The summer of 1966 was definitely a summer I will never forget. That was the summer my older brother, Don and I spent our summer vacation at United States Marine Corps Bootcamp in San Diego. To this day it is still one of the highlights and proudest seasons of my life. The training was condensed to longer days spread over 8 weeks due to the demands of the Vietnam war. The Marine Corps instilled in me many things: Loyalty, Responsibility, Perseverance, Dedication and Teamwork, just to name a few. It's a fraternity of the few and the proud whose membership never expires. "Once a Marine, always a Marine." And that goes for all those special women Marines as well. That particular summer was a turning point in my life. I went from a young naive boy to a self-confident young man. And it was pretty intense! Those eight-plus weeks were probably the most terrifying yet rewarding weeks of my life. The events that took place in Bootcamp pushed me to my physical, mental and emotional limits where, at times, I was not sure I was going to make it. Years later, when recalling and sharing some of my Bootcamp stories with my buddies, we found ourselves laughing at some of the scenarios I found myself in. On more than one occasion I was encouraged to write some of the stories down. Thus, one story led to another, and out of all that came this book. And what makes this book different from other bootcamp stories is that I wanted to make a "clean" version so my grandmother wouldn't blush or be offended by the language, which, in actuality was extremely "colorful." As you read you will still get the impression of the "hostility" in the air but without all the extra verbiage. With that said, this book in no way is it intended to demean or criticize the training methods of the Marine Corps: Quite the contrary. It is intended to give a glimpse into the physical and mental toughness required to endure such training all the way through to graduation day. This is a first hand account of my experiences as I remembered them. And those of you who have also experienced Marine Corps Bootcamp are well aware that I could have written several hundred more pages to cover all the events that took place, but wanted to hit the highlights and make it an easier read. I am proud to be able to say that even though it was tough, I made it through USMC Bootcamp and went on to enjoy the rest of my enlisted time while adding many more incredible memories. I hope you enjoy this book, and to all my Eagle-Globe-and-Anchor comrades, bootcamp platoon-mates and especially my awesome, unforgettable drill instructors: "SEMPER FI!""

The definitive account of a tragic episode in U.S. Marine Corps history and its aftermath On the night of April 8, 1956, marine drill instructor Matthew McKeon led Platoon 71 on a forced march through the backwaters of Parris Island in an effort to restore flagging discipline. Unexpectedly strong currents in Ribbon Creek and an ensuing panic led to the drowning of six recruits. The tragedy of Ribbon Creek and the court-martial of Staff Sergeant McKeon became the subject of sensational national media coverage and put the future of the U.S. Marine Corps in jeopardy. In this definitive account of the Ribbon Creek incident former marine and experienced trial lawyer and judge John C. Stevens III examines the events of that night, the men of Platoon 71, and the fate of Sergeant McKeon. Drawing on personal interviews with key participants and his own extensive courtroom experience, Stevens balances the human side of this story with insights into the court proceedings and the tactics of the prosecution and defense attorney Emile Zola Berman. The resulting narrative is a richly developed account of a horrific episode in American military history and of the complex characters at the heart of this cautionary tale.

In 1993, Ehrhart began what became a five-year search for the men of his platoon. Who were these men alongside whom he trained? Why had they joined the Marines at a time when being sent to war was almost a certainty? What do they think of the war and of the country that sent them to fight it? What does the Corps mean to them? What Ehrhart learned offers an extraordinary window into the complexities of the Vietnam Generation and the United States of America then and now.

This is the third volume in an operational and chronological series covering the Marine Corps’ participation in the Vietnam War. This particular volume details the continued build-up in 1966 of the III Marine Amphibious Force in South Vietnam’s northernmost corps area, I Corps, and the accelerated tempo of fighting during the year—the result being an “expanding war.” Although written from the perspective of III MAF and the ground war in I Corps, the volume treats the activities of Marine advisors to the South Vietnamese Armed Forces, the Seventh Fleet Special Landing Force, and Marines on the staff of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, in Saigon. There are separate chapters on Marine air, artillery, and logistics. An attempt has been made to place the Marine role in relation to the overall effort.

'The most recent full-scale study of the Ribbon Creek incident... The book has a longer perspective on the incident than earlier studies, & it includes aids to further research for serious students.'--Booklist.

This is the second volume in a series of chronological histories prepared by the Marine Corps History and Museums Division to cover the entire span of Marine Corps involvement in the Vietnam War. This volume details the Marine activities during 1965, the year the war escalated and major American combat units were committed to the conflict. The narrative traces the landing of the nearly 5,000-man 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and its transformation into the ΙII Marine Amphibious Force, which by the end of the year contained over 38,000 Marines. During this period, the Marines established three enclaves in South Vietnam’s northernmost corps area, I Corps, and their mission expanded from defense of the Da Nang Airbase to a balanced strategy involving base defense, offensive operations, and pacification. This volume continues to treat the activities of Marine advisors to the South Vietnamese armed forces but in less detail than its predecessor volume, U.S. Marines in Vietnam, 1954-1964; The Advisory and Combat Assistance Era.

The origin of this publication lies in the continuing program at all levels of command to keep Marines informed of the ways of combat and civic action in Vietnam. Not limited in any way to set methods and means, this informational effort spreads across a wide variety of projects, all aimed at making the lessons learned in Vietnam available to the Marine who is fighting there and the Marine who is soon due to take his turn in combat. Recognizing a need to inform the men who are the key to the success of Marine Corps operations—the enlisted Marines and junior officers of combat and combat support units—the former Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Major General William R. Collins, originated a project to provide a timely series of short, factual narratives of small unit action, stories which would have lessons learned as an integral part. Essential to General Collins' concept was the fact that the stories would have to be both highly readable and historically accurate. The basic requirement called for an author trained in the methodology of research, with recent active duty experience at the small unit level in the FMF, and a proven ability to write in e style that would ensure wide readership. This publication, then, is based upon first-hand, eyewitness accounting of the events described. It is documented by notes and taped interviews taken in the field and includes lessons learned from the mouths of the Marines who are currently fighting in Vietnam. It is published for the information of those men who are serving and who will serve in Vietnam, as well as for the use of other interested Americans, so that they may better understand the demands of the Vietnam conflict on the individual Marine.