How Did You End Up Joining The Corps?

[USMC 2571]

I started a thread like this, but it was years ago, and the membership has changed so much, and that thread was deleted in the course of cleaning house years ago, that I thought it might be interesting to start it once again.

I dropped out of high school, decided to join the military, no specific branch in mind. I knew you could sign up for 2, 3 or 4 years---I chose 4----but which branch?

I figured that as I was going in for 4, it might as well be the best and most elite branch, and seeing the giant gold letters on the recruiting office window spelling out "U.S. MARINE CORPS" didn't detract from the wonder of it all, either.

[Zulu 36]

Sort of traditional in my family, I suppose. My brother and I both served in the Corps as third generation Marines. My father was a WWII Marine and his maternal uncle was a captain and dive bomber pilot (KIA at Guadalcanal).

I wanted to be in the Corps from a very young age and succeeded in getting there.

[irpat54]

it was a tradition in my family as well, I new I wanted to serve my Country, as it was instilled in me at a young age, but had no pressure as to what Branch, (although I think my Dad and Brother would have been disappointed if I chose anything other then the Corps..lol) so I chose the Marine Corps since I was very familiar with it's history anyway and I new it was the best of the best,, that is one phase of my life where I can say with certainty that I have no regrets and would gladly do it all over again given the chance..

[USMC 2571]

Very interesting---I didn't know anyone who had been in the Corps, had never even talked with anyone who had.

[MunkyVsRobot]

I was tired of where I was in life and on the verge of divorce so I decided my skills and level of desire were best suited else where. So I popped smoke and joined the Marine Corps.

[USMC 2571]

How did you choose the Corps over other branches?

[FistFu68]

Army brat by Birth...Marine by Choice...Survivor by the Grace of God...The Few The Proud The Deemed The United States Marines S/F that :flag:

[Rocky C]

From the Continental Marines all the way to me. It stopped when my only son passed away 4 years ago.....Perhaps my Grandson will follow in my footsteps one day. My daughter will never enlist.

Semper Fidelis

[MunkyVsRobot]

How did you choose the Corps over other branches?

Originally out of high school i wanted to join the Air Force, but later on in life i decided i liked challenge and wasnt looking for something what was going to be a cake walk. I also had a buddy who was joining the Marines so i said eff it thats where im going. Didnt even entertain speaking to the others.

Unfortunately i am set in my ways I do my own research and sell myself on something people dont usually sell stuff to me and by that time there is no changing the decision. But I am quite pleased with my decision and have become quite a formidable leader to boot.

[Rocky C]

Nice !!!!!

[Ebecker]

The only person in my family that I know of who was in the military was my grandpa who was in the Navy and did the pacific tour with the Marines. He died before my mom was out of college, so unfortunately I never got to meet him. I can't imagine the stories he had.

My brother joined the Navy a few months after I shipped out, so maybe we are starting up the tradition.

I grew up watching series like Band of Brothers and The Pacific and after not enjoying college I think I wanted a sense of direction and purpose in my life. I didn't want to join the Navy because I didn't like the probability of spending 4 years on a ship, and the Army and Air Force recruiters never went to work, so the choice was easy. Looking back, I am glad that was the case.

[Kegler300]

After I graduated high school, I went to the Air Farce recruiting office, took the ASVAB test, and was told I wouldn't be able to ship for six months. As soon as I got home, my mom told me a Marine recruiter had called. I told her I didn't want to join the Marine Corps, but she said I should just be nice and call him back. The rest is history ...

[fl1946]

With no father figure (Dad passed away) while growing up as a teenager, the thought of joining the Marine Corps appealed to me. I was a wild, spoiled, immature h.s. senior searching for an anchor so choosing the Corps was a natural option. I wanted to be the best. So "best" that during swearing in that morning the recruiter convinced me to add a year to my 3 year enlistment. "It's just a year," I remarked. "What's another year?" Well, as Paul Harvey used to say, "You know the rest of the story!" Vietnam here I come!

