US Marine Corps/why/when

[hermogenesm]

:usmc: Sgthermogenesm:
Why did you join the Marine corps???????:iwo:

[Camper51]

Old topic but the Navy recruiter told me to come back after I graduated, so I walked next door and the Marine recruiter was more than willing to take me if my parents signed the papers.

This was in 1968 during the Vietnam conflict and the Marines were taking all kinds of bodies back then, even a lot of draftees.

I had run away from home and was in Eureka, Ca. (Way up north) and now I had to get home to Colorado. The parents signed and in a few days I was on my way back to Eureka then San Francisco to go through AFEES (Armed Forces Entrance Examination Center, now MEPS) and finally San Diego courtesy of the government. The rest is history, that was the best choice I ever made in my life and I have never regretted it...

[Marine84]

Cause I was looking for a few good men myself! :banana: Dammit! I LOVE when I get to use that!

I joined the Corps because I didn't know there were other branches of service to choose from. LOL!

[darkgreen0311]

I wanted to be a Marine ever since i was ten years old. I turned down a brand new car and college to join the Marines. It was something i had to do for myself and i knew they were the best and and i wanted to see if i had what it took to be a Marine. I also have no regrets i'd do it all over again and that was in 1982.



:marine: :flag: SEMPER FI 4 LIFE
YOURS IS NOT TO QUESTION WHY BUT TO DO OR DIE!!!

[thedrifter]

Cause I was looking for a few good men myself! :banana: Dammit! I LOVE when I get to use that!

I joined the Corps because I didn't know there were other branches of service to choose from. LOL!

Thanks Kim made me spit my juice all over the montor and keyboard;) :D

Ellie

[Crusader20]

My Dad is a 30 year Navy Master Chief, so the Army was out
The Navy blew me off when i talked to them. Didn't even give me a brochure.
Never went to either the Air Force or Coast Guard. (May have had a different life)
Marine Recruiter was outside, asked me one question. "Do you think your tough enough?"

[Preacher]

Because there was a war on and I wanted to fight.

SF, Jay

[Zulu 36]

I wanted to be a Marine from the time I was old enough to understand the difference. My family had a tradition of Marine Corps service. There was no other option for me, in my mind.

Going to war was a possibility I fully accepted, but Vietnam was essentially over for the Marine Corps when I enlisted. It was pure chance that things hotted up and I was in the right unit at the right time to go there anyway.

I do not regret my decision to enlist, nor do I regret going to Vietnam despite some unpleasant times. I learned many things about life, in boot camp and in Vietnam.

[Mytcbra96]

I knew very little about the Corps but my best friend had a brother that had been in and talked me into joining with him. I dont regret on miniute of it. I know I am a better man today because of the Corps. :flag:

[testforecho2112]

On my Fathers side, my Grandfather retired with 27 years in the Navy, my Pop and both uncles served during Viet Nam, and on my Mothers side, her father served in the US Army during WWII all over Europe, while her brother served as a Crypy in the USN during Viet Nam...so there was no question as to my service to our country. I initally joined the Corps to pi$$ off the family as they werent thrilled with having a Jarhead in the family...It passed, and I am grateful to be a Marine.

[jrhd97]

Dad was the first Marine in the family. I was going to prove to him I could do anything he did. Pretty stupid reason looking back.

No jobs worth a hill of beans up home. The steel industry whent away. When I left there wasn't even a Wal-Mart with in 30 miles.

Knew I didn't whant to go to college. Even if I did parents couldn't afford it.

Felt then, and still do that every one should serve. All the recruiters were in the same building with doors facing each other. The Marines were the only professionals in the building. There was one Navy recruiter that looked like he might have been hard. He was squared away, but all 3 Marines were squared away and none had a gut. Parents made me bring home recruiters from all branches and that just solidified my stand to join the Marines.

I don't regret the choice. I would do it again. Got to live in a warmer climate and met the wife.

[sparkie]

John Wayne made me do it,,,, Any Probs with that????????

[SlingerDun]

I turned down a brand new car and college to join the MarinesDamn JB, that gold 82' Brougham might be worth a couple thousand cash today!:cool:

[darkgreen0311]

Yeah i would think so....lol




:marine: :flag: SEMPER FI 4 LIFE
YOURS IS NOT TO QUESTION WHY BUT TO DO OR DIE!!!

[E5NAMKROW]

I Live In This Great God Given Country, I Reap The Benefits, I Owed It To My Country To Serve. And If I Was Going To Serve, I Was Going To Do It With The Leanest. Meanest, Green Fighting Machine Man Could Produce. God-country-corps
Semper Fi

[hrscowboy]

Yes Sparkie i am with you the Duke made me do it too after seeing the Movies Sands of Iwo Jima and back to Bataan i was pretty much sold. And i kinda liked the idea of being a shootist..

[egbutler1]

I joined up because it was a dream of mine to earn the title Marine and serve my country by being the best of the best. I wanted to be a US Marine so bad that recruiters laughed at me when i went to them in the 8th grade. Funny I miss it so much I can't begin to remember why I got out in the first place. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. But I guess it was for the best because I don't think i'm stable enough anymore to lead Marines. But I will forever miss it, thank god I will always be a Marine! Semper FI KILL!

[RLeon]

Was about to graduate HS, didn't know what I was going to do...it was about this time the Marine recruiter called me....months later I was standing on yellow foot prints in the dark.

[sgtrock1970]

We Vietnam era Marines seemed to have a limited scope on life, My daddy served in WWII, although as a swabbie, sooo after a steady diet of the Duke and being a bit rebellious I joined the Corps.

[AAV Crewchief]

:usmc: Sgthermogenesm:
Why did you join the Marine corps???????:iwo:

I was going to join when I was 17, but my dad (Navy vet) refused to sign the papers for me at that age. He wanted me to go to college and I did get this hot ass girlfriend who convinced me otherwise:D to stick around at that time. Well, right after Thanksgiving the BEOTCH dumped me and after moping around all Christmas/New Year's holidays I went into the recruiters office and joined ASAP, but had to wait 4 months on DEP.

It was around that time also that the old man said that I needed to either go to college or get a job and start paying some rent. I figured it was now or never and did the deed. Never regretted it. I do regret getting out as I was a fast burner to E-5 and just didn't see what I had earned as anything important because I sort of expected it.

[nptwildcat]

Almost all my family had served. Yes, even the ladies. Dad and uncles were all WWII Vets(Army). Brothers - Nam(Army). Cousins - air force and Navy. I was a cocky, smarta$$ eighteen year old. I let everyone know that I was the best and I was joining the best! I remember seeing the "Rose Garden" poster on the recruiters wall. When I got home and told my parents that I had signed up for the Marines, my dad looked at me and said, " son, it's not going to be all roses". I knew then that it was fate. I've never regreted my decision.

[sdk87to91]

So the branch was a no brainer.
I had almost flucked out of my first year at UNM, and one night I got home 15 minutes after the parental imposed curfew and my dad thrrew a sleeping bag at me rather than let me in the house. The next morning he woke me up on the lawn and sent me in for breakfast. The yellow pages were open on the table to the recruiters in Santa Fe and what the heck a drive to Santa Fe in my Camaro sounded good to me.

[crate78]

I walked past a Marine Corps recruiting booth at a job fair. The recruiter said, "Semper Fidelis".

I thought he said "Seventy Five Dollars", so I asked where to sign.

crate

[outlaw3179]

So the branch was a no brainer.
I had almost flucked out of my first year at UNM, and one night I got home 15 minutes after the parental imposed curfew and my dad thrrew a sleeping bag at me rather than let me in the house. The next morning he woke me up on the lawn and sent me in for breakfast. The yellow pages were open on the table to the recruiters in Santa Fe and what the heck a drive to Santa Fe in my Camaro sounded good to me.


lol..Thats f*cking Awesome.

I wanted to be a Marine ever since I was a little kid. I would run around playing war and stuff like that. When I got older I still wanted to join the military service but I wasnt sure if I had what it took for me to be in the Marines. I was a little guy. 5'6 135 soaking wet with a brick in my pocket. I went and talked to a army recruiter and they were all over me promising me the world , and I was like ok Ill join.
Then I saw a Marine recruiter in my HS . He was talking to some other kid and I got some pamphlets. Cut school early and went and talked to them. Instead of falling all over themselves trying to get to me to join when I walked in the first thing they said was, "What the hell makes you think you can be one of us?"
Instantly I was just amazed. Not one fatass , not one Marine looked like a bag of ****. Every single one just looked amazing in their uniform. All of them telling their war stories, swearing , f this f that, talking about banging chicks in Thailand, , boozing , fighting, I was hooked. I wanted that! I wanted 03 and thats what I got.
They didnt promise me s*it but opportunity to claim the title United States Marine. No bonus no nothing. Everything I wanted I got.
3 Days later standing tall swearing in.
Greatest decision of my life. Semper Fi.

[sgtgrunt0311]

I knew I was going to be a Marine from an early age my dad was Marine and 4 of his 5 brothers where Marines.

1. Navy Veteran WWII
2. USMC Korean War Veteran
3. USMC Korean War Veteran
4. USMC Vietnam War Veteran
5. USMC Vietnam era Veteran

So I guess I was meant to be a Marine. I heard all the stories growing up and I became very intrigued with it all. By the time I graduated high school I was signed up and ready to go. I shipped out three or four weeks after graduating H.S. and the rest is history. Some of the best times and some of the worst times of my life but I wouldn't change it for anything.

Semper Fi

[bootlace15]

because I felt like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bootlace15 out

[tavern1775]

all i ever wanted to be , mom and dad both marines , my moms younger brother (whom im named after) was a marine (kia-vietnam) , two uncles (navy) , my brother was a marine...best thing i ever did....semper fi..

[maverickmarine]

Hell, I was going to join the nasty coast guard but had a fast car and four speeding tickets over 100mph so they couldn't take me. I decided I would go hardcore and called the Marine recruiter that night right after hanging up with the coast guard. He came over and freakin' had a beer with me....two weeks later.....Best decision I ever made.

[montana]

i joined because the recrutier said congradulations you have just been drafted into the finest fighting org. in the world... i said ...golly.. ( saw gomer pile a cupple of times)...the DI down in sunny Cali...took the smart a**out of me real quick

[sgtgrunt0311]

i joined because the recrutier said congradulations you have just been drafted into the finest fighting org. in the world... i said ...golly.. ( saw gomer pile a cupple of times)...the DI down in sunny Cali...took the smart a**out of me real quick


I bet you got a signing bonus and guaranteed 03....... ;) :p

[montana]

well i did get the guaranteed 03....one out of two aint bad

[sgtgrunt0311]

;) :p

[sparkie]

Hell, I was going to join the nasty coast guard but had a fast car and four speeding tickets over 100mph so they couldn't take me. I decided I would go hardcore and called the Marine recruiter that night right after hanging up with the coast guard. He came over and freakin' had a beer with me....two weeks later.....Best decision I ever made.

Shet,,, I love that one "Had A Beer,,,,,,"

My mean, nasty 5 year older brother, [who I'm suprised I didn't kill when I grew up], Got dropped outta boot for bad knees.Of course he said I could never make it, and rubbed it in. I guess it was 30% him, 30% John Wayne, and 30% wantin to be proud of something for me. [He made sure I had no pride growen up]. The other .99% What Did I do to myself??? Some % left was, I love this country, and good men were dieing in the jungles,,,,, I wanted to, needed to, Be there if I could help. All I ever wanted was to help.

