Archive for the 3rdplatoon Category

I enlisted after high school in the Marine Corps in 1962. Finished boot camp, infantry training and aviation mechanics school prior to I&I duty at Willow Grove NAS, PA. Selected for NESEP in 1963 and received Aerospace Engineering degree from Penn State in 1967 as Sergeant E-5. Commissioned and off to Basic School. After Basic School, received engineer officer training at Camp Lejeune and off to Viet Nam in 1968.

Viet Nam service started in 11th Engineer Battalion based in Dong Ha, northern I Corps. Assigned as Heavy Equipment Platoon Commander. After three months, along with numerous other non-infantry officers, transferred to 3rd Battalion/4th Marines for a three month tour to fill in for shortage of infantry lieutenants. Assigned as an S-4 officer providing men, equipment and supplies to the battalion. Medivaced to Yokosuka Hospital in Japan for 6 weeks and returned to 11th Engineers, again as HE Platoon Commander. Based at Vandergrift Combat Base providing various construction/deconstruction activities to 3rd Marine Division until rotation in 1969.

Next and final duty station was Marine Barracks, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Assigned as Maintenance Officer for part of that 3 year tour and then as Personnel Officer during officer shortage. Obtained M.S. Systems Management from Southern Cal during that tour. Resigned commission in 1971 and returned to the mainland.

Found a position with Bechtel Power Corporation in San Francisco and was transferred to Gaithersburg, MD. Served in various project management positions in Gaithersburg, Port Clinton, OH, and Charlotte, NC, designing, building and maintaining nuclear power plants. Worked for two other engineering/construction companies in Atlanta as project manager and vice president. Left the big companies and started my own in 1997, building custom dream homes for retirees in Brunswick County, NC. Held licenses in general contracting and home inspections until 2008 when Arlene and I retired in Southport, NC.

Currently reside in Raleigh, NC, near our daughter and her family. We have one daughter and three grandchildren. Our son died in 2006 as the result of a bicycle accident. He was a Marine officer as well. Our grandson is also a Marine, driving tanks at Camp Lejeune and attending ECU. Two granddaughters are in high school. I spend my time serving the Marine Corps League, the American Legion, the VFW and Lion’s Club. Arlene and I stay busy in our retirement.

My father was a Marine Lieutenant during World War II. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and stationed at Camp Lejeune. We moved to Camp Lejeune with him and I attended first grade there for a short while. Dad never saw combat, but his fondest memories were of his time in the Corps and he made many life-long friendships there. I suppose it was only natural that I would grow up wanting to be a Marine.

After being rejected by both the Naval Academy and Naval ROTC for “defective visual acuity”, I joined the Platoon Leaders Class and completed training during the summers of 1964 and 1966. My wife and I married in December, 1966; we graduated college on June 6, 1967 and reported to TBS.

In Viet Nam I asked for and was assigned a rifle platoon: 2^nd platoon, Mike Company, Third Battalion, Third Marines. When I joined the company in early January, 1968, it was stationed at Gio Linh along the DMZ. The “trace”, a supposed infiltration barrier, was being completed between Gio Linh and Con Thien, and A-3 was a fixed position in the trace. After a couple weeks at Gio Linh, Mike Company relocated to A-3. On April 5, 1968, in a firefight east of C-2 in “Leatherneck Square”, I was shot in the left upper arm and the bullet penetrated my left chest. I was medevac’d to hospital ships off shore and eventually to the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune. After about four months of recuperation I returned to duty and spent my last 21 months at the First Infantry Training Regiment, Camp Lejeune.

I was discharged in May 1970 and entered law school at the University of North Carolina. My wife Toni and I had one son when I entered law school and two by the time I graduated in 1973. After working for one year in Raleigh we returned to our home in Salisbury, North Carolina. Our third son was born in Salisbury in 1975.

I had a general small town law practice in Salisbury until 1990 when I was elected District Attorney. We survived four more elections and I retired as District Attorney on December 31, 2010. I now consider myself to be a recovering lawyer.