Semper fi, bros...and especially to you, Rocky. Glad to have you back.

[Rocky C]

Frank my Brother !!!

Great to see you and thank you. Hope all is well.

[madsox]

Everybody's giving serious answers? Well okay then.

I think I was partly rebelling against the world I grew up in - upper middle class, leftie politics, DC suburban 70s. Wanted to make my own path, have options in case I wanted to quit college (like go active) or just a guaranteed job because the economy sucked so bad by the early 80s.

Also needed to prove I could do something hard, and completely different, that's why the Corps.

Plus some patriotism - no draft, I didn't have to serve, but I felt like I owed it.

Well, that made me think. I'll zip it now before I get really boring, but Rocky - Continental Marines all the way through, really? A big Semper Fi for that one, brother!

[Big Boz]

Living in a little manufacturing town and there wasn't much for opportunity if you weren't related to someone already working there. I started going to college, but quit after a couple of months because I didn't feel like I fit in. Fast forward a few months, I get my girlfriend knocked up and the old Piggly Wiggly was not going to support a young family. My father was in the Corps in the mid 50's and I think that I was trying to prove something to him too, so I chose the Marine Corps. It wasn't until later that I learned that he went AWOL and never fulfilled his enlistment obligation. I never even talked to any other branches.

[USMC 2571]

No, Andy, Rocky C meant he was IN the Continental Marines, he's so old. Oh, I will probably get banned for that one

[USMC 2571]

Good responses, keep it going, I'm interested also in why the USMC as opposed to the other services---that's always interesting.

[Big Boz]

the old Piggly Wiggly was not going to support a young family.

Little did I realize that the Marine Corps was not going to support a young family either. But......I did learn a valuable skill and have been able to provide for my family and enjoy life.

[Rocky C]

No, Andy, Rocky C meant he was IN the Continental Marines, he's so old. Oh, I will probably get banned for that one

ahahahaahaha !!!!

[seventyone]

350 male HS students from my class.....SSGT walks up to the stage after all the other branches pitched their services....he looks out at us and said "5 of you will be Marines." Walks off w/o saying another word.

I looked at 3 of my friends.....next day we joined. All the others in my class were trying to avoid the draft. I spent 26 years in our Corps. My buddies and I just got together for a reunion. One retired as V/P of FedEx, the other 2 retired from Fire Depts.

I now fly jets in the Corporate world but everyday my uniform still looks crisp and polished.

[USMC 2571]

That is the power of suggestion at its fullest. LOL. Great post.

[Rocky C]

26 ? OUTSTANDING !!!!

Thank you Brother and welcome to the Forum.

[USMC 2571]

Interesting thread as to how we came to join the Corps as opposed to other branches.

[Matt225808]

The war was going on and I was nearing my end of high school with no real goal. I wasn't exactly destined for greatness so after much deliberation between the Corps or FFL I joined the Marines and the rest is history

[silveradomick]

I wanted to fly fighter jets, and had seen top gun one too many times, so I wanted to go to Annapolis and be a naval aviator in the worst way. Then I realized that a pilot has to be good at math. I am NOT good at math. At all. So I started thinking about things I AM good at. Digging holes, living in the field, shooting stuff, those were all strong points for me. The Marine recruiter was right next to the Navy office, so I walked in. They sold me on being the best at carrying a gun for a living. The rest is history.

[Eric Hood]

I also wanted to go in the military. We had a career day at our high school, when I was a freshman. I was so impressed by the dignity and bearing of a Marine S/Sgt and my dad's tales of WWII that I decided to become a Marine.

[advanced]

In the fall of 66 I was in college, the draft was pulling out students every day though I hadn't even been called for my physical. Back then rotc was mandatory for the 1st 2 years so once a week I had to wear that scuzzy looking air force uniform. Talk about being embarrassed, after all, my father and my 3 uncles had all been Marines.

Every night on the news were stories about the Nam, I guess I was afraid the war would be over by the time I graduated (little did I know at the time) so I signed the papers and reported to PI Jan 67.

