getting old

[Ed DeVoe]

26 years since I stood on the famed yellow footprints. How time flys. Did four years active duty 83-87. One of Reagan's Marines. Also did some reserve time. Got out as a Sgt. of Marines with 10 years of service. I miss it.

Sgt. Ed DeVoe

[gkmoz]

Come August 23,2010 it will be 42 years since I was on the "yellow footprints" and yes it was 2 or 3 in the morning ! Gunny Skinner was my first senior drill Instructor( got orders for Nam )2nd week there. Then We had SSGT Vallancourt SGT T.Fagan and good ole SGT R.Kay. It was in the high 90s to low 100s for most of aug/sept then hurricane season ! Oy ! and finally it was Oct. and on my way to Gieger. absolutely loved Camp Lejuene. And of course I spent the next 19 months at Pendleton ! But that is how it goes in the "green Machine".

[silverdollar]

It has been 56 years for me. PI 2ed bn May 19, 1954 to Aug 6 1954.

Lived on 2ed deck of wooden barracks, senior DI was Sgt. Flynn.

PS, There were no yellow footprints.

[stan wahl]

I joined the Marines on the 120 day delay program,right out of high school. June 2010 will be 44 years for me.I still know my service number by heart,and some of my general orders.That's about it

[Dick Shewmake]

Good Morning All,Dick Shewmake here,I have a question for all .As I read the different post on YFP and read the stories of the men who served a question come to mind.Some people myself included, got of the Corps at the end of their first enlistment,but some stayed in longer 8-10 years.They were usually E-5 and above and left half way to a pretty fair retirement,WHY??.I can understand,marriage not wanting to move around so much with family,kids an school etc. I ran into a man who served over nine years made E-6 and then changed his mind and got out, I ask him why and he said he wanted a change his life style? Go figure, any imput from you would be appreciated. Just wondering what other answers are out there among the readers.Thank You Dick Shewmake 06-12-10 8:10am

[Cpl Miller]

It was 1968, Tet was running hot and heavy in country. I was on Okinawa in supply attached to the 1st Marine Division out of Da Nang. Shit was hitting the fan all over the country as you Nam vets may remember.

Got called into the SgtMajor's office for my re-enlistment interview. He say's, hey we'll give you money and a promotion to Sgt if you'll re-up. I had six months left on my 6 year emlistment and all I could think of was getting my ass killed. With four more years, and not knowing how long the war was going to go on I KNEW I'd be assigned to Nam at least for two tours.

At that time I had a new wife and a young son and the thought of leaving them behind just didn't set well with me.

From 1965 until late 67 we all signed the volunteer list that came out every month to go to Nam. I remember talking with my buddy about how safe it would be to be assigned to Da Nang becasue it was such a large base. The extra money ($35.00 combat pay) was almost a full months pay at the time.

To make a long story short they took my best friend, two weeks after arriving in country they (Marine Corps) assigned him to some far reaching hill top as the supply Sgt. Within a week they got overrun and his ass got hit six times with an AK 47. I rememebr him calling me after six months in the hospital and telling me that our thinking about being save didn't pan out. THAT made up my mind real fast about getting out. Now I will say, if the Corps decided to send me into country I'd have grab my shit in a minute to do what I was trained to do.

But I had a choice, and to this day I'm glad I'm still around to see my kids and grandkids grow up. It's sad I can't say the same thing for the 58,000 that didn't make it back.

[GunnySan]

Well, Dick, in my case i almost got out at the end of my 4 year hitch as a Sgt (E4 at the time). Then I felt I was having too much fun, so I shipped over for 6 more. After 22 years, it was beginning to be less and less fun. I decided not to make it a career.