Reservists
don’t consider themselves heroes; we just did our jobs. Our drill instructors at MCRD thought we were
scum. The “K” on our Service Record
Books never failed to mark us for extra punishment. What the detractors failed to realize is that
many of us eclipsed our active duty counterparts by being “lifers.” I liked the adventure, physical activity,
challenge, and steady pay and it began when I returned to Kansas City,
reapplied with my former employer, and checked back in to Headquarters 24th
Marines. Life went on there. The torpedo out front was the same. It reminded me of the nuclear bomb that Slim
Pickens rode on his way down to his target in the movie Dr. Strangelove (Mein Fuhrer!).
The Viet Cong scalp still hung above the colonel’s desk where I’d
interviewed many months before. I had no
idea then that my six-year enlistment would last more than 21 years with the
ATD’s (summer camps) beginning with Camp Talega which is a part of Camp
Pendleton, California. It had received
part of the huge influx of Vietnamese boat people who escaped the Communists after
the fall of South Vietnam. Sgt. Williams
who always said: “The Marine Corps has been good to me.” stands beside me
outside our quarters. I immediately pulled
pot shack duty.
Weapons
training was more fun. Before going live
with grenades, we practiced with the “blues.” The
“greens” were the live ones: “Take grenade in hand. Twist and turn. Pull pin. Throw pin.” (Someone always said
this). I’d never trained with the M203 Grenade Launcher and was surprised how accurate it was when I bounced one off an
old truck chassis the first shot. We saw
our first camouflage utilities there. A
“Recon Ranger” was walking down a dirt road with an M60 machine gun, its ammo
belt swinging. The most fun happened
after dark on the rifle range. Unlike
the Final Protective Fire in basic which is more of a pyrotechnic display than
anything, we fired tracers at moving metal targets that were secured by a
chain. I leaned not to aim – just put
the rifle down to shoulder level and walk-in the tracers; by the third shot, a
kill. Disregarding orders, the Vietnam
veterans among us opened up on full automatic.
MAB76
was an extension of what Marines do: amphibious landings and combined arms
training which includes air assaults and lots of helicopters like the Chinook
coming to pick us up to take us to sea.
From my training I remembered that if it was a Sea Stallion to always
exit opposite the rotor or get your head chopped off. This was my first helicopter trip and my first
time at sea. A larger part of Hq. Co.
24th Marines got to the amphibious ship by either Amtrak or Mike Boat. I don’t remember. As junior in the S-2 shop and always in demand,
my flight was guaranteed because they needed someone to carry the safe. Unfortunately, for many others, the Navy had
turned on the air conditioning in the middle of the night and by the morning at
least half of the 24th had colds.