I spent two tours in the Marine Corps: November,
1975 to November, 1979; and October, 1982 to July, 1986. I
fired expert Rifleman &, earned two good conduct medals, a
Meritorious Unit Citation (MUC) & a National Defense ribbon. My MOS
was 5923, Hawk Missile Systems Repairman.
(I worked on the missle system that Lt.Col Oliver North was selling
to the Arabs...)
Boot Camp
I went to Boot Camp at San Diego, CA from 12
November, 1975 until 12 February, 1976. I was in
Platoon 1129, my drill instructors were
Staff Sergeant Mitchell & Staff Sergeant
Pantoja, my Platoon Commander was Staff
Sergeant Spencer (I think). The series commander was
1st Lt. Carney. Our Platoon Honor Man
was PFC Wisser. I went to boot camp on
the "buddy program" with a fellow named
Raymond from Corpus Christi, TX...no, I
don't remember his last name....
Hawk Missile System Training
I reported from boot camp for school at USAADS
at Ft. Bliss, El Paso, TX on 29 February, 1976 where I was
taught basic electronics, and specific training on the High Powered
Illuminator Radar, Missile Launcher & Missile Loader of the
Hawk Missile System. My best buddy
here was PFC Mark "Lobie" Lobenstein
(from Sun Prarie, WI). I graduated as top Marine in my class and
was subsequently stationed at
Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC.
My First Duty Station
I reported to 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Missile
(LAAM) Bn. in October, 1976 and I was
assigned to Alpha Battery, Maintenance Platoon
under Gysgt Larry Harmon where I was
pinned with my nickname by
Cpl Copenhaver on my very first
training exercise. Alpha Battery, under the command of
Capt. Wes Clymer (Texas Aggie), went
on a NATO
Combined Arms exercise in Europe in the fall of 1978, where the
famous
"Drunken March" took place, and, we
were awarded the Glass Boot by the local bar owner in
Oldenburg, Germany. Upon our
return, I transferred to H&HS Battery, Hawk
Maintenance under Gysgt Bruce Pollock
where I finished my first tour.
My buddies were: Sgt Ronald H. Carr
(from Indiana), Cpl Kenneth Null
(an Engineer), Sgt Adame (from Alvin, TX),
Cpl Matthew Popovich (blond and swore
that he'd marry a blonde), Sgt Dave Butler
, Sgt Thomas
Gaetano ("Paisan", he said he was going to buy a harley
and disappear) and Ssgt Timothy Blake
.
My Second Tour
Coming soon...
I'd love to hear from anyone who was a part of my USMC life...even
the guys with whom I had differences...a Marine's a Marine, and
that's a bond that always rises above....