Well I was born at a very young age in Montreal, Canada.  My grandfather fought in World War I with the Princess Pat Light Machine Gun Regiment.  He was gassed and wounded.  My father was in the Princess Pat Light Infantry Regiment in World War II but saw no combat.  I had an uncle in the 42nd Canadian Black Watch during World War II and another uncle killed as a gunner in a Catalina Flying Boat. 

     In 1952 my parents moved to California and as I couldn’t let them go alone I went with them.  At the beginning of my senior year of  High School (second day) a friend and I cut school got drunk and joined the Marine Corps.   I figured what the hell, with my grades I would probably fail anyway.  That was in 1959. 

     As for any recruit “Boot Camp” at MCRD San Diego was no picnic.  It was twelve weeks then, plus four weeks at Infantry Training Regiment.  I think we were the last to be issued the ankle high “Boondockers”, then at ITR we were told we couldn’t wear them and had to buy new boots.  A Private’s pay was $72.00  a month and a PFC got $76.00.  New boots cost us $21.00. 

     After ITR, I got orders to the 1st Marine Brigade in Hawaii and reported to Staging Battalion.  I made PFC before shipping out.  Everyone went by ship then.  In Hawaii I wound up as an 0311 (my MOS) BAR man in Charlie 1/4.  My Squad leader was an E-3 Corporal.  Later they tried to make me an 0141 and after I set some of the Company office paper work back a year I got transferred to Machine Guns (0331).  There my Section Leader was an E-4 Sergeant who had been a Master Sergeant at one time and had earned the Navy Cross on Okinawa. 

     In 1961 we had the Laotian Crisis and we stayed off the coast of Vietnam for awhile.  I had a Platoon Leader name of Ling (a freckled faced red head) that could speak French.  He went ashore as an interpreter and never came back.  Some how I had managed to pick up Lance Corporal but as it was still a new rank no one really knew where we fit in.  We were called Corporals in training but could not associate with the Corporals as we were not NCO’s, and we weren’t supposed to associate with lowly Pfc.’s and Privates because we were Corporals in training.  Of course this led to my first Office Hours. 

     Sometime in late 1961 they formed 3/4 (there had been only two Battalions when I joined) and a lot of people got transferred around, (get rid of your trouble makers).  I wound up in Fox 2/4.  There I stayed until I rotated Stateside in 62. 

     I had orders to the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton and when reporting in I was asked what I wanted to do.  I wanted to spent the rest of my hitch on leave or liberty but there was only openings in Tanks or Motor Transport.  I took Tanks and went to the 1st Tank Battalion’s Tank School at Las Flories. Somehow I came out first in the class and went to Bravo Company 1st Tank Battalion.  I thought I had met some characters in the grunts but they couldn’t hold a candle to the people in Tanks, I seemed to fit right in.  At that time the Battalion had M-48A1 90mm Gun Tanks, M-103 120mm Heavy Gun Tanks and M-67A1 Flame Tanks.  

     I got married, and had a daughter.  Almost made Corporal, came that close, but that’s another story.  Hell there were people there with three to five years in grade, rank was tight then.  I decided to get out when my hitch was up.  You know the grass is always greener. 

     After I got out I worked as a welder, got divorced, worked as a machinist, and then as a off shore oil field worker in Louisiana.  After I got out of jail in Louisiana I returned to California in 1966, Vietnam was looking like it would last awhile so I reenlisted.  As a PFC.  

     Got orders to Staging  Battalion and as a bonus they couldn’t get uniforms for me, but they could find whites, so I was put on mess duty.  I eventually got enough of an issue to be assigned to a replacement draft.  Went through all the staging training and admin. stuff.  I was among the last replacements to go to Vietnam by ship in December 1966, after us, all replacements went by air. 

     I had orders to 3rd Marine Division, so I wound up in 3rd Tank Battalion, Bravo Company, 1st Platoon and spent my whole tour there.  I  rotated back to the states in January 1968 with orders to go home and wait for further orders.  I did. My brother, who was in the Navy left for his tour in Vietnam the day before I got back.  

     Got orders to 5th Military Police Battalion at Camp Pendleton, big mistake.  I knew I wasn’t cut out to be a cop, got a ticket the day I reported in, C.O. wouldn’t fix it for me.  Somehow I picked up Sergeant there but after four months I was transferred to 5th Tank Battalion.  I was there until the Battalion was disbanded then I was transferred to the Instructor Company, Schools Battalion, (Tracked Vehicle School).  Almost made Staff Sergeant there, but when I didn’t that grass got greener again and I got out again. 

     Got a job as a welder, got married again, (this one lasted twenty three years before we got  divorced). With a partner we started a small business.  When he got killed in a car accident I lost interest and sold the business. In 1979 I joined the Marine Corps League and got involved with the Young Marines.  I have been working with the program ever since.  I am also a member of the Marine Corps Tankers Association and the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association.   I am retired now and doing ok.