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View Full Version : Extreme physical feats....



The1stSgt
12-18-06, 06:09 PM
I recently read on this board that a Marine recruit at San Diego did 260 crunches in two minutes...... now, "that's outstanding".

Back in the sixties another unbelievable physical feat was accomplished by a Marine, and it was put in the Guiness Book of World Records (I don't know if it still stands today).

The Marine was enlisted, and I believe he was either a SGT or SSGT at the time, but Wayne Rollins did 40,000 sit ups in sixteen hours. He retired a MajGen in the late nineties.

SkilletsUSMC
12-18-06, 07:18 PM
I recently read on this board that a Marine recruit at San Diego did 260 crunches in two minutes...... now, "that's outstanding".

Back in the sixties another unbelievable physical feat was accomplished by a Marine, and it was put in the Guiness Book of World Records (I don't know if it still stands today).

The Marine was enlisted, and I believe he was either a SGT or SSGT at the time, but Wayne Rollins did 40,000 sit ups in sixteen hours. He retired a MajGen in the late nineties.

We had a kid in SOI that could do pull ups until he got bored. I think he did 100 and only stopped because he got bored. He set some record at MCRD I think. Ill ask some of the Marines that went to bootcamp with him to find out the Official number.

10thzodiac
12-18-06, 08:24 PM
When I was going through Field Wireman School, Camp Horno in 1961 my school buddy after he climbed a telephone pole in class he did a handstand on top of it. The instructor though it was great, until he realized the school commandant might see him doing that.

SkilletsUSMC
12-18-06, 09:46 PM
When I was going through Field Wireman School, Camp Horno in 1961 my school buddy after he climbed a telephone pole in class he did a handstand on top of it. The instructor though it was great, until he realized the school commandant might see him doing that.

Was Horno the home of 1st Marines then? What part of horno had the school?

10thzodiac
12-18-06, 10:17 PM
Was Horno the home of 1st Marines then? What part of horno had the school?

Yes the home base of the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton. Horno was a camp within Camp Pendleton, Division schools, except ITR that was Camp San Onofre. I did see Force Recon at Horno, not sure that was their base though. There were other camps besides in Pendleton. I was stationed in lower 16 Area Mainside, 11th Marines Artillery. If I remember Right Horno was closer to the Main Gate. I was at the the Rear Gate.

The Rear Gate looked more like the Front Gate to me ? San Clemente was the town at the front gate and Oceanside the town at the rear gate.

I'm not sure about the 1st Marine Regiment, maybe Camp San Magarita or Camp San Mateo ?

SkilletsUSMC
12-18-06, 10:28 PM
Yes the home base of the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton. Horno was a camp within Camp Pendleton, Division schools, except ITR that was Camp San Onofre. I did see Force Recon at Horno, not sure that was their base though. There were other camps besides in Pendleton. I was stationed in lower 16 Area Mainside, 11th Marines Artillery. If I remember Right Horno was closer to the Main Gate. I was at the the Rear Gate.

The Rear Gate looked more like the Front Gate to me ? San Clemente was the town at the front gate and Oceanside the town at the rear gate.

I'm not sure about the 1st Marine Regiment, maybe Camp San Magarita or Camp San Mateo ?

Horno is still there, I know because I am the 53 area(Horno) COG.:D Right now it is home to 1/1, 2/1, 3/1, and 1/4 I would love to see some pictures of horno way back then. Its definately a love hate thing for me with "home-sweet-horno"

Right now Camp San Mateo is the home of 5th Marines. Margarita is the home of 1 BN Recon.

greensideout
12-18-06, 10:29 PM
Yes the home base of the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton. Horno was a camp within Camp Pendleton, Division schools, except ITR that was Camp San Onofre. I did see Force Recon at Horno, not sure that was their base though. There were other camps besides in Pendleton. I was stationed in lower 16 Area Mainside, 11th Marines Artillery. If I remember Right Horno was closer to the Main Gate. I was at the the Rear Gate.

