrior Barracks, Navy Captain Frederick “Fritz” Kass, NSAB’s commander, thanked military families for their support of military personnel. “Every month is military family month,” Kass said. “None of us would be here without our military family. I start talking about my family and my voice gets a little funny because I wouldn’t be anything without them.”

The weekend’s festival, made possible by a number of the command’s staff and

organizations, featured a variety of activities, food, and information tables displaying available resources for families, said

Daniel Dunham, school liaison officer with the Fleet and Family Support Center at NSAB.

Food baskets for military families also were offered by the naval support activity. According to Chief Sarmaine Johnson, the command senior enlisted leader at NSAB, all staff members were encouraged to donate nonperishable food for the baskets. “A Thanksgiving meal is very expensive, and it’s outside your daily budget,” said Johnson. “The command doesn’t want any family member or child to be left behind.”

The naval support activity also assists military families throughout the year. Among the many services available on base are lodging, housing referral services and child care. The Fleet and Family Support Center also provides programs for military personnel and their loved ones, such as transition and employment services, deployment and relocation support, financial counseling, family advocacy as well as discounted rates on recreational activities, travel, entertainment and tours.

Sarah Fortney

PAO, Walter Reed NMMC, Bethesda, Md.

Whole Health Scholarship ProgramOpen to All Military Spouses

The National Institute of Whole Health (NIWH), pioneers of whole health education and whole person health care, has opened up its scholarship program to all military spouses.

Originally, only MyCAAeligible spouses could qualify for the scholarship, but the program has expanded to accommodate an increased need for educational opportunities.

“The original intention behind the scholarship program was to assist in providing demystified whole health information for the people who need it most. Given the re sponse we’ve had over the past months, it is clear to us that this need exists for a much wider military spouse audience,” said Dr. Georgianna Donadio, program director for NIWH.

The $1,250 scholarship can be used toward the following NIWH certification programs: the Whole Health Educator, Whole Health for Nurses, Whole Health Nutrition Edu cator and Whole Health Coaching certifi cations. For health, allied health and edu cation professionals, the pro

E V E N T S & F A M I LY N E W S

Leatherneck LineEdited by Clare A. Guerrero

CMC SALUTES SOUSA—The Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen James F. Amos, slips into

formation with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, before the start of the John

Philip Sousa wreath-laying ceremony that commemorated the birth of the famous American

composer at his gravesite at Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C., Nov. 6, 2011. Ac-

cording to band members, the Commandant addressed them with a jovial “Good morning,

Marines!” and joked that he was hiding from his wife and the Sergeant Major.

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Capt Lucas Frokjer, flight line officer with Marine

Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, reunites with his

family at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Sept. 17, 2011,

after returning from a seven-month deployment.



grams enable military spouses to enrich their existing education with knowledge of “The Whole Picture of Health” for career advancement. Spouses are able to train to care for the whole person, addressing not just the physi cal aspect of health, but also the emotional, nutritional, en viron mental and spiritual aspects.

Individuals who would like more information, or are interested in enrolling, can do so by calling (888) 354HEAL (4325), or visiting www.niwh.org.

Carol Arnold

National Institute of Whole Health

Purple Heart Marine Receives Makeover During MCX Grand Opening

Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) celebrated the grand opening of a remodeled Marine Corps Exchange at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Nov. 2, 2011.

As part of the celebration, the MCCS staff and II Marine Expeditionary Force representatives selected wounded warriors for a total makeover. “We wanted to do something different in conjunction with the grand opening of the MCX,” said Yolanda M. Mayo, the community relations and operations specialist for MCCS. “So we decided to incorporate Purple Heart recipients.”

During the event, designers from ISSAY (a luxury women’s clothing company in Los Angeles) assisted with the makeover.

“As we know, it’s [Marine Corps] Ball season, and we wanted them to have something unique to wear for the celebrations,” Mayo said.

One of the Marines who received the makeover was Lance Corporal Danielle N. Pothoof, a motor transport operator with Second Marine Logistics Group.

Pothoof was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart after her Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device while she was supporting International Security Assistance Force operations in Afghanistan during February 2011.

“This was really exciting, because this is a whole side of me that doesn’t ever come out,” Pothoof said. “I am usually in my [physical training uniform] or Marine Corps uniform with my hair up, nothing special.

“I feel like a whole new person. … [I]t makes me feel really good, and I thank them for that.”

Cpl Bruno J. Bego

Combat Correspondent, 2d MLG

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Proud graduates of an NIWH certification program display their diplomas at the Harvard Medical School Conference Center, Nov. 21, 2009. The NIWH has

expanded its Military Spouse Scholarship Program eligibility.

LCpl Danielle N. Pothoof, a motor T operator with

2d MLG, stands next to her “before” photo after

receiving a makeover Nov. 2, 2011, at MCB Camp

Lejeune, N.C.


http://www.niwh.org


F I N A L S A L U T E

In MemoriamEdited by R. R. Keene

“In Memoriam” is run on a space-available basis. Those wishing to submit items should include full name, age, location at time of death (city and state), last grade

held, units served in, dates of service and, if possible, a local or na tional obituary. Allow at least four months for the notice to appear.

Operation Enduring Freedom: Marine Casualties, Oct. 1-31, 2011

The following were listed as having died while supporting combat operations:

Lance Corporal Jason N. Barfield, 22, of Ashford, Ala., with 3d Combat Engineer Battalion, First Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Oct. 24, 2011, in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

LCpl Jordan S. Bastean, 19, of Pekin, Ill., with 3d Bn, Seventh Marine Regiment, 1stMarDiv, I MEF, Twentynine Palms, Oct. 23, 2011, in Helmand province.

Staff Sergeant Stephen J. Dunning, 31, of Milpitas, Calif., with 9th Engineer Support Bn, Third Marine Logistics Group, III MEF, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 27, 2011, in Helmand province.