It took me a year to get to the Nam in Jan 68. Although I came close to winning the war by myself they made me go home after 13 months so that others would have a chance to kill some gooks. <script type="text/javascript" src="safari-extension://com.ebay.safari.myebaymanager-QYHMMGCMJR/aedab484/background/helpers/prefilterHelper.js"></script>

[Mongoose]

There wasn't a Marine recruiting office where I lived. So I called the one in Dallas, 80 miles away. They took my address and said they would be there to fill me in about the Corps the next morning. At 8am they drove up in a White van. They slid the side door open and asked me to get in and we would drive around and talk. Inside was a desk and chair and a lot of papers. As we drove around, they asked me to fill out some of those papers, while we talked. 30 min. later they stopped at a restaurant for breakfast. As we started to get out, they told me to keep filling out papers and they would bring me something back. They came back, gave me my breakfast, and started driving again. All the while talking about the Corps and why I should join. At 10 o'clock we were in Dallas. I thought what the hell. I thought we were just driving and talking. The SSG told me there was some things they couldn't do in the van. So we went inside a big building. They had me get in a little line of guys in their under shorts. I asked what was this? He said it was just so the Corps would know a little about my Physical being. I thought.....a lot of **** just to talk about Marines. Anyway, I got a physical....did all their paper work, and then they took me and all those other guys into a room where we raised our right hand and said I do. The SSG said all done. I asked when was they going to take me back home. He said you can spend the night here and tomorrow you'll be on your way. Well. I got back home 5 months later for a short recess before staging and Nam. I swear, them was the best damn Marine recruiters in the whole Corps. I still laugh about it.

[USMC 2571]

I've heard that from Billy before and it is still absolutely a classic. Talk about recruiters who are dedicated.

[USMC 2571]

Resurrecting this thread. Why? Because there are so many additional members now who might want to contribute to this thread. I find it interesting, how we ended up joining, and why.

[USMC 2571]

Any more folks, join in and tell us how you ended up in the Corps and not the other branches or in any branch at all....as I said before, a USMC buddy of mine had an appointment with a Navy recruiter in Kentucky. My buddy reported as scheduled, but the Navy guy was a little late returning from lunch, so the wily Marine Corps recruiter stepped into the hallway, and said, hey, he's not back yet, let's CHAT. And that chat resulted in signing up yet another Gyrene. LOL. How big things turn on very small incidents.

[Phantom Blooper]

I come from a long line of poor white trash family.


My sweet granny was a hard corps sweet old gal.

At a young age I admired her for her whiskey drinkin'...tobbacy chewin'....cigar smokin'.....poker playin'.....number runnin' life.


When she passed she was found in bed......with a smile on her face.

And on her nightstand was her teeth... a number card...a mason jar with three fingers of Jack.....and a White Owl cigar butt.....


A tough old gal ...who was my inspiration for joining the Marines.


As a young man in Hawg Holler.....I came from a long line of military vets who enlisted to escape the fields....mines and mills


I was determined to have more than a few coins in my pocket...and see the world and get laid in the most exotic of places.


I did leave with the blessing of the family matriarch my granny......never to live in those hills again.


I do sometimes ponder and reminisce about the fartin'


contests with the neighbor white trash from one hill to another to see whose echo was the longest and loudest..


and the chicken **** squishing between my bare toes.....


But the best thing I did on dat'


Saturday morning years ago was.....take a bath...get dressed in my meetin' clothes....


put on my Sunday shoes and go to town to get granny a fifth of Jack!


Seen a USMC recruiter on liberty leaving his office getting ready to go to the afternoon matinee picture show...he told me to come on in sit on down......

and da' rest is history.

[USMC 2571]

Chuck, that factual story tore at my heartstrings something fierce.

[Million21]

Scored an 1190 on the SAT and realized I was to dumb for college at the time lol. Apparently not too dumb to fix multi million dollar aircraft and weapon systems.