The Rear Gate looked more like the Front Gate to me ? San Clemente was the town at the front gate and Oceanside the town at the rear gate.

I'm not sure about the 1st Marine Regiment, maybe Camp San Magarita or Camp San Mateo ?


You were there then at the time that the people of Oceanside wanted the Marines out. The CO made Oceanside off limits! Within a week they were saying, "sorry" please let the Marines come and spend their money. :evilgrin:

SkilletsUSMC
12-18-06, 10:34 PM
I live in San Clemete. Its the opposite of Oceanside. There are lost of Marines, but it is very low key. To me the unwriten rule is let work stay at work. We all need some time to get away from the Corps, and San Clemente is just the place for that now. Oceanside is the land of the Devil-Dog.

capmarine
12-18-06, 10:38 PM
91 pullups is the record at MCRDSD;probably by that Marine you mentioned.Horno was BITS and recon school,where i went for both.1970-71
recon school was in the flat top buildings right near basilone road.my BITS barracks was at the back,which im sure has been torn down by now.

SkilletsUSMC
12-18-06, 10:41 PM
91 pullups is the record at MCRDSD;probably by that Marine you mentioned.Horno was BITS and recon school,where i went for both.1970-71
recon school was in the flat top buildings right near basilone road.my BITS barracks was at the back,which im sure has been torn down by now.

So Im GUESSING BITS stands for basic infantry training school? where was 1st Marines?

greensideout
12-18-06, 10:44 PM
I live in San Clemete. Its the opposite of Oceanside. There are lost of Marines, but it is very low key. To me the unwriten rule is let work stay at work. We all need some time to get away from the Corps, and San Clemente is just the place for that now. Oceanside is the land of the Devil-Dog.


San Clemente was a quiet place back when. Some things change little but I most likely would not recognize either now.

10thzodiac
12-18-06, 10:52 PM
I live in San Clemete. Its the opposite of Oceanside. There are lost of Marines, but it is very low key. To me the unwriten rule is let work stay at work. We all need some time to get away from the Corps, and San Clemente is just the place for that now. Oceanside is the land of the Devil-Dog.

Yes, San Clemente was probably better then too, but I had no wheels and Oceanside was a hop skip and a jump compared to San Clemente. I only recall going to the beach once in San Clemente, walking from San Onofre. Like I didn't get enough walking at ITR.http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/34.gif

When my DI from boot camp dropped us off at ITR in 1960, he told us that they were expecting those mountains at San Onofre to be flat in a few more years from Marines going up and down them. Are they flat yet or did they haul in some more dirt and rock with working parties http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/26.gif

SkilletsUSMC
12-18-06, 10:55 PM
Got a few more years to go befroe theyre flat... Ill get right on it.

10thzodiac
12-18-06, 11:14 PM
You were there then at the time that the people of Oceanside wanted the Marines out. The CO made Oceanside off limits! Within a week they were saying, "sorry" please let the Marines come and spend their money. :evilgrin:

I was pretty much a barracks rat, since I was the local Shylock. I didn't go to town much when I could be getting ten for five or twenty for ten. I was making more money than the Battalion Commander. My only problem was, I had this raging hard on and no place to put it, so every chance I got I would put all that hard earned money up some skirt http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/04.gif, well not all of it.

When I lived in Venice, California when I was 10-11 y/o mid 1950's I recall scuttlebutt about Chesty declaring war on Mexico, a Mexican gang, the Pachukos were fvcking Marines up in Tijuana and he supposedly turned the 1st MarDiv loose on the gangs down there. Dungaree Liberty !

I don't recall Oceanside off limits.

Zulu 36
12-19-06, 06:01 AM
The version I heard was that Chesty put Jacksonville, NC off-limits to all 2dMarDiv because the town fathers wouldn't control the crooked business owners that were financially raping Marines on liberty and wouldn't control the local PD who were arresting Marines for little (or no) reason so the town could make money from the fines.

I understand that the town lasted for only two weeks before knuckling under to Chesty's demands. The power of the Marine liberty dollar.

When I was an MP at Lejuene in 1973, the local PD were still pricks toward Marines. Town patrol MPs would snatch Marines up to protect them when they noticed the cops starting to zero-in on someone. I brought a lot of guys back to Montfort Point from the town patrol office who had been picked up "no paper" just to keep them from being arrested by J'ville PD.

My experience at Camp Pendleton with Oceanside PD was they were much more professional toward Marines, and seemed to have less desire to lock them up just for the fine revenue. One of my jobs in 1stMarDiv MP Co in 1976-77 was to review all MP and local PD blotters daily and do quicky investigations into the background and circumstances on all arrested division Marines and report results directly to the Chief of Staff (and sometimes the CG on a few high profile cases).

So I had a pretty good feel for local police behavior towards Marines on liberty from Pendleton. For the most part, I thought the Pendleton area was much more "Marine friendly" than the Lejuene area.

drumcorpssnare
12-19-06, 07:31 AM
Zulu- You are correct sir, about Chesty putting J'ville off-limits to the whole 2nd Div. He loved his Marines and wouldn't stand to see them treated badly. <br />
<br />
10thz- You shoulda put that raging...

10thzodiac
12-19-06, 08:37 AM
Gees, I never thought of that, too late now, I'd have to buy some &quot;Big Blue&quot; to do that above and beyond servicing all my ladies now. Where were you when I needed you <br />
<br />
SF <br />
10thz

drumcorpssnare
12-19-06, 08:47 AM
10thz- Enlighten me. WTF is "Big Blue"?!?
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

Old Marine
12-19-06, 08:58 AM
Back to the thread of 'Extreme Physical Feats".

In the late 50's early 60's when I was at Pendleton, there was a SSgt from Force Recon who parachuted from a chopper and hit some high voltage lines. This SSgt lost either both or one of his legs at the knee, but wanted to stay in the Corps. He applied to Headquarters Marine Corps and was told that if he could pass the PFT test he could stay. This Marine passed with flying colors and was able to stay in the Corps and I personally consider that a real physical feat.

The1stSgt
12-19-06, 09:02 AM
So much of extreme physical feats......:mad:

The1stSgt
12-19-06, 09:10 AM
Old Marine,

I remember that story. The Marine was a SSGT and lost one leg. He received orders back to Viet Nam and was an advisor to the south Viet Namese recon units working up in the I Corps area around the DMZ.

His story was in Leatherneck Magazine years ago.

drumcorpssnare
12-19-06, 09:13 AM
Old Marine- There was a Sgt./Maj. at K-Bay in the mid-'70's who was recuperating from the loss of half of one leg. Used to see him running with his prosthetic devise in the morning, then practicing marching (without any limp) in the afternoon. I don't know for sure about nowadays, but back then he needed some sort of waiver. The story going around the base was that he had to be able to pass the PFT, AND...march with no limp. Last I knew, he succeeded.

Also, in boot camp, my Company Commander was Capt. Symolian. He could do 80 pull-ups, and promised to promote any recruit...on the spot...if they could equal that feat. No one ever did, to my knowledge.

drumcorpssnare:usmc:

The1stSgt
12-19-06, 09:24 AM
In 1970 there was a Marine Captain, a Company Commander, in 3rd Bn, RTR, PISC that lost one leg and one eye in Viet Nam.

HQMC said if he could pass the PFT and qualify with his TO weapon, he could stay in. Well, he did both.

He used to run with the recruits at morning PT, and all the "drop outs" had to report to his office afterward.

He had an assortment of glass eyes and one had the EGA as the pupil. It was wild looking.

