Blood Brothers

[joseywales]

I need to confirm something a Viet vet just told us today. That the term blood brothers came from a practice in Nam where Marines would take a leech off a buddy and eat it, in order to form bonds and to share with each other, or something, he went on and on about it and I thought he was kidding around, but he didnt seem to be joking at all and now i wonder if theres any truth to it at all, maybe some Viet vets know

[kaelobo]

I thought it was pound cake, (kidding).

[Mongoose]

Some of my buddies liked to just let the leeches slither down their throat. Our Gunny used to bite their head off, and suck the blood out. He said their skin got stuck in his teeth. Me, I liked the really fat ones. Put in your mouth and pop em with your teeth, then spit the skin out. Any way you did it. It was finger lickin good. Any way that's how we did it in the 3/26. I don't know how the 3/5 or the 2/4 did it. But they always had plenty of beer to wash it down with.

[joseywales]

cant tell if your just kidding or not. Is it true? something about nutrients for the blood, too

[montana]

we in 1/7 used to bit the heads off then sqeez the blood and inerds into our bros mouth..iff he held it down he was your blood brother...if he up chucked he was just a mother *****

[advanced]

We used to make them into soup and wash it down with beer in the 3/5. The trick was to only use fresh ones that had just eaten.

[Mongoose]

We used to make them into soup and wash it down with beer in the 3/5. The trick was to only use fresh ones that had just eaten.
Russ, the fresh ones was like eating green apples. The trick was pulling them off. And letting them sit for about an hour. By then the blood turns black looking and forms little clots. That's what real Marines liked. We washed them down with Diesel.

[joseywales]

i hope you guys are just joking. (?)

[03Foxtrot]

I had my share of leeches, what we Nam grunts considered an occupational norm, just as mosquitoes and malaria, heat, humidity, snakes, monsoon rains, gook sores and heat rash. These and many more less than wonderful exposures to the environment and climate that grunts endured, along with constant firefights and booby traps and daily casualties, gave us all a rather morbid sense of humor. The truth was even more strange and unbelievable than any inflated stories/jokes, like this one, that you can imagine. Just my opinion....
Semper Fi, Scott

[montana]

the leeches didnt like me for some un known reason...i could put one on my arm..it would feel around a little the ball up and roll off....during the monsoons up in the quea son mountains they would drop out of the trees and lach on to the grunts necks...poor me never got the thrill of bein sucked on by a leech...would hit um with the ever so famous bug juce...they would let go fast...that stuff would blister you

[advanced]

i hope you guys are just joking. (?)

Kid, it's a developed taste. But when you're as hungry as we were all the time you learn to eat anything, even that which will eat you.

Montana, I wish I had your untasteful hide. Whenever someone asks did we have leaches I just pull up my shirt and let them see my back. I still carry the scars, that and from those packs that used to rub the skin off to the bone.

Mongoose, we were always so hungry we didn't have time to wait an hour for them to ripen, we just through them in the stew (soup) pot. We also added bamboo shouts for more flavor and something to chew on. Leaches for those that don't know, have the texture of oysters.

[Mongoose]

Kid, it's a developed taste. But when you're as hungry as we were all the time you learn to eat anything, even that which will eat you.

Montana, I wish I had your untasteful hide. Whenever someone asks did we have leaches I just pull up my shirt and let them see my back. I still carry the scars, that and from those packs that used to rub the skin off to the bone.

Mongoose, we were always so hungry we didn't have time to wait an hour for them to ripen, we just through them in the stew (soup) pot. We also added bamboo shouts for more flavor and something to chew on. Leaches for those that don't know, have the texture of oysters.
Russ, I'll bet they would have been better with a little tobasco instead of the gun powder we sprinkled on them for taste.

[Old Marine]

When I was a Drill Instructor I would show up for work in the morning, go to the Duty Hut and shave with a blow torch just to get into the mood for the dailey training schedule.

[bootlace15]

I was'nt over there long enough to enjoy all that good protein.

[Mongoose]

Kid, it's a developed taste. But when you're as hungry as we were all the time you learn to eat anything, even that which will eat you.

Montana, I wish I had your untasteful hide. Whenever someone asks did we have leaches I just pull up my shirt and let them see my back. I still carry the scars, that and from those packs that used to rub the skin off to the bone.

Mongoose, we were always so hungry we didn't have time to wait an hour for them to ripen, we just through them in the stew (soup) pot. We also added bamboo shouts for more flavor and something to chew on. Leaches for those that don't know, have the texture of oysters.
Russ, is that why we used to say, Igot your bask covered?

[Mongoose]

When times were really bad. We had all the new replacements strip off and swim for awhile in leech infested water. We called them the chef squad.

[YLDNDN6]

Don: the exact origins of the term blood brother are not known for sure, but the term goes way, way back to ancient civilizations. Often times, the leaders of two or more factions would swear allegience to one another by means of what was known as a blood oath. Many forms of blood oath were used, but most involved each person shedding a small amount of blood, mixing the blood with wine or taking it straight up, and having each person drink it. sometimes it involved two men cutting their palms or forearms and having them bound together for a day or so, thus mixing their blood and making them brothers. Though the practices were widely varied, they all resulted in the same thing; a bond of loyalty and allegience. A Brotherhood. It comes as no surprise that the Corps, and its members, would devise various ways to cement this bond between themselves. The leach system was apparently what suited our Viet Nam Marines at the time, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that there are/were dozens of other types of "blood oaths" taken throughout the history of the Corps. I hope this information was helpful. Carry on.