[madsox]

Short version of my story? Wanted to prove I wasn't like the rest of my family.

Well, I did.

:marine:

Oh, and I had dreams of becoming an officer. Turns out you don't get a medical waiver for OCS if you have 20/400 vision! Somehow both my recruiter and then later the OSO were a little optimistic about the chances of that (I know, who woulda thunk it, right?)

So here I am.
s/f!

[Gunny068]

Back in the late 60's.....

My intention was to join the USAF, but not being gradiatied yet....well they said "Go talk to the Marines" so I did.

Well I guess you know what happened....quit HS and joined the Corps

The only regret thought my entire life is I didn't retire....But been a United States Marine for 46years

Semper Fi Bros.

[madsox]

I just realized I already answered this one before. So maybe my memory ain't what it used to be, at least everything's always new and exciting for me now!

[USMC 2571]

lol

[Phantom Blooper]

So here I am.


Oh you little beatnik....you!

[madsox]

Oh you little beatnik....you!
Groovy, man!

[troop901]

I just realized I already answered this one before. So maybe my memory ain't what it used to be, at least everything's always new and exciting for me now!
Glad to see I aint the only one who has brain farts Andy lol. But why did I join the Corps, I was going to go Navy because my uncle was in the Navy but I also had a uncle in the Air Force and Army and several cousins in the Army and Air Force. I grew up on a farm, so the Air Force and Army came and talked to me, the Navy never did. Then that Marine showed up and said, well, you can join the rest or become the best, its up to you.
And oh, by the way, that Air Force recruitor got arrested for rape later that year, seems he was telling the young ladies that in order to be accepted they had to sleep with him.
But I became a Marine because I wanted to be the best and finaly make my grandpa proud of me, in his eyes I was worthless no matter what I did. When he passed he told my mom, tell him I am sorry. They knew he was about to pass and asked him who he wanted as pall bearers, he said my Marine in his uniform and I dont care who you pick for the rest. And yes, I carried him out while in Dress Blues, just as he requested.

[FoxtrotOscar]

But I became a Marine because I wanted to be the best and finaly make my grandpa proud of me, in his eyes I was worthless no matter what I did. When he passed he told my mom, tell him I am sorry. They knew he was about to pass and asked him who he wanted as pall bearers, he said my Marine in his uniform and I dont care who you pick for the rest. And yes, I carried him out while in Dress Blues, just as he requested.

Excellent... That's what a Marine doe's..

Kudos...!!!

[Guttakh]

I was raised as a Navy Brat. My father was a Chief Bosun's Mate and a Black Shoe, Tin-Can sailor. My planned future was the Navy but in my last year of high school I met my Marine recruiter... 6'2", lean, pencil thin mustache and dress blue (Class C) uniform!!!

Between his very persuasive argument that the Marine Corps was looking for young tigers just like me... and if I was lucky he could get me into the infantry (he said he only had three openings left). To seal the deal he gave me a copy of Battle Cry (by Leon Uris) and asked me to read it and see if I might be interested. THAT DID IT!

Sailor Dad not so happy about my decision but the day after my 18th birthday I said good bye to the family I had always known and joined a new family for the rest of my life. I have never regretted a moment that decision to join the corps (well maybe those first few days of Bootcamp, :scared:)

[Artemis]

Grew up without my dad around. Had a father figure who served in the Marine Corps during Vietnam but his story was a little different. He had been born and raised in Canada and came over to the U.S. to join to help in the fight. Was an amazing mentor to me and one of the driving forces in my life. Had it not been for him and the Corps I would probably still be stuck in the podunk town I grew up in with little chance at a better future.

[Mongoose]

Dee, it's hard for me to imagine you being stuck in a one horse town.