We have six grandchildren, none of whom live in Salisbury. So we spend our time traveling to see the “grands” or hanging out in Salisbury.

KENNEY: Ed and Carol Wedding Camp Lejeune 1973

Ed Kenney – Brief Biography
Golf 2/7 Viet Nam – Dec 67 to Dec 68- 3^rd Plt. Cdr. (7 Mos) & XO (4Mos)
(15 named combat operations)
Operation Meade River Sept 68
Echo 2/7 Vietnam – Dec 68 to Jan 69 – CO (2 mo)
Recruiting Station Los Angeles – Enlistment Officer.
CO Mar. Det. USS Wasp, Quonset Point, RI.
AWS student & OCS Plt. Cdr., Quantico, Va.
CO Hotel 2/8 & XO Special Mission Force, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Met Carol Salm, a DOD school teacher also stationed at Gitmo)

– San Diego – Imperial Counties Developmental Services Corporation (employed for 23 years).  Non Profit under contract to State of California providing over $250M in case management and support services for persons with developmental disabilities.
Initially hired as Transportation Coordinator and eventually retired as the Chief Financial Officer on June 30, 2010.
– Managed to stay physically active all these years. Played college and club rugby for over 20 years (until I could no long heal up between games), ran several triathlon’s, marathons (Marine Corps, LA and San Diego) and the JFK 50 miler (twice – just to prove how dumb I was), hiked thousands of miles in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (over 750 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) (hiked the John Muir Trail (JMT) from Mt Whitney to Yosemite 3 times -once alone), regularly surfed North San Diego County waves for many years and now paddleboard and kayak.
– Still married to same wonderful women. She’s been a kind and gracious woman to overlook my many flaws. One son went into the Peace Corps, and now works for USAID in Washington DC. The other went into the Marine Corps and served in Iraq. My daughter became a computer programmer and makes more money than all of us combined (great thing is that she keeps my computers running). Have two grandchildren:  Damain, who is 6 years old and Rachael, who is 12 years old. We enjoy them immensely.
– Each summer for the last five years we have circumnavigated the county by auto, visiting most of the National Parks and relatives. We own a beach house at Emerald Isle, NC (near Camp Lejeune) where we spend a month or two each year. We will be there this August if anyone is passing thru. The rest of the year we live in Carlsbad, Ca.  My e-mail address is  psaec1@aol.com  if you have the opportunity to stop by.

I was born in Providence, RI, the son of a career Marine who flew Corsairs in World War II and Korea.  When he was in flight training, one of his classmates was the legendary baseball great, Ted Williams.

Being exposed to the Marine Corps all my life, I suppose that it was a natural progression that I follow my father’s footsteps and join the Corps which I did while attending the University of North Carolina.  An anecdotal story was that I originally had a Platoon Leaders Class (Aviation) contract.  My officer Selection Officer was then Captain Carl Mundy, who later became the Commandant of the Marine Corps.  To make a long story short, a number of PLC’s had the opportunity to take an orientation flight in a T-38 Trainer.  With all the maneuvers the pilot found compelled to take us through, he scared the devil out of me.  I promptly changed my contract from Aviation to Ground and the rest is history.

While attending the Basic School, my roommates were Dave Kiser, a fellow Tarheel and Al Kyle who attended Duke.  How a pair of Tarheels and a Blue Devil co-existed for six months is a mystery.

After graduating from The Basic School, I was assigned to the 1st Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam where I served as a Platoon Commander and Rifle Company Executive Officer with the 1st Battalion, 27th Marines.  After a lengthy period of recuperation from wounds sustained in Vietnam, I was assigned to the 2d Marine Division in 1968.   I served with the 8th Marines as a Company Executive Officer and Regimental Intelligence Officer, and then as Aide-de-Camp to the Assistant Division Commander.