LCpl Scott D. Harper, 21, of Winston, Ga., with 1/6, 2dMarDiv, II MEF, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., Oct. 13, 2011, in Helmand province.

LCpl Benjamin W. Schmidt, 24, of San Antonio with 2/4, 1stMarDiv, I MEF, MCB Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 6, 2011, in Helmand province.

Edward A. Parnell

Brigadier General Edward A. Parnell—a World War II veteran who went on to fly com-bat missions in Korea and Vietnam and to serve as director of alumni relations and as a top fund-raising official at the University of Maryland—died Aug. 11, 2011, in Baltimore. He was 85.

According to Washington Post staff writer Adam Bernstein, BGen Parnell retired from the Marine Corps in 1976 from a position over-seeing manpower, planning and personnel in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

His military career began in the Navy, and he was designated a naval aviator in the Ma rine Corps in 1946. During the Korean War he flew combat missions, and during the Viet nam War, he flew fixed-wing aircraft and heli copters and commanded a Marine aircraft group.

His decorations include two awards of the Legion of Merit with combat “V,” the Meri-torious Service Medal and the Air Medal.

BGen Parnell graduated from the Army War College in Pennsylvania and the University of Maryland’s University College. After his Marine Corps retirement, he joined U-Md., serving as development director until 1981, and then director of alumni affairs until 1987.

He helped start and fund an alumni affairs department for the University of Maryland’s University College, which named an award in his honor for outstanding alumni and volunteer service. He was director of UMUC alumni affairs for several years and started two scholarships for UMUC students.

BGen Parnell was born in Tarrytown, N.Y. He later moved to Vero Beach, Fla. He was a member of the Marine Corps Memorial Association.

Paul Lindsay

First Lieutenant Paul Lindsay (aka Noah Boyd), a platoon leader in Vietnam who was awarded the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts, died Sept. 1, 2011, in Boston. He was 68. A renowned FBI agent in Detroit for more than 20 years, he also was the author of seven pub-lished novels, the last two of which were New York Times best-sellers and currently under contract to be made into major motion pictures.

Lindsay wrote six novels for Simon & Schus-ter as Noah Boyd; his latest and last thriller, “The Bricklayer,” made the New York Times best-seller list.

It was 1986. FBI agent-profiler Paul Lindsay had returned to his home in Detroit, after work-ing three months on the infamous Green River serial killer case in Seattle.

“My brain was rotting,” he told a reporter. He decided to take an adult education course. Some suggested creative writing. He was hesitant, having failed English in college.

“The teacher asked us to write a three-page short story,” Lindsay recalled. “So I wrote this thing and she said, ‘With your background, life experience and the way you write, you can do this professionally.’ ”

That led to a first novel, 1992’s “Witness to the Truth,” that got him in hot water with the FBI. Lindsay believed the FBI felt he revealed too much inside information. Then, in 1993 Lindsay was featured in a Vanity Fair story where he called then-FBI director William Sessions a very bad name. He received another reprimand.

Ironically, this came as Lindsay was be-ing commended by the FBI for solving the Highland Park serial killings in Detroit.

Fred G. Manes

Fred George “Fritz” Manes, a Korean War veteran who produced films in the 1970s and ’80s for Clint Eastwood, including “Any Which Way You Can,” “Tightrope” and “Heart-break Ridge,” before he and Eastwood had a major disagreement, died of lung and brain cancer Sept. 27, 2011, in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 79.

Manes and Eastwood attended Piedmont Junior High School in Piedmont, Calif., and Oakland Technical High School together.

After the Korean War, Manes studied acting at the University of California, Los Angeles, and then worked in radio and television.

In 1973, he went to work at Malpaso, East-wood’s production company. His first credit came when he was listed as an assistant to the producer on the 1976 film, “The Enforcer.”

While at Malpaso, he was an associate pro-ducer, producer or executive producer. He had limited appearances in “Every Which Way but Loose” and “Escape From Alcatraz” and did stunt work in “City Heat” and “Sudden Impact.” He also was credited as producer on “Any Which Way You Can,” “Tightrope,” “City Heat” and “Ratboy.”

According to New York Times writer Wil-liam Grimes, “The relationship with Mr. Eastwood cooled markedly during the filming of the 1986 film ‘Heartbreak Ridge,’ about a Marine [gunnery] sergeant. Since he was a Korean War veteran who had been awarded the Purple Heart, Mr. Manes was expected to smooth out any difficulties with the Marine Corps, whose cooperation had been obtained for the project.

“The film’s salty dialogue and less than



accurate depiction of events surrounding the invasion of Grenada raised hackles … and the Marine Corps disavowed the film, as did the Department of Defense. Mr. Manes was unceremoniously eased out of Malpaso.”

Robert C. Baker, 91, of Fort Collins, Colo. He enlisted in 1941 and, during WW II, was in Wellington, New Zealand; Cape Gloucester; Peleliu and other South Pacific islands serving as a clarinetist with the lstMarDiv band until discharged in 1945. Before his discharge, he met Margaret Tilton, also a Marine stationed at MCAS Cherry Point, N.C., and married her in 1946.

He worked for Boeing until retiring in 1982. He was a member of the MCL and played the clarinet for the Northern Colorado Concert Band and the Loveland Concert Band.

Cpl Vester E. “Puci” Blevins, 88, in Oneida, Tenn. He enlisted in 1943 after being rejected twice because of poor eyesight. He managed to memorize the eye chart and passed on his third exam. He served in the Pacific with the 2d and 5thMarDivs, landed at Iwo Jima and par ticipated in the occupation of Japan at Sasebo and Nagasaki. He was the super inten dent of the Oneida water department for 37 years.