[Mongoose]

Groovy, man!


http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30814&stc=1

[cpllawson]

Bored with Life in Hamilton Ohio I had the urge to travel but no money to go far so as I made my rounds to the recruit services this marine in dress blues sez wanna see San Diego? why sign here and we,ll measure you for a set of dress blues and get you a seat on a airplane an this time tomorrow you,l be walking down Broadway in Sunny San Diego. Well there was a plane ride but NO Dress Blues only a lot of Cuzzin Marine DI ,s telling how much I was going to Hate my fate for the next 14 wks. Cpllawson

[JimEnglish]

I had just turned 19 and was living in Eugene. Things were not going well for me. I was working part time as a telemarketer and living in a motel. One morning I was wandering around the downtown area and I came upon this recruiting poster that showed a pair of Marines in dress blues. While I was looking at the poster, a voice behind me says "Those uniforms look pretty sharp, don't they?"
The recruiter invited me into his office for a cup of coffee and asked me to take a quick, 50 question test. I tough the questions were easy, but I missed one. He told me that even so, it was sill the highest score he had seen since he was assigned to Eugene. That was probably BS, but he talked me into gong down to the Federal Building and taking the ASVAB. When the results were in, he offered me a guaranteed electronics MOS and $1500 bonus when I completed school. I shipped out 10 days later. And yes, I collected that bonus (less taxes).

[cameeob2003]

In my younger years I ran with the wrong crowd. Dropped out of high school, the people I called my friends were in and out of jail. My entire situation was not in a good place. Luckily I was not one of the ones to get into any actual trouble with the cops but there were a few situations that it was just that, luck.

I had seen the commercials on TV as a kid and knew that if I was ever joining any branch it would be the Corps. To make a long story short I went to the recruiters office asked to be shipped out asap, the next day was on a plane. Looking back it was the best choice I ever made!

Semper Fi!

[USMC 2571]

Those are great stories. The paths that led us into the Corps are many and varied, but very interesting. Keep em coming. I started this thread 11-20-15 and hopefully it will keep going.

[Faydoi]

I was bored

[steel maker]

In about 1960, as a third grader in a mid-west Catholic school, I checked out a library copy of "Guadalcanal Diary" by Richard Tregaskis. I read it from cover to cover several times before reporting it lost. It is the only item I can remember stealing over the course of my 66 year life span. The book lit my fuse.

Books like "Battle Cry", "Streets Without Joy", "Hell in a Very Small Place" and the photographs of David Douglas Duncan kept the flame alive. All I ever wanted to become was a Marine.

My mother, to dissuade me, gifted a copy of Trumbo's, "Johnny Got his Gun." Its a potent, powerful, anti-war polemic and a sobering chronicle of combat's expense. I was undeterred.

As a last resort, in 1967 my parents took me from our home in Chicago to visit Uncle Marty, in Pittsburgh. Marty was a WWII Marine veteran of the Pacific Campaign. His service included a horrific ordeal on Iwo Jima. Though he never discussed his experiences, he returned from that agony a changed man; quiet, sober, serious, aged beyond his years. I did not know Marty very well. No one did. He was a Slovak immigrant and a depression era survivor long before war engulfed him.

When we arrived at his home, following some brief pleasantries, my mother said to me, "Well, John, tell your Uncle Marty what you are planning to do." I hesitated and struggled for the words to express my plan to enlist in the Marine Corps as soon as I turned 18.

When I got it out, Marty's eyes became moist. He cleared his throat, rose to his feet and crossed the room to embrace me in a warm hug. He pulled back, looked in my eyes and I could see that he was crying. The first thing he said was, "John, I never had steak until I joined the Marine Corps." He looked at me for a minute longer before hugging me again and saying, "You will never regret your decision to become a Marine."

I could go on...there were so many other triggers. My Junior year of High School was the Tet Offensive, Khe Sahn, the assassinations of MLK and Bobby Kennedy, The Democratic National Convention...all witnessed in nearly real time on the evening news. The world was on fire and I was missing it.

