This is a new endeavor for me, as it is with a number of veterans that are training along with me, learning to work from home with the Veterans Business Training Center (VBTC), Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation. We were tasked this morning with creating a blog by VBTC Program Manager Ken Smith. Not only did I not understand the concept of a blog completely, but I had never even read a blog. My intention is to keep it simple, clear and understandable. All posts are welcome, and I will review it/respond to posts as frequently as I am able to.
I am a former Marine, having served from March of 1966 through March of 1970. I was in Vietnam from late June of 1967 through July of 1968, serving with H&S Company, and then with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines. We bounced all over I Corps, from the DMZ in the North, to some villages just south of Danang in the South (Quang Nam and Quang Tin provinces), and many places in between. We never really had a home base, went from aboard the U. S. S. Tripoli to whatever hotspot we were needed in at the time - - Khe Sanh, Con Thien, Phu Bai (and Hue City) area during Tet, Dong Ha, Quang Tri, the Cua Viet River (which is redundant because cua means river in Vietnamese). When I joined Echo Co., their ranks had been depleted by suffering heavy casualties taking and defending the high ground just to the west of Khe Sanh (Hills 881 and 861). Echo Co. has an impressive webpage hosted by Paul Marquis at http://www.echo23marines6569.org/ that chronicles the company history accurately and vividly. The battalion (2/3) also has a webpage at http://www.homestead.com/233vietnameraassociation/index.html .
My Company Commander with Echo Company was Ivan Cahill, Royal Australian Army. He was the first foreign military officer to command U. S. troops since French General Foch did so during World War II. I went to Sydney for my R&R, and thoroughly enjoyed the Aussie hospitality. I returned in country after my Australian paradise visit, and virtually held my breath for the rest of my thirteen month tour. I escaped with one minor wound that occurred earlie

This is a new endeavor for me, as it is with a number of veterans that are training along with me, learning to work from home with the Veterans Business Training Center (VBTC), Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation. We were tasked this morning with creating a blog by VBTC Program Manager Ken Smith. Not only did I not understand the concept of a blog completely, but I had never even read a blog. My intention is to keep it simple, clear and understandable. All posts are welcome, and I will review it/respond to posts as frequently as I am able to.
I am a former Marine, having served from March of 1966 through March of 1970. I was in Vietnam from late June of 1967 through July of 1968, serving with H&S Company, and then with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines. We bounced all over I Corps, from the DMZ in the North, to some villages just south of Danang in the South (Quang Nam and Quang Tin provinces), and many places in between. We never really had a home base, went from aboard the U. S. S. Tripoli to whatever hotspot we were needed in at the time - - Khe Sanh, Con Thien, Phu Bai (and Hue City) area during Tet, Dong Ha, Quang Tri, the Cua Viet River (which is redundant because cua means river in Vietnamese). When I joined Echo Co., their ranks had been depleted by suffering heavy casualties taking and defending the high ground just to the west of Khe Sanh (Hills 881 and 861). Echo Co. has an impressive webpage hosted by Paul Marquis at http://www.echo23marines6569.org/ that chronicles the company history accurately and vividly. The battalion (2/3) also has a webpage at http://www.homestead.com/233vietnameraassociation/index.html .
My Company Commander with Echo Company was Ivan Cahill, Royal Australian Army. He was the first foreign military officer to command U. S. troops since French General Foch did so during World War II. I went to Sydney for my R&R, and thoroughly enjoyed the Aussie hospitality. I returned in country after my Australian paradise visit, and virtually held my breath for the rest of my thirteen month tour. I escaped with one minor wound that occurred earlier with H&S Co.
When I came back to the states, I was assigned to 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (2nd Anglico). They were an airborne unit, so I went to jump school at Ft. Benning, GA. I worked for Gunnery Sergeant Melvin Guthrie, a great guy. Gunny Guthrie taught me (OTJ) how to be a jumpmaster, and I spent my last months in the USMC conducting a "pre-jump" school, training young Marines before they went to Benning so they wouldn't embarrass themselves or the Corps with a poor showing. Several of those young Marines brought the "Iron Mike" home to Camp LeJeune, a symbol of their superior achievement.
When I got out of the U. S. Marine Corps, I worked for a while as a truck driver, finally settling in on a career in law enforcement (local, state and federal), retiring as a Deputy U. S. Marshal in October of 2000 after twenty-eight years in the field. Since then, I've driven trucks, buses and school buses in a variety of jobs.
My hobbies are hiking, paddling (canoe, not kayak, I find a kayak too confining), amateur radio (KB1JZE) and Vespa motorscooters.
I've been married for thirty-four years to my very tolerant wife, Nancy, and I have two daughters - - Jenn, a teacher, and Kate (working on her MSW). I'm also pleased to have two really sharp sons-in-law, Karl and Seth.