USGI sea stories

[Winger Ed.]

After getting out of the service, like most G.I.s I wanted a rifle like I had in the service,

Me too. I have a emotional attachment to the M-14.
A few years after I got out the Springfield M1As were on the street,
with the new, Garand style receiver, but built from surplus/new M-14 barrel and trigger groups.

Sometimes I wonder if the M1A receiver was developed before the M-14 one,
and the govt. just bought the select fire version. Otherwise, they should have called it the M-14A.

The vented hand guard went away because the Marines broke them all.

I snagged a couple fiberglass stocks and a wood, Army issue, 'Big Red' when Fred's was going strong.
Fred's used to sell a block to glue into the selector switch notch to make the fiberglass stocks look right when you refinished one.

The Big Red looks good with the M-60 bi-pod too.

[fiberoptik]

In Marine basic in ‘82 we were given 1911’s to fire. In the afternoon you could follow the bullet in the right lighting. I saw mine hit the target left of me. I then aimed at the one right of me. 2 guys down from me a recruit fired his and the whole slide went flying off behind him. Targets hadn’t been changed in ages. Looked like they were used on the machine gun range. Probably leftovers from the 1st world war!
I qualified expert all 7 times. Shot a 242 out of 245 during the beginning of a typhoon in Okinawa in 70 mph winds. I was also the only recruit to properly field strip the M16 before we were taught how!
Another time we were practicing for qualifying day and I was just wasting time and rounds. Sniper coach says my sights were off. I told him to go blow. He was insistent. I was on the 500 yard line. Up ahead on the 200 yard line a chipmunk stands up. I said to him,”See the chipmunk ?” Yeah? Headshot ! He says,”Your sights are fine!”
Another time we were on the machine gun range at Camp Horno. A couple of illegals where trying to circumvent the border patrol stop on the freeway by way of the base. Big mistake! We ran them up behind a big boulder with our M60’s. They sure were happy when the MP’s arrived to arrest them!

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[Winger Ed.]

In Marine basic in ‘82 we were given 1911’s to fire.

In '73, we didn't fire .45s at Parris Island.
Later on, in '79, at Quantico I had to qualify with one after I made SSGT.
I was talking to the range NCO, as I shook one and it sounded like a coffee can with a few nuts & bolts in it.
He told me the Marine Corps hadn't bought a new 1911 since the closing days of WWII.

[fiberoptik]

A coffee ☕️ story.
Was barracks sergeant for 2 years. I got us an either 30/60 cup percolator. I made a fresh batch every Monday morning. Rest of the week we just plugged it back in. Someone once suggested that I should take out the coffee grounds. I answered “why?” Monday I would heat it for the last cup. It was kinda thick!


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[fiberoptik]

In '73, we didn't fire .45s at Parris Island.
Later on, in '79, at Quantico I had to qualify with one after I made SSGT.
I was talking to the range NCO, as I shook one and it sounded like a coffee can with a few nuts & bolts in it.
He told me the Marine Corps hadn't bought a new 1911 since the closing days of WWII.

I believe it! (Hollywood Marine!)


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[Der Gebirgsjager]

I got my first 1911 when I was 16 yr. old, about 1958, courtesy of my dad who also gave me a 2 lb. coffee can full of mixed surplus ammo, some of it with 1918 head stamps, some brass cases, some steel cases. Most of that ammo is long gone-- I used it learning how to shoot the pistol. So in Basic Training I already knew how to disassemble one and put it back together. I really wanted to have one as an issue weapon, but my MOS just didn't call for one, and try as I might I couldn't get one. The machine gunner and assistant gunner had them, the Platoon Leaders (2nd Lt.s) had them, the C.O. and X.O. had them, the 1st Sgt. had one, and one Platoon Sgt. who shot on a pistol team had one.....but I didn't! Most of ours probably came over with the Army in WW II and had been there ever since. They retained very little finish and would develop surface rust fairly easily out in the rain and snow. One of the machine gunners, a Cuban, showed me a neat trick. He used the plastic wrapper from a PRC-10 radio battery to wrap his 1911 in when out on maneuvers and it didn't rust up. I really felt the need for a pistol, and since Uncle wouldn't loan me one I was able to buy a VOPO parts Luger from the Rod & Gun Club for $28 and a Spreewerk P-38 from another NCO who was returning Stateside. But....no 1911! A very fine pistol....



Well, the Cuban fellow, one of several in that platoon, was said by one of his compadres to have gotten roaringly inebriated on New Year's Eve and to have fired off his 1911 in the barracks using a .30-06 round pilfered from a live fire exercise. His buddy explained to me that he had disassembled the pistol, inserted the round into the barrel, and reassembled it, then fired it. I had my doubts, but later in life decided to see if a .30-06 would fit into a 1911 barrel. The results were inconclusive, but not completely prohibitive. Below is a photo of the experiment. I had a parts drawer full of barrels in various levels of wear that I'd replaced, and as you can see one almost went in. You would wonder about the pressure involved, but considering that it would be a .30 cal. round going through a .45 cal. bore, and that the length of the cartridge would bring it close to the muzzle with lots of surrounding space for the gas to escape, I just can not positively say the story wasn't true.

[samari46]

The story about the ship that had all the booze on board is true. Seems I remember watching a movie and that island couldn't get any more booze. So someone remembered that there was cases of the stuff on the half sunk ship. So they went out to the ship and liberated a bunch of it and was hidden all over the island. The authorities learned about it and were continually searching for it. Darn funny movie. Frank

[Winger Ed.]

I just can not positively say the story wasn't true.

If you could tap it down to look like a normally chambered .45ACP-
Yeah, it'd fire. A well worn GI barrel should let it right in.

Browning's original method of making his test & research ammo when he invented and developed the .45 ACP
was to cut down readily available .30-06 cases.

Same sort of concept as you had to do to make ammo for one of the 70's era .45 handgun wildcats.
The gas operated .45 Wildley if I recall, but that may not be right.

When it was new, one of the big complaints was you had to make your own cases by chopping down
.243, .30-06, .308, .270, etc or other cases based on the .30-06 and ream them out to be thinner walled.

There's a youtube video of a guy firing a .50BMG in a break open 12 ga shotgun stuck down in the mud.
You'd think it would explode, but it was no big deal after he'd fired it.

[Winger Ed.]

I was watching some news from the Middle East about oil production and what's going on with it now.
It reminded me of talking to a Parachute Rigger vet from the early days of the fighting over there.

Military aviation is constantly training everybody- it never stops.
One thing for the air crews is survival training for whatever they are going over.
Survival in the jungle, open water, cold country-- what ever.

I asked this guy what they taught the crews for surviving after going down or ejecting over the desert.
He said it was the normal stuff, and if they went down over friendly territory, it wasn't a problem.

They told the crews to eject, or land as close to a oil pipeline as possible.
Then start walking along it until they came to one of the big cut off valves.

Crank it shut, sit down, and wait about a hour or so.
Someone one would be headed right there and pick them up.

[samari46]

Sailors messing with the marines. You know how the rail is manned when a ship is coming into port?. Well they'd get a bunch of sailors and marines and you had to stand about 4' apart while the ship was coming into port. Someone would yell "Marines dismissed" so naturally they would break formation and the gunnery sergent would go ballistic yelling and screaming at the marines to return to their formation. This goes on for a few months until someone got an idea. Every other sailor was replaced by a marine. Obviously they were trying to find the wise guy. It kinda sorts stopped for awhile but when the marines resumed their customary manning the rail positions it started all over again. We used to borrow the marines honest to gosh steam press to do our uniforms especially for inspection or liberty. One day the gunnery sergent told us that we could no longer be using it again.So 15 minutes the press was down because someone has shut off the steam to the press. So word goes out that the culpret should turn the steam back on or go see the man. This lasted about another 12 hours. there were about 20 of us who knew where the shutoff valve was located. All we knew was that the steam was back on. Frank

[waksupi]

I was watching some news from the Middle East about oil production and what's going on with it now.
It reminded me of talking to a Parachute Rigger vet from the early days of the fighting over there.

Military aviation is constantly training everybody- it never stops.
One thing for the air crews is survival training for whatever they are going over.
Survival in the jungle, open water, cold country-- what ever.

I asked this guy what they taught the crews for surviving after going down or ejecting over the desert.
He said it was the normal stuff, and if they went down over friendly territory, it wasn't a problem.

They told the crews to eject, or land as close to a oil pipeline as possible.
Then start walking along it until they came to one of the big cut off valves.

Crank it shut, sit down, and wait about a hour or so.
Someone one would be headed right there and pick them up.

A similar tactic works here in Montana if you get in trouble over on the east side. Find a missile silo, toss a rock over the wire, and you have company in a short time. Lots and lots of company.

[Winger Ed.]

I had to come back to this after bakerjw's post about Marine One as the President is out campaigning.
My service was all in peace time and my stories aren't nearly as cool as most others from different times.
This one is about some brand new graduates of the Marine Security Guard school at Quantico, and being part of the brotherhood.
This is the school that trains Marines for Embassy Duty at the American embassies all over the planet.

Their school is on a hill that over looks the end of the HMX-1 runway,
Its also the best seat in the house to watch helicopters come in over the Potomac on final approach to land.
I used to ride back and forth in front of the school every day going back & forth to work in the HMX-1 maintenance & security hanger,
that everyone called 'the cage', where part of the Marine One fleet is based.

My Mom came to visit once for a couple days on her way to New York, then on to Russia for a nurses exchange/tour sort of deal.

On the 7-ish hour flight out of NYC to Paris, there was several Marines fresh out of MSG school, that she struck up a conversation with.
She said she'd just visited me, and told of her visit:

"My son is assigned to HMX-1, do you know what that is"?
"Yes Ma'am, we're all familiar with it".
"I got a tour of the hanger, I got to go in Marine One, sit in the President's chair,,,, and then go up and sit in the 'driver's' seat".
"His boss (our Maintenance Chief) gave the tour, and a armed guard was never more than 10 feet away.
That guy had more stripes on his arm than a tiger".

