Uncle Anthony, Big Fat Lou, Ken and Betty, Frazier, Im on together we served and thought this, from Sgt Gary Wells, was worth posting. Its a good read to the end: An up close and personal interview with U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Togetherweserved Member: Sgt Garry Wells U.S. Marine Corps (1964-1971) PLEASE DESCRIBE WHO OR WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE MARINE CORPS? I needed to get out of town, so I sent in the usual postcard you receive from recruiters when I graduated high school. The Marines were the only one to come to my house so I signed up on the spot. WHETHER YOU WERE IN THE SERVICE FOR SEVERAL YEARS OR AS A CAREER, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE DIRECTION OR PATH YOU TOOK. I loved boot camp. The only place I got three meals a day. I needed direction and guidance and my drill instructors provided that - and more! Plt 1001, Parris Island. On my dream sheet I requested (1) FMF Tanks Pacific, (2) FMF Tanks Atlantic (3) Tanks. I got orders to Henderson Hall, mess duty for 6 weeks, then a Security Guard. Go figure! Nam was the Marine Corps at its best for me. We were the bloody tip of the spear. I was a 0311 and a Squad Leader and brought most of my men home. We kicked ass and had our asses kicked, but in the end we persevered. Back from Nam I became disillusioned with the Corps. It was not the same one that I joined. Discipline sucked, pot and acid were rampant and the officers and Sr. NCOs were chicken shit. I felt all they cared about was their next promotion. I had PTSD, but was not diagnosed for several more years. I re-enlisted and tried to get a skill. Even I could see that a grunt in the civilian world was not going to make much of himself. I chose Heavy Equipment Mechanic. While at 2nd Engineers, after Nam, I pissed off both officers and Sr. enlisted enough to know that I was on my way to the brig. So thought it best to get out and move on. It was the best of times and the worst of times for me. IF YOU PARTICIPATED IN COMBAT OPERATIONS, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE ACTIONS WHICH WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT TO YOU AND, IF LIFE-CHANGING, IN WHAT WAY. I arrived in Nam in Nov 66 and joined 1/3 in Feb 67. From when I arrived until Sept 67, I was involved in many combat operations, most launched from the USS Okinawa. There was even one operation that entailed a beach assault. We lost some very brave and good men in 1967. Our units TAOR was all of I Corps, but we spent most of the time either close to the DMZ or the coast. Generally we were either flown in as support or a blocking force. When they were not needed on those types of operations, we were on Search and Destroy missions. C 1/3 was like most other field units in 1967, short of men. We were so low, on one operation we could only send out three man patrols. We thought that it was suicide, but we did what we were told. On one patrol, three of my men, Bill Moran, John Moreland and a FNG, were ambushed by the local VC. The rest of our squad volunteered to go get them. I led a reinforced squad. When we got there Moreland was killed, shot through the neck, the FNG lost an eye and Moran was all alone across a large rice paddy. We laid down suppressing fire and he ran back to the squad. I thought for sure he had shit his pants, but he smiled anyway. Sgt. Donald Pike rescued me after I was shot in the head, and he was killed 64 days later trying to reach a cutoff squad when we were on Operation Buffalo at the DMZ around Con Thien. We were there to assist in pulling dead Marines out after a company of the 9th Marines got ambushed and had to leave some bodies behind. The NVA had long range cannons zeroed in on our location. We found out what it was like to be on the receiving end and it was not fun. At the same time, Dong Ha, Gio Lin and a couple of other fixed installations were getting hit hard by the NVA Artillery. While we were on the south side of the McNamara Line, a series of strong points, sensors and obstacles meant to detect communist forces crossing the DMZ, we saw a US jet hit by a SAM missile. This was the first time that had happened in South Vietnam. It was incredible to see the SAM fly and hit the jet. We heard later that the pilot was safe. A day later the B 52s dropped a load just north and east of us. We were yelling kill the bastards. Pretty sure they got a few. Well at least there were no more SAMs fired for a while. Platoon Commander Lt. Mallon was killed in Quang Tri Province on the first operation in an L shaped ambush set up by local VC and NVA. He was concerned about his men. He died making sure they were safe. On September 2, 1967, on an operation close to the Street Without Joy in Thua Thien Province, George Norbut was blown in half when he stepped on a bouncing Betty mine. I was in front of him. That was the second time I was wounded. Several of us had walked over that same area a few times, but George was the unlucky one to trip it. Several wounded, Isadore Delgado had a foot blown off. Several friends that were at my wedding and spent time at my apartment partying prior to our deployment died in 1967: George Pflasterer, Sterling Jones, Roland John. We were all in Guard Company, Henderson Hall. George was a Georgia boy, and was an all-state football player. That man could crush you when he hit you. He died from friendly fire. Sterling and Roland were both soft spoken but great guys. In all, 13 people I cared for came home, to get their names on The Wall. Looking back, it was a waste of lives. My personal view was that McNamara, Nixon and LBJ should have been put on trial for getting people killed when they knew the war was not going to be won. Sort of like Iraq and Afghanistan today. OF ALL YOUR DUTY STATIONS OR ASSIGNMENTS, WHICH ONE DO YOU HAVE FONDEST MEMORIES OF AND WHY? WHICH ONE WAS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE? 1) Boot camp. Awesome! Actually the best time of my life, well, until I screwed up doing something wrong, but the DIs were kind enough to help to see the error of my ways. I actually enjoyed boot camp. Yes it was difficult, and youre under a lot of pressure, but you could feel yourself growing, mentally and physically. I was young and stupid, and proud. 