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*** Danger Will Robinson! Salty language below! ***

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Boot Camp Platoon 1117 Page 3

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In order to graduate from boot camp, we had to pass a number of final tests that all this training led up to.  These were what we had to do: Qualify at the rifle range, pass final clothing and rifle  inspection, pass final drill (executing various marching moves), drownproofing (water survival), PFT (physical fitness test), CMC (Commandant of the Marine Corps Physical Readiness Test), and a practical application test that included assembly and disassembly of the M-14 rifle and 45 caliber pistol, unjamming them, emergency first aid, making a "poncho" stretcher, setting up shelter halves (tents), etc.

Excerpt from a letter November 14.  Mom sent me mints wrapped in cellophane and I had to eat them without unwrapping them.

L to R in the first line: J. Gunter, Tom Hannon, me, Bill Dozier, & not sure.  In the second line over is ? (looking back), Ken Bettice, & Mike Mercurio. The face right behind Mercurio is Anthony Aragon. Waiting in line to do the rope climb for the C.M.C.  Marines have two physical fitness tests to pass.  One is the P.F.T. or Physical Fitness Test.  I think this is like the service wide test that all services use. Then the  Marine Corps goes one step farther and  has the C.M.C. or Commandant of the Marine Corps physical test which includes the rope climb, squat thrusts, 3 mile run, broad jump, and leg raisers. December, 1968

Excerpts from some of the cadences (songs) that the drill instructors and platoon commander would have us sing (if there weren't any civilians or brass around) while we were double-timing (running) - "I don't know but I've been told, Eskimo pussy is mighty cold." "If I die on the Russian front, Bury me with a Russian cunt. and if I die on the Russian rear, Bury me with a  Russian queer."

This is pretty much what our routine was like.  When I say classes, it wasn't always stting in a classroom.  Sometimes it would be close combat, bayonet training, obstacle course, or stuff like that.  Drilling means marching.  After a while they changed our getting up time to 4:30 a.m.  Throughout these page, you will see references to "zero dark thirty" which generally just means very early in the morning. November 15, 1968 letter

After we had been there a couple weeks, they started letting everyone smoke.  But, before we could smoke, they had to light the ficticious "smoking lamp."  And we could only smoke one cigarette if that's what they said. The DI or PC would say, "Smoking lamp is lit for one cigarette." We would have to respond with, "Sir. Smoking lamp is lit for one cigarette.  Aye. Aye. Sir." Sometimes they would just light the lamp and we could smoke as many as we wanted.

On the day before Thanksgiving, I got admitted to the base hospital with bi-lateral pneumonia.  I was in there for over a week. I thought I was going to get dropped from the platoon and set back, but the P.C. wanted me back.  I guess because I'm so cool ;-)  Anyway I didn't get dropped and graduated with my platoon.

One thing that would bring down the wrath of the DI would be to call our M-14's  "guns".  If you've seen Full Metal Jacket, you heard them say, "This is my rifle.  This is my gun (referring to the penis). This one is for fighting.  This one is for fun."

This is the M-14 rifle we used throughout boot camp.  It weighs 11.09 lbs. with a fully loaded magazine.

One time, when we were at the rifle range, the Platoon Commander S/Sgt. Publico got pissed at us for having a bad shooting day.  He made us duck walk around the outside of the barracks.  He divided us up into two groups. As we duck waddled around, the first group had to say, "I don't care."  Then the second group had to say, "We don't give a fuck."  And we kept repeating and waddling for about a half hour.

The Marine Corps definitely worked wonders on the bunch of us in 10 weeks. November 14, 1968 letter

Some of the  DIs' favorite forms  of punishment were push ups and squat thrusts.  More so squat thrusts than push ups.  It was normal for them to have us do squat thrusts when we screwed up.  Sometimes 50, sometimes 100, and sometimes they would say to do them until they said to quit.  It wasn't the easy "up and down" squat thrusts either.  When you went down, you had to do a pushup before you went back up.

The Marine Corps motto is Semper Fidelis which means always faithful. They instill the pride in us from day one and never let us forget it. November 18, 1968 letter

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Marine pages My Memorial Pages Begin My Marine Experience Before Boot Camp Boot Camp - page 1 Boot Camp - page 2 You are here Boot Camp - page 3 Boot Camp - page 4 Boot Camp - page 5 Boot Camp - page 6 Infantry Training Regiment (ITR) Basic Infantry Training School (BITS) Staging Battalion (Pre Vietnam) Okinawa (En route to Vietnam) Begin my Vietnam Tour - Hotel Co. Index Various Marine stuff - page 1 5th Marine Regiment Headquarters page Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) page Back to Marde

Back to Sarge T's Vets Index Marine Index Hotel Index Marine pages My Memorial pages Prologue - Begin my Marine tour 2/5 Area of Operations map- Begin my Vietnam tour Various Marine stuff - page 1 5th Marine Regiment Headquarters page Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) page Hotel Roster 5/23/69 Hotel Company Yearbook - 1970 2/5 area recent pics page 1 Veterans in my family My Marine Education and Training

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