Police Capt Charles Brown, 69, in Bloomington, Ind. All he ever wanted to be was a Marine and police officer. He achieved both. He enlisted in 1962 and served three tours in Vietnam. He joined the Bloomington police force in 1967 and was the city’s first black po lice officer. He later became a detective and rose to the rank of captain. He retired in 1989 with 22 years of service. He went on to work as an officer at Bloomington Housing Auth ority and to coach football.

PFC Frank W. “Cal” Callahan, 88, of Boston. He was a WW II veteran who served with the 4thMarDiv on Iwo Jima. He went on to become a Boston police officer and a member of the MCL.

Norman C. Christiansen, 93, in Osage, Iowa. He enlisted in 1942 and served with Wpns Co, 9th Marines, 3dMarDiv at Guadalcanal, Bougainville and Guam.

He worked for the McCoy Ice Cream Company in Osage and later owned and operated Sugar Creek DriveIn. In 1971, he worked for Sedona Liquors and Mile High Distributors in Sedona, Ariz., and later assisted his wife, Delores, at Creative Clothing, which she operated. He was a member of the MCL and the 3dMarDiv Assn.

James H. “Jimmy” Coker, 79, of Dallas. He served in the mid1950s and helped create Coker Brothers Construction in the 1960s. He developed Colorado resort condominiums, apart ments, hotels, industrial parks and large, mixeduse land development projects. One of his creations was the Olla Podrida—a spe cialty shopping center converted from an aban doned warehouse using recycled building material.

He was chairman emeritus of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society. He also served as chairman of the board of the Dallas Opera, as trustee of the Dallas Ballet and ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas. Additionally, he played the banjo and guitar.

Col William H. Cowper, 90, of Cherry Hill, N.J. He enlisted in 1942 and served on active duty for 31 years. During WW II, he was with 8th Marines, 2dMarDiv at Saipan and Okinawa. He was a supply and logistics officer who served as Chief of Staff, Force Logistics Command during his second tour in Vietnam. His awards include the Legion of Merit with combat “V,” the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

He married fellow Marine Ellen E. Jones in 1947, and they raised three children.

MGySgt Richard F. “Dick” Cronkhite, 76, of Prescott, Ariz. He enlisted in the Reserve in 1952. He requested active duty and served at MCB Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, and then changed to the aviation field and served at MARS27, MCAS Cherry Point, N.C.; H&MS36, MCAF Ky Ha, RVN; and, later, allegedly was the last maintenance chief for the last UH34D squadron in Vietnam.

He also served at MCAS New River, N.C., NAS Jacksonville, Fla., and on recruiting duty in Indiana, followed by a tour at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, and MCAS Camp Pendleton, Calif. His personal awards include Combat Aircrew insignia with three stars as well as three Air Medals.

SSgt Guy J. D’Angelico, 90, of Fort Edward, N.Y. He was a WW II veteran who was a wire chief with 6th Marines at Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa and, during the occupation of Japan, at Nagasaki.

He retired from the Grand Union Stores as a manager. He also owned and operated his own drapery business in Glens Falls. He worked with the Fort Edward Little League and girls’ softball and was instrumental in de veloping the Little League field. He also served as a town councilman.

LtCol John E. Dixon, 89, in Dallas. He became an F4U Corsair pilot during WW II and flew off Guadalcanal. On Feb. 24, 1945, he was shot down over the Philippines and rescued by guerrilla fighters. He flew 186.5 missions

during WW II, and during the Korean War, he flew 101 missions. His awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross and 14 Air Medals. He retired from the Reserve in 1966.

LtCol Donald V. Joyce, 82, of State College, Pa. He served on Okinawa and in the Marine Corps Reserve. He was a member of the Nittany Leathernecks Detachment #302 of the MCL and worked sideline security at Beaver Stadium, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions, for more than 30 years.

He was an officiating member with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and the New Jersey Football Official’s As sociation and also was a scorekeeper for State College high school and junior high school football games. He was on the faculty at Pennsylvania State University in the College of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. He also was a volunteer with the Special Olympics.

Sgt Donald W. Stearman, 85, of Dallas. He was a veteran of WW II and the Korean War. He fought at Sugar Loaf Hill on Okinawa as a member of the 6thMarDiv, and during Korea, he served with the 1stMarDiv at the Chosin Reservoir. Discharged in 1951, he became a draftsman, a hydraulic salesman, a real estate agent and a developer and was active in the Boy Scouts of America and the MCL.

Edward J. Tate Jr., 89, of Boring, Ore. He served during WW II from 1942 to 1945. He was a boxer known as “Fancy Eddie Tate” and was inducted into the Boxers Hall of Fame at the Multnomah Athletic Club. He worked as a truck driver.

Frank Wirhanowsky, 77, of Hackettstown, N.J. He served from 1951 to 1954 and was a Korean War veteran.

He worked 32 years for the Mars candy company and retired as packaging supervisor.

Florian J. “Larry” Zajackowski, 85, of Milladore, Wis. He served from 1949 to 1951 and was a veteran of the Inchon landing, Seoul fighting and the Chosin Reservoir in Korea.

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FIGHTING FOR MACARTHUR: The Navy and Ma-rine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines. By John Gordon. Published by Naval Institute Press. 384 pages. Stock #1612510574. $29.66 MCA Members. $32.95 Regular Price.

Day after dire day early in April of 1942, heartbreaking front-page headlines and hourly radio news broadcasts an nounced the disaster. In the Chicago Sun, for ex-ample, bold black banners riveted readers to “FIERCE BATAAN BATTLE! Japs Break Lines, Yanks Hurled Back—Many Units Trapped” (April 3); “BATAAN’S PLIGHT DESPERATE! U.S. Losses Mount” (April 9); “YANKS DEFY JAPA-NESE FORCES AS BATAAN FALLS” (April 10).

