Short Rounds! ~ Odds and ends, this and that, bits and pieces that may not fit as well anyplace else but here. ~ By R. W. Gaines GySgt USMC Ret. 0161 Postal (1952-72) This site is a satellite/extension of Gunny G's Marine WebSites!
'One should call an adulterous liar exactly what he is � a criminal.' � MAJ. SHANE SELLERS In Navy Times column "Marines will do anything you tell them as long as they know you love them." From the book, Dunk's Almanac, by Maj. Gene Duncan USMC Ret.
A Tribute To All Old China Marines By Richard Roberts July 24, 1998 This is an excerpt from a speech by King Henry The Fifth which he gave to his men before the battle of Agincourt on October 15, 1415 which is followed by my version of the same as a tribute to all my comrades who were China Marines at one time or another. "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother. Be he ne'er so vile' this day shall gentle his condition; and gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here. -William Shakespeare, "Henry the Fifth" Variation on the same by an old China Marine, 1st Separate Engineer Bn., Tientsen/Peking 1945. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for we who would have gladly shed our blood for each other we should be called brothers; and as the years pass and we recall memories of those days when we were together it should bring a smile to our faces to just remember how it was; and if men alive today who were not there with us could only know what they missed surely they would think themselves accursed they were not there. Semper Fidelis RR
"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master," ........ George Washington
"MY Kind of Marines" Marines are about the most peculiar breeed of human beings I have ever witnessed. They treat their service as if it were some kind of cult, plastering their emblem on almost everything they own, making themselves up to look like insane fanatics with haircuts to ungentlemanly lengths, worshipping their Commandant almost as if he was God, and making weird animal noises like a band of savages. They'll fight like rabid dogs at the drop of a hat just for the sake of a little action, and are the cockiest SOB's I have ever known. Most have the foulest mouths and drink well beyond man's normal limits, but their high spirits and sense of brotherhood set them apart and, generally speaking, of the United States Marines I've come in contact with, are the most professional soldiers and the finest men I have had the pleasure to meet. --An Anonymous Canadian Citizen (H-3-5 News 6/98)
"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ....The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases." ..... Thomas Jefferson
Opinion Vs. Knowledge By Jim Baxter Sgt USMC- WWII and Korea There are only two groups of people who know U.S. Marines: 1. U.S. Marines, and 2. The enemy Everybody else has a second-hand opinion. Semper Fidelis Always Faithful Choicemaker E-Mail: choicemaker@thegrid.net
5th Marine Division Post Office, Iwo Jima "...Down south of the airfield the Fifth Division post office opened. Captain Leslie W. Babbin of Lynn, Massachusetts, was the postmaster. He was forty-three, the father of five children and a Purple Heart veteran of Chateau Thierry. Despite surf and beachmasters, he got his equipment ashore on D-Day. Six sailors with a stretcher helped him carry it inland. Then they took the stretcher away for another use. Babbin got out a shovel and began "enlarging the post office." --Iwo Jima by Richard F. Newcomb, 1965, Holt, Rhinehart, and Winston
"In the beginning of a change, the Patroit is a scarce man and brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot." ........Mark Twain
Gung-Ho! "....it characterizes what these pages are all about. The United States Marine Raiders. The word from the Chinese means literally "Work Together," but has been corrupted to mean some thing less. The Raiders understood the meaning of the word and lived out "work together" in training and combat. However, they would define it another way, "lookout for the man on your right and the man on your left." They realized there was nothing of more importance in any life situation and it remains deeply ingrained in their character today." -Dan Marsh, former Marine Raider The United States Marine Raiders E-Mail: zarue@worldnet.att.net
* No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government. -Thomas Jefferson
Guadalcanal Epitaph: And when he gets to Heaven To Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir!" "I've Done My Time In Hell." -The Struggle for Guadalcanal, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in WWII, Vol.1
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. -Thomas Jefferson
Sgt John Basilone "...One night on Guadalcanal in October, 1942, he held off a Japanese assault with two machine guns and a pistol, hauling his own ammunition. His Medal of Honor was the first won by an enlisted Marine in World War II...'I'm justa plain soldier, I want to stay one,' he had said, turning down a commission...." -From the book, Iwo Jima, by Richard Newcomb, Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1965
Marine! There had been last-minute reinforcements, a battalion of U.S. Army troops which fought its way through the enemy with heavy losses. Its colonel reported to Puller for orders. "Take your position along those hills and have your men dig in." "Yes sir. Now where's my line of retreat?" Puller's voice became slow and hard: "I'm glad you asked me that. Now I know where you stand. Wait one minute." He took a field telephone and called his tank commander. The Army officer listened to the Marine order: "I've got a new outfit," Puller said. He gave its position in detail. "If they start to pull back from that line, even one foot, I want you to open fire on them." He hung up the telephone and turned to the Army officer: "Does that answer your question?" From the book: Marine! The Life of Lt.Gen. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller USMC (Ret.) By Burke Davis
"CORPSMAN -- Usually a young, long-haired, bearded, Marine-hatin' Sailor with certain medical skills who would go through the very gates of Hell to get to a wounded Marine." From the book, Green Side Out, by Maj. Gene Duncan USMC Ret.
