Marine Corps Years
Boot Camp to Retirement
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After starting at Parris Island Recruit Depot for basic training until retiring at Kaneohe Air Station, I did many different things in many different places. Most Marines spend their time at Marine Corps bases in certain occupational specialties. I did those as well as spending a lot of time on independent duty--being assigned not to a base but to a small detachment in different communities doing different activities.
First was Guam with the 5th Services Depot, a strange place for a very young man who hadn't spent much time away from New England. Of course, a raging typhoon didn't help the strangeness at all. This was followed by a tour at the Marine Corps Supply Depot at Barstow, CA. The middle of the Pacific Ocean to the middle of the California desert.
The pictures above show the Guam Base Main Gate before and after a typhoon
I had a variety of short tours then came a good one. I was selected for special foreign duty with the State Department. To keep the strangeness going, while there riots erupted and King Farouk was deposed in a coup d'etat. More of this is discussed in our Early Years pages.
I had been doing a variety of duties including, movie operator, photographer, sports announcer, and some writing. After being transferred to Parris Island, SC, and a short stint on the drill field, I finally found my niche in the journalism field. My field designation changed and I attended the journalism school at the Naval Base, Great Lakes, IL.
I was doing mostly sports until I went to Armed Forces Press and Radio section in New York City, NY. Among my duties were sports editor and editor of the clip sheet (stories sent to all military bases to be used for publications). I covered the Pan American Games in Chicago for the Press Service as well as editing one year's copy of Yank Magazine.
After a tour at the Marine Corps Supply Center, Albany, GA I did another tour of independant duty. This time as Public Affairs NCO with the Marine Corps Recruiting Center, Detroit, MI.
Following my year in Vietnam I basked in delightful Hawaii. I spent this last duty station of my career at the Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe, HI. After retiring, we spent a few years in Kailua and then a few more years on Maui, before returning to the mainland and traveling around the country.