Additional highlights of my career which spanned almost 30 years include:

• Instructor in Tactics at the Basic School, Quantico, VA
• Student, Amphibious Warfare School, Quantico, VA
• Rifle Company Commander with 3d Battalion, 4th Marines, Okinawa, Japan
• Commanding Officer, Marine Detachment, USS John F. Kennedy, Norfolk, Virginia
• Marine Officer Instructor, NROTC Unit Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas
• Student Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia
• Ground Operations Officer, Rapid Deployment Join Task Force and U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida
• Executive Officer, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
• Commanding Officer 2d Battalion, 8th Marines and Battalion Landing Team 2/8 while deployed as a Ground Combat Element, Landing Force Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean
• While serving as the Regimental Executive Officer, one of our units, Battalion Landing Team 1/8, was tragically involved in the Beirut bombing on October 23, 1983 that took the lives of over 200 Marines and Sailors. That was one of the truly most difficult times I experienced as a Marine.  I was involved in the Next of Kin notifications to a countless number of families and attended numerous funerals and memorial services throughout the country.
• Student, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island
• Faculty, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Virginia
• Fleet Marine Officer, US 7th Fleet aboard the USS Blue Ridge home ported in Yokosuka, Japan
• Director, Amphibious Warfare School, Quantico, Virginia
• Chief of Staff, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC

I retired from the Marine Corps in June 1996 in the rank of Colonel and immediately assumed the position of Deputy Director and Chief of Staff of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia, SC. I was responsible for directing and coordinating the day to day operations of the state’s juvenile justice system which included 1700 employees, with statewide operations across 43 county offices.  That experience absolutely brought me to “parade rest.”  It was so tragic to see firsthand the plight of many of those young people that brought them to that point in their lives.

In July, 2001 I was fortunate to be selected for the position of Vice President for Business Affairs at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC where I presently remain. The President of the University is a retired Marine Reserve Colonel, Dr. Fred Carter.

My lovely wife, Cindy, and I have been married for almost 39 years.  I met her while stationed aboard the USS John F. Kennedy in Norfolk, VA.  She is the former Cynthia Lee Haskell of Clermont in Gloucester County, VA.

We have two wonderful children, Katie, who is a Corporate Human Resources Manager with The Fresh Market in Greensboro, NC and a graduate of my alma mater, the University of North Carolina and a son, Andrew.  Andrew attended the University of South Carolina for two years and then enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2007.  His last tour of duty was with 1st Battalion 6th Marines with whom he deployed as an infantryman team leader and designated marksman to Afghanistan.  Since leaving the Corps in November 2012 as a Corporal, he has been completing his degree as a Veteran Day Student at The Citadel in Charleston, SC where he will graduate this summer.

I have one Capital project currently underway that I oversee for the University: a Health Sciences Complex. I want to see it through to completion, which should occur during the summer of 2016.  After that, I will probably get serious about really retiring.

Born and raised Atlantic City, NJ. Product of public schools- thank you. Dartmouth undergrad ’65. PLC program for two summers (driving a beer truck in the off time). Flunked my pre commissioning physical with a medical issue in 1965 and was honorably discharged. With no further military obligation, I thought long and hard, then had relatively minor surgery to correct the issue. Reapplied to the Corps, was accepted, commissioned and was (amazingly) deferred to attend grad school for two years at Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck School for my MBA ’67.

Attended Basic School as a 1stLt while married. Lived in the roach capital of the east coast Triangle apartments, and roomed with Keefe & Karch at TBS. Fortunate and humbled to get the TBS academic award and become the company honor graduate- one of my lifetime proudest achievements. Then was a bit deflated when I was confidentially informed by staff that the tradition was for the class honor graduate to volunteer for Recon- who knew?