Epilogue "Lewis, is there anything you'd wish for, now that it's all over?" "Well, I'd like to do it all over again. The whole thing." She sighed. "And more than that -- more than anything -- I'd like to see once again the face of every Marine I've ever served with." From the book: Marine! The Life Of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller USMC (Ret.) By Burke Davis
"Some people live their entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference to the world, but MARINES don't have that problem." -President Ronald Reagan 1985
The Gunny Jerry H. Jenkins Col, USMC (ret) The Gunnery Sergeant was a quiet man. He knew us, and he knew the art of war, leading us as only gunnies can, competent and unspectacular. No slightest detail passed his watchful eye; he was hard, but we knew he was fair, and each man knew if he were called to die at least the Gunny would have sent him there. This made a world of difference to us then, for bonds of death are strong as those of birth, and death at strangers' hands is better when we die for someone whose command has worth. A sniper, unimpressed with Gunny's skill, put one round through his heart. Another kill. ("The Gunny" first appeared in Echoes Magazine) And So It Goes Poems of conflict and combat.
SurroundedFor two weeks Puller had commanded the rear of the First Marine Division, cut off in the Chosin resevoir region by hundreds of thousands of Chinese Communist troops. The Colonel was visiting a hospital tent where a priest administered last rites to Marine wounded when a messenger came: "Sir, do you know they've cut us off? We're entirely surrounded." "Those poor bastards ," Puller said. "They've got us right where we want 'em. We can shoot in every direction now." Fom the book: Marine! The Life Of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller USMC (Ret.) By Burke Davis
You can shock the shit troops, But you can't shit the shock troops! -Author Unknown
No Wonder It Couldn't Fly! I was stationed at a location not named , it was common for pilots to get their required flight time by flying from one location to another. Well (and this was years ago) on the east coast they did not have Coors (long before Coors Lite or any Lite beer). Anyhow in this type of old jet they flew from this base the airwingers figured out how to stow 10 (if I remember right) cases of beer. Well it went down coming back and fortunately the pilot survived without any serious injury. The jet crashed into a farmer's field, evidently an "old timer" and didn't hurt anybody except the environment. But to this day I remember that the word I got he said when he went to survey the damage was "No wonder the ##### thing couldn't fly, it was made out of beer cans!" Semper Fi -Msgt Budd
That Flag On Suribachi! "...and the flag was up. Six men raised it: Schrier, Platoon Sergeant Ernest I. Thomas Jr, Sergeant Henry O. Hansen, Corporal Charles W. Lindberg, Private First Class James R. Michels, and the Crow Indian, Private Charlo. This was the flag raising on Iwo Jima that thrilled the troops. The one that thrilled the world was still to come, nearly two hours later." "On the sandy terrace below, tired men wept in their foxholes, unshaven men on the beaches thumped each other on the back and shouted. Across the ships, whistles, horns, and bells rang out." "And near the base of Suribachi, a few feet from the surf, a man said, 'This means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years.' He looked like any other Marine, but he was Secretary of the Navy Forrestal. Chance placed him on the beach just as the flag went up..." From The Book, Iwo Jima, by Richard F. Newcomb, 1965, Holt, RhineHart&Winston
Graduation Day! Today you people are no longer maggots. Today you are Marines. You're part of a brotherhood. From now on, until the day you die, wherever you are, every Marine is your brother. Most of you will go to Vietnam. Some of you will not come back. But always remember this: Marines die, that's what we're here for! But the Marine Corps lives forever. And that means YOU live forever! -GySgt Hartman Full Metal Jacket
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best stage, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one." - Thomas Paine Common Sense; 1776
Corps/Sergeant! I hate to see either of the two words above mis-spelled, especially by Marines. (Corp/sargent???). OK, let's get it right! -Dick Gaines
Why The Sea-Bees? "* By the time of Wake's capture, more civilians worked and fought beside the military. Commander Cunningham noted in his book that the number of such civilians cited by name by the military survivors of Wake totals 312. That includes only those whose names could be recalled. However, the fact remains that the majority of the civilians did not participate in the fighting and also refused to do any construction work to aid in the defense. They hid in the scrub during the entire siege. It was largely because of this experience that the navy organized the famous Sea-Bees (construction battalions) which were trained both to build and to fight." From the book, Wake Island, The Heroic Gallant Fight, by Duane Schultz, 1978
"Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world." - Daniel Webster, 1851
"A nation of well informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins." -Benjamin Franklin
Something that haunts me from 50 years ago. Does it you? THE DI's CALL I can hear his voice from across the years and it beckons me back again, to march on his field of long ago, the deck from way back then. His haunting song never leaves my head, his voice, demanding my all. The cadence and rhythm echoes on. The cadence of my DI's call. Once you've heard his voice and song and the sound of pounding heels. You always hear it coming back, across some distant fields. March sharply you Marines that went before. Don't bobble or bounce or fall. What you hear from long ago, are the sounds of the DI's call. Author Unknown (The above from H-3-5 News, Jan99)
"...Lewis Puller had another cousin who would become a famous soldier: George S. Patton." Re The book, Marine! The Life Of Chesty Puller, 1962, by Burke Davis
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