Here's a jolt to your memory! Meeting your DI's for the 1st time.

[advanced]

I remember having the option to buy the newspaper from a little girl and her dad on Sunday mornings. We weren't required to buy it, though.

Very interesting. At Parris Island we never even heard of newspapers let alone had the opportunity to buy one. Our entire focus was on training and becoming Marines. You see, we all knew we were going to Vietnam and our longevity was in direct proportion to how well we learned, as opposed to reading the sports page.

[Zulu 36]

Yeah, we were "strongly urged" to buy one each Sunday (only day available). We saved them in the sweat locker and used them to buff the squadbay decks during the week. No buffing machines for us.

Since we are all but ordered to buy one, I guess the DIs felt the only fair thing would be to let us read it. I usually only had time for the first section and the cartoons anyway.

[CrockettJW]

The only cleaning we did with the newspapers was cleaning windows. We didn't have buffers, either. We didn't have brooms or mops (swabs) to use, either. All we had were deck towels.

[advanced]

We used a washcloth to clean the deck, no brooms, buffers - just a wash cloth. We had to wash our own skivvies outside on Sunday, spent the rest of Sundays with PT and getting messed with and thumped.

After abut 30 days at PI down at the medical I heard a radio once. I learned to love getting shots, that was a whole hour or so that our 5 DI's couldn't thump us. We also had no planes taking off to distract us, the only thing that flew was sand fleas.

[CrockettJW]

I remember getting those shots like an assembly line. They had it set up so you couldn't really jump from one line to the other, but some guys would still manage to get more shots than they should have.

[Mongoose]

We used a washcloth to clean the deck, no brooms, buffers - just a wash cloth. We had to wash our own skivvies outside on Sunday, spent the rest of Sundays with PT and getting messed with and thumped.

After abut 30 days at PI down at the medical I heard a radio once. I learned to love getting shots, that was a whole hour or so that our 5 DI's couldn't thump us. We also had no planes taking off to distract us, the only thing that flew was sand fleas.

We were told to buy a bottle of Listerine when we went to the px. We mixed it with water to scrub the concrete floors of our huts.

[Old Marine]

Most all of my platoons had a lot of colds in the winter. One platoon I had, not one dink ever complained about having a cold. I called the guide to the duty hut and asked him why. He said that the only thing he could think of was that every pvt was drinking the listerine. What ever works, I guess.

Speaking of shots. Do any of you remember the shot guns that were operated with air. They were supposed to make things much faster, but if you moved it would tear a good hole in your arm.

[advanced]

Most all of my platoons had a lot of colds in the winter. One platoon I had, not one dink ever complained about having a cold. I called the guide to the duty hut and asked him why. He said that the only thing he could think of was that every pvt was drinking the listerine. What ever works, I guess.

Speaking of shots. Do any of you remember the shot guns that were operated with air. They were supposed to make things much faster, but if you moved it would tear a good hole in your arm.

Oh yes, the shot guns. Those prives were drinking the listerine and were most likely getting high, my guess is they weren't feeling anything.

Mongoose, we just used our damp washcloths, no soap, no listerine. We did it the Marine Corps way.

[Mongoose]

Oh yes, the shot guns. Those prives were drinking the listerine and were most likely getting high, my guess is they weren't feeling anything.

Mongoose, we just used our damp washcloths, no soap, no listerine. We did it the Marine Corps way.

Russ, we had a bed wetter in our hut. Pizzed in the bed every night. Kept it hid for awhile. Finally found out he wasnt turning in all his sheets once a week. Stunk like hell when it warmed up. Nasty s.o.b. D.I.s got him one week and never saw him again.

[CrockettJW]

Russ, we had a bed wetter in our hut. Pizzed in the bed every night. Kept it hid for awhile. Finally found out he wasnt turning in all his sheets once a week. Stunk like hell when it warmed up. Nasty s.o.b. D.I.s got him one week and never saw him again.

We had a bed-wetter, too. His bunk was right next to mine and he had a top bunk. I never realized it until his bunkie complained to the DIs about it. The bed-wetter was an okay guy, but nervous all the time. I don't think anything ever happened to him and he graduated with us.

[advanced]

We had a bed-wetter, too. His bunk was right next to mine and he had a top bunk. I never realized it until his bunkie complained to the DIs about it. The bed-wetter was an okay guy, but nervous all the time. I don't think anything ever happened to him and he graduated with us.

John - His bunkee should have switched places with him. We had a guy in my platoon in Nam that his buds said always **** his pants when ever we got hit, and he wasn't dead yet either.

[advanced]

Mongoose - I stayed in those huts when I was at Pendleton. How did the DI's stay on your asses all the time if you could hide out. I mean they can't be everywhere right. How many huts to a platoon?

At PI we had one big squad bay with 90+ of us, couldn't get away with **** with 5 DI's jumping around everywhere. Couldn't even say **** without it being heard. Our racks were issued to us in alphabetical order. My last name starts with A, I'm 1st rack, top bunk, 1st one closest to the DI table.

[Mongoose]

Mongoose - I stayed in those huts when I was at Pendleton. How did the DI's stay on your asses all the time if you could hide out. I mean they can't be everywhere right. How many huts to a platoon?

At PI we had one big squad bay with 90+ of us, couldn't get away with **** with 5 DI's jumping around everywhere. Couldn't even say **** without it being heard. Our racks were issued to us in alphabetical order. My last name starts with A, I'm 1st rack, top bunk, 1st one closest to the DI table.

Russ, it was one squad to a hut. The DIs slept in the duty hut.

[advanced]

Russ, it was one squad to a hut. The DIs slept in the duty hut.

That's a big difference in the two MCRD's that I never thought about before. I guess you all could talk to each other pretty much. They were always on us too hard.

[jumpinjack]

June 1968, we was on the Grinder MCRD SD doing close order drills, was at attention, Ssgt Denault was on the far end of the platoon screaming up some poor guy's nostels, I was was number 6 first front, being last name started with a B. Fly buzzing around my head, landed on my cheek, I slapped it, caught it, then back asap to attention, Ssgt seen it, how I don't know. He was on me like stink, What did you do puck??? WHAT the HELL did you do PUcK? Sir Pvt Barham slapped a fly Sir, He screamed, you killed my Marine Corps Fly!!! Sir Aye Sir I shouted, What give you the right to kill my Beloved Marine Corps fly Puck!!!! Sir PVT Does not know Sir. Show me my fly!! I opened my hand and showed him the fly. He marched us to the sandpit, dismissed the Platoon except for me,Rest of the platton was doing PT, he got me a entrenching tool, and told me to dig a grave for his Marine Corps fly, 3' by 3'. He pulled up a lawn chair and magazine, I dug the grave, He told me to place the fly in the, I did so, then he ordered me to cover the fly, I was about 10 shovel fulls and he screamed stop scum, you forget to say last rites, find me that fly, I jumped down and searched untill I found the fly, he pulled out a small match box, put the fly in it and made me say last rites on over the fly. By this time it was getting dark. I filled in the grave. He double timed my butt back to the huts. I missed chow that night. And need I have to say I had a platoon ****ed at me for a couple of days. Them having to do squat thrusts forever.