Recon / ANGLICO training at Coronado and Pendleton with Wiggins, Barnes, O’Rourke, Eisenbach, RL Johnson and others. Arrived in country a few days before Tet ’68. The 1stLt Recon slot had just been filled, so I was sent to 1/1 in Phu Bai pending a Recon assignment. Arrived in Phu Bai just in time to board the trucks to shoot our way into Hue. It was a huge dose of reality early in my tour. A couple of memorable ops after Hue. Then moved west with Pegasus and to Khe Sanh, living on / in the surrounding Hills. Commanded a platoon and company with D/1/1. As many know, Khe Sanh is a mystical area that I just had to revisit. Got snatched from the field unannounced by 1stMarDiv G-4 to finish my tour. Must have been the MBA and secondary Systems MOS in my records- I had no idea that was coming. Looking back, that likely saved my grunt ass.

Back in CONUS, I was placed with Systems types at HQMC (no second tour or float). Narrowly avoided ceremonial duty for which I had no interest. Learned a ton in the Systems arena working with early generation Marine Corps IBM computers. I was fortunate to be heavily involved in development and implementation of the Corps wide Marine Automated Readiness System (MARES), tracking the location and readiness status of every major piece of equipment in the Corps. Plus, good travel to most bases and oclubs. Exit from the Corps (regretfully) in 1970. Became a management consultant with one of the “Big 8” CPA firms in D.C. Passed my Virginia CPA (luckily on the first try or I would have given up). Still do the 40 annual hours of continuing education to stay licensed in Virginia. Obtained my Certified Data Processor ticket at this time.

Moved into the home building business in the northern Virginia area in the mid 70’s. Started my own company in 1975 and never looked back. President of the 1,000 member firm local Builders Association. Ended up building over 2,300 homes in the area, plus some condo offices. In the process, all three of my banks failed, with the feds calling millions in loans- all with my personal guarantee. A real challenge. Stopped buying land around 2008 when the public building companies bid up land prices in our area so nothing would work. I am now a homebuilder without land (or debt), and happy as a clam. As Jimmy Buffet put it: “I used to have money one time”. Ended up with less than the top, but more than the bottom. Still keeping my Virginia Class A Contractor License active- it actually allows me to build bridges in VA- something I would take a pass on.

Played almost 20 years of rugby and chaired the Governors of the Northern Virginia Rugby Football Club. All my friends are former Marines or rugby players. What a blast!

My third and absolutely best in the world wife, Danielle (took way too long and too much money to get it right), used to own a travel agency and loves to travel, so we do a lot of that. We live in the woods in Oakton (near Fairfax) VA. Now spending 60%+ of our lives on a boat in the Bahamas. In addition, we do regular boat trips on the canals in France- wonderful adventures. Plus a couple of major trips every year. Just back from Vietnam (3rd trip) and revisiting the Hue and Khe Sanh areas. Plan to do it again soon after driving the Dakrong river valley for the first time- absolutely spectacular.

I have now found the time to take on many projects that interest me:
– The TBS 1-68 reunion being the most important at the moment.
– Building a memorial at the Heritage Museum in Quantico that I designed for the 550+ Marines and Corpsmen who fell while serving with 1/1 in Vietnam. It will have name engraved paver bricks with all names and will be dedicated in August 2015. – Staying current with my Virginia CPA requirements.
– Consulting with several businesses and start ups.
– Taking Emergency Medical Services educational courses to stay current.
– Learning the frustrations of fly fishing for bonefish. My wife accurately describes this activity as “bone-wishing”.
– Blessed with two healthy children and two grandchildren.
– All way more that I deserve. I thank my lessons learned in the Corps for a huge part of making it all come together.

Shortly after I returned from Vietnam, an old Colonel quipped that “. . . sometimes peacetime can be harder on you than war.” I scoffed inwardly at the time, but have often pondered his words.

I grew up in Colorado; small family, small town, blue collar. NROTC looked like a door to faraway places and tropical adventures. At the time, I knew little about the Marine Corps. But the Major and the Gunny were by far the most impressive guys on staff, and the upper classmen going Marine were the ones I identified with. When I signed up for The Option two years later, I was afraid I wouldn’t make it through OCS, and also afraid I would. But I knew I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t give it a shot. My dad had never been in the service. His comment wasn’t helpful: “What did you do THAT for?” In the end, I think his doubt passed more quickly than mine.

