Overseas Assignments ?

[vance]

What has been your best overseas assignments ?

Embassy duty in the Middle East all of those years ago was outstanding .
Okinawa was good duty if busy as we trained to go to Vietnam .
The Nam- can't say it was the best duty I ever had but I was in my MOS.

[leroy8541]

barracks duty at subic bay was heaven on earth
foxhole duty in the persian gulf was hell on earth
6 months on the rock somewhere in between

[Art Petersn]

No duty station can comepare to any of th Fuji camps in Japan in the 50's
Every day you looked up at the mountain and couldn't believe how beautiful it was. A weekend off base cost you 5 dollars. You grew up fast in the big J.

[vance]

That is the truth , one sees some unforgettable country on our tours in the Marine Corps. What an educational experience . The good and the bad .

[FREDDY]

panama was good duty training eating and drinking!!

[firstsgtmike]

Vance,

Don't forget the ugly.
------------------------------

My time was Okinawa 60-64. WWII made it, and Vietnam spoiled it. But in between, it was Paradise.

Oddly enough, my 2nd time is here and now. And I honestly can't say if I'd trade one for the other.

I refuse to even consider it, I have too much respect, and love, for my Okinawan honey of 22 years.

But I have the feeling, when I consider my niece and four sons, that Okinawa will come up a little short.

[Barrio_rat]

I was one of the few that actually ENJOYED Okinawa. 'Course there were the usual hang-outs Chau Pak Ave (aka BC Street), Whisper Alley (don't even say ya don't remember!). Gate 2 had great shopping - still have my stone wear and set of china. Still have my stereos and camera I bought there on the yearly spring sale - prices couldn't be beat!

Went on Dets to the PI - always a good time there! No details as, what happens in the PI stays in the PI! LOL

Was on two LHA's. Ship board life kinda sucked but we hit some good ports. Hong Kong, Korea, Australia (PI again). 2nd time I was on ship we only got the PI and then the Persian Gulf. Though, we ported in the UAE and I got a good deal on the wedding bands for the woman I planned to marry at the time - believe it or not, she's still with me today!

If I coulda been guaranteed overseas duty for the rest of my tour, I probably would have re-enlisted (or at least thought harder on it). I just didn't care for NC or SoCal. And that's kinda limiting when yer in the USMC!

[Earle Comstock]

Me on the other hand , I didn't care much for the two West Pacs I went on . I made it to the Phillipines , Guam , Hong-Kong , Singapore , Tinia , Australia , New Zealand , Okinawa , Tasmania , Fiji , New Caledonia , crossed the International Date line and Equator at the same time ,am a golden shellback . I hated ship life , disliked it so much , I had enough time left in Corp to do a 3rd West Pac . I extended my tour of duty 10 months and 16 days to get out of that 3rd float . I've been alot of places in my life , but nothing beats the good old USA . The places I went to when I was a kid , I don't really remember them as I should because of the influence of alcohol . I wish I could do them all over again , only this time sober . Lifes too short , I wasted 13 years to booze . The only thing I can recomend for those of you that are still young enough is to take a break for a few days from alcohol , then go enjoy your life . I know you don't all drink , but for you that do and have any sense , you may give a listen to what I'm saying . You may not thank me now , but you'll damn sure thank me later . I'm not telling you to quit , I'm just saying you should take a break . For some of you , you may never get to do this again . And take pictures , you'll appreciate them when you get older . Ok , Ok , I'm done rambling .
Semper Fi Marines
Cpl Commie:rambo: Kill A Commie For Mommy :rambo:
Be Good To Yourself And Respect Your Elders

[leroy8541]

Earle you have a point there, I was looking thru all my pictures of my time in the P.I. In everyone of them I am holding a bottle of Red Horse in one hand and a Ago-Ago in the other I wasted alot of time in the bars of Olongopo and Subic City when I should have been out enjoying the beautiful sites and rich history of the Phillipines, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything in the world.

[Lock-n-Load]

I owe every success in my lifetime to being a combat Marine Tanker...when the shooting finally stopped...I viewed everyone by Marine Corps standards...it failed in civilian life...cheap-sh1t civilians are just that...best times in the Corps for me was my combat tour and my 2nd tour in Korea...then, I saw what havoc was done to the poor people of South Korea...sure I survived the carnage...but they had to live it amongst squalor, starvation and pestilence...I was leaving sooner or later and going home to the Big PX that never realized what war creates in it's wake...I forgot what was going on in Korea, but I'm haunted to this day for all those decades of war/restoration for a dauntless population that made it back...thanks in large part of USA aid and comfort...now they want us out of Korea[ the youngsters]....much like our immature/spoiled kids in USA...so be it...yes, I saw the Far East in the wartime early 1950s; however, blessed with two [2] R&Rs in Kyoto, Japan eased my WW2 resentment of the Japanese quite abit...rabid enemies; now, close Allies...for all the doomsdays [a multitude] I spent in Korea...my respite in occupied Japan was my reward as a combat Marine...I would make a pact with the devil immediately; in order, to be in Kyoto [1954] again and again...lest I forget...a 'Nam Marine who lived amongst the Japanese in the 1990s told me ..my 1954 Kyoto is ..."Gone With The Wind"...it's a new Japan now...change...is the mother of all men...I loved my 4 years in the Fleet Marine Force [WAR and peace]...I was at my zenith then..in love with the...United States Marine Corps...it will sustain me and my aims until heaven beckons.....no more regrets...hell no!! Gung-Ho and Semper Fidelis SSGT CHRIS SARNO-USMC FMF

[hack4398]

PI, nuff said

Thailand-not as great as PI, but pretty close

Okinawa, love to dive. This place is great, cold cheap beer, and great dive spots.

[Lock-n-Load]

Need some intel about Thailand....hoping to travel there in June...is it HOT and HUMID all year long with incessant thunderstorms???...any cabarets/action...at nite in Bangkok...like clubs that welcome GIs on R&R??...thanks, Marine.

[firstsgtmike]

The only thing I can tell ya is that I have a Brit friend, married a Filipina in Thailand, and they now live here in Cagayan de Oro.

If he was into e-mail I'd pass his address on to you, but he's not.

[Lock-n-Load]

Thanks Top....any info is appreciated but future international travel all hinges on the length of this Iraqi war [if/when] it breaks out...thanks again, Top. Semper Fidelis

[hack4398]

Thialand is hot and humid.

Bankok is EXTREMELY WILD. I did not go to Bankok, but several people went and they came with sunken in eyes and they were exhausted from lack of sleep.:lick: