SwiftVets.com

[lthrneck]

General Al Gray's story.
Here’s the abridged version, which involved General Al Gray, a crusty old ¡°field Marine.¡±

General Gray loved his Marines and often slipped into the chow hall wearing a faded, old field jacket, devoid of any
rank insignia.

He would go through the chow line just like any Marine with the rank of "Private." That way, he received the same
rations that the lowest enlisted man received. And woe to the Mess Officer if the food was found to be unfit in
quality or quantity.

Upon becoming Commandant, General Gray was expected to do a great deal of "formal entertaining" -- which often meant
fancy dinner parties while wearing his full, dress blue uniform.

(Now, the Commandant would rather have been in the field eating cold "C-rations" around a foxhole with a bunch of
young, "hard charging" Marines; but he knew his duty, and as a Marine, he was determined to do it to the best of his
ability.)

During these events, Marines in dress blues are posted at each exit and typically stand at "parade rest," or, at
attention.

At one of these affairs, a very refined, blue haired lady picked up a tray of pastries and went around the room
offering the confections to the guests. She also went up to one of the Marines posted on duty, who was standing at
parade rest and asked, ¡°Would you like a pastry young man?¡±

The young Marine snapped to "attention" and replied, "I don't eat that ****, Ma'am." Just as quickly, he resumed the
position of "parade rest." His gaze remained fixed on some distant point throughout the exchange.

The fancy lady was shocked. Her mouth dropped open. She could not believe what she had heard. So she stormed away
immediately and found General Gray, who had a cigar clenched between his teeth and a glass full of liquor in his
left hand. He was talking to a group of young Lieutenants.

The blue haired lady interrupted the Commandant and said, "General, I offered some pastry to that young man over
there and do you know what he told me?"

General Gray took the cigar out of his mouth and said, "Well, no Ma'am, I don't."

The lady took in a deep breath and wagged her head in cadence with her words, pausing between each word for effect,
"He said, I - don't - eat - that - **** - Ma'am!"

"Which one did you say it was, Ma'am?" the General asked.

"That tall one over there near the window, General," the woman replied with smug satisfaction. One of the
Lieutenants standing alongside the Commandant began to look sick and put a hand on the wall for support.

General Gray immediately went into deep thought, with his hand to his chin, his brow wrinkled. Suddenly, he looked
up, and his expression changed to one indicating he had made a decision.

He looked the fancy lady right in the eyes and said, "Well, f**k him! Don't give him any."
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[Theresa Alwood]

Thanks for making me smile!
_________________
Born to raise a little hell!

[lthrneck]

Theresa, did you go to E. Leyden HS in Franklin Pk Ill?
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[gocars]

Gotta' love Jarheads...

I've come to appreciate the good natured ribbing between the Corps and the Army.

In January of '68 I was a Ranger platoon leader that went in with my men to occupy the extreme Northeast corner of Khe Sahn Combat Base. As you probably know this was base to over 6K Marines and the incoming mortar fire was relentless. We hadn't been there more than a few hours, when in the middle of one of the mortar attacks, 4 jarheads come running carrying one of those solid C-130 aluminum and balsa skid pallets. They placed the pallet upright between some sandbags next to our bunkers and didimau'd back to where they came from. Since we were fng's to the A.O. we were too busy playing "how low can you go" to notice much else other than their strange actions. After 20 minutes or so, the slopes paused the mortaring and my Platoon Sgt and I decided to take a peek at the pallet. Painted in bright red there was a 4 ring target with the words "AIM HERE".

Needless to say we laughed our asses off! I can just imagine what the NVA were thinking about the "crazy roundeyes"!

gocars
101st Airborne
'Nam 67-70
U.S. Army Rangers Lead the Way!

[lthrneck]

Great story GoCars.
I was up in I corps late 67. Naturally given our Navy budget we had no chow hall, no showers or anything other than sandbags or ammo boxes and a poncho to sleep on. We were standing lines and running ambushes and patrols outta it as well as protecting the arty. It wasn't all that bad of a place as we didn't get hit much there. All of a sudden this firebase is a beehive of activity, a wooden chow hall with a metal roof, showers and what looked like an outdoor theather were going up in record time. To say we were looking forward to some hot chow that didn't come out of a can was an understatement. As things were finishing up, we noticed a godda*N ice cream machine and what looked like a freezer were being hooked up.
No sooner than we really started getting our little plastic spoons out a hughe convoy of Army starts showing up, we got the word we were moving out that day as the Army was coming in to take over the firebase. Everyone's bitchn about no notice etc etc, the company gunny tells us what did you expect, if we told you guys you would of stole the ice cream machine. I wonder how long the stuff survived as we were in range of the NVA 152's except at the time they were hammering Con Thien. This place was called Cam Lo.
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[mtboone]

To Gocars,
Only persons in the military understand the inter service fight between the services and how one stood to be the best of the best, but when **** hit the fan not one person cared what part of the service you were in. My son joined the Marines and I told him, "You might know how to fight, but the Navy had to take you there cause you couldn't find your way to the war." We worked with the Army and they would not like running rivers and we would not like walking through the bush. Hell, I always thought if you are in a war, have a ride to the battle and good food cause why die tired walking and have been eating C-Rats for days.
When I went back to VN two years ago, I went up to the Cu Chi and went throught the tunnels. We were doing a tour in the bush and I tripped a wired booby trap that was a firecracker and the tour guide said you are dead. I told him, I am a swabbie and my ass would not be walking in the jungle, and why would kerry be doing something we were not trained to do in his jungle video.
_________________
Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69

[baldeagle]

[gocars]

lthrneck: Yup, you gotta' wonder what happened to the ice cream machine. If the 152's didn't take it out then we grunts probably traded it later on to the Marines for little plastic spoons!

Seriously though, the transition from Marine to Army control in Northern I Corps was a serious cluster f***. Our unit spent most of '68 doing LRRP's in the AO from Hai Van Pass on the south to as far north as Dong Ha, west over to Camp Carroll and down through the Ashau. Occasionally, the Marine C&C had no idea where the Army units were and vice-versa for the Army C&C not knowing where the Marines were operating. It's a small miracle that we didn't have more than the documented three friendly-fire incidents between the two branches.

mtboone: You're right on the money in your assessment of what it means to be proud of ones' branch of service but still having a willingness to sacrifice for your fellow brother-in-arms. There were many times when if it hadn't been for the Marines with their Navy corpmen, and the Air Force with their fighter-bombers coming to help our unit, I might not be here to write about it; I'm proud to say that the U.S. Army and its' Rangers were sometimes able to reciprocate.

You must be very proud of your son serving in the Marine Corps. If he's in harms' way may the good Lord keep him safe until he returns home. Please tell him that I too am proud of his service to his country.

Interesting that you should mention your trip to 'Nam. If you don't mind my asking, what prompted you to go back? What are your thoughts on what you saw and how you now feel about 'Nam? My wife and I have been giving some thought to going there in late September. I never thought that I would want to go back, but lately there has been a haunting beckoning that I can't resist. Maybe the trip will be a catharsis of sort and as a result, allow me to better deal with my PTSD.

In '69 there were a few times when we were inserted by Riverine Forces and I can honestly tell you that I felt naked and vulnerable out on the water; strange to say but there was a certain comfort factor in the bush for us grunts.

We need to continue our efforts to expose Kerry for what he was and is, lest he be re-elected to his Senate seat. He is a disgrace to anyone who has ever worn a military uniform for the United States.

gocars
101st Airborne
'Nam 67-70
U.S. Army Rangers Lead the Way!

[lthrneck]

Gocars, I went back to Nam in 92 with 4 other guys from my unit. It was kinda weird as the jungle was pretty much gone up around the DMZ. What really took me by suprise was how small are AO was, from Hill 174 (NE of Con Thien) you could see pretty much the killing zone of leatherneck square and 174 was a pretty small hill. The Vietnamese were very friendly and loved to see us back with a pocket full of greenbacks. Not much had changed to the W of Con Thien, the NVA have their Arlington just N of Con Thien, very very very large cemetery. Hate to admit it but it made me feel good seeing it. Most of the dates were 67-68 on the markers and there were thousands of them.
Camp Carroll is a pepper farm and about the only place that had any trees left standing. The North has a monument on the hill right about where the tower was as you entered Camp Carroll. What made the trip was outstanding was a week of R&R in Bangkok on the way home.
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[gocars]

lthrneck: I just can't imagine what it's going to be like to walk around in an area where I will remember the things that took place some 37 years ago. Just listening to your description of Con Thien, the DMZ, and Carroll sent chills down my back, made my eyes water, and rekindled memories of all the suffering and the loss of so many friends. Unfortunately, for most of us, there are too few pleasant memories associated with that war of so long ago.......

On a more upbeat note, I'm glad that you were able to go to Bangkok before coming back to the States from your trip. My wife and I plan on spending 7 days in 'Nam and a week each in Thailand and Australia. I do have fond memories of R&R's in Bangkok and Sydney!

I'm leaving for San Antonio today to go to a conference and I'm not taking my laptop so I won't be responding to any posts until 28 Feb.

gocars
101st Airborne
'Nam 67-70
U.S. Army Rangers Lead the Way!

[mtboone]

Gocars
I went back because that time had haunted me also. I do not think there has been a day since I came back that I didn't think of my time in VN. Then when I found the Swift Boat Sailors Association in 99, people talked about their trip back and finally I just went back. I did not want to get to be too old or in ill health and regret not going. It was a very emotional trip to smell the smells and walk on a base I had 33 years earlier, nothing was left of it but I could still visualize where everything was. It was worth it because it did help kill some ghosts that lingered in my mind and I am a little more content with somethings from the past.
_________________
Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69

[gocars]

mtboone:

I'm glad that you were able to obtain some kind of closure as a result of your trip back to 'Nam.

You mentioned the smells.........my "thinking" about those unique smells triggers some memories.

gocars
101st Airborne
"Nam 67-70
U.S. Army Rangers Lead the Way!

[lthrneck]

yea, open a bag of mulch will give instant flashbacks.
Gocars, the only place that spooked me was Con Thien, when I left that hill in 1967 we were taking 300-400 rounds of 152 daily, that was almost for a month straight. The hair on my neck was standing at attention when we went back to that hill.
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!

[roughfun]

My squad was was riding roughrider with Marines going north from Phu Bai. There was always a traffic jam at the bridge in Hue. We would take TV's. cokes, doggypacks, bannana clips etc. The Army was like a big PX to us 5th Marines. Thanks again. Semper Fi.

[lthrneck]

Yea, the Army always had more gear then they needed anyways.
I was with 3/4 by the way.
_________________
"Old Breed, New Breed, There's not a DAMM bit of
difference so long as it's the MARINE Breed"
- Lt. Gen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Semper fi
uuurah
Carry On!!