A month before the end of TBS I met a girl at Mary Washington College—a blind date courtesy of Rick Karch (thanks, Rick). Four weeks later she and I snuck off one afternoon and got married. I figured that waiting ‘till she got to know me better would not be in my best interest. Craziest thing either of us ever did, but we’re still married. I left for artillery school two days later, and she stayed in Fredericksburg to finish college in January. Had to keep the marriage secret or they would have kicked her out of school.

In Vietnam I was FDO, XO, and then CO of India 3/12. After a brief stint at Wunder Beach, we stopped north of Quang tri and ended up shooting more rounds in less time than I thought possible, and kept at it—actually drafted Marines from nearby units to help break out ammo. Dai Do raged eight or nine clicks to our northeast.

Went to Khe Sanh briefly, then spent ten months opening or re-occupying firebases in northwestern I Corps: Shepherd, Gurkha, Argonne, Fuller, Green and others. Mountainous jungle, sometimes only three 105s would fit on the hilltop. Everything happened by helicopter. Weeks went by without a bath of any kind, or any food except C rats. No more major battles, but we fired lots of rounds, mostly at the Ho Chi Minh trail network. In return, we were frequently shot at, occasionally rocketed, often mortared–sometimes with success—and partially overrun one dismal morning. Not as tough as the grunts out there had it, of course. But they did get to the rear for a shower and a beer more often.

I remained on active duty and was fortunate in subsequent assignments: Marine Barracks 8th and I; CO of the MARDET on the Kitty Hawk; back to the FMF in Hawaii; MOI at the University of New Mexico; a tour with the Wing. Later, with kids in high school and roots firming in CA, I made the difficult decision to change careers. Got an MBA and a job managing the finances of an affluent city (Newport Beach), which I’m pleased to report was still financially healthy when I left, twenty years later (2010).

Jane and I had a daughter while in Washington, then decided to adopt an infant from Vietnam. This turned out to be more difficult, and traumatic, than we expected. While in Westpac in 1974, I actually caught a hop into Saigon to keep the process moving. A strange time—virtually no Americans in sight, and I had never been close to Saigon before. I visited an orphanage, but did not remain in country long.

We finally satisfied all the international adoption paperwork and received a couple small photos and a birth certificate from the orphanage–a six-month old girl who had nearly died twice already. The NVA began streaming south in early 1975. A C-5 evacuating our new daughter and about a 150 other kids from international orphanages crashed shortly after takeoff. We did not know for two days that she was among the survivors.

I like to say that there are two Vietnam veterans in my family. Carly’s start in life was tougher than most. She was a really cute kid; quiet but well liked by absolutely everyone—especially her older sister Amy. Based on early tests, we were told that she would be able to live independently when she grew up, probably, but we should not expect too much.

Things got worse for us. First Amy survived a broken neck, then was diagnosed with a permanent, life altering illness. A son who came along later was lost at the age of 19. Ironically, Carly’s presence meant more to our family during those difficult times than anything Jane and I might have done for her.

Amy proved to be tougher than any father wants his little girl to have to be. She rebounded from her setbacks, did exceptionally well academically, and even participated in athletics. She graduated from my old alma mater (Colorado) with a GPA about 1.5 points higher than mine had been. Ugh.

Carly’s story is almost beyond belief. Therapy quickly became a thing of the past. Special classes gave way to advanced classes. She excelled in gymnastics, art, and academics. She was the smallest person in her high school graduating class of about 500, but she was also the valedictorian. Four years later she received an engineering degree from Stanford.

I’m now retired, living in Laguna Beach. Both girls are married—to guys waaay bigger than me (grumble, grumble). Though they settled in different geographic locations, our daughters remain close friends. Jane and I see them often (to visit our five grandchildren!).

It’s been quite a ride. I am humbled, much blessed, grateful to be a Christian—and grateful to be a Marine.

Looking forward to a terrific reunion in Fredericksburg!