2) Henderson Hall, Arlington, Virginia, met my beautiful future wife there. About 10 Men and Woman Marines hung around together, mainly in the EM Club or walking around Washington D.C and the National Mall because it was all free. We danced and drank every night at the Club. Since I was on mess duty, we had to get up at about 4 am, I dont know how I made it through 6 weeks of mess duty on 3 or 4 hours sleep each night. Also the Arlington National Cemetery was next to Henderson Hall and we often took long silent walks there. 3) C Company 1/3 - a great bunch of guys. Hopefully I grew up a lot by being part of this fine unit. I have many memories. While on Operation Cochise, a squad from 2nd Platoon were out trying to set up a night ambush, since we had gotten hit hard that day. They were ambushed and several Marines were killed. The next day another squad went to retrieve the bodies, they had all been shot in the head and their uniforms and gear were taken. Back from Nam and stationed at Lejeune. Frankly, it sucked. Horrible and petty, Officers and Sr NCOs all trying their best to get promoted on the back of men that were better than they were, who served combat tours. It was the Corps at its worst in my humble opinion. While in 6th Marines at Lejeune, we practiced a lot for breaking up riots by antiwar pukes. Still sick of that 2 step shuffle even today. I am pretty sure any Marine Corps PFC with an M-16 could break up a riot pretty darn quick, but we didnt practice for that. Too bad! Often wondered how combat tested Marines would have reacted to a bunch of left wing, draft dodging, hippies trying to stuff a flower in the barrel of our weapon. I had a sign in the back window of my Camaro that said Free Calley. The base did not find that amusing and ordered me to pull it out of the window. I do not agree with murder, but I do know how people get when they have seen their friends killed and cant find the bastard that did it. You want to make somebody pay. Calley had choices. FROM YOUR ENTIRE SERVICE CAREER WHAT PARTICULAR MEMORY STANDS OUT? Every memory from Vietnam is seared into my skull. Guts hanging out, people blown in half, people shot in the head, limbs blown off. Join the Marines, tour the world, kill people and blow up their stuff. It was a sobering experience, being part of C Company 1/3 in 1967, but one I will never regret. In 1965 my future wife and I were walking through Arlington Cemetery. It was raining hard and there were a lot of fresh graves. We passed a woman dressed in black, kneeling at a muddy grave site, she had her son near her and she had one red rose in her hand. That picture spoke a lot to me. After I was released from the USS Sanctuary I was at DaNang waiting for a chopper ride back to my unit. A Major ran up to us and asked us (yes asked, not ordered) if we would mind helping with casualties. We went with him. A 6 x 6 backed up with about 20 bodies stacked on it, blood dripping off the sides and back. We were to unload them and take them to the morgue. I recall two things from that incident. The 04 and 06 were standing off to the side crying as we unloaded the dead. One of the dead was rolled off the back of the truck. I got the head part of the body. I looked down and saw that the dead Marine was young and had blonde hair and his blue eyes were staring at me. He also had a bullet hole through the center of his forehead and the top of his head was gone. I still recall his blood and brains dripping down my utilities and onto my boots. At Henderson Hall, daily, we heard the bugles, and heard the hoof beats of the caissons being drawn up to the grave sites. There was a movie with James Caan called Garden of Stone. Arlington Cemetery was that alright. IF YOU RECEIVED ANY MEDALS FOR VALOR OR AWARDS FOR SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT, PLEASE DESCRIBE HOW THESE WERE EARNED. A couple of Purple Hearts but there were MANY Marines that received them, so I feel the same as the others that earned them. While in the Air Force, I was awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal and a Meritorious Service Medal. OF ALL THE MEDALS, AWARDS, QUALIFICATION BADGES OR DEVICE YOU RECEIVED, PLEASE DESCRIBE THE ONE(S) MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU AND WHY? Purple Hearts. I hope it showed that I was doing my duty. Plus an honorable discharge from the Corps I joined, loved it, then leaving while it was broken. I often regret being a disgruntled Marine after I got back from Nam. I was too immature to realize that stuff is like that after any war. The Corps lives forever and I was a fly speck in its history. WHICH INDIVIDUAL(S) FROM YOUR TIME IN THE MILITARY STAND OUT AS HAVING THE MOST POSITIVE IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY? Drill Instructors SSgt Jachimowicz, Sgt. Smith, Cpl. York, Sgt. Sutis and Sgt. Davis. We had two extra Hats with us because they were in training. Sgt. Sutis favorite trick was for us to stuff a handkerchief in our mouth until at least two maggots projectile vomited. Sgt. Davis was about 5 foot 3 and his favorite word was Batshit. After the first night at Parris Island, I looked out of the window and saw two Drill Instructors striding to the door to receive us. All I was thinking was, What in the hell did I get myself into? That statement seems to be a familiar one with all of us. Donald Cleaver Pike - I