Sgt Grit's 3rd Marine Division BS Page Vol. 1

Hill 55

Hill 55 Memorial to LtC Joseph Eugene MUIR, KIA 11 Sep 1965. Cdr 3/3/3 from May '65 to Sep. photo touched up by. Location later titled/named:

Camp MUIR.
CWO E Nicholls
USMC/US Army (Ret.)
W-2-9 3rd Mar Div

3rd Marine Regiment Camp

Sgt Grit, Enclosed are pictures of what the 3rd Marine Regiment Camp looked like in 1965. We were at the base of Hill 327. Life there was pretty primitive, but we didn't know any better so it was fine. Note the shower facilities -- one 5 gallon can of water per shower. The 55 gallon drums were at the edge of a gully the bottom of which were wooden pallets.

I arrived in Danang, from Okinawa, in March of 1965. I was a radio operator (2533) with HQ 1-12. Later I was transferred to 3rd Mar Reg.

Sincerely,
Former Sgt Tom Hopkins

Guam in 1944

Attached is a photo taken on the island of Guam in 1944 during a "lull" between our involvement in the invasions of Guam and Iwo Jima. The four of us were all artillery radio operators, both Fire Direction Center and Forward Observer positions as needed. Legend should identify us as:

Robert Tutaj, PFC.
Dave Engler, CPL.
Robert Cook, PFC.

The Good Ole Days

After two years in Dong Ha, I can't get the place out of my mind. Crazy or not, I would do it over again in a heart beat. Even though the place almost cost me my life. It was one hell of an adrenaline rush. I remember being recruited to do some of those truck runs. I was crazy enough to do them. I was a 3516. We must not forget the BIG bucks we made for being over there. If I remember correctly, we got an extra $65.00 a month.

James "Trigger" Kadas
FLSG-B, MTM

Dear Sgt Grit

I have been receiving your newsletter for a couple of months and really enjoy it.

I wanted to share the tattoo I got on Memorial Day to honor all those that served in Viet Nam and to those that paid the ultimate price. Keep up the great work keeping us informed.

Semper Fi and God Bless the United States Marine Corps.
L/CPL. Thomas (Tommy) Matera 65-68
RVN LCO 3BN 9th Marines
3rd Mar. Div. (66-67) 0311

Marines NEVER drink

The attached three photos were taken by a Canadian citizen who came south in 1967 and joined the USMC (Uncle Sam's Misguided Children) so that he could go to Vietnam and fight. Boy! Did he get his wish. He became a machine gunner with 1 / 5 and found himself in the middle of the Tet "celebration" of 1968 smack in the middle of Hue City. By the way, it is my understanding that between 10,000 and 15,000 Canadian citizens joined the American military for service in Vietnam. That's a good neighbor for sure.

The first photo is of my flame-thrower tank shooting the one and only load of napalm that was dispensed inside the city limits during the fighting to free the city of the invading NVA and VC. There were a SHITPOT full of NVA snipers and RPG teams inside the building that is under fire. Sadly the resulting building fire spread to the entire city block. The next day the word came down that we could no longer destroy the city in order to save it. The only weapons that we could employ were 90 mm gun tanks, 106 mm recoilless rifles, M-60 machine guns, M-60 mortars, M-79 grenade launchers, M-16's, LAW's and hand grenades. No napalm, no air strikes, no arty, no 81 mm mortars, no 4.2" mortars, no naval gun fire. Boy oh boy! The rules of engagement are the enemy's best friend.

The next photo is a Marine Ontos whizzing along the main boulevard on the Southside of the City of Hue. An "Ontos" is a light weight tracked vehicle that the grunts loved especially during the fighting in Hue for Tet of 1968. Why did they love it so? These small "tank killers" would scoot around a corner of a building, tank aim down the street at any and all NVA soldiers shooting at the Marines and it would fire off all SIX of the 106 mm recoilless rifles all at once. Talk about fire power!!!

In the photo, the less-than-mental-giant riding on top of this vehicle (that we affectionately called a "Pig") is probably a Lieutenant. No self-respecting "snuffie" would do such a stupid thing

. The last photo is in my humble opinion a "classic." A tuckered out Marine grunt catching a few Z's between firefights.

Semper Fidelis,

John Wear
Sgt 3rd Tanks
RVN 1968 - 1969

"Going to the Rockpile"

3rd. Pl. Charley Co. 3rd/ Recon Battalion. At Quang Tri June 1968 "Going to the Rockpile" from left to right: * Cpl. Chester Mollett, *Pfc. Thomas Ringler, Clp. Don Jetter, Sgt. John Sansbury, L/cpl. Mike Landry, Hm2 Ron "Doc" Cassidy

Sgt's Hooch Charley Co. 3rd. Recon Battalion at Quang Tri July 1968 *Cpl. Chester Mollett died in country 1972, *Pfc. Thomas Ringler died at home 1988

Thank you

John Sansbury
semper fi

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