Platoon 349 USMC, San Diego, 1958

The following are samples of some previous on-line chats in the Sunday afternoon chat room. While you cannot access the chat room from this web site, you can contact Jim Rice at 6x6@inbox.com
for instructions on downloading the access software and setting up your password. The good news is no one is checking our spelling or punctuation!

MCRD Jim (12:48:11 PM): Most Jarheads I've ever met were quiet ones, real nice guys. At least until you riled him up, then you might have a big problem on your hands. Am I right about this?

konaman (12:48:32 PM): Right you are, Jim.

zzmore (12:48:44 PM): OKAY, OKAY, thanks for the plaudets. I enjoy doing that sort of stuff. I had a lot of fun helping out the guy that wanted to make his Jeep look like a Marine Jeep. He sent pictures, did I send any to you, Paul?

darrylyooper (12:49:15 PM): Especially if he had a K-bar in his teeth...

konaman (12:49:31 PM): Did anyone save their orders from MCRD to 2nd ITR? They have our full names on the back page.

MCRD Jim (12:49:45 PM): not me

konaman (12:50:05 PM): I think you did, Vern.

zzmore (12:50:20 PM): I didn't, but I think Doug did.

darrylyooper (12:50:23 PM): I have one somewhere, Vern I thought you or Doug sent it to me.

zzmore (12:54:15 PM): Jules wrote a response to my inquiry about Wiese. He didn't remember him directly but also mentioned that he thought we did lose a lot of recruits due to health and other resons before we graduated.

konaman (12:54:45 PM): Yeah, we started out with 70 some and ended up with 50 some.

zzmore (12:54:52 PM): But 17 less than appeared in the Blues piocture seems like quite a lot.

darrylyooper (12:55:32 PM): Found it be right back

zzmore (12:56:18 PM): I believe there are only 58 of us in the Utilities picture, not including the "Stealth Marine."

zzmore (12:56:56 PM): There are 75 in the Blues Picture.

darrylyooper (12:57:44 PM): I see Farleys name on the orders it reads Dennis B. Farleyc that might be good on the web site Paul...

konaman (12:58:23 PM): Got it - I'll change it.

zzmore (12:58:53 PM): It could be that Wiese was already ailing from bad kidneys and washed out before graduation. But his nephew said he was a PFC, so it sounds like he did make it through boot.

konaman (12:59:22 PM): Yeah, he must have made it through boot or he wouldn't be a PFC.

zzmore (1:00:56 PM): That's great news Darryl, that will help. I'll forward that to Linda Shurtleff and have her run that name

darrylyooper (1:03:56 PM): Jim and I are on there looks like we had at least 8 go to the 11th Marines....

MCRD Jim (1:05:44 PM): Paul, is Dale Dye off the air for good now.

darrylyooper (1:06:07 PM): These are oders from 2nd ITR to units....

zzmore (1:06:12 PM): Darryl, who else's names are on those orders?

konaman (1:06:33 PM): No, he's off making a TV series similar to Band of Brothers. I think he'll be off air about a year.

darrylyooper (1:12:41 PM): Francis (Frank) Thomas, C.D. Bayes,me, Farley, Heckt, Lively, Morgan, Ackley,Brazier, and Bettencourtll

darrylyooper (1:13:28 PM): And of course some Jarhead named Jim Rice, anyone recall him????

konaman (1:14:12 PM): Any first names, Darryl? I flew over from Hawaii with C.D. Bayes - I can't remember his first name.

zzmore (1:15:31 PM): Ackley, Bayes do they have more than initials listed

darrylyooper (1:15:35 PM): Nope just C.D. Bayes, the rest we know the first names of ...

zzmore (1:15:57 PM): I only have M. D. Ackley?

darrylyooper (1:16:14 PM): Yes Ackley if Micheal.....

darrylyooper (1:16:27 PM): is

zzmore (1:16:38 PM): Michael?

darrylyooper (1:17:16 PM): correct

zzmore (1:17:23 PM): Thanks

darrylyooper (1:18:51 PM): turned it over and found Shurtleff and Roger Abbott...

zzmore (1:19:35 PM): I was hoping that Doug had a different list, DARN!

darrylyooper (1:21:33 PM): I wonder if he could have the boot camp orders to posts. I know I got it frrom him, I still have the senvelope.

darrylyooper (1:23:11 PM): I should say I wonder if he could get the orders...

darrylyooper (1:26:52 PM): Looks like we were in "F" co. in ITR, I didn't remember that did you Jim???

darrylyooper (1:28:30 PM): I seem to recall that we lost a few in boot camp to STP.....

zzmore (1:29:09 PM): I don't remember that much about ITR I remember calling under the machine gun fire, Combat Town and attending an explosives demonstration.

zzmore (1:29:27 PM): "F" Company rings a bell.

konaman (1:29:44 PM): What about climbing up all those hills?!?

MCRD Jim (1:29:53 PM): Did'nt remember that darryl

zzmore (1:30:03 PM): I also remeber the cold showers if you didn't get into them early.

darrylyooper (1:30:26 PM): Old Smokey

zzmore (1:30:54 PM): My gawd, more is coming back to me. Yes OLd Smokey and a hill called "Little Agony."

konaman (1:30:57 PM): How about compass training and mines and booby traps?

konaman (1:31:24 PM): I remember Old Smokey all too well. They were all agony to me.

zzmore (1:31:29 PM): I guess we did learn something there, after all.

darrylyooper (1:31:36 PM): Oh yeah....

MCRD Jim (1:32:02 PM): there was no level ground at 2nd ITR

konaman (1:32:23 PM): LOL - I agree with that, Jim.

darrylyooper (1:33:13 PM): I remember climbing Old Smokey and putting the M1 muzzles as close to chipmonks as we could to see if we could knock them over

darrylyooper (1:33:58 PM): With blancs loaded that is

zzmore (1:35:42 PM): I definitely remember being behind a pokey guy when we crawled the infiltration course. Everytime I changed direct, he did to. Then when I was stuck behind him at a charge pit, they'd set off the explosives.

zzmore (1:35:54 PM): I thought I was going to lose my hearing.

zzmore (1:39:20 PM): I also remember how much dirtier the blanks left the bore of your rifle than real bullets.

darrylyooper (1:39:22 PM): When you say that the picture of you crawling out of the tube with a field transport pack on comes to my head Vern...

darrylyooper (1:39:57 PM): Thats the pic from the MCRD book....

konaman (1:40:07 PM): I used to hate having to fire blanks because of the mess it made of your rifle.

zzmore (1:40:32 PM): I remember the photographer yelling "Hey" when I came out and I sure had a dumb look on my face.

konaman (1:40:53 PM): LOL.

darrylyooper (1:41:56 PM): Looking at the range pictures I see that Beltz was there, I don't think he was at the end was he??

zzmore (1:42:13 PM): I just looked at it again. It's like I was answering with an intelligent, "HUH?"

MCRD Jim (1:42:29 PM): I did'nt like tossing my rifle into the sand like Bletz made us do.

konaman (1:43:02 PM): He wasn't the only D.I. that made us do that.

MCRD Jim (1:43:20 PM): true

darrylyooper (1:44:38 PM): I didn't like abusing old 3468942 like that....

MCRD Jim (1:45:18 PM): What a memory..

zzmore (1:46:19 PM): Beltz doesn't appear in any post range pictures, like where we are in the bleachers, the picture taken from the roof of one of the buildings on the arcade where we spelled out "100" with our bodies.

darrylyooper (1:47:20 PM): Oooops I lied 3468592 just a temporary insanity moment...

darrylyooper (1:49:05 PM): I noticed the Gunny seemed reluctant to discuss Beltz when we asked about him..

darrylyooper (1:55:12 PM): Seemed like one of the Gunny's proudest accomplishments was out 100% ..

zzmore (1:55:19 PM): Yes, I could never pin him down about Beltz. He just brushed off things like Beltz reaching out and pulling the rope away at the confidence course, making recruits do belly flops into the pit.

darrylyooper (1:55:26 PM): our

MCRD Jim (1:57:27 PM): I think we all agree that beltz was a mischievous little kid.

darrylyooper (1:57:36 PM): I remember him or one of them pushing some one in the piss pit repeatedly and saying I will show you a hole in the fence because I get a 50 dollar reward for your ass dead or alive....

konaman (1:58:34 PM): I have to admit Beltz told some really great stories.

zzmore (2:02:01 PM): I remember that we went to the sand pit and a DI had us throw our bayonets are far as we could. THen we were told to throw our M1s further or he would see us at "Green Weeny"

zzmore (2:03:14 PM): As I recall, this was before we went to the range. The sight of those M1s going end over end almost made me sick. AND, we still qualified 100 percent with those same weapons.

konaman (2:03:39 PM): We were good, real good.

zzmore (2:05:05 PM): "Were" is certainly a memorable word, isn't it?

darrylyooper (2:05:17 PM): That sounds like Beltz, do you remember at the last shot at the 500 Gunny walking away? It seems like it was Beltz that had someone run and get him...

konaman (2:05:39 PM): LOL.