thedrifter
07-19-09, 06:34 AM
Publish Date: 7/18/2009
The Specialist: Soldier taught Marines weapons skills
Charlotte Burrous
The Daily Record
FLORENCE — Two weeks before he was scheduled to complete basic training, he was pulled out to teach others.
Because of his skill in marksmanship, he broke all records with a rifle, pistol and machine gun, as well as other weapons.
Five days a week, George Hollibaugh taught numerous Marines how to shoot weapons before he transferred to Mare Island Naval Prison, where he traveled across the country, picking up military personnel, who had been deemed as troublemakers, thieves, people who were away without leave and had other issues.
After he married Noreen, he was deployed to Vietnam, where he was a machine gun platoon sergeant.
During his first tour of duty, Hollibaugh was inside of a machine gun in a bunker, checking out the aperture of the North Koreans, who were about 2,000 yards away.
Shrapnel from a 82 mortar “hit the trench line behind me and came through the aperture of the bunker,” he said. “It hit me in the back. A wound such as it was, you don’t really feel much.”
As a result, Hollibaugh and two others were injured and sent to a hospital ship on a helicopter.
When the communication line was blown out, he ran to the nearest bunker to get a medic to treat his follow Marines.
“When they were taking off, the first helicopter was shot out of the air,” Hollibaugh said.
After his recovery, he went back to his unit, where he took over a rifle platoon and the machine gun platoon.
From there he re-enlisted for six years and was stationed in Washington, D.C., for six months then transferred to various places as an instructor in combat tactics then went through mountain warfare and survival.
Then he did five more tours in Vietnam, but when his orders came for a seventh tour, he retired as a gunnery sergeant after 21 years.
After retirement, he worked for San Diego Police Department for about six months then transferred to a government position, working as a air launch, guided missile prevention supervisor for the Naval Department for 18 years. He then transferred to the Pueblo Army Depot, packing guided missile parts, working about three years and then into security for several more years.
Born May 6, 1932, in Hamilton, Mt., Hollibaugh graduated from high school in Drummond, Mt., then joined the U.S. Marine Corps June 5, 1951. He was sent to the Marine Recruit Depot in San Diego, Calif., for basic training.
In his leisure time, he was a member of the Masons, York Rite, the Shriners and served as worthy patron for Eastern Star for two years. He also raised Arabian horses and enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping.
Hollibaugh also has three daughters, a son, 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Charlotte Burrous can be reached at cburrous@ccdailyrecord.com
Ellie
The Specialist: Soldier taught Marines weapons skills
Charlotte Burrous
The Daily Record
FLORENCE — Two weeks before he was scheduled to complete basic training, he was pulled out to teach others.
Because of his skill in marksmanship, he broke all records with a rifle, pistol and machine gun, as well as other weapons.
Five days a week, George Hollibaugh taught numerous Marines how to shoot weapons before he transferred to Mare Island Naval Prison, where he traveled across the country, picking up military personnel, who had been deemed as troublemakers, thieves, people who were away without leave and had other issues.
After he married Noreen, he was deployed to Vietnam, where he was a machine gun platoon sergeant.
During his first tour of duty, Hollibaugh was inside of a machine gun in a bunker, checking out the aperture of the North Koreans, who were about 2,000 yards away.
Shrapnel from a 82 mortar “hit the trench line behind me and came through the aperture of the bunker,” he said. “It hit me in the back. A wound such as it was, you don’t really feel much.”
As a result, Hollibaugh and two others were injured and sent to a hospital ship on a helicopter.
When the communication line was blown out, he ran to the nearest bunker to get a medic to treat his follow Marines.
“When they were taking off, the first helicopter was shot out of the air,” Hollibaugh said.
After his recovery, he went back to his unit, where he took over a rifle platoon and the machine gun platoon.
From there he re-enlisted for six years and was stationed in Washington, D.C., for six months then transferred to various places as an instructor in combat tactics then went through mountain warfare and survival.
Then he did five more tours in Vietnam, but when his orders came for a seventh tour, he retired as a gunnery sergeant after 21 years.
After retirement, he worked for San Diego Police Department for about six months then transferred to a government position, working as a air launch, guided missile prevention supervisor for the Naval Department for 18 years. He then transferred to the Pueblo Army Depot, packing guided missile parts, working about three years and then into security for several more years.
Born May 6, 1932, in Hamilton, Mt., Hollibaugh graduated from high school in Drummond, Mt., then joined the U.S. Marine Corps June 5, 1951. He was sent to the Marine Recruit Depot in San Diego, Calif., for basic training.
In his leisure time, he was a member of the Masons, York Rite, the Shriners and served as worthy patron for Eastern Star for two years. He also raised Arabian horses and enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping.
Hollibaugh also has three daughters, a son, 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Charlotte Burrous can be reached at cburrous@ccdailyrecord.com
Ellie