ABOUT
This web site is provided as a glimpse into the history of the US Marines during the Vietnam War. The training was geared up for us to go to Vietnam and survive. There was no pretense made about what we were being trained for and where the majority of us might expect to be within six months. Many of us however did not go to Vietnam as it turned out. The 3rd Marine Division left Vietnam in November, 1969. That ended many of the billets in Vietnam for enlisted Marines. Most of us in Platoon 101 wound up stateside in places such as the Marine Corps Supply Center in Albany, GA. Others were assigned to admin jobs at Parris Island. After we finished ITR (Infantry Training Regiment) at Camp Geiger, NC (part of Camp Lejeune) we received twenty days leave and then reported to our first duty station. The Marines at that time were headed into a dark chapter in its history, however, which none of us knew at the time. Going anywhere was likely going to be an assignment where the Marines were trying to rebuild after returning from Vietnam and winding down USMC operations there. Shortages of manpower existed in many of the non-combat MOS's which meant that if anyone could do anything that was not "toting a rifle" they were given a non-infantry MOS and sent to some school or put in OJT (on-the-job training) to pick up a skill that the USMC had a demand for. Many in boot camp and at ITR were also tapped for the officer's candidate school (OCS) program because many of our enlistees were not enlisted but were in fact drafted after they completed their college degrees which qualified them to go to OCS in many cases. Many of these people however were only in for the time they had to be in by law and had no interest in becoming an officer despite the fact that the Marines in 1970 practically offered them a commission on a plate, so to speak, if they would only switch over from an enlisted program to an officer's one. We survived regardless of what we pursued in training however. None of this Platoon died in Vietnam to my knowledge. Correct me if I am wrong about this.
This web site is managed and administered by ROBERT LIVINGSTON JR
Contact me on the Contact form or at [email protected]
This web site is managed and administered by ROBERT LIVINGSTON JR
Contact me on the Contact form or at [email protected]