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View Full Version : Lt. Col. David Grant Geddes



RVHall
12-22-09, 09:38 PM
This search is conducted for an aging friend, Jim "Mudcat" Jones. Jim was one of the small group of the very first detachment of 1st ANGLICO. They trained for a short while, based at Pearl Harbor and then Camp Catlin prior to being dispatched to Korea in 1951. Jim's group was detached to the Korean Marine Corps, and they moved from the south tip of the penninsula at D-10, up to the 38th parallel and the Punchbowl.

Jim's officer was a 1st Lt. David Grant Geddes. Lt. Geddes had been one of the "flying sergeants" in WWII, beginning as a Navy pilot, and then going to the USMC at some point. A battlefield commission resulted in a rank of Capt. by the end of WWII. Then, as Truman, the Army and Air Force called for the disbanding of the Marine Corps, and troop levels were slashed, Gaddes was demoted back to sergeant again. When the Korean War broke out, the Marines were needed but short on officers. Gaddes was promoted to 1st Lt., and led one of the 1st ANGLICO detachments.

Jim is in his 80's. His daughter says he doesn't have long. We've met, and we talk about once a month. He would like to know Gaddes' status before he goes. Shortly, I plan to scan a frag map that Gaddes gave Jim. It is an early 20th Century Japanese map they used to call in CAS. It shows the route that they took from D-10 up to the Punchbowl - a piece of history.

I believe this is an article about the Gaddes of interest:
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2141&pictureid=8777

Jim believes that the HQFMFPAC reference is his time at 1st ANGLICO. If you know anything, please advise ASAP. Jim won't last another year, most likely.

Semper Fi,
Vance Hall