When I turned 18 in the spring of 1969 I entered boot camp. One night in July our DI brought in an old television set and set it up on a foot locker out on the company "street". We boots crowded around it as he tuned in a snowy image of Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon. We were all stunned. None of us had any idea that a lunar mission was underway...we were simply trying to get through boot camp. After the reward of seeing that historic moment on television SSgt Stanley had us pay for the privilege by calling out in unison, "Congratulations Neil." We watched the setting moon and it did not respond. We were compelled to continue calling out congratulations until there was a sign that Neil heard us. No sign being forthcoming, we shouted and squat-thrusted well into the night.

Uncle Marty was spot on. I have never regretted my life as a Marine and a Marine veteran. The GI Bill allowed me to go to college. Lessons learned in the Marine Corps guided me through a very successful career and continue to inform me in a very satisfying retirement.

Semper Fi.

[jerryd6818]

No high lofty ideals for me. I had no desire to be "the best" and didn't have a family role model. My dad never served and my uncles who were in WWII were all Army. I had never considered becoming a Marine and really had no plans for the rest of my life.

It was the fifth year of high school for Fred, the guy I ran around with and neither of us had enough credits to graduate. I hated school and had no intention of going back for a fifth year so in May, on senior skip day, we drove up to Decatur, IL and went to an early showing of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. We were supposed to be looking for work but in 1962 there was no work to be had in Decatur or at least that's the excuse we used for going to the movie instead of checking around.

After the movie, while walking down the street, we passed the recruiting office, stopped and looked in the window. I had a grade school friend (in Indiana) who had joined the Corps the year before and I was impressed by that but when I thought about it, I usually considered joining the Navy for the travel. Quite frankly, I never really gave it a lot of consideration so Fred and I had a short discussion (very short), went inside and the first and only one we talked to was the Marine Recruiter. I was still 17 so had to have the signature of my parents but that was no problem because my dad who was a General Baptist preacher thought I was on the highway to hell, going down hill and gathering speed. Of course they signed.

We signed up for a three year enlistment, under the delayed entry program but the delay was only a few weeks. Just enough time for a trip to St. Louis for our physical and a trip "down home" for one last visit with relatives before we boarded a 707 headed for San Diego.

My life has been a series of unintended consequences and the Marine Corps was the first. Except while on active duty, I've never had a single regret about joining the Corps. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. The training I received during my enlistment (Basic Electronics and Radar Repair) helped provide me with employment for my entire working life.

[b2542]

just followed in my dad's footsteps. He was a WWII Marine.

[USMC 2571]

Great stories :)

[Mongoose]

They are all good memories. All good stories.

[Kegler300]

My parents couldn't afford to get me a haircut ... sent me to San Diego. The rest is history.

[Vineyard]

OK. So there I was. All ready to join the Navy and see the world and have adventures. I made an appointment with the Navy recruiter in Bend, Oregon. I was totally ready to sign the dotted line that day. I showed up to our appointment and he wasn't there. No sign telling me when he'd be back. I wait around for a few minutes. Then decided sense the Marine Corps office door was open, I'd go in there and ask when he'd be back. I stick my head in the door and this Gunny sitting behind the desk says "This is the Marine Corps. Get the F**K in or get the F**K out.
Well, I was 20 and I'd be damned if someone was going to talk to me like that. That's just not how it worked. I went in. And the biggest, most muscular person I had ever seen stands up and greets me. A month later I found myself in MCRD San Diego getting screamed at.

Best choice I ever made was to walk into that office. Oh the adventures I had.

[montana]

A friend of mine a year older then me was trying to get into the air force ...asked me to go along with him ...was in Butte Montana...about 150 miles from here ,,, while he was in taking tests a Marine recruiter came and sat by me and started telling me a bunch of great stories.. When my friend was threw the recruiter walked with us to my friends car....told him thanks but I wasn't interested....a year later I turn 18 and have to go in for pe induction ....guess who..he remembered me and spent quite a bit of time with me...even walked me to the buss for the trip home...in sayin god by I laughed at him and told him he was wasting his time,,,I had no desire to joine the Marines...one year later...taking test after induction fiscal ...I see two legs step up in front of the desk I'm sitting in...as I look up slowly I see two hands on hips....looking up farther I see that same Marine recruiter with the biggest **** eating grin on his face...tells me " congratulations,, you have just volunteers to join the greatest fighting force the world has ever known" and that is how I was drafted into the US Marine Corps

[TonyK22]

My draft number was 53 and I wasn't keeping up with college work. My fraternity brother told everyone he had enlisted in the Marines. His brother and father were Marines. So I thought that I could join with him for two years instead of waiting to be drafted for four years.

