Savannah Bound-- Part 15: Parris Island Museum and Traditions

We parked and went into the Parris Island Museum.  Of course, there was a lot of Marine4 Corps stuff in there as well as the making of the Parris Island Recruit Training facility.  I especially enjoyed the rooms and exhibits on the site's past and particularly the Civil War, of course.

The Battle of Port Royal took place there.  It was one of the United States' first amphibious operations, involving the U.S. Navy and Army and happened on November 7, 1861.  The entrance to the sound was guarded by two Confederate forts, Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island and Fort Beauregard on Phillips Island.

The fall of the forts led to the Union occupation of Beaufort, South Carolina, which became a major base for the U.S. Navy for operations in the area between Charleston and Savannah for the duration of the war.

We stopped and had the buffet lunch at the former officers club, now a restaurant called Traditions.  The place was full of families and the new Marines.  Quite a few had tee shirts with the picture of their son or daughter on them.

A Proud Day, No Doubt.  ----RoadMarine

Savannah Bound-- Part 14: A Brother From Another Mother

THURSDAY, APRIL 4

Julie's boyfriend Ed is like a brother from another mother to me.  Everything I like, he likes.  And that includes history and music.  He even was a deejay for a long time, just as I was.  He also goes big-time heavy into collecting stuff.  His downfall revolves around model trains and weapons.

We spent a lot of time together over these next few days.  And, today was definitely one of those.

First, we drove to Parris Island, the home of a USMC training base that I have often heard of, but never seen.  Ed used to go there often to deejay events.  So, he knew his way around.  Parris Island is located a short distance from where Julie lives, just over the Georgia-South Carolina border by Hilton Head and Beaufort, S.C..

Parris Island is a lot bigger that I thought it was.  We had to have the vehicle checked before entering the base which was very crowded with families of recruits who had just finished training.  They were having graduation tomorrow.

To say there were a lot of proud parents and family members there would be an understatement.

RoadDog

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow-- Part 4

However, permission had to be obtained from the Corps itself to modify the  Eagle, Globe  and Anchor logo.  It was approved.

Under the Cultural  Resources (Environmental)  program for the base, Route 66 is a National Historic Highway registered as a National Landmark managed by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service.  It is up to each state how best to manage those parts of Route 66 within their borders. 

The 1.7 miles of 66 going through the base fall under that.   The base has officially designated Joseph L. Boll Avenue as a segment of Route 66.  It pays homage to  to 66's  contributions to the war efforts.  Historic Route 66 signs have been placed along the road and there are Route 66 stencils on the road similar to those you see in Barstow and other towns.

And the final goal was to build  the 3D Eagle, Globe and Anchor monument at the corner of Route 66  and Wake  Avenue.

Additionally two Marquees with information kiosks will be placed at the front and back gates for guests and visitors (some of whom will not be able to get access to the base) to read  and view details of the history of how Route 66 supported the  installation's war efforts.

The front gate will also house a bronze plaque denoting  additional historical details.

--Road66

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow and Route 66-- Part 1: 66's Role in World War II

From the Barstow Base Site.

As part of American history, the War Department, now named the Defense Department,  determined the  need for improved highways for rapid mobilization during wartime and to promote national defense during peacetime.

At the start of American involvement in World War II, the War Department singled out  the West as ideal for military training bases, in part because of its geographic isolation, and especially because it offered consistently dry weather for air and field maneuvers.

Completion of  the improved  I.S. Highway 66 (Route 66) with all weather capability on the eve of the war, was particularly  significant to the nation's war effort.

In 1942, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow started construction alongside route 66.  Critical troops, equipment and supplies were transported on Route 66 to military bases across the country thereby helping to facilitate the single biggest wartime troop mobilization in the history of the nation.

--Road66

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow

From Wikipedia.

This is the place I was writing about in the last three posts as it has Route 66 going through it.

Is a Marine Corps  supply and maintenance installation located in the Mojave Desert east of Barstow, California.

This Marine Corps base is presently the second largest employer in the Barstow area and was established as the Marine Corps Depot of Supplies at the present location on December 28, 1942, when the U.S. Navy turned it over to the Marines as a storage site for supplies and equipment  needed for the Fleet  Marine Forces  in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

By the end of the war, the base had outgrown its facilities and as a result, 2,000 acres of land were annexed from the U.S. Army in October 1946,  In 1954,  the Commanding General, Marine Corps Depot of Supplies, Roy M. Gulick, moved his flag from  San Francisco to Barstow and since then the base has grown in stature, strength and size.

--RoadDog

U.S. Marines Own a Piece of Route 66-- Part 3

Bursting at it seams after the war,  the base was expanded with the purchase of 2,000 acres from the Army in 1946.  The 5,500 acre installation is now home to the military's largest rail facility, supporting troop  rotations at the nearby  National Training Center at Fort Irvin and other West Coast bases.

The strip of 66 asphalt there is not the only connection the Corps has with the historic highway, though.  Both are linked through that really popular song"(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," which musician Bobby Troupe wrote   shortly after he left the Marines as a captain in 1946 while moving his family to Hollywood.

And, of course, there's the refrain which mentions Barstow.

These days,  drivers heading west must get permission to pass through the base's  front or back gates on the "highway that's the best."

But, new kiosks have been built by the gates which provide the history to visitors.

Just before veterans Day last month, the  ceremony to dedicate the new six foot tall  metal sculpture with the modified Eagle, Globe and Anchor (with the 66 shield) is in the middle of the base and civilians can't see it.

Oh Well.  --RoadMarine

U.S. Marines Own a Piece of Route 66-- Part 2: An Important Part of U.S. World War II Effort

Also called the "Mother Road," Route 66 was the first all-weather highway from Chicago to Los Angeles, wending its way for some 2,400 miles.

While it may evoke thoughts of  scenic road trips and kitschy  roadside attractions from America's postwar economic boom, it  also played a major role in America's efforts during World War II.

During the unprecedented U.S. mobilization for the war, it served as an artery for the movement of troops, gear and supplies between bases..  It also carried job-seekers west for jobs in war industry plants.

To put its supply depot for the Pacific Theater out of range of Japanese naval gunfire, Marines moved it from San Francisco to a spot the Navy gave it along the desert highway  northeast of Los Angeles in December 1942.

Go Navy.  Beat Army.

--RoadDog

The U.S. Marines Own a Part of Route 66-- Part 1

From the 8 December 2021 Military.com Stars and Stripes  "The Marine Corps owns part of Route 66 , so it made a special eagle, globe and anchor form it" by Chad Garland.

There's a Marine Corps logistics base in California's high desert outside Barstow that has one of the Corp's iconic emblem unlike any you'll find anywhere else.

Its symbol is made up of a highway shield superimposed over  the Marine Emblem and is found on signs lining  the shoulder of the Joseph L. Boll Avenue on the base that is a part of the original Route 66 at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow.

This emblem recognizes the base's distinction as being the only military base in the country to have an actual part of the Mother Road running directly through it.

This section of road, however, has been off limits to the public since 1964, after Interstate 40 was built through the area.

There are also large Route 66 stencils on the pavement of the 1.7 mile stretch which passes the commissary and the Leatherneck Lanes bowling alley.

Last month, it was used in the base's Marine Corps birthday cake and there is also a  towering sculpture of the sign.

--RoadMarine

One Day to 9/11

My flags are out.  I also plan on being at the 9/11 commemoration at McHenry, Illinois' Veterans Park tomorrow at 9 a.m..

Last night I was at Stucky's and talked with George who is a retired Marine Corps Vietnam aviation colonel.  He was retired from the service then and a pilot with an American airline.  He said that as a member of the Marine reserve, he was notified that morning to report to duty for possible service and had to inform his company that he would not be going to work.

They said that many of their pilots had also called in to say the same thing.

2021 Keep Spirit '45 Alive-- Part 5: The Bell and Saluting the Armed Forces

A McHenry alderman got up and spoke.  His house is on the corner across from the Veterans Park where this event was being held  They ring the bell at the house during events in the park and did so during this ceremony.  His grandfather had bought the bell at a garage sale many years ago and it was in really bad shape.  But, over time he had broken down and repaired it and also ring it every New Year's Eve to welcome the new year in.

Bill's Little Big Band then played the songs of our five armed forces:

ARMY:  "The Caissons Go Rolling Along"

NAVY:  "Anchors Aweigh"

AIR FORCE:  "Wild Blue Yonder"

COAST GUARD:  "Semper Paratus"

MARINES:  "The Marines Hymn"

Lou Rungani of WLIP AM 1050 Kenosha radio then spoke and said what came about after the war was the Baby Boomers and architecture called Mid Century Modern.  Four million babies were born in 1946, the highest birth rate ever.

Tony Bennett is 95 and a World War II veteran.

--RoadDog

"You Cannot Exaggerate About the Marines"

Today being the 243rd birthday of the USMC, a few words to sum them up are in order.

"You cannot exaggerate about the Marines.  They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth -- and the amusing thing is that they are."

Father Kevin Keaney
1st Marine Division Chaplain
Korean War

November 10th in History-- Part 1: Marine Corps Organized

 From the Chicago Tribune.

1775--  The U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress.

1871--  Journalist-explorer Henry Stanley found missionary David Livingstone in central Africa.

1919--  The American Legion held its first national convention in Minneapolis.

1941--  Winston Churchill delivered a speech in London in which he said, "I have not become the King's First Minister to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire."

--RoadDog

Tom Grosvenor Marine Corps Breakfast-- Part 2: Passing the Knowledge From Oldest to Youngest Marines

It costs $7 for the breakfast and toys or donations for the Toys for Tots, which the Marines run.

The USMC was established by act of the Continental Congress on November 10, 1775.  Back in the early 1900s, Marine Commandant Lejeune said that in the 145 years of its existence, the USMC had been at war for 90 years, from Trenton( American Revolution) to the Argonne (World War I).  Colors were posted by the Marine League and the Marine Commandant's address for this year was read.

The part I like the best is the cake tradition. involving the oldest and youngest Marines present.  This year the oldest was a woman who was born in 1923 and an enlisted Marine born in 1996.  A sheet cake is escorted to the front and a ceremonial sword used to cut it.  The piece of cake is then given to the oldest Marine who takes a bite and then passes it over to the youngest Marine.  This signifies the passing of wisdom, knowledge and experience.

We then had the retiring of the Colors and the Marines Hymn and Taps.

Then, it was SOS, scrambled eggs and coffee.

It Is Quite an Experience.  --RoadDog

Tom Grosvenor Memorial Marine Corps Birthday Breakfast for Toys for Tots-- Part 1

Commemorating the 241st birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps on November 10, 2016.

The event took place on Saturday, November 12th at the American Legion Lakes Area Post 708 of which I am a member also of their Sons of the American Legion (SAL).  This was the 34th annual breakfast.

My SAL volunteers time to make the breakfast which consists of SOS (gravy and sausage on toast), scrambled eggs and all the strong coffee you need to wash it down.  As usual, the SAL had plenty of workers, so I sat out with the old Marines in the banquet hall.  I talked with a Vietnam War and Persian Gulf War veteran.

I was actually in Marine Corps Officer Candidates Class for six weeks in 1971, but with the war finally winding down, they didn't need me.  But even with just six weeks under my belt, and they were a VERY ROUGH six weeks, I am a big-time supporter of them.

--RoadDog

A Busy Day August 14-- Part 6: Merchant Marine Recognition

As I said, the ceremony was nearing its end when I arrived and there was a prayer and then "God Bless America" was sung, accompanied by Bill's Little Big Band.  It is so sad to see the World War II vets so old and crippled.

Then  the band played the service songs of the Coast Guard (I don't believe I'd ever heard this one before), Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Army.  I was also happy to hear (also for the first time) the song of the U.S. Merchant Marine.

I am very happy to see the Merchant Marine finally getting the recognition they so much deserve because of the important role they played in the war.  I am sure floating around in U-boat infested waters (often in the frigid North Atlantic) in a ship loaded with ammunition or oil is not my idea of a pleasure cruise.

--RoadMerchantMarine.

An Old Marine, Well Sorta, Celebrates the 238th Birthday

Today, November 10th, 238 years ago, the USMC was established. Yesterday, I went to the Tom Grosvenor Memorial Marine Corps Breakfast with a whole big roomful of jarheads at the Fox Lake (Ill.) American Legion.

I was a Marine for six short weeks in OCS at Quantico, Virginia, as they needed second lieutenants but then the Vietnam War ended so they didn't need me.

Regardless, I was Marinized.

I'll be writing about it next week in my Wortld War II blog.

Happy Birthday, USMC. --RoadDog

The History at Chicago's Soldier Field

It is too bad that Da Bears won't be hosting any playoff games at Soldiers Field this year, despite at one time being 7-3, but five straight losses will kind of knock you out of contention.  At least they won the last game against Minnesota.

This past summer, I was able to go to the field at the invite of the USMC, when  the Great Lakes Recruiting Battalion had their change of commandant.  I took a walk around the new Soldiers Field (how long before it gets a corporate name, but being named for the military perhaps not.

There were large pictures along what they call South Field of events that have taken place there.

1937  Ski jump
1978  Rolling Stones concert
1942  Army War Show
1927  Notre Dame vs. USC football game
1959  All Star Game
1926  Rodeo
1933  Music Festival
1966  Freedom Rally1926  Eucharist Congress

There were also the words to that great song, "Bear Down Chicago Bears and a ticket from the Oct. 12, 1952 Bears vs. Dallas Texans game.

A Great Trip Back Into History.  --RoadDog

A Marine Corps Thing-- Part 5: The Trouble with Drill Instructors

One last Drill Instructor story.

When we were camping out at the rifle range, I drew canteen duty where I had to bring my squad's canteens to the pump and fill them.

The pump was on the other side of where the drill instructors' tents were. It was hot and I was tired and decided not to walk the quarter mile it would take me to bypass them so I just walked right by. Plus, I had heard they were at a meeting.

MISTAKE!!

Wrong!! No, they were in their tents and looking to inflict some agony when along comes good old me. Prime target in sight.

"Get Over Here Right Now!!"

Two of them began circling me, looking for that one thing they could use to persecute me. Fortunately, I was pretty-well squared away that day, but then one noticed my cover (hat) was not the prescribed two fingers above my eyebrow. This led to all kinds of in-your-face jawing.

Then, one says he is going to help my to remember in the future how that cover is supposed to sit upon my head. He takes my cover, reaches down, picks up a couple handfuls of dirt, and puts it in my cover.

OK, so I'm going to have a hat full of dirt placed on my head. I could live with that.

But, NO!!

Then, he takes a canteen that was half full, opens it, pours the water into the cover, mixes it up with the dirt and then places it back on my head. "Now you will remember how to wear your cover correctly."

"Yes, Sergeant Instructor!"

"And furthermore, I'd better not see that cover off your head for the rest of the day!!"

"Yes, Sergeant Instructor!!"

"What, I Can't Hear You!!"

"YES, SERGEANT INSTRUCTOR!!!"

The rest of the day wasn't very pleasurable as that mess started dripping down my face. But, at least at nightfall, I was able to remove the hat and I used a canteen to rinse the stuff off (there were no showers out at the rifle range, but at least I didn't have any hair so it could have been worse).

My own fault, though. My rule was to avoid DIs at all costs. I should not have walked by their area. Like the guy from "Apocalypse Now" said after the tiger scared him, "Don't get off the boat." "Don't go near the DIs."

I Should Have Known Better. Hey, That's a Beatles Song. --RoadDog

A Marine Corps Thing-- Part 4: The Problem with DIs

No doubt about it. Drill Instructors were put on earth to make the lives of boots miserable.


DON'T DISS a DI

By far, the meanest DI was one from the Philippines. Thankfully, he was in another platoon, so I rarely had to encounter him.

When we finally got a chance for liberty, we loaded onto buses headed for DC. One guy in this sergeant's platoon shot him the "bird" from the back of the bus as it pulled away.

This sergeant proceeded to take off running after the bus and caught up with it at a nearby stop sign. He boarded the bus, pulled the guy off and that was it for his liberty. Afterwards, he was real quiet about the whole thing, but very respectful to the sergeant.

He would not say anything about what happened, but I think it was probably something akin to what the sergeant did to Richard Gere in "An Officer and a Gentleman."

One more DI story to go.

Like I Said, Don't Mess with the DIs. --RoadDog

A Marine Corps Thing-- Part 3: Stay Away from the DIs

Here are a few drill instructor stories.

We were on a much-hated hike, which is really a forced march and one of the worst things I've ever had to do.

We're marching along and I'm thinking of how much trouble I'd get in if I somehow lost my rifle which was digging a hole in my shoulder, when we came across a big old mud puddle in the middle of the dirt road. I hated cleaning and shining my boots almost as much as I hated that rifle digging into my shoulder.

So, I decided to walk around the puddle.

I did, and from out of nowhere, this big old hand grabbed me by my knapsack, spun me around, and then I found myself face down in the mud in that puddle. Then there's this DI shouting at me about how Marines will go through anything to accomplish their mission.

I had to finish the rest of that hike soaked and muddy with dirty boots and still looking to ditch that M-14.

I've Got Two Other Stories About DIs. --RoadDog