He would put that eye in and take his prostetic leg off, and would hopp around his office while getting in the faces of the drop outs and chewing their asses out. Those recruits were in shock after that experience.:scared:

10thzodiac
12-19-06, 12:01 PM
I had read in the Marine Corps Leather Neck Magazine long long time ago of a Gunny with Force Recon that lost both legs on a jump, I believe he hit a power line. He refused to leave the Corps and proved that he still had what it took. He even legally changed his name to U.S. Marine. Now that's what I call Gung Ho ! Ooh-Rah, Errr...

Does anyone else remember hearing of him, I'm sure it is archived somewhere too.

SF
10th

Zulu 36
12-19-06, 01:10 PM
10Z,

The incident is true. His name is 1stSgt Donald N. Hamblen, USMC (Ret). He was a SSgt at the time of the accident in 1962. He did serve an active tour in Vietnam as a recon man after recovering and rehabbing.

I met him several times in 1975 - 77 time frame in Oceanside where he owned a bar after retiring. His wife, a wonderful Japanese lady, usually ran the joint. She was a riot to talk with - she was a natural comedian and she had some funny stories about the initial American occupation of Japan.

1stSgt Hamblen was a pretty low key guy and while quite friendly, he wasn't really a big sea story teller.

He did write a book called "One Tough Marine."

I don't know if he changed his name or not.

In his bar, I also ran into quite a few "Old Salts" who had some interesting tales of the pre-WWII Marine Corps and WWII service. The 1stSgt's joint tended to attact the older retired or near retired crowd. I was often the youngest person in the place, but it was just a nice quiet place to have a beer and listen to Marine Corps lore without worrying about a fight breaking out. I never called him anything but "First Sergeant" and that is what most of his customers called him.

Zulu 36
12-19-06, 01:23 PM
In 1970 there was a Marine Captain, a Company Commander, in 3rd Bn, RTR, PISC that lost one leg and one eye in Viet Nam.


I think that guy ended up running an H&S Company at Camp Lejuene in 1973. I met a captain with one eye. He did have a scarlet fake eyeball with a gold EGA, but usually saved that for more formal occasions. He had a fake eye matching his real one for everyday wear.

He also had a stark white eye with a black skull and crossbones that he wore when holding office hours. I know he did, because I testified at office hours once as an MP and he was wearing it. He showed me his other eyes afterward.

I don't recall if he had a prosthetic leg, the eye ball thing is what caught my attention.

Zulu 36
12-19-06, 01:24 PM
10thz- Enlighten me. WTF is "Big Blue"?!?
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

Viagra. Or so I've been told. :D

outlaw3179
12-19-06, 01:39 PM
I love hearing the ole salts stories...good sh*t Marines...Semper Fi!

rktect3j
12-19-06, 01:47 PM
I was pretty much a barracks rat, since I was the local Shylock. I didn't go to town much when I could be getting ten for five or twenty for ten. I was making more money than the Battalion Commander. My only problem was, I had this raging hard on and no place to put it, so every chance I got I would put all that hard earned money up some skirt http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/04.gif, well not all of it.

When I lived in Venice, California when I was 10-11 y/o mid 1950's I recall scuttlebutt about Chesty declaring war on Mexico, a Mexican gang, the Pachukos were fvcking Marines up in Tijuana and he supposedly turned the 1st MarDiv loose on the gangs down there. Dungaree Liberty !

I don't recall Oceanside off limits.
Yeah, my dad tells me about that. He says they were going to march into Mexico.

Camper51
12-19-06, 01:58 PM
There were many Marines with "Fake" eyes. I had the good fortune to be stationed with a Master Sergeant in Hawaii who had a missing eye. Most days he wore the one that matched his other eye, however on any and ALL holidays he had an eye for the occasion, heart for valentines, shamrock for St pattys day, etc. He also had a couple of EGA eyes.

