With all due respect

[Lynn2]

Billy, can't agree more.

And at the risk of having someone who cannot read all that well claim I am attacking the Wing-----we Reconners loved the Wing.

They saved my life and the life of my Team mates more than a time or three.

And as far as I am concerned they should have taken as many flak jackets as that chopper could hold.

If I couda I certainly wouda

[Lynn2]

I have only been to one full on BN reunion.

But there were 3 massive standing ovations at our dinner.

#1 The family members of our MOH awardees---all KIA

#2 The Corpsman

#3 A Marine made a long introduction for a guest. He talked of his Team being on the run, with wounded in tow, and then not being able to go any farther.

They were making a stand to die in place----of course as opposed to leaving the wounded---when on station came the choppers.

He told of that lead chopper hovering in place as the NVA shot the crap out of it. But hover they did. At least until the last reconner was aboard.

He said that when the chopper got back and landed it had so many holes in it they could not count them all.

When he introduced the pilot the place went wild.

But IMO that long loud ovation was for all those pilots and all those crews that kept us alive. Many of them dying in the attempt.

[Wyoming]

The only thing that coulda been better was iffen you damm grunts was to pull the cord and release the plexiglass.

But no, you had be John ****ing Wayne and knock them out with your rifle butts.

Unbeknownst to many, there was a coil of electrical lines running fore to aft under those portholes. They did not like to be rained on. So the windows had to be replaced regularly.


That coil of electrical lines would be like a whole bunch of extension cords to you midget-brained grunts.


Finally gave up and had the twidgets somehow wrap and water proof the wires.

****ed the grunts off, cause they didn't have nothing to break no more.

Grunts vs Wingers. ****, no versas to it. Marines, one and all.

[Mongoose]

Al, I guess you wingers being pizzed at us grunts was why you made us jump from a moving chopper 12 feet of the ground when we hit a hot LZ. Sometimes getting off the chopper was worse than the fire fight was. We still loved ya anyway. S/F

[Wyoming]

Al, I guess you wingers being pizzed at us grunts was why you made us jump from a moving chopper 12 feet of the ground when we hit a hot LZ. Sometimes getting off the chopper was worse than the fire fight was. We still loved ya anyway. S/F

**** Billy, we'd get our wheels dirty and then have to go and wash them off when we landed in Phu Bai or Marble. Remember, that was keeping us away from the E-Club that served cold beer and our air-conditioned hootches, (yeah right). I didn't realize we were getting so close. 12'. That's near from here to there.

You gotta remember, we usually landed when we picked you up.

Hoist extractions through the trees sucked big time.

[Mongoose]

Al, if you think hoist extractions sucked for you all. Ask Fist what its like being on the other end. Especially when your bleeding to death. But you saved his life brother. Fist was a hell of a combat Marine. Quit making Marines like fist a long time ago. S/F

[Wyoming]

Exactly, the ****ing gooks could shoot at the horse collar or the big green target. Hope it didn't upset to many folks, but once they cleared the trees, we pulled collective. Up, up, up, and away. Once onboard, we cleaned our skivvies and went back for me.

[ShannonL]

All of you could'nt survive without the other, Recon, Grunt and Airwing. I bet Big Al looked like an angel to many Marines. Doing Recon must be veruy challenging...always entering new territory and finding all sorts of kak hidden in the grass and some falling into those bamboo booby traps set by those $%^&*( Basterds. What the hell was it like. With out you guys many grunts would've died heading to all sorts of kak....I'll ask you grunts next.

[Wyoming]

Fugoff, and you can stop right there, on the Angel bit.

Big Al ain't no Angel.

All this kak about the Wingers being goody two shoes ain't so.

We just pulled the long straw and slept on a cot most nights.



You want some answers, you got 2 places to visit. Go to The Wall. There's over 58,000 story's to be heard. Then head to the Marine Corps Museum. There's so much history there it will boggle your mind.

[FistFu68]

Saepius Exertus~Semper Fidelis~Frater Infinitas

[USNAviator]

"You want some answers, you got 2 places to visit. Go to The Wall. There's over 58,000 story's to be heard. Then head to the Marine Corps Museum. There's so much history there it will boggle your mind."

Amen Al, and Fair Winds to them All

[kenrobg30]

I rode in a chopper, just once, on my way to the CONSOLATION, the Hospital Ship, in Pusan harbor. that was the only Huey, I remember seeing. I have reason to be grateful for those little ones, that look like a dragonfly. I saw them pick up wounded men, in the middle of fire-fights, deliver rations and ammo, under heavy enemy fire, without a moments hesitation. Those were the real Cow Boys. John Wayne took his hat off to them. S/F!!! Ken

[Lynn2]

"Al, I guess you wingers being pizzed at us grunts was why you made us jump from a moving chopper 12 feet of the ground when we hit a hot LZ."

Ours was far from a hot LZ. But when we made the leap---somewhere outside of PhuBai---- one of my Marines broke his back on landing.

His first thought he told me later was that he had been shot.

I saw him on Oki maybe 5 months later as I was on my way home. He was still messing with a focked up back.

To much distance + large amount of weight + bad landing = trouble

[Lynn2]

Nothing but props for those crews.

But late one night we called for an extract----our ARVN scout had been bitten by a snake----and despite my best John Wayne cutting and sucking etc----I was not sure if he was going to make it or not----the ARVN was the only one to see the snake

The answer came back that NO----not for an ARVN (one of the crappiest things I ever saw the MC do)

So after some thinking we decided that one of our Marines with maybe a 99.8 fever :-) was to sick to go on.

So was called again for another extract. The chopper came and we loaded both the Marine and the ARVN on board.

We took care of our own despite that cork sucker dispatcher on the other end of that radio.

[ShannonL]

Did you kick that corksuckers ass Lynn?
@Big Al: I meant when the guys were hammned it and the future looked bleek, you would be my angel, at least that day. I will go to The Wall and the museum. Thank you all very much for opening up to a civ. As hillbillyjar suggested I should PM those that are willing to speak about thier lives as a Marines, both past and present.