Blog Post #6

I interviewed my uncle, who was drafted in 1962 and joined the Marines with eight of his friends. After basic training and advanced training he volunteered for reconnaissance. My uncle is a reliable source because he lived through it and was in an advanced branch of the military. I interviewed him over the phone on April 25, 2012.

How old were you when you decided to enlist?
17

Why did you enlist?
it was during the draft, i could either go to college and join afterwards, or just get it over with and me and 8 of my buddies decided to join the marines

Describe basic training?
It was bad,  they’d tear you down and build you back up the way they want you. Its 3 months straight with no leave or anything then you go to advanced infantry training, everyone has to do that, and that's another month, so when you get out of there you get a leave or you can stay there and do whatever, so when I was in advanced infantry training I carried a Browning Automatic Rifle

Where did you do your basic training?
San Diego California at Camp Pendleton

What was the hardest part about basic training?

I guess it was getting demoralized, I mean they would beat you down and build you back up the way they wanted you. They generally do that physically but they also do it mentally.They would verbally demoralize you, but it would always end up physical in other words, if one guy screwed up and you got an 82 man platoon, you’re all down doing push ups or running or whatever.

What squad were you assigned to?
I volunteered in the Reconnaissance unit after Boot Camp and did recon training.

What was your role in the squad?
Well you have ranks but a lot of it is done on your own or with another person in recon. I was in the recon unit at Camp Pendleton but when you go into a conflict your designated to certain infantry units, in other words your sectioned out to a military unit to get the information.

Where were  you first stationed and where did you wind up?
Camp Pendleton, San Diego california, I spent a year and a half at Pendleton, and I spent a year and a half over seas. in over seas we were in 18 different countries, but the main base overseas was in Okinawa an island that belonged to Japan, they took that island in WW2 and they made a giant base there. I wound up in Vietnam in 1964 and it started out small and we were in an expeditionary force to try to teach the South Vietnamese how to fight, because they were useless to be honest with you, but when you're in the Marines, you're told to do something and you do it

Would you recommend joining the Marines?
I don't know if I would join the Marines before the Navy or Air Force because you can learn more in the Air Force and the Navy technologically speaking, but it just depends on what a badass you are, I mean if you'd rather go and fight that’s one thing but if you want to learn something for later join the Navy or Air Force, plus when you seventeen and eighteen years old you think you're Mr. tough guy.

What did you miss from home the most?
Well i was a Highschool sweetheart with your Aunt Melody so I missed her but you also miss ur mom and dad and your family but most your girlfriend and then your family.

How did being in the Marines change you as a person?
It made more detail-orientated, and it made me realize i could do things that I normally couldn't do, they make you do things that you think you can never accomplish, but they give you the drive and the willpower to make you do and accomplish things. Discipline is really the word. it disciplines your whole life

Did your experience challenge your faith?
It strengthened my faith in god because when you're under duress in your life you turn to god, smart people turn to god when things are good and bad but even then. When you first go in, it even humbles and strengthens atheist people to be closer to god because when you're all together and you think you aint goin home it helps everyone. In 1962 when I told you i spent a little less than a year and a half at Camp Pendleton. Kind of a slick thing we did is that we went down to Guantanamo Bay when the Cuban Missile crisis was happening with president Kennedy and the port you leave from is in San Diego it was called the 7th fleet. The Marine corps is actually the attack force of the Navy. That was the slickest thing i've done because we got to sneak through the Panama Canal, we then met another platoon from Camp Lejeune in in South Carolina and we were supposed to do an amphibious landing to attack but they called it off at the end and everyone was like “oh god you gotta be kidding me”. When you go to the military you get to go to places you would never get to go unless you've got a lot of money. You might also want to include is that once you are called you go and when you're overseas you have a floating battalion and we were on a helicopter carrier called the U.S. “IWO JIMA” waiting for something to happen and once it does the marines get their first and you're part of an elite task force and you all go to do a beach landing and then you some troops would take the helicopters beyond the beach and land on the other side, you’d kind of make a sandwich.