Old Corps

[plc67]

Not me, but went to see my step father for his 86th birtday. He served in the Corps from 1939 to 1962 and got to rub shoulders with some of the legends of the Corps and took part in perhaps the greatest battle of the Marines, namely Iwo Jima. He knew Manila John Basilone and was in his vicinity when he was killed on Iwo; but he doesn't think much of Diamond Lew. Like all who have done quite a bit he doesn't talk about his adventures but often spoke about seeing the Marine bodies lined up while bulldozers dug the trenches to put them in. While he believed in the courage and fighting ability of the Marines on Iwo he had a lot of admiration for the Japanese defenders.
His last visit to a Marine Corps base, Camp Lejeune, was quite a shock to some MPs. It was in the late 70s or early 80s and when he went to get a visitors pass some PFC or Lance Corporal said Yeah, so what? Well, there are Old Corps rules that he believes in and they are:
1) Never say Yeah.(Yeah, what am I, your old pal from Guadalcanal? Don't you ever say yeah to me.)
2) Never put your hands in your pockets.(Back on the Island in 39 if you put your hands in your pockets, they kicked you right square in your ass, put sand in your pockets and sewed them shut.)
3) Never whistle.(Only queers and bosuns mates whistle on board ship.)
The young MPs blatant disregard of rule number one set him into a proper Marine Corps rage and by the time he left the offending Marine, the Sergeant of the Guard and the OD were all profusely apologizing and offering to give him whatever pass he wanted to get him on his way. My mother still shakes her head when telling the story.
There is no doubt in my mind that when the WW2 Marines pass from our midst there will be a definite weakening of the alloy.

 

[Harrier Dude]

Great story. The line about "queers and Bosun's mates" may be the best quote on AW in awhile.

Why did he need a pass to begin with? He's retired, right? Did they not have stickers back then (I wasn't in back in the 70s).

He'd probably agree with my pet peeve of the New Corps (probably the Old Corps, too)........Marines who don't identify themselves on the phone.

Me: "Division Air, Harrier Dude speaking"

Them: "Yeah, is LCpl. Johnson there?"

Me: "Who the FVCK is this??" (or words to that effect).

I know it's pretty small, but it drives me nuts.

 

[mmx1]

I had the honor of meeting an Iwo Marine, then a Captain, at his daughter's AF commissioning ceremony. He quickly stole the spotlight at the reception, even with a General present.

That generation is full of fine gentlemen.

 

[plc67]

Well, he didn't want a sticker. He doesn't live near any military base so he just went with the window passes.

 

[maineiac515]

My (late) Grandfather was an Iwo Marine, he used one of the platoon's flamethrowers and was wounded in the shoulder in the heavy combat. He also saw the flag go up from a ship. I honestly say, they were a different breed back then. He is one of the main reasons that will make me make it through OCC in October. At least he knew I had been accepted when he passed in May of this year.

 

[Fly Navy]

Great story. The line about "queers and Bosun's mates" may be the best quote on AW in awhile.

Why did he need a pass to begin with? He's retired, right? Did they not have stickers back then (I wasn't in back in the 70s).

He'd probably agree with my pet peeve of the New Corps (probably the Old Corps, too)........Marines who don't identify themselves on the phone.

Me: "Division Air, Harrier Dude speaking"

Them: "Yeah, is LCpl. Johnson there?"

Me: "Who the FVCK is this??" (or words to that effect).

I know it's pretty small, but it drives me nuts.

I hate that in GENERAL.

At home:

Me: "Hello?"

Someone: "Is Mr. Fly Navy there?"

Me: "Who's calling?"

Someone: "I'm looking for Mr. Fly Navy."

Me: "ID yourself or you don't talk to him."

Someone: "This is Pain In The A$$ Telemarketer"

Me: "This is Mr. Fly Navy. Goodbye."

 

[Flash]

Neighbor down the street when I grew up and taught me Sunday school was a Marine WO in WWII. He was a Paymaster and was supposed to pay guys after they stormed ashore Japanese held islands. He had a safe with two sergeants that he took ashore a day or two after the main invasion force. He said they would plop down on the beach and take cover behind the safe waiting for the word when they were suppose to pay the Marines, said it was great cover since he always heard the Jap bullets ping off of it and never got hit. He was at Peleliu among other fun spots. He flipped a coin with another WO to see who would go to Iwo Jima. The other guy went to Iwo and did not survive.

He is still a Marine through and through, always wearing some kind of Marine gear and giving me grief for being in the Navy. Still walks the neighborhood at 0600 to make sure all is well.

 

[maineiac515]

A piece of advice though, if you know one of those or any kind of veteran talk to 'em, you can learn a lot, I know I did. Gives you a kind of perspective on the nature of things and what is expected of you.

 

[DocT]

I interviewed a guy who had joined the Navy in '39 and was assigned to the Arizona when it was in Pearl. He was in the chow hall aboard Ford Island when the first wave hit. I learned more from him in an hour than I learned in four years of studying WWII history.

 

[A4sForever]

I learned a lot from this guy ... not USMC, but "there" nevertheless. Enlisted in early 1941, just missed getting sent to the Philippines prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he ended up in Europe. This pix is a poor copy from the original Stars & Stripes showing Dad in the center (little guy) with his driver (big guy) to the right in the picture.

Malmedy, 1944. Bad day ....

 

[Zilch]

I wish I had more of a chance to talk to my grandfather before he passed when I was 12. By the time I was old enough to know about what he had experienced, a stroke had impaired his ability to speak.

He was with the 1st Marine Raiders at Guadalcanal, but as mentioned above, a lot of them never spoke about it much. Dad says he never talked about it when he was growing up, partially because he didn't want to bring it up and partially because he didn't think anyone cared that much.

From what I hear, though, he was not someone you'd want to mess with. The stories I hear are from my grandmother now, so there's probably a bit of filtering going on. Anyway, the story she tells most is that he was somewhere in the Pacific, and had been there for a while. He used to cook for everyone, and took a lot of pride in it. Apparently a new 2nd Lt. fresh from the States came up and said something derogatory about his cooking, and Grampy just hauled back and knocked him out cold. The officer was sent back stateside.

From what my grandmother says, instead of taking the time for a full court-martial, they busted him from Sergeant to Private and sent him back to the front lines.

I know that he made Sergeant twice during his career, and that he was discharged as a PFC. He was never one to hold back from a fight, for sure.

I really wish I could have talked to him more, or that he could see me getting ready for OCS. Time is taking away lots of folks who shaped history, so if you ever get the chance to talk to someone who took part, be sure and do it. Even people not directly involved with the war, like my grandmother, can tell you more than you'll ever find through other research.

 

[Carno]

never mind.

 

[Tex_Hill]

When I was a teenager, my grandparents had a neighbor who is a Marine & a survivor of the Bataan Death March. His name is Master Sgt. George Burlage. My dad is a retired high school history teacher, (27 years Dallas ISD), and he and I visited with Mr. Burlage a few times. Unfortunately I didn't have a tape recorder or take notes, but I do remember him as a very authoritative individual and for cussin' the "Japs" till even hell wouldn't have 'em, (understansdibly so). As a matter of fact he always bought Curtis Mathis TV's because they were made in Mexico intead of Japan.

Mr. Burlage sold his place & moved to Denton when I was a senior in high school. Not too long ago I was reading a Denton paper & read an article about Memorial Day which mentioned him. After reading the article I got interested in contacting Mr. Burlage to see if I could interview him. It was then that I discovered that Mr. Burlage is a hero of Sen. Zell Miller's and is a central figure in Sen. Miller's book "Corps values": Everything You Need to Know I Learned in the Marines. Here's an article on the book & Mr. Burlage: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KWG/is_2002_July-Sept/ai_107637295

Anyway, I hope to interview Mr. Burlage sometime in the near future.

 

[Tex_Hill]

I wish I had more of a chance to talk to my grandfather before he passed when I was 12. By the time I was old enough to know about what he had experienced, a stroke had impaired his ability to speak.

He was with the 1st Marine Raiders at Guadalcanal, but as mentioned above, a lot of them never spoke about it much. Dad says he never talked about it when he was growing up, partially because he didn't want to bring it up and partially because he didn't think anyone cared that much.

From what I hear, though, he was not someone you'd want to mess with. The stories I hear are from my grandmother now, so there's probably a bit of filtering going on. Anyway, the story she tells most is that he was somewhere in the Pacific, and had been there for a while. He used to cook for everyone, and took a lot of pride in it. Apparently a new 2nd Lt. fresh from the States came up and said something derogatory about his cooking, and Grampy just hauled back and knocked him out cold. The officer was sent back stateside.

From what my grandmother says, instead of taking the time for a full court-martial, they busted him from Sergeant to Private and sent him back to the front lines.

I know that he made Sergeant twice during his career, and that he was discharged as a PFC. He was never one to hold back from a fight, for sure.

I really wish I could have talked to him more, or that he could see me getting ready for OCS. Time is taking away lots of folks who shaped history, so if you ever get the chance to talk to someone who took part, be sure and do it. Even people not directly involved with the war, like my grandmother, can tell you more than you'll ever find through other research.

Mad dad was an Army cryptographer during the Korean War. He said back then you had what they called "professional privates". These were guys who loved the Army but didn't want any rank or the responsibility that came with it, so that when ever they'd get a promotion they'd do something on purpose to get busted back down. He also said that 9 time out of 10 these were the guys that you'd want to be next to when rounds started flying.

 

[JIMMY]

gee... my grandpa just played string bass for the Marines...