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

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Okinawa Camp Hansen (Thanks to Tom Flowers for cluing me in as to the difference between Camp Hansen and Camp Foster) En route to Vietnam April 19-21 1969

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We (our Staging Battalion) left CONUS (Continental United States) from El Toro Marine Air Base in California about 3 p.m.on fight 4527.  We stopped in Hawaii for about an hour to refuel. Got to go in the terminal and look out the windows.  Couldn't see much because it was dark.  My very first time away from CONUS.  We landed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa about 9 hours after we left Hawaii. We were in Oki for two days.  While we were there we took care of tons of paperwork.  Insurance forms, next of kin, pay records, leave records, etc. Made sure we all had the proper gear and shots. When it came time to leave for Vietnam, we left from Kadena Air Base again and got to Vietnam at "zero dark thirty".

Me, Wivell, & Johnson on the street in front of the barracks in Okinawa. April 21, 1969

We were in Okinawa for a couple days before going to 'Nam. There, we packed up our gear that we wouldn't need in 'Nam (overcoats, gloves, dress uniforms, etc.) in boxes and stowed them in a quonset hut. When we returned (hopefully) a year later, we got our gear back.

Here we have Johnson at 12 o'clock, Hubbard at 3 o'clock,  Wivell at 6 o'clock and me at 9 o'clock. At the EM (Enlisted Men's) club in Okinawa. April 21, 1969

All of the guys you see in this page and in the Staging page before are guys that I have known since we all got assigned to the same  ITR Company on January 8th.  After I got to Vietnam, I never saw them again.  I think maybe I saw Johnson once over there, but that's it.  It was good to stop in Okinawa for a couple days because it gave us a chance to drink a few beers and say our good byes.  As we spent our time there, our thoughts were heavy.  Everyone wondered who would be coming back and who wouldn't.  We all knew that some of us wouldn't make it.  We just wondered who.................

Paul Pratt & I between the barracks in Okinawa.  Som e of thesepictures look scratchy because it was a Polaroid camera and when the pictures came out, you had to wipe them with this wet stick type brush thing. April 21, 1969

Me & Bob Rutledge - the barracks in Okinawa.  Bob used to like those Hav-A-Tampas with the wooden mouthpiece. April 21, 1969

Paul Pratt & I again in Okinawa April 21, 1969

Me & Chuck Poe in Okinawa. Chuck got killed in Vietnam. (See Brothers In War page.) April 21, 1969

This is a postcard I bought at the terminal when we refueled in Hawaii.  I mean, we're talking 1969 here.  And this was on display with all the others.  I even hesitated to send it because I was worried my parents might get busted for something.  I hesitated too, because I was worried they might get pissed at me for sending it.  I figured, "Oh well, I'm going to 'Nam, so they've got a year to forget about it. I might die in Vietnam anyway." April 20, 1969

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Marine pages My Memorial Pages Begin My Marine Experience Before Boot Camp Boot Camp - page 1 Boot Camp - page 2 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) You are here - 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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