Eyewitness accounts by war correspond-ents followed, detailing stories of intense fighting in oppressive heat, near starvation rations, and wilting dysentery affecting more if not most of the 80,000 brave Ameri can-Filipino forces retreating from defensive position to defensive position. Suddenly, the whole world sat up, focusing upon the rugged mountainous Bataan pen insula on the western side of Manila Bay. Only the Doolittle Raid eight days later soothed America’s sagging spirits: “BIG FIRES SET IN TOKYO—Flames Ravage Kobe, Nagoya, Yokohama!”

Now, John Gordon’s “Fighting for Mac-Arthur: The Navy and Marine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines” provides the epic story of our sea services in concord with the Army, performing some of the most heroic missions in all

of World War II. As Gordon noted in his introduction, “As I researched the cam-paign I came to the conclusion that the story of the role of the Navy and Marine Corps had never received adequate attention.”

Not since the publication of Walter Du-maux Edmonds’ “They Fought With What They Had: The Story of the Army Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific, 1941-1942” has there been such a thorough, brilliantly researched and written semi-official nar-rative of those dark days when Japanese forces pushed down the Bataan peninsula and eventually captured Corregidor—Ameri ca’s Gibraltar of the Pacific.

U.S. Navy sailors and aviators were pressed into action at sea in assorted ships and small craft and on shore as infantry-men. Responding brilliantly in coffee-stained whites that provided psychological relief, if little to no real camouflage in the jungles, the Navy fought hard alongside Marines who had mostly come from China, barely escaping the advancing Japanese. But all their efforts were simply delaying the inevitable. Harsh military criticism and judgment are outside the author’s prov ince, although Gordon doesn’t hesitate to de-lineate the unpreparedness, mismanage-ment, armchair generalship, false claims of destruction by the Army Air Corps, and unabashed failures leading to the ultimate defeat of U.S. and Filipino forces.

From a staggering number of recently unearthed U.S. and Japanese documents, personal interviews, diaries, unit histories, and written statements of survivors, the

author shares the viewpoints of both the Japanese and Allied officers and men in the field. American bitterness and con-fusion is sensed while unbelievable heroics are described, from the Clark, Iba and Nichols airfields to the Asiatic Fleet at Cavite, from waiting for the main Japanese attack to settling in for the siege on Cor-regidor, and the Bataan Death March.

“Telling their story became my goal,” writes Gordon, who graduated from The Citadel in 1977, retired as a lieutenant col-onel from the U.S. Army, and currently is a senior analyst in a defense think tank. “I have tried to include an appropriate level of detail regarding the Army’s activities due to the fact that the Army’s successes and failure in the campaign had a direct effect on what happened to the sailors and Marines.”

Where verity is a rarity these days when it comes to depicting genuine American war heroes, the author holds no punches in describing how General Douglas Mac-Arthur created a climate of distrust be-tween himself and senior U.S. Navy of-ficers who deeply affected the joint action against the Japanese. Such is proof that the art of military writing, which is some-times mourned as dead, is indeed very much alive and in good hands, such as those of Gordon.

As for the fall of the Philippines, 16 weeks after Pearl Harbor, Rex Smith, editor-in-chief of the Chicago Sun, wrote, “Four short months ago, Bataan was un-known to Americans. Like Thermopylae, the Alamo and Verdun, a bit of blooded earth tells of American and Filipino cour-age and endurance beyond description, heroism against hopeless odds, of selfless sacrifice, of devotion so great that Death is cheated of those who died.

“Here was seen the best in man defying the worst, and looking beyond to see once more the best. MacArthur and [Lieutenant General Johnathan] Wainwright, who gained such glory on Bataan, are not alone the ones who make it imperishable. The imperishable is the mingled blood of the

R E C O M M E N D E D R E A D I N G

Books ReviewedUnless otherwise noted, these books may be ordered from the MCA Bookstore. Subscribers may use members’ prices. Include $5.99 for shipping. Virginia res idents add 5 percent sales tax; North Carolina residents add 6.75 percent. Prices may change. Make check or money order payable to: MCA, P.O. Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134, call toll-free: (888) 237-7683, or shop online at www.marineshop.net.




men who fought and fell, the strength and dignity of the common soldier and sailor, American and Filipino, white men and brown, fighting and dying side by side.”

Lest we forget their story, John Gordon’s “Fighting for MacArthur” is an absolute must-read.

Don DeNevi

Editor’s note: Author and historian Don DeNevi is a frequent reviewer for Leatherneck readers.

ALWAYS FAITHFUL: U.S. Marines in World War II Combat—The 100 Best Photos. By Eric Hammel. Published by Osprey Publishing. 200 pages. Stock #1849085382. $36 MCA Members. $40 Regular Price.

If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” then Eric Hammel’s latest—and perhaps his last—book speaks volumes. This 200-page masterpiece of the Marines’ combat in the World War II Pacific campaign is surely a “page-turner,” but not in the usual sense.

While the reader surely will be eager to turn the page, the mental “grip” of the photo is not easily loosened. Each provides a unique and specific story. The book tells the story of the Marines’ nearly unfathom-ably costly victory over the Japanese, and each picture—image by image—captures the essence of the war, providing graphic pieces of the battles and campaigns that led the Marines through that long, brutal, bloody war to victory.

Hammel briefly explains in his “Intro-duction” how war reporting evolved and how the first brutally graphic combat photos of Tarawa, published in the Dec. 13, 1943, issue of Life magazine, rather than de-moral izing the American public as feared by the national civilian leaders, actually steeled its resolve.

At the beginning of each of the 12 chap-ters, Hammel prepares the reader for the story of the photos to follow. His unique organization is event- or occasion-driven, not by date and place. His chapters cover

Marines and accompanying sailors in the beach assault; the hot, infested, rotten, stinking jungle; the Marine rif leman going toe to toe; supporting arms; closing with, attacking and killing the enemy; taking it to the enemy with “blunt force”; pain, fear and being human; brutal but simple—kill the enemy; “Docs” and no Marine left behind; exhaustion; the fallen; and finally “Adieu.”