got shot in the head assisting the recovery of a wounded Marine. Pike exposed himself to enemy fire and pulled me to safety. He was killed 64 days later. Capt Reczeck - Company Commander in Vietnam. He was tough and cared about his men. He wanted to do the job and get his men back in one piece. He was one of the best officers I knew in the Mean Green Killing Machine. He retired as a full bird. SSgt Charles Brown - least said the better. Lt. Bertoff - the 2nd Lt. that replaced Lt. Mallon. While at the DMZ from July 3 - 9, 1967, he wanted us to PT in an open field because he thought we were not getting enough exercise after we built two lines of defense in preparation for more artillery and attacks from the NVA. No we did not do PT at my request. I was sort of a hot head by then. He was a typical Butter Bar type. Another Bertoff moment: we were attacking a ville and he wanted us to make sure we yelled a lot as we ran. I think we ended up yelling F*** Bertoff. The majority of my squad had been in combat for months, all they did was shake their heads and light up a smoke. On Operation Cochise he told me to take a reinforced Fire Team to a raised spot in the middle of a rice paddy. We were taking fire, a lot of fire and he said, I will be right behind you. After we got there and checked for holes and blood, we looked around but he was nowhere to be seen. Seems he had decided not to join us. Then he radioed us to come back as he was calling in artillery for cover. He told us to Go. So how many shells landed to cover us? Exactly zero. Needless to say, he is not in my top 10 of favorites as a matter of fact he is not in the top 100. He was also sent to Lejeune after his tour was up in country. One day I got a call from him. I went to his office and he had the balls to ask me, I didnt get a chance to take pictures, can I have a copy of yours? My reply, I didnt either. I am sure I reinforced his dislike of me. CAN YOU RECOUNT A PARTICULAR INCIDENT FROM YOUR SERVICE WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN FUNNY AT THE TIME, BUT STILL MAKES YOU LAUGH? After Nam I was assigned to Camp Lejeune. I pissed off my Gunny and he assigned me to a SR NCO Engineer Course at Ft Belvoir, Virginia. I was an E5 so I guess I was looked on as a Sr NCO. While there, the Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. assigned there for Marines at Belvoir, decided to have an inspection to make sure the Marines were looking great compared to the Army pukes. After the inspection, he told me to go to his office. Back in 1968, times were tough, I had a wife, a couple of kids, a car and house trailer payment, money was hard to come by. When he came into his office he started screaming at me about a couple of pin holes in my utilities and said, What the f*** do you do with the money the Marine Corps gave you for a clothing allowance? There I was, ram rod straight, eyes straight ahead, heels locked together and I replied I feed my family with it sir. I had never seen a Marine Corps Sgt. Major turn smurf blue, then crimson red. He yelled at me, Get the f*** out of my office. I surmised that I gave him an answer that he could not argue with. I still smile when I recall the incident. I bet he does too. WHAT PROFESSION DID YOU FOLLOW AFTER YOUR MILITARY SERVICE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY SERVING, WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY? After retiring from the Air Force, I got into installing Laboratory, Radiology, Pharmacy and Scheduling systems. Retired on a Friday, got my Bachelors the same day. I started working for a company that did the same thing on Monday. No rest for the wicked I guess. When I started yelling at the customers, I figured it was time to retire. I really enjoyed the job but in hindsight, I was burned out. WHAT MILITARY ASSOCIATIONS ARE YOU A MEMBER OF, IF ANY? WHAT SPECIFIC BENEFITS DO YOU DERIVE FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIPS? As with many other Marines, I am associated with the VA. While I have received good treatment, both physical and mental, the government needs to do a lot more for veterans. Instead, the current administration is only interested in food stamps, give away programs, illegal aliens and Obamacare, not the veterans they send to war. IN WHAT WAYS HAS SERVING IN THE MILITARY INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU HAVE APPROACHED YOUR LIFE AND YOUR CAREER? Went in as a boy and hopefully came out a man. The Marine Corps provided direction and instills in each Marine, honor, integrity and duty. I have tried to continue to apply these traits in my life. BASED ON YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY JOINED THE MARINE CORPS? The Marine Corps as an organization today, is at the top. They train better and fight almost as good as the Marines who were in the Nam. :)) Vietnam was a different type of war than is fought now. Anyone going in, just remember if you volunteer to offer your life for this country, be careful that your current administration will support you 100%. My guess is that the politicians will screw you at the end of the day anyway. Of all the services, I believe that the Corps is, at the heart, the same Corps that has been in existence from the start. But the Army, Navy and Air Force are great organizations also. IN WHAT WAYS HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM HELPED YOU REMEMBER YOUR MILITARY SERVICE AND THE FRIENDS YOU SERVED WITH. It has refreshed my memory. Cemented my relationship with those I served with who are members. It also provides an avenue to continue to interact with fellow Marines. A man is more than flesh and blood, he is one who lives forever in our minds and hearts.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 12:21:36 +0000
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