More stories my father told me.
As a kid I was regaled with tales of my father’s exploits in the Corps. To me it was like listening to the bold adventures of Tarzan or King Arthur. Sadly, in modern times these same adventures will earn young Marines reprimands both administrative and verbally concussive. [ I know many a FAST Marine reads these entries and yes, I will destroy you if you reenact anything you see printed here.]
He told me how Sailors used to sew silver dollar coins into their neckerchiefs. In a pinch, swabbies would yank their neckerchief off and have a nice sap in hand. Marines however, would sharpen the edges of the buckles on their web belts. Before a fight they would wrap the belt around their knuckles leaving about four or five inches of web belt hanging out with a nice sharpened brass buckle swinging from the end. This brass was also highly polished of course. One couldn't get into a proper bar brawl with tarnished brass. The horror!
My dad related to me a short saga about the night he entered a bar frequented by both Sailors and Marines. The Marines were shooting pool in the back room and Sailors were taking their drinks in the front bar. In ancient times servicemen wore their uniforms all the time, even on liberty. It was easy to spot who's who in the zoo.
Passing a table of eight Sailors my old man heard one of them derisively remark: “Chicken$#!% Marines…” Unsure if he heard correctly, my father approached the table. Approach in this case would mean: 'loomed in with all his aggression.'
“Any of you &*$$!%$ want to fight then stand up right NOW!” His fists smashed into the tabletop for emphasis, jaw set and eyes glaring. They declined to accept his invitation, each of them suddenly finding the bottom of his beer glass intimately fascinating.
“But dad, what if they had all stood up?” I remember asking him excitedly, expecting judo chops and bodies hurled through windows. Rarely did my father spin a yarn that didn't end in violence of one kind or another.
He shrugged his shoulders: “I guess they would have whooped me. But they didn’t stand up.”
All's well that ends well.
Semper Fidelis!
America's 1stSgt
16 comments:
Top,
I listened to my dad's stories of the USAF...like one time they ran out of cake in the mess hall.
Another time, they built a new Base...first they built the run way, then the golf course...and asked for more money to build the barracks.
(I used to give him a hard time about how rough he had it compared to my grunt days in the Army.)
CI Roller, my dad also said there was a hierarchy of people to aid in the event of a fight. Marines always helped other Marines first. Marines would buddy up with Sailors against anyone else. He said Marines always lent a hand to the Army over the Air Force any day.
I love my dad's stories from the Navy - he tells them rarely, but when he does, they are treasures for my memory. Like once my dad ate 60 raw eggs in a row, on a dare from one of his shipmates. I was very impressed when he told me, but my mom was kinda grossed out.
Your dad sounds like a very imposing gentleman - that story had me grinning. Thanks for telling it!
I think i <3 your dad.
And i'm sure that there's some lesson in there too, which i might recognise if i weren't still engulfed by an alcohol-fuelled post-Christmas fugue.
Erika, although a mighty feat, eating that many raw eggs does sound pretty nasty. Yuck!
Magoo, two lessons: Don't drink too much & always remember to be ready to put your money where your mouth is.
Ah, well, he was a Sailor. Explains everything.
I can't wait to hear more about your dad!
Erika, if you look at the blog archive on the right you can look up a number of posts with the title of "33 Years Under The Green Blanket." They are all stories about my old man. There is even a picture of him in my very first post here http://castrapraetoria1.blogspot.com/2009/03/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.html
Thanks so much! I am going to go look at them right now.
"Don't drink too much"???
NOW you tell me? Where were you yesterday when i needed that advice?
Magoo, I can't be everywhere and really, would you have listened to me if I were?
Am i confusing you and Santa Claus again? Oops.
1. In Germany, early seventies, got in a fight outside the barracks.
2. Both of us were drunk, circumstances leading up to the conflict dimly remembered.
3. Anyway, put the guy in the hospital.
4. Found out what I'd done the next morning and went over to visit the guy.
5. 1st SGT called me into his office on Monday morning. Asked me if I'd gone to visit the guy.
6. He told me if I hadn't, he'd have put me in for an Article 15.
7. Tell that to troops in this day and age and they flat out disbelieve me. They know the roof would fall in on anyone pulling a stunt like that. Indeed it would, NOW.
8. You're right to warn your Marines. Putting ideas in the heads of operators is a dangerous thing.
V/R JWest
Hey, 1st Sgt, have you seen this article from the Daily Mail? It's about a Marine who was shot 3 times and so he plugged the wounds with his fingers:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2079107/Marine-Karl-Trenker-shot-Craigslist-sale-turned-heist-plugged-holes-fingers-told-kids-hed-fine.html#ixzz1hn5Nt1aE
It shows the pathetic state of American journalism when a British news outlet is picking the story up.
Dad used to tell me his funny stories of Midway and Guadalcanal. I saw the look in his eyes,though,and joined the Corp anyway.
I like your Dad.
I am a little concerned with the anti-Navy tone I hear around here. I hereby challenge anyone to a raw egg eating contest!
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