And found on a battlefield grave on Guadalcanal:

“And when he gets to Heaven,

Leatherneck Book Browser“More Than a Few Good Men.” Here it is—a personal

tribute to the men of the “Walking Dead,” 1st Battalion, Ninth Marine Regiment and “Hell in a Helmet,” 2/9 in Vietnam. The author, Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Driver Jr., a retired Marine Mustang, calls this book a personal memoir. But it’s much, much more. He certainly weaves a solid tale of his early years, graduating from boot camp in 1953. But Driver blasts through his first 12 years as a leatherneck in about 100 pages and devotes 300 more pages to his combat tours, commanding rifle companies in 1/9 and 2/9.

This is a real combat page-turner. If you know anything about the Vietnam War, you know these two battalions were always in the thick of the action, often outgunned, but always pressing the attack. Bob Driver tells their story in a no-holds-barred, extremely detailed and gritty fashion that really makes you proud of these young Americans.

You can add this 5-star memoir to your war library for only $37.96 (hardcover) by going to Amazon.com. ISBN: 0-9841128-3-9. It’s published by Mariner Media, 131 W. 21st St., Buena Vista, VA 24416; www.marinermedia.com.

Mariner Media is a fairly new publishing house, but retired Ma rine Colonel “Woody” Sadler is on the staff, so we can look forward to even more of the Marine Corps story coming out of Mariner.

“Ooorah! Biography of a Marine Icon: Sergeant Major Bill ‘Ooorah’ Paxton.” Marine drill instructors are a tight group—and they should be, for theirs is the task of making Marines. Author Gregg Stoner was a drill instructor for 19 months. He’s written a 423-page biography of SgtMaj Bill “Ooorah” Paxton, whose career included not only two tours as a drill instructor, but two tours in Vietnam where he earned the Bronze Star with combat “V” and several Purple Hearts.

Along the way, SgtMaj Paxton highlighted his Marine Corps career with interesting individuals such as World Heavyweight Boxing Champion and Marine Ken Norton; “Officer and a Gentleman” actor Lou Gossett Jr.; and former San Diego drill instructor and screen DI, actor R. Lee Ermey.

Because ours is a small Corps, Marines such as Paxton become icons in an elite enclave of leathernecks. He fostered a well-earned reputation that others coming up the ranks can look to as map and compass to guide their own careers. His book is often humorous without the self-aggrandizement often prevalent in biographical endeavors.

Published by iUniverse, 1663 Liberty Dr., Bloomington, IN 47403, (800) 288-4677, www.iuniverse.com, ISBN: 978-1-4502-4189-2, the paperback is $27.95.


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To Saint Peter he will tell,‘One more Marine reporting, Sir, I’ve

served my time in Hell.’ ” Eric Hammel began writing mili tary

history books at age 15 with “Guadalcanal: Starvation Island” and since, during a 50-year career as an author, has published more than 40 books and nearly 70 maga-zine articles. He’s also been involved with TV documentaries about Marine Corps operations in WW II, Korea, Vietnam and Beirut. According to Hammel, he “retired in 2008 and took up writing as a full-time hobby.” To that he recently has added with a slight caveat: “ ‘Always Faithful’ is meant to be last call. I honestly have nothing left to say.”

If it be so, “Always Faithful,” an excep-tional coffee-table-size book, may well be the last Hammel jewel with which military historians in general, and Marines in par-ticular, crown their professional libraries.

LtCol Ray Stewart, USMC (Ret)

Editor’s note: LtCol Stewart is the president of Marine Corps Vietnam Tankers Historical Foundation and a frequent con tributor to Leatherneck.

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gible recognition for the professional accomplishments of over 9,000 Marines in 2011 in every occupational,

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he started yelling to the driver, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ He then dove headlong into the open passenger window of the car, with his head ending up on the passenger side floor and his feet sticking out of the window. The driver floored the accelerator, and the car took off slinging gravel all over the place with the failed bandit’s feet still sticking out of the window.”

George then turned to me and pointed to a chair that was just inside the front door of his little country store, and quietly said, “Then I flopped down in that chair and damn near died.”

He went on to relate that when he reported the incident to the state police, they dispatched a young trooper who, upon hearing this most incredible story, in so many words said, “Yeah, yeah, old man, you disarmed the guy with a broom and drove him off.’’

George, in an effort to relate the incident as accurately as possible, had not moved the pistol from where it landed on the floor. Upon hearing the trooper’s mocking tone, George gave the young man the kind of gaze that only a Marine can muster. He then said, “So, just where

do you think that pistol at your feet came from, you little smartaleck?” The trooper then realized the veracity of the story. He then proceeded to respectfully file a report on the attempted robbery.

It goes without saying that George was still a Marine and still “just as mean.”

Sgt Greg J. Hargadon

USMC, 1967-71

Lewistown, Mont.

It Might Be a Cold Day Before Marines Wear the Cold War Victory Medal

I have a question about the Cold War Victory Medal. May it be worn with our issued ribbons?

I have talked with many people and get mixed results with the vote split 5050.

Sgt Robert Sturtevant

USMC, 1965-69

Shallotte, N.C.

• The Cold War Victory Medal is not an official medal authorized for wear by the Department of the Navy. It is produced and commercially available as a commemorative medal.

The Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, SECNAVINST 1650.1h, does authorize the Cold War Recognition Certificate. The U.S. Army is the Executive Agent for the Cold War Recognition

SOUND OFF[continued from page 10]


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Program. To request a certificate, complete and print the application available online at https://www.perscomonline.army.mil/ tagd/coldwar and submit it to the following address:

CDR, HRCCold War RecognitionHoffman IIAttn: TAPC-CWRS, 3N45200 Stovall St.Alexandria, VA 22332-0473 —Sound Off Ed.

There’s a General Still on Active Duty Who Served in Vietnam

I was reading the November Leather-neck “Senior Leaders of Our Corps 2012” insert, and while looking at the leader’s ribbons, I found only one Vietnam veteran: Lieutenant General Frank A. Panter Jr. I may be wrong.

TSgt John “Bulldog” Dover, USAF (Ret)

Sergeant, 81 mm Mortar Plt, H&S/3/5

RVN, 1970-71

Clover, S.C.

• There are only a very few active-duty Marines left who are authorized to wear Vietnam ribbons. I remember when there were a large number of World War II and Korean War veterans who proudly wore ribbons from those wars. They are no longer on active duty, and soon there will be none of us Vietnam veterans on active service either. Time catches up with us all.—Sound Off Ed.

Where Was the SEA to the JCS In “Senior Leaders of Our Corps”?

I enjoyed looking at the yearly section “Senior Leaders of Our Corps 2012.”

I think you missed someone: Sergeant Major Bryan Battaglia, the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Harold M. Kane

Dracut, Mass.

• Did you see the December issue, page 26? Working with the Marine Corps’ Man-power Management Division, we did not announce SgtMaj Battaglia’s appointment until it was confirmed, which was after our deadline for the November issue. Rest assured, he’ll be in our “Senior Leaders of Our Corps 2013.”—Sound Off Ed.

Reunions Reunions are run on a space-available

basis. Information should be submitted no later than four months in advance of the reunion.

• Marine A-4 Skyhawk Assn., May 1720, Oxon Hill, Md. Contact Mark Williams, 400 Howell Way, #102, Ed

monds, WA 98020, (425) 7712030, roger [email protected].

• TF Delta, MCAS Rose Garden, Nam Phong, Thailand, May 2528, Quantico, Va. Contact Harold Delamater, 169 Ketchamtown Rd., Wappingers Falls, NY 12590, (845) 2978865, [email protected].

• Iwo Jima (Marines, sailors, Army Air Corps veterans and their families and friends), Feb. 1618, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Contact Dan Zepeda, (951) 2016251, [email protected].

• 1/6 (1983-87) is planning a reunion. Contact Max Roark, 4517 Crestfield Rd., Knoxville, TN 37921, (865) 6798437, [email protected].

• 1/27 (and supporting units, RVN, 1967-68), Sept. 2023, San Diego. Contact Felix “Sal” Salmeron, 1406 Nighthawk Dr., Little Elm, TX 75068, (469) 5830191,

[email protected]. • H/3/5 (and attached units, 1950-53),

May 27, Kansas City, Mo. Contact James Skidmore, (316) 7212876, [email protected].

• C/1/6 (Desert Shield/Desert Storm) is planning a reunion. Contact Michael Kilbride, (516) 3755691, [email protected].

• I/3/7, April 2529, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Contact Dennis E. Deibert, 6007 Catherine St., Harrisburg, PA 17112, (717) 6521695.

• “Kilo” Btry, 4/13 (RVN), May 27, Wilmington, N.C. Contact Joseph Pizzi, (973) 3009896, [email protected].

• Marine Ammo Co (all units, all eras), May 25, San Antonio. Contact Tom Crotty, (513) 4514694, tomandcar@fuse .net.

• MSG Bonn, Germany, is planning a reunion. Contact Capt Lloyd L. Loy,


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USMC (Ret), 5281 Navaho Dr., Alexandria, VA 22312, (703) 3548456, [email protected].

• 15th Special Basic Class (1952), Feb. 69, San Diego. Contact Neil Reich, (714) 5260627, [email protected], or Bob Lukeman, (405) 8423601, [email protected].

• 21st Special Basic Class (1953) is planning two reunions for 2012. Contact Shirley Fry, (703) 4693750, ssfry@juno .com.

• Plt 115, Parris Island, 1965, is planning a reunion for 2012. Contact SgtMaj D. J. Farrell, USMC (Ret), (918) 6891989, or Steve Holton, (301) 3756036.

• Plt 339, Parris Island, 1962, is planning a reunion for 2012. Contact LtCol Bob Mullins, USMC (Ret), (740) 4179112, [email protected].

• Plt 1089, Parris Island, 1986, is planning a reunion. Contact Mark Smith, P.O. Box 828, Columbus, MS 39703, (662) 5497712, msmith@cpigroup.com.

• VMFA-212 (1977-80), April 2122, Pensacola Beach, Fla. Contact J. D. Loucks, P.O. Box 1, East Jewett, NY 12424, vmfa [email protected].

Ships and Others• USS Iwo Jima (LPH2/LHD7), June

610, McLean, Va. Contact Robert G.

McAnally, 152 Frissell St., Hampton, VA 23663, (757) 7230317, yujack@megalink .net.

• USS Portsmouth (CL102), April 2630, Herndon, Va. Contact Walt Hohner, 448 Hillside Ave., Piscataway, NJ 08854, (732) 4631745, [email protected].

• USS Tarawa (CV40/LHA1), April 1922, Nashville, Tenn. Contact Ken Underdown, 31 Islet Rd., Levittown, PA 19057, (215) 5470245, or Walter Tothero, 106 N. Tranquil Trl., Crawfordsville, IN 47933, (765) 3626937, walsue@accelplus .net.

• NOB/NAS Trinidad Reunion Assn. (including FASRON-105, VPB-208, VPMS-8, VP-48, VPB-213, VP-34, Sea-bee Dets and USMC), Aug. 29Sept. 1, Washington, D.C. Contact F. D. Barrett, ADCS, USN (Ret), 1448 W. Highway 16, Witts Springs, AR 72686, (870) 4962285, [email protected].

• East Coast All-Seabees, Feb. 2426, Hampton, Va. Contact Bruce MacDougall, (804) 9214753, seabeemacd40@comcast .net.

Reader AssistanceReaders are cautioned to be wary

of sending money without confirming authenticity and availability of products offered.


To showcase your products and services, please contact:

Charlie Baisley at 703.812.2741 [email protected]

Jaymie Nielsen at 980.328.8801 [email protected]

September 25-27, 2012Quantico, VA

April 11-12, 2012Camp Lejeune, NC

February 1-2, 2012Camp Pendleton, CA

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Wanted:• GySgt C. J. Glynn, USMC (Ret), 5714

Upper Lake Dr., Humble, TX 77346, (281) 883-2006, gysgtglynn@comcast .net, wants a recruit graduation book for Plt 319, Parris Island, 1964. Will pay, or trade a color platoon graduation photo.

• Former WW II PhM Herman “Doc” Rabeck, 4645 Ramsay Ave., San Diego, CA 92122, (858) 750-2242, wants WW II footage of a corpsman dragging a Marine to safety on an airfield on Iwo Jima while mortar rounds were falling all around them. The film was shown during a preview of the movie “Flags of Our Fathers.”

• Former Sgt Greg Basaras, 2949 Cascade Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48104, (734)

309-1085, wants a recruit graduation book for Plt 2047, San Diego, 1988, and a 1988 “Guidebook for Marines.”

• Former Cpl John Dezso, 266 Ashwood Dr., Elyria, OH 44035, [email protected], wants information about the knife in the photograph (above). In WW II a Marine traded the knife to a Polish officer. One of the knife’s four blades is broken.

Sales, Trades and Giveways:

• Marine veteran John Murphy, john [email protected], has Leather

necks, JanuaryOctober 1943, and 1984present, available for a share of the cost of shipping.

Former Cpl John Dezso

wants information about

this WW II-era knife.

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The Marine Shop • 300 Potomac Ave. • Quantico, VA • 703-640-7195

The Marine Shop at Camp Lejeune • Building 84, Exchange Annex • Camp Lejeune, NC • 910-451-7500


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• Debbie Bewley, [email protected], [email protected], to hear from or about Cpl WASHINECK from Flint, Mich., who served with Richard L. FLY in the camouflage section, 1st Bn, 10th Marine Regiment, 2dMarDiv on Sai pan, for information for a book Bewley is writing about her great uncle, Richard Fly.

• 1stLt Paul McPartland Sr., USMC (Ret), 7300 10th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702, (727) 5255241, to hear from 2dLt Jack L. FLETCHER and Sgt David L. MORNINGSTAR, who served with 1st Bn, 4th Marines, RVN, 1966-67.

• Former Cpl Jon L. Caylor, 3707 Pat St., Schofield, WI 54476, (715) 3593913, [email protected], to hear from members of Plt 376, San Diego, 1958.

• Marine veteran Franklin D. Helton, (859) 4681341, or Melissa (Helton) Reedy, 81 Pleasant Ridge Ave., Fort Mitchell, KY 41017, (859) 3313488, (859) 8163013, to hear from Sgt Arther E. MOFFATT Jr., Co B, 3d Med Bn, 3dMarDiv (Fwd), 1955, or anyone knowing his whereabouts.

• Former LCpl Ronald Buzzard Jr., #846650, SCCC, H4A15, 191 Constantine Way, Aberdeen, WA 98520, to hear from anyone who served with him in 4th LSB, 4th FSSG, 1995-99.

• Sgt Dale E. Vernon, USMC (Ret), 5858 Morgan Pl., Apt. 8, Stockton, CA 95219, (209) 6705989, to hear from members of Plt 216, San Diego, 1963.

• Capt John S. Lane, USMC (Ret), PSC 517, BOX RS/CC, FPO AP 96517, [email protected], to hear from members of Plt 510, Parris Island, 1952, and anyone else who may remember him.

• Former Cpl C. H. “Pete” Dodgen, 1390 Hiram Davis Rd., Lawrenceville, GA 30045, (770) 6820402, [email protected], to hear from members of Plt 220, Parris Island, 1956 (drill instructors

were Sgt CAMPBELL, Sgt CRANSTON and Cpl DAVIS), or from anyone with Bulk Fuel Supply Co, 3d Bn, MCB Camp Lejeune, N.C., 1956-58.

• Sgt John Francoeur, USMC (Ret), 190 Turkey Creek Rd., Clyde, NC 28721, (828) 6279440, [email protected], to hear from Marines of Wpns Plt, Co G, 2d Bn, 8th Marines, who served in USS Spartanburg County (LST-1192), from October 1974 to March 1975.

• MSgt Benjamin McLin, USMC (Ret), (407) 2737271, [email protected], to hear from members of Plt 100, Parris Island, 1949-50. Drill instructors were SSgt A. PEDA, Sgt E. HERENRIGHT and Cpl J. BENNET.

• Robert Bennett, 12 White St., Staten Island, NY 10305, (347) 3721783, to hear from or about the Marine (first name John) pictured in the bottom photograph, who may have been from Staten Island or Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduated from MCRD Parris Island in July 1966.

• Marine veteran Kenneth E. “Baby Bull” Bullock, P.O. Box 685, Jackson, MS 39205, (601) 8322483, to hear from the following of “2 Charlie,” Co L, 3d Bn, 7th Marines, 1stMarDiv, RVN, 1970: Lt Kenneth POLLARD, 1stLt ROBINSON, J. D. FRYE or TOWLES, PFC BACH, Mike MACKOWSKI, Bradley SMITH, James WHITMAN, Ronnie REEVES, Kenny LEWIS, as well as drill instructors from Plt 310, Parris Island, 1969: Sgt AGIN, SSgt PORTWOOD, GySgt JONES, GySgt POWELL and GySgt GUIMAN. Also, to hear from the families of Ray ARNETTE Jr. and LCpl BUSH, who were KIA while serving with L/3/7.

“Mail Call” entries are free and printed on a space-available basis. Leatherneck reserves the right to edit or reject any submission. Allow two to three months for

publication. Send your e-mail to: [email protected], or write to: Mail Call Editor, P.O. Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134.

Mail CallEdited by Clare A. Guerrero

NE T WORK ING

Robert Bennett is looking for John (above), who

may have been from Staten Island or Brooklyn, N.Y.,

and graduated from MCRD Parris Island in 1966.

CO

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ERT

BEN

NE

TT

Richard L. Fly served with 1st Bn, 10th Marines,

2dMarDiv on Saipan.

CO

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IE B

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Receive Corps Daily News, Photos From the Field, This Day in Corps History, Upcoming Events, Leatherneck Covers,

Corps FAQs, Podcasts & Videos and Web Exclusive Content.

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MORE than Staying Shoulder to Shoulder with Marines

Membership in the Professional Association for ALL Marines

Comes with Valuable Benefi ts Focusing on Marines!

❏ MCA&F’s fl agship magazines — BOTH available to all

members ONLINE

Marine Corps Gazette — The Professional Journal for U.S.

Marines — www.mca-marines.org/gazette

Leatherneck — Magazine of the Marines —

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❏ Member discounts for attendance at MCA&F Professional Events

https://mca.networkats.com/members_online/

registration/regstart.asp

❏ Exclusive member discounts ONLINE at

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❏ Cost saving discounts from MCA&F affi nity partners:

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P OE T R Y

Gyrene GynglesEdited by Clare A. Guerrero

Please submit copies of original poems with first publishing rights and author’s permission to print granted to Leatherneck. Poems may be edited or shortened, as

necessary. Due to volume received, submissions will not be acknowledged or returned.

Reflections of a MarineTell me why you joined the Corps.What was it you were looking for?

Did thoughts of travel fill your mind? Or, were you unsure of what you’d find?

Were your ties hard to sever?Was the change indeed forever?Did your days become exciting?

Did you live adventures worth writing?

What is it that made you heed the call;To be a Marine and stand up tall?Heroic journeys begin this way,

With far-off places and dragons to slay.

From yellow footprints on the deckTo dog tags hanging ’round your neck,Did thoughts of glory stir your soul?

Or, was a different mission your goal?

And you’ll make it through an intense day,With peace to guide you on your way.It does not matter where you’ve been,The Corps will take you home again.

Marine veteran Michael Spataro

The DecalYou see it every day,

From I-95 to the 101 in L.A.To the streets of Oahu and the roads of Nome,

Any of the places we all call home.

No matter who put it on: a father, a mother, a daughter, a son—

You know it’s been earned, a challenge won.Where have they served? Where have they been?

Most started at Parris Island, San Diego or Quantico and then—

It was Iwo, Chosin, Da Nang or now the Middle East.Wherever they went, they tamed the beast.

You stop at a light, a horn blows, a window rolls down,And you wonder, “What did I do to annoy this clown?”

What you get is a smile and a loud “Semper Fi!”And you think, “Gosh!

I wish I could have a beer with this guy.”

It’s amazing that there are so many of ours on the road.For sure, we’re not the only ones who’ve carried the load.

The other branches beat us in numbers.But in this show of spirit you know you are brothers.

You see it on Caddies, pickups, and different rides—A four-inch circle attached with pride,

A symbol to be seen,The eagle, globe and anchor of the United States Marine.

Former Sgt Joe Hardiman

Semper Fi RevisitedThe jungle is behind us. No body bags for 10 days.

Roseman, Biggs and me in town for R & R.We stagger up front in stiff khakis. We clutch our mics

And strangle “Satisfaction,” our voices embalmed in beer.A few good men. Semper Fi—always faithful.

The jungle is behind us. No body bags for 10 days.No shrapnel to rip us apart, no napalm to incinerate flesh.But a red lantern hangs from the ceiling, ready to drop.

The a.c. throws icicle bayonets, Like half the girls and locals.A few good men. Semper Fi.

The jungle is here—waiting for the pair sent back,And deep. One Marine spots a trip wire

Just before lurching into the blast. The other staresBlind when a sniper whizzes away his jaw.

A few good men. Semper Fi.

The jungle is behind us. We have a reunion in D.C.Between Washington’s obelisk and Lincoln’s throne,

The long black granite wall traps and remembersRoseman, Biggs and more good men.

My name isn’t there, but I am. Semper Fi.Marine veteran John Hyde

1964-67

(Written in memory of two of John Hyde’s friends and fellow Marines.)

? LEATHERNECK JANUARY 2012 www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck72


USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its insurance, banking, investment and other companies.1 Off er subject to approval. As of 12/1/2011, regular APRs on purchases, cash advances and balance transfers are 10.9% to 25.9%, depending on your credit history and other factors. APRs will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. There is a transaction fee of 3% on cash advances ($200 maximum on balance transfers and convenience checks) and 1% on foreign transactions. Rates and fees subject to change. Please contact us for the most current information. If your credit history and other factors qualify you for a credit limit under $5,000, you will receive a USAA Platinum MasterCard with the same rates and fees. 2Rewards points terminate if account is closed, delinquent or program ends. Earn 1 point for every $1 in credit card purchases. Other restrictions apply. USAA Rewards Program terms and conditions will be provided with your card. Use of the term “member” or “membership” does not convey any legal, eligibility or ownership rights. Availability restrictions apply. Purchase of a bank product does not establish eligibility for, or membership in, USAA property and casualty insurance companies. USAA Savings Bank, Member FDIC. MCA receives fi nancial support from USAA for this sponsorship. © 2012 USAA. 133731-0112

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