But my blood pressure was high, and I was delayed for 30 days. Most of you know it's not a good idea to show up at PI with high blood pressure! When I told my dad he yelled at me that I would be a ditch digger for the rest of my life. I made it through boot camp and ran into my buddy at ITR at Camp Lejeune. When he asked me what I thought of his bright idea now, I cursed him. We laugh about it to this day. The service changed my life for the better.

[madinfidel]

I had dreams of playing college football and upon graduation fully expected a ride to a SEC team. Well, it's a SEC team now but at the time Missouri was a trip I thought I was better than. Well, my old man who spent 8 years in the Marine Corps had a simple "request" for me and my brother upon our graduation. Either a college acceptance letter or enlistment papers on the kitchen table.
Being the "genius" and hard headed boy I was and with the full of myself anger I had at not being recruited by LSU or Alabama, my butt took a trip to the recruiter mall. Walked by the Airforce with my nose in the air and the Army as well. The Navy was the one I was truly interested in talking to but as all swab jocks he was at lunch lol. Well, a voice bellowed from across the hall from Gunnery Sgt. Maxfield, " Can I help you son?" that was a wrap. I enlisted for three years all on the idea that I would bulk up, get some money for college and totally planned on being a walk on to the school of my choosing. I mean let's face it Marines can do anything they put their mind to right? Well, I loved it and never looked back. Enlistment after enlistment, year after year, and deployment after deployment, I found a home. My recruiter never lied to me but he was mistaken. There was a long term war in our Nation's future and EOD was more than blowing crap in place at twenty nine palms. Best job I ever had. Semper Fi

[Melvin Jeffries]

I signed up in April of 61 before I graduated from HS on the delayed entry so I could get my diploma, went to MCRD in Aug of 61.

The reason I joined is because I always heard that the Marines had the best training of any branch and I thought if I am going to go to war why not get the best training that is offered and maybe have a better chance of surviving.

Little did I know that I would end up with an office job but still the training was what I thought it would be plus more. I have never regretted what I done.

As far as I know my only close relative, an uncle, was in World War 2 on a sub and he ended up with the Sea B's with some nasty stories of what went on on some of the islands during that time but I never thought about joining another service, it was always the Marine Corps and I would do it over without question, no regrets except I should have stayed in.

[USMC 2571]

Resurrecting my thread, as there are many more members here than when I first posted it, who may want to post here.

[volosolo]

Grew up overseas in the 1960s where dad worked at the embassy as a diplomat. We had a mix of army and air force troops, but of course the embassy guards were Marines. The difference between the Marine contingent and the sad sacks from the other branches was so striking, extraordinary, and obvious that it made an extremely positive and lasting impression on me. In college I took up flying lessons and my instructor friend was a former Marine F-4 mechanic. I dropped-out of school and enlisted in 1969. I joined for military benefits, but having seen slovenly air force and army troops throughout my young life I thought I would be embarrassed wearing their uniform. Joining the Marines was the only option.

[USMC 2571]

Outstanding post.

[donc]

My dad was in the Pacific Campaign during WW2, I figured it was the right thing to do. During boot camp “I figured“…wtf have I got myself into. ALL said, “I figured” it was the right decision.;)

[kaelobo]

My dad in the Pacific,
Two older brothers vietnam.
Had to wait for one to come home before they let me go over...why did I join cause that's what my father's son's do.
My dad from Ireland came over when he was 16yrs old he was very proud to be a citizen/very patriotic..S/F