What was most memorable though, was when some unsuspecting FNG (or WM) would tell top "Hey Top, Keep an eye on this, would ya" and Top would immediately pop out his eye and place it on top of whatever the poor Marine asked him to watch, then walk away calmly like nothing happened. It always freaked 'em out, especially the ladies.

Ahhhhhhhhh for the good old days...

drumcorpssnare
12-19-06, 02:46 PM
10thz- Hey, Zulu 36 informs me that "Big Blue" is Viagra. I'm disappointed, and sorry to hear you have a need for that particular pharmacutical.

Me? In my best "Drill Instructor voice", I just call mine to attention. I brief him on his mission; ask him if there are any questions (there never are), then I yell, "Ooorah!" After the mission, I debrief him, gathering all pertinent intel.
(Anything that might be of value on the next mission.) Never failed me yet!
A few times he should have been put in for a medal of commendation!:banana:

drumcorpssnare:usmc:

FistFu68
12-19-06, 03:32 PM
:evilgrin: YOU KEEP TALKING TOO YOU'R GUN~MARINE~SOON YOU WILL BE THINKING AND SAYING CHIT,LIKE#10(LMAO)SEMPER~HO-HO!!!:D

drumcorpssnare
12-19-06, 03:42 PM
FISTFU 68- I call him "Thumper" because he's about the size of an M-79!:D

drumcorpssnare:usmc:

10thzodiac
12-19-06, 04:56 PM
10thz- Hey, Zulu 36 informs me that "Big Blue" is Viagra. I'm disappointed, and sorry to hear you have a need for that particular pharmacutical.
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

"Oh, that`s all right. I`m past eighty years old, and I don`t even think about sex anymore. I just want it to stick out far enough so I don`t pee on my shoes.<SCRIPT><!--var tu = 'http://tafmaster.com/taf/1939/251206/dGVtcGxhdGVfdGVzdDA5/';//-- do not modify below this linevar ru = escape(document.location);document.write('<script src="'+tu);if (ru) { var qs = /\?/; if (tu.match(qs)) { document.write( '&referrer_url=' + ru);} else { document.write( '?referrer_url=' + ru); }}document.write('"><\/script>');//--></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="http://tafmaster.com/taf/1939/251206/dGVtcGxhdGVfdGVzdDA5/?referrer_url=http%3A//www.aarons-jokes.com/joke-11472.shtml%3Fsort_frm%3D%26catagory_frm%3D18%26co unt%3D"></SCRIPT>

10thzodiac
12-19-06, 05:05 PM
10thz- Hey, Zulu 36 informs me that "Big Blue" is Viagra. I'm disappointed, and sorry to hear you have a need for that particular pharmacutical. drumcorpssnare

Oh, that is all right Mark. I am past eighty years old, and I do not even think about sex anymore. I just want it to stick out far enough so I do not pee on my shoes http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/27.gif

The VA stopped Rx'ing Big Blue, It is Cialis now for when the moment to pee is right
<O:p</O:p

Zulu 36
12-19-06, 05:30 PM
There were many Marines with "Fake" eyes. I had the good fortune to be stationed with a Master Sergeant in Hawaii who had a missing eye...

On a related note, I worked for an LDO 1stLt on Okinawa who had his right ear blasted off in Vietnam. The docs had started reconstructing a rudimentary replacement external ear (he could hear fine through the ear actually), but it was still very obvious his normal ear was missing.

He came to work one morning in a particularly good mood and told me about his night at the O-Club. A very loud band was playing and my boss was at the far right end of the bar near some speakers. When the band stopped for a break, a boot 2d Lt to the left of my boss remaked to him, "Wow, they're loud enough to blow your ears off." At which point my boss turned his head and said, "Yeah, I know."

He said the expression on the 2d Lt was well worth tolerating the loud band.

drumcorpssnare
12-20-06, 06:15 AM
Zulu and 10thz- LOL :D

Merry Christmas Marines!
drumcorpssnare:usmc: