Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Reunion of Platoon 3002 (257)


Our Marine Reunion went well in Washington DC. Picture here has our platoon posing in front of the high water mark of the Marine Corps, the statues that were created from the most reproduced picture of World War Two. The flag being raised above Mt Sarabachi on Iwo Jima. It happened early in the 35 day non stop battle and some say maybe caused the 20,000 japs on the island to fight to the death, which most of them did. The Marines lost dearly in this battle also with 7,000 Marines also killed in action here. It was sometimes called a battle of human flesh against reinforced concrete...the marines were the flesh the japs were behind the concrete in bunkers...actually the Marines had more casualties than the Japs did totaling 21,000...that would be 7,000 dead and 14000 wounded...The japs 20,000 were all dead. I think less than 200 surrendered.

Sorry about that, supposed to be talking about our reunion here, but the price paid by those Marines on Iwo Jima was such that it is hard to not get engrossed in what happened there on that island...if you click on the title here it will take you to a site showing the Marines who were awarded the medal of Honor during that battle...it was enormous....

Ok the war was over long ago, we were never in a war, except for maybe boot camp, where it was us against the Marine Corps and guess what?, they won, but we still feel a connection to these battles as we were trained during our time to be ready for the same. Lucky for us the call never came during our time in at least for most of us...We did have a couple who stayed in and were part of the Viet Nam war but for the most part we were serving between two wars, Korea and Nam our training was good but not needed...
Our Senior drill instructor had served in World War two our junior drill instructor had served in Korea, and both of these men stayed in to serve in Nam and both died prematurely of agent orange related deaths...I wish they had not it would have been so good to talk to both of them again...The Pentagon helped me find them but it was too late, but I did talk to both families.

Back to the reunion...Memories are made sometimes when you least expect. For instance we stayed on base last week at Quantico and decided the first night to waltz across the parking lot to the "officers club" for dinner...none of us had ever had that opportunity to eat with officers...Well guess what, the service was horrible our food after an hour and half came cold and dried out...some help had not showed up, it was a disaster but one that memories are made of and they apologized and gave us 50% off our meals...That was how our reunion started, with a memory to remember..But when we returned to the hotel, my sweet pea had let the cat out of the bag that it was my birthday and a cake had been purchased and they sang to me, it was a total surprise and very nice.
Then Thursday we loaded onto a Marine Bus with a Marine Gunny to guide us and had some fun. We visited the helicopter squadron that supports the President and his staff...we got to walk onto one of the copters all painted up with Marine Green..It is the same units Marines use in combat operations to ferry Marines from place to place...Got my butt chewed on a tad bit when I photographed a combat unit chopper...always good to find out where the boundries are when opportunity is knocking...Sure our enemies have seen these choppers many times just before our marines landed and gave them a butt kicking...and I will keep that picture to my self as requested....
From there we were taken to an area where they train K-9 dogs for combat duty..it was interesting about how they are trained...after that we visited the Marine Archives building which was a little boring for most of us...they did ask us to donate things about the Marines when we are done with them...Maybe I will give them my tray from the 8th and I mess hall someday, that I did not steal but was given to me...maybe not, sure my kids will fight hard for that...ha We also visited the Museum of the Marine Corps near the Quantico base...it lies along I-95 and is a eye grabber as you drive by with its huge beam rising into the sky ahead as you approach from the south...Most never see it but it is a worthwhile stop for all...it is free to the public and truly shows the history of the Marines from 1775 to present days...
It is built and still being built by money from Marines like me, no government money went into this building...Proud to say I helped, was not called upon to give life or limb so I figured the least I could do was to help support this history and appreciation shown to the many who have served all these years and still do...
Friday we got on the Marine bus again and went to Arlington Cemetery, touring the Kennedy graves, the changing of the guard at he tomb of the unknown's and then something I had not seen the mansion overlooking Arlington that was the home of Robert E Lee the confederate commander during the civil war...His plantation was across the river from DC and the union took it away from him during the war...burying their dead in his front yard so to speak..after the war his family won a settlement from the government for the value of the plantation and it remains our national cemetery...We saw a funeral in progress as they said they are doing about 35 a week now...Then we went to the Memorials like Lincoln, Nam, Korea and the new World War two memorial...After that we attended the Evening Parade at the Marine Corps base in DC called "8th and I"...the oldest base in the Corps being formed in 1801...it was as it always is a great parade of troops and the two elite Marine bands that are there, The Presidents band and the Commandants Band...
We had a banquet Saturday evening at the Globe and Laurel restaurant near Quantico..A time honored tradition was upheld when Wayne Hart again led us in singing "Courtin in the Rain".....Gunny and I received 4 tumblers with Marine Emblems on them in appreciation for our work on this reunion...and guess what? The majority of them want to continue this drill again in two more years...Plans are to change the format from visiting Marine installations and just have fun and get together every couple years...Next stop is Branson Mo....should be fun, our member Jon Dermott who lives near there and a veteran of all three reunions, stepped up to the plate to organize this one...I look forward to it, maybe couple it with some trout fishing nearby...I think it could spark more interest from our platoon members as it will be a nice drive from the midwest and who does not like Branson.....

