thedrifter
05-05-08, 08:28 AM
They were Company F, Marine Support Battalion, but to each other they were F Troop
By THERESA CAMPBELL, DAILY SUN
THE VILLAGES — They called themselves F Troop — after the zany TV show from 1965-67.
Company F, Marine Support Battalion, dubbed their unit with the same name as the sitcom that poked fun of goofy cavalrymen at Fort Courage.
Yet, thankfully, these Marines were much smarter than the guys on the small screen.
“We were a small intelligence unit of the Marine Corps,” said Ralph Garcia of Bluffton, Ind., recalling they were stationed from 1966-70 in many of the same places: California, Turkey, Germany and Vietnam.
“We were a group of intelligence technical and linguistic professionals
and we spent much time together,” Garcia said. “Everyone was involved in intelligence collection;
were highly trained technicians; and in classified operations.”
Some 26 Marines from the unit reunited over the weekend in The Villages.
For many of the men, it was their first time to see each other in four decades.
“The last time I saw some of these guys was in Vietnam,” said Wally Roberts, from the Washington, D.C., area., while the group was gathered at the Village of Duval home of Buddy McEntyre for a cookout Saturday.
“We’ve never been together since we parted company,” added Garcia, recalling plans for the reunion began with an e-mail asking: “Hey, wouldn’t it be nice to all get together?”
“It snowballed from there,” he said.
The men — 26 in all — began their gathering Friday night at Margarita Republic at Spanish Springs Town Square, talking about old times, sharing old photographs including one of Company F, Marine Support Battalion at the Marine Corps Ball in Bremerhaven, Germany, on Nov. 10, 1966.
They’ve also been spending time catching up on their lives now.
McEntyre, a Villager since September, couldn’t resist bragging that one of their buddies, Jim Leake from Jacksonville, N.C., is a country western singer who has recorded three albums and is preparing for his fourth.
“He’s really good and is a good guy. A down-to-earth country guy,” said McEntyre, minutes before Leake showed up for the barbecue.
“It’s been interesting to see how people have changed,” said Roberts. “Some people have changed a lot and some have not changed at all.”
Frank McGee of Coral Springs flashed a wide smile when he saw his old friends again.
“It’s funny how many you can look at and still recognize,” he said.
Several of the men hailed Bryce Lockwood of Strafford, Mo., as the luckiest in the group.
“He was on the USS Liberty, the American ship that was attacked in 1967 by the Israelis,” Roberts said, introducing Lockwood, who was wearing a T-shirt about the attack.
“I faced a torpedo less than 10 feet away from looking at it,” Lockwood said, recalling the attack by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War (a conflict between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria). The attack killed 34 U.S. servicemen and wounded at least 173.
Lockwood agreed with his friends that he was lucky to have survived.
“It’s fantastic to see these guys again,” he said, smiling. “A couple of us have put on a pound or two, and a couple of us have lost a little hair, and some of us that have hair left, it’s turning white. But you bet, we’re having a good time here.”
Theresa Campbell is a senior features writer with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9260, or theresa.campbell@thevillages
media.com.
Ellie
By THERESA CAMPBELL, DAILY SUN
THE VILLAGES — They called themselves F Troop — after the zany TV show from 1965-67.
Company F, Marine Support Battalion, dubbed their unit with the same name as the sitcom that poked fun of goofy cavalrymen at Fort Courage.
Yet, thankfully, these Marines were much smarter than the guys on the small screen.
“We were a small intelligence unit of the Marine Corps,” said Ralph Garcia of Bluffton, Ind., recalling they were stationed from 1966-70 in many of the same places: California, Turkey, Germany and Vietnam.
“We were a group of intelligence technical and linguistic professionals
and we spent much time together,” Garcia said. “Everyone was involved in intelligence collection;
were highly trained technicians; and in classified operations.”
Some 26 Marines from the unit reunited over the weekend in The Villages.
For many of the men, it was their first time to see each other in four decades.
“The last time I saw some of these guys was in Vietnam,” said Wally Roberts, from the Washington, D.C., area., while the group was gathered at the Village of Duval home of Buddy McEntyre for a cookout Saturday.
“We’ve never been together since we parted company,” added Garcia, recalling plans for the reunion began with an e-mail asking: “Hey, wouldn’t it be nice to all get together?”
“It snowballed from there,” he said.
The men — 26 in all — began their gathering Friday night at Margarita Republic at Spanish Springs Town Square, talking about old times, sharing old photographs including one of Company F, Marine Support Battalion at the Marine Corps Ball in Bremerhaven, Germany, on Nov. 10, 1966.
They’ve also been spending time catching up on their lives now.
McEntyre, a Villager since September, couldn’t resist bragging that one of their buddies, Jim Leake from Jacksonville, N.C., is a country western singer who has recorded three albums and is preparing for his fourth.
“He’s really good and is a good guy. A down-to-earth country guy,” said McEntyre, minutes before Leake showed up for the barbecue.
“It’s been interesting to see how people have changed,” said Roberts. “Some people have changed a lot and some have not changed at all.”
Frank McGee of Coral Springs flashed a wide smile when he saw his old friends again.
“It’s funny how many you can look at and still recognize,” he said.
Several of the men hailed Bryce Lockwood of Strafford, Mo., as the luckiest in the group.
“He was on the USS Liberty, the American ship that was attacked in 1967 by the Israelis,” Roberts said, introducing Lockwood, who was wearing a T-shirt about the attack.
“I faced a torpedo less than 10 feet away from looking at it,” Lockwood said, recalling the attack by Israeli fighter planes and torpedo boats June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War (a conflict between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria). The attack killed 34 U.S. servicemen and wounded at least 173.
Lockwood agreed with his friends that he was lucky to have survived.
“It’s fantastic to see these guys again,” he said, smiling. “A couple of us have put on a pound or two, and a couple of us have lost a little hair, and some of us that have hair left, it’s turning white. But you bet, we’re having a good time here.”
Theresa Campbell is a senior features writer with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9260, or theresa.campbell@thevillages
media.com.
Ellie