MARINE

Jun 10, 2025, 8:37 PM

Once I worked every day with this cop.
Taking a step back was just not in him. He would face Godzilla with you.
He just posted this on the WWW --

On this day June 10, 1965, seven days after graduating from high school, me and my buddy, Ralph Yates were taking the "scenic route" on a Greyhound bus from Charlotte, N.C. to Parris Island, S.C.

We had taken the Oath to God, Country and Corps the day before and now we were up at O dark thirty, with a brown paper sack breakfast and had no earthly idea what lay before us as we cruised down through the highways and byways. I learned very quickly that from that day on it would be 10 Jun 65 and the time would be 0500 hours, not 5 a.m. and "Everything" would be SIR, YES SIR, a door would be a hatch, the floor would be a deck, a bunk would be a rack, a bathroom would be the head.

I learned initially that I had Three minutes to S---, Shower and Shave, be "properly dressed" in the ONLY clothes I had, green Utilities, white t-shirt, boxers, green socks and black boots and a cap that was now a "cover" and standing at attention at the end of your rack. Oh lawt, there better not be any shaving cream missed on your face or dirt in your nails or in your ears. Everything I had brought with me had been boxed up and sent home.

After calisthenics, now PT, we went to the restaurant, now the chow hall and we sided stepped through the chow line with our silver metal trays held with both hands in front of our faces, just under your eyes until you got in front of the server. You got some of everything that was in front of you and you ate everything you got after you were told to eat and you did not look around. Later, if you were fat, you ate certain things and if you were skinny, you ate everything and then a tray of potatoes.

Then you went back to the barracks and the squad bay, and you were assigned clean up duties with detailed instructions. I wondered why I got a second toothbrush, well, it was used to clean the commode, now known as the S-----r. It seemed harsh in some ways but there is a reason for every bit of it and the military discipline I learned in the 12 1/2 weeks at P.I. helped keep me alive in Viet Nam, made a man out of me and has helped me throughout my life.

I am very proud of being a United States Marine and would do it all over again! Semper Fidelis!!

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