Note..you can click on the pictures to the rights side and enlarge them...

Saturday, August 21, 2010

The Last Marine Reunion (256)


Next week I head to DC for the last reunion of my old platoon from Marine Boot Camp.
75 of us were thrown together in June of 1956 to become Platoon 3002. All we knew for sure those first few days is that we had made the very biggest mistake of our lives. It seemed so romantic, daring, I don't know maybe we saw too many of those old John Wayne WW Two movies of Iwo Jima, Tarawa, Guadalcanal, but man we (about 6) of my High School class, we just thought we needed to do that....and we did it...well the recruiter told us if would be tough but we really did not know just how much till we got there and experienced it first hand...And we put on good faces during the day but when the lights went out at night finally after 10 and we lay there exhasted and in almost semi shock at times until the 5:30 reveile, we knew for sure we had made a big mistake, but one that we most likely would survive and someday maybe we could hopefully look back and say well it was not so bad afterall...

Well we did our 50th in San Diego the scene of the crime in 2006 and between 20-22 of the 75 showed up...In Omaha in 2008 we had about 14 maybe of the 75 and now in DC we will have only 9 so I think it will be time to quit while we are ahead and make this the last one. It will be about 54 years next month since we graduated from that training, we were proud to have made it and now called Marines instead of "beady eyed recruits", or "shit birds", or, well I better not go further...looking back it is comical to think of some of those exchanges between the D.I. and us, was not then, but it sure is now...Purpose of it all was to eliminate any pride, self esteem that you may have, completely, and if it did not disappear willingly they would just knock it out of you...some needed that, mine went willingly, for the most part...and then the plan of action was to slowly build you back the way the Marine Corps wanted you....All in all, for the most part it went well, we had maybe two or three who went over the fence in the first couple weeks never to be seen again, one kid in a neighboring hut in Plt. 3003 hung himself on a Sunday afternoon which was sad...We all had to walk by and observe him, I guess so we would not repeat the event maybe.
I think all in all it set us on the road to manhood rather quickly. I think the Marines did have a plan, and for what they needed us to be, it was a good one....I do, having observed how they make Marines since then a few times, I will say they get better at it every year. The end product just keeps getting better and more professional than we were. I do love to go as we will do next week and observe Marine training...it will be fun and it will be our last meeting....

No doubt I will be led to do a story or two of what we see, and maybe what it is like to look men in the eye that shared the experience, shake their hand and say "I remember you as if it was yesterday"

Sunday, August 15, 2010

A great growing year in the Garden (255)


About 22 post back (232) I did a story about a raised garden that Susan and I built this spring. As you can see by the pic taken yesterday it has been a great growing year in Indiana this year. And it is amazing just how much food one can get from a small garden like this one. It is a circle maybe 16 feet in diameter is all. But I think putting it close to the house is key, where it will not be forgotten about and where it will be noticed. Noticed by you and your friends, I think keeps one on their toes both keeping it weeded and watered if need be. Has not taken a lot of water this year, maybe a half dozen times I watered it a bit, but the rains have come all summer pretty much an average of maybe an inch a week. That produces crops for sure, both gardens and corn and beans in the large fields across the midwest.

But as you can see, the "busy" garden is producing lots of red potatoes, tomatoes, squash, green beans, cantalope, onions, peppers, okra, strawberries and it not only looks good it even taste good too....Right now the okra is really coming on strong as well as the potatoes and tomatoes...The okra is one of my favorites and I have been successful in getting others to try it and most like it or at least say they do. I grill a lot this time of year and I just put whole okra maybe 2 to 3 inches long right on top of the meat or what ever I have on the grill and kind of steam them. Add salt before eating and they are delicious. The tall plants to the right side picture here is the okra. It just keeps growing kind of like and Oak tree sending out branches and blooming its head off every day...Nice yellow blooms that soon turn into these elongated vegetable, that can be cooked many ways or even eaten raw right in the garden which I have done on occasion. Another favorite way of getting this okra down the hatch into the tum tum is to slice it cross section about a quarter inch thick and then fry it in a skillet...Probably with olive oil or with bacon grease if you want to mix a little bacon in it...or with fried potatoes also goes well..It is a kind of southern veggie but one that grows on you if you get exposed to it....

So that's about it for today, just wanted to show off my good looking veggies, by the way we had some friends over last evening and actually ate most of this stuff and then afterward ask ourselves why we had tummy aches? It's summer time, that's why and besides people may be starving in China...

But maybe not anymore since most of what we buy comes from there, they probably are eating a lot better. We have all the low cost "stuff" we need and our unemployment numbers continue to rise each year...someday we will figure this all out I hope.

Scan down the right side pictures here to (232) and take a look at what it was just a few weeks ago....God has been good to Indiana again....

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Great Weekend and Hillarious Asian Carp in Indiana (254)


Just finished a great weekend. We went to a wedding in North Carolina and it was great. Setting was a really nice Winery and then the reception was there also...very nice had a good time. Was one of Susan's very best friend's daughter and since the bride's parents rode the Motor cycle to the wedding, our vehicle transported the clothes to be worn by them, so our presents was greatly appreciated. To get there and back we visited 5 states but also added another one of our favorites and that was Tennessee. We visited for two days our friends Randy and Patty Kington. Randy, I have written about a couple times at least on this site, one of my most favored Marine Corps hero's. Author of probably the best Veit Nam Book you could read "What a Life", about how Nam affected one Marine's life...Great Book packed with action about Marine's for most of the book but then the last 2 or 3 chapters one of the best love stories you ever will read...Going to attach Randy's web site under the title here so if you are inclined to order his book, here it is. Just click the title and your there...Well they showed us around their town of Morristown, and had a great cook out including another couple that had recently lost their mates in death, and then gotten together, kind of like me and sweet pea...also included was a couple who used to live just down the road from me but was asked to pull up roots and start a TRW factory in Randy's town...Max and Marsha Biery, I went to school with Max's sister Jo matter of fact my 6th grade girlfriend. But awfully nice of the Kingtons to include them so we could get reacquainted. And after looking over the beauty of the mountainous area around Morristown, I can understand why Max and Marsha stayed right there after retiring, it is a very scenic wonderful place to live.

Back to our visit with Randy and Patty, gosh they were great host, have a gorgeous home there, Randy cooks a mean hamburger for sure, and Patty and Susan made it too the mall while Randy and I took naps one afternoon. All in all a great visit. Randy and Patty visited Lafayette two years ago and spoke at two churches here about how Nam had changed their lives. Some of you heard him I know, and I learned that Pastor John has booked him to speak at Kokomo's St. Luke's Methodist Church in Sept of 2011.
If you click on the title to look at Randy's site you will see he is booked every Sunday way out there....quite a popular guy...Last time I heard him was the Greenwood Mayor's breakfast in Greenwood this spring....

OK the other half of the title here you need to go the right side under the picture of the Kington's house and click on the Asian Carp in Indiana...It is quite a coincidence but while visiting Randy he asked me if the Asian Carp had gotten to Indiana yet? I said yes I think they are in the Wabash River as I heard about one jumping out of the water and hitting a guy and almost knocking him out of the boat about a year ago...Well, watch this video sent to me by Bob Cornell, it is hilarious, would love to see it some time in person as it must have been very funny. Actually the more I watch this the harder I laugh, hope you enjoy it also.
For some reason the noise from boat motors make these unwanted, worthless carp from Asia jump out of the water and as in this video right into the boat...

Then as a grand finale on the return trip we dropped in on the returning honeymooners Matt and Jill who were the subject material for this blog just a few days ago...they had returned from the Greek Isles and organizing and getting used to their newly remodeled home...I know sweet pea is most glad to have them safely home and now starting their lives together...and some days ahead will hopefully provide her with more grand children...but Jill, Matt, don't tell her I said this but, take your time, lot of time ahead for all life has to offer...