"My son gave me a ride on his big red Yamaha motorcycle. As we went around on the base, he showed me your school too".
"Yes ma'am, we're familiar with it, he comes by almost every day".

Anyway:
Mom never drank anything other than coffee, water, or orange juice since I could remember.
On the flight, as the stewardess came by, she got a orange juice.
A little while later, the stewardess came by again. Mom asked for another carton thing of orange juice.
She was told, "I'm sorry ma'am, but passengers are only allowed one".

After that-- every single Marine on the plane asked for an orange juice, until the drink cart ran out, then got up & brought it to her.

No special heroics involved or anything, but I always thought that was pretty cool, and a high light of Mom's trip to Europe.

[Catshooter]

Nice work Marines!



Cat

[Land Owner]

For me, the "Guard" changed its uniforms and insignia to make us look like a Bus Driver's convention, returning to work for the Federal Department of Transportation rather than the years of service under the Secretary of Defense at the culmination of the Vietnam "conflict". Our Ice Breaker was reassigned from private mooring across from Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose Hangar and USNS Hughes Glomar Explorer in Long Beach, to the Navy Base in Los Angeles.

Marines, as Gate Guards, suddenly had Hooligans coming and going with "metallic insignia" of rate on their collars for Enlisted, the New Guard "look", as was previously reserved only for Officers. It was gratifying, though not deserved, to be saluted by the Marines on every entry and exit from the LA Naval Base.

[MUSTANG]

For me, the "Guard" changed its uniforms and insignia to make us look like a Bus Driver's convention, returning to work for the Federal Department of Transportation rather than the years of service under the Secretary of Defense at the culmination of the Vietnam "conflict". Our Ice Breaker was reassigned from private mooring across from Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose Hangar and USNS Hughes Glomar Explorer in Long Beach, to the Navy Base in Los Angeles.

Marines, as Gate Guards, suddenly had Hooligans coming and going with "metallic insignia" of rate on their collars for Enlisted, the New Guard "look", as was previously reserved only for Officers. It was gratifying, though not deserved, to be saluted by the Marines on every entry and exit from the LA Naval Base.

As a young Marine going to a Technical School at an Army Base; I too (as well as several hundred other young Marines) were subjected to the embarrassment of our 1st sightings PRIVATE soldiers in Charlies and Alphas loose in their Wild Environment. We would be walking in an area; and in the distance a soldier would be coming our direction with the sun flashing off of shiny gee-gaws all over them, decorative ropes hanging all over them, and lots of stuff on their collars and epaulets - Oh my Gosh; it must be a CHILD GENERAL was a common thought. Nope; once they were near enough to be seen better, we would discern that it was nothing more than a slick sleeved Private, Pay Grade E-1 who had never been anywhere and had done nothing.

A parallel to this was the Army "NEW 2nd LIEUTENANT". He would appear in the distance every morning as the Marine Training Company would be marching to the "School Houses". We had a couple of "OLD" corporals and Sergeants who had "Been To See the Elephant" as was said in days of old. After a couple of days of being stopped by the Army 2nd Lt. and dressed down for some perceived slight for insufficient enthusiasm of salute; or an on the spot Officer correction of "Drill" as conducted by the NCO's; these "Old Corps" NCO's (After all they were all of 22 or 23!!) had enough. Next morning as the Company is headed towards the "School House"; the NCO's set into place their devious plan for "Monkey Drill". The 2nd Lt is spotted down the road. The Company is halted and the command was given "Column of files from the right, 10 pace Interval between Individuals; MARCH". A column of over 120 Marines with 10 paces between each Marine Passed by the 2nd Lt. Each giving a salute - and the 2nd Lt required to return that salute. The 2nd Lt was never seen again from that day forward.

[Winger Ed.]

A column of over 120 Marines with 10 paces between each Marine Passed by the 2nd Lt. Each giving a salute - and the 2nd Lt required to return that salute. The 2nd Lt was never seen again from that day forward.

There is a similar story in Gen. Puller's biography.
A 2nd Lt. was passing a young trooper, and wasn't satisfied with his salute.
After the usual Grunt, blah, blah, blah... He ordered the trooper to salute him 100 times.

Gen. Puller was looking out his office window, seeing this, he went out and asked the 2nd Lt. what was going on.
The 2nd Lt. told him. Gen. Puller simply said, "An Officer will return each and every salute he is rendered".

Then he went back to his office, leaving the two out on the street saluting each other.......

[Burnt Fingers]

I have to say that there's a lot of "sea stories" here about things that could never have happened.

[MUSTANG]

I have to say that there's a lot of "sea stories" here about things that could never have happened.

Such as? In my stories; what makes them funny and memorable is that they actually happened to me.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Well. post #202 stretches credulity a bit, but I believe about 95% of the remaining "sea stories". But Catshooter, let's be nice....!

[Catshooter]

Nope, not gonna be nice to someone who calls a bunch of men who have signed a check for "up to and including my life" made out to their country liars. Not gonna do it.


Cat