[brian barr]

I was not a real bad kid but I did cause my mother some trouble. It was enough that a local district judge gave me two options. Boys reform school or the Corps. He did not say ARMY or NAVY or AF. He...

[Big Jim]

My story was pretty much the same...went through alot of tragedy and loss as a teenager, started doing stupid crap and wound up in Juvenile Detention a few times but was looking at some major time if...

[jetdawgg]

Coming from the So Bronx and Harlem, I needed a challenge, so I went to look for a fight and got it:usmc:

The Marines, all you can handle and more....

[sscjoe]

Ah, My story, Well my dad was a Retired Navy?Air Force(WWII, Korea and early Vietnam) vet so I grew up in the military. I was a long haired dope smoking hippie(supported Vietnam) who went to college in 1973. Graduated with an AAS in 1975 after deciding I had enough of school. got a nasty job in a lead recycling plant. Life had to be better so I went to see an Air Force recruiter to see if I could parley my degree got nothing. The Marine Corps was next store and the rest is history. Never regretted the decision to become part of the best Brotherhood in the world

[Sgt Hulk]

The Corps was in my blood, my dad was in from 1958-62, an uncle who served in Vietnam and my brother enlisted in 1986. I made the decision to join in 6th grade, no kidding. I was counting down the days until i would ship out for like 6 years. I went to the recruiting station when i was 15, i was a big kid so they thought i was old enough and they were ready to sign me up. When the Sgt. found out i was only 15 he told me to come back the day after my 16th birthday. So i did and became a poolee soon after. I was in the DEP for about a year and I left for Parris Island 4 weeks after HS graduation, that was July 26 1989. I turned 18 in Boot camp. The rest is history. Everyone thought i was crazy, but i just had to be part of the most elite fighting force in the world and kill Godless Communist.
:flag:

[Artemis]

Well geez now I am going to sound like some sentimental sissy now. Ok here goes my sperm donor was never around, hadn't been since I was 4. Well later on in life around 12 I met 2 Vietnam Era Marines one who enlisted from Canada while so many where running to Canada to escape the draft. These two gents were like fathers to me in a way even though they both had their own families. I took everything I could away from their experience and said you know what when I turn 18 I am going to be a Marine. I did just that and am darn proud to have served and to have become part of this brotherhood.

[THAT AINT IT]

well i met a Marine when i was 11 years old and never looked back. ill never forget him his name was Corporal Rouleau. i knew growing up that i wasnt exactly the brightest crayon in the box so i knew i wasnt going to college right out of high school. i wasnt smart enough for the Air Force or the Navy. and i wasnt dumb enough for the Army. so i figured if i'm going to enlist i was going to be one of the best. plus the Marine Corps has the longest and toughest boot camp and i like a challenge. no one said i could do it. im the type of person that when you tell me i cant do something it makes me want to do it more.

[thewookie]

I wanted to travel to exotic locations around the world and hump beautiful women.
And I did!:beer:

[sparkie]

I wanted to travel to exotic locations around the world and hump beautiful women.
And I did!:beer:



Well,,,, Did you find a paticular "slant" on things? :beer:

[Sempersweet]

I got this guy pregnant back home and had to get out of town quick ;)



but seriously, I wanted to join up with the best, to push myself, to be associated with the best people in the world.

[sparkie]

I got this guy pregnant back home and had to get out of town quick ;)

WOW,,,,,, History in the making,,,,,,,,

So, you are associated with the best now???? I am humbled.

[sparkie]

History in the making,,,,,,,One guy Preg,,,,,,
So,,,, you are associated with the best now???
Semper fi Sempersweet,,,,, You are a good little sister. And Seargent at that,,,, I can't argue. I can't salute, I am in awe.

[TyCaldwell]

Honestly, to get away from a dysfunctional family. And because I couldn't afford school and in 1979, prospects didn't look very good for getting a meaningful job.