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AFTER GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL, I COULD NOT FIND A JOB THAT I WAS INTERESTED IN AND ALSO SOMETHING THAT WAS AVAILABLE SO I DECIDED THE ONLY THING TO DO WAS JOIN THE NAVY AND SEE THE WORLD AND MAYBE LEARN A TRADE.
THE MARINES FINALLY TOOK ME AFTER HAGGLING OVER MY WEIGHT.MY FRIEND FRANK FLORENCE AND I GRABBED A FREIGHT TRAIN FOR NEW ORLEANS. HE MUST HAVE CONVINCED THE RECRUTING OFFICER I WAS A GOOD GOLFER BECAUSE ONE OF DRILL INSTRUCTORS , CORPORAL CAIN,ASKED ME TO BE HIS NO.2 MAN ON THE PARRIS ISLAND KARINE GOLF TEAM. IN THE FIRST PLACE,HOW DID HE KNOW I COULD PLAY GOLF WELL ENOUGH TO BE HIS PARDNER.
ANYWAY,I WAS SWORN IN AT NEW ORLEANS AND SHIPPED TO PARRIS INLAND.I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TIME WHEN WE STOPPED AT THE BILOXI RAILROAD STATION TO TELL MY BROTHER-IN-LAW,HARRY BONEY.TO TELL MY PARENTS I WAS NOW III THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS.
MY PLATOON WAS CALLED C-3 AND WAS IN CHARGE OF SERGEANT FRUCCI,CORPORAL CAIN AND PRIVATE FIRST CLASS SKUMWAY.WHO WERE ALL VERY NICE GUYS.
HOST OF THE MARINES IN MY PLATOON WERE FROM TEXAS AND GEORGIA.WE HAD ONE GUY FROM TEE BRONX(NEW YORK CITY).
I LOVED THE MARINE LIFE,ALL EXCEPT THE SQUARDS RIGHT,SQUARDS LEFT BUSINESS.TEE TEN WEEKS OF RECRUIT TRAINING WAS ROUGH BUT ENJOYABLE.WE HAD TO SALUTE EVERYTHING WITH A HAT ON.WE LEARNED HOW TO SCRUB DOWN OUR BARRACKS WITH TOOTHBRUSHES AND TO HANDLE A RIFLE LIKE A MARINE.
JUST BEFORE MY RECRUIT TRAINING WAS OVER, I WAS OFFERED THE NO. 2 POSITION ON THE GOLF TEAM.THIS IS A PRIVILEGE NOT USUALLY GIVEN A RECRUIT WHO IS STILL IN TRAINING.A WARRANT OFFICER PAYMASTER LOANED ME HIS SET OF TWENTY GOLF CLUBS HE HAD JUST BOUGHT.WE PLAYED THE ST.JOHN'S COUNTRY CLUB IN SAVANNAH.I SHOT A 78 AND WON MY 3 POINTS IN SPITE OF A NEW GOLF COURSE,A A NEW SET OF CLUBS, AND A LOAD OF BEER AND CORN LIQUOR. I MUST HAVE BEATEN MY OPPONENT BADLY BECAUSE ON THE LAST HOLE HE SHOOK MY HAND AND SAID11 BOY, YOU SURE GO OUT FOR BLOOD1'.
I BOUGHT MY BLUE DRESS UNIFORM FROM CUR GOLF PRO,WHO WAS A SERGEANT. BEFORE I REMOVED THE STRIPES I HAD A PICTURE TAKEN, SO YOU SEE I WAS A SERGEANT RIGHT AFTER BOOT TRAINING.
TWO QUARTERMASTER SERGEANTS WANTED ME IN THE QUARTERMASTER CORPS, PROBABLY BECAUSE I WAS A GOOD GOLFER.ALL THESE OUTFITS WERE AFTER THE SAME THING.HOWEVER, I WANTED TO LEARN A TRADE LIKE RADIO AND I GOT INTO IT.
I REPORTED TO RADIO SCHOOL AT PARRIS ISLAND,SOUTH CAROLINA,WHERE WE LEARNED THE MOF.SE CODE FOR THREE MONTHS SOLID.BY THIS TIKE WE WERE TAKING FIFTEEN TO TWENTY WORDS A MINUTE.WE WERE THEN SENT TO QUANTICO, VIRGINIA,FOR FURTHER TRAINING BEFORE GOING TO SAN DIEC-O, CALIF,
WHILE AT QUANTICO I MET RALPH MONIOT.WHCM I HAD CADDIED WITH IN < BILOXI.HE WAS IN THE 10TH MARINES,WHICH WAS GIVEN SOME PRETTY TOUGH TRAINING. THOSE BOYS WERE REALLY GETTING TOUGH FOR WAR.RALPH WAS TELLING ME THAT WHOLE SQUADS WERE GOING "OVER THE HILL?,INCLUDING THE CORPORAL CF THE SQUAD. EVIDENTLY THEY RETURNED BECAUSE THE 10TH ACCOMPANIED US ON OUR MANEUVERS IN THE CARIBBEAN.THEY LEARNED TO SHOOT AND SET UP ALL TYPES OF GUNS,LARGE AND SMALL.THEY ALSO TRAINED TO CRAWL ON THEIR BELLIES THROUGH MUD AND WIRE WITH MACHINE GUN BULLETS WHIZZING INCHES ABOVE THEIR HEADS.WE RAD OUR SHARE OF DRILLING PLUS TIMED SETTING-UP OF RADIO EQUIPMENT FOR COMMUNICATION,WHICH VE CALLED A MESSAGE CENTER.
AT THIS TIME THE) MARINES IN OUR AREA WERE ORGANIZED INTO A BRIGADE OR BRIGADES, CALLED THE FLEET JjLAF.I1? FORCE,OR "F .M.F.11. SEA GOING MARINES, WE WERE, CCMPIETE WITH LANDING BOATS.MY ONLY REGRET WAS THAT WE DIDN'T SEE ANY ACTION, HOWEVER WE ALMOST WENT TO CUBA.WE HAD THREE OR FOUR SHIPS PATROLLING THE ISLAND,AND WE WERE ON FIVE HOUR STANDBY ORDERS.ALL OUR BIG GUNS WERE PACKED AND READY TO GO.
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