Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article



GUARDING THE GATES






The Marine Corps Hymn
USMC Band
(Click)


From the Halls of Montezuma,
To the shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean:
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.

Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.



Marines Assigned To Lima Company
3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment
On Patrol, Afghanistan, 2010







"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)


1 posted on 05/11/2013 4:30:13 PM PDT by ConorMacNessa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies ]


To: Kathy in Alaska; laurenmarlowe; BIGLOOK; alfa6; EsmeraldaA; SandRat; mylife; TMSuchman; PROCON; ...


IN THE ARIZONA TERRITORY, QUANG NAM PROVINCE, I CORPS, VIETNAM – 11MAY1969



May 11, 1969 – the "Arizona Territory", Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. In my first significant firefight, a vicious attack that is remembered as the "Mothers Day Massacre," Kilo And Lima Companies 3/5 were pinned down by heavy fire from Viet Cong in a large open expanse of rice paddies. I crawled under fire through several hundred yards of open space to reach our wounded. Our guys were getting killed with head shots every time they lifted their heads above the height of the paddy dykes. I reached the point where our Platoon Sergeant was leading the charge. I found him lying on the ground with his eyes open and still breathing, but in his last moments with a bullet through his heart. A VC had popped up out of a bunker and shot him at point blank range. SSgt. Emrick literally died in my arms.

Having secured that area, we set in for the night with a perimeter watch at 100%. The Platoon CP was set in right at the bunker from which the man had emerged who shot SSgt. Emrick. I had the watch from midnight to 0200. About halfway through my watch, another VC came up out of that bunker, which must have been part of a tunnel system. I drew my .45 and challenged him. He froze and everyone in the CP woke up. He had about twelve men with M-16's and one raw Corpsman with a .45 trained directly on him. The Corporal next to me cried out "Shoot him, Doc!" I shot him and missed – my hands had been shaking wildly. He crawled away toward our perimeter where he was quickly dispatched by a young Marine from East L. A. who travelled under the sobriquet "Skull." Our Skipper, Capt, Ken Hock, arrived and praised me greatly, saying "Damn, Doc! You're losing weight AND shooting guys!"

Kilo lost 8 men KIA in that incident, mostly head wounds. Lima lost many more and had many more wounded. Lima was so badly depleted it was stood down for several weeks to replenish its ranks. I had occasion to visit Lima while they were stood down. It was a somber visit – they were absolutely demoralized at that time.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

i. Over forty years later, the date of this event still resonates deeply with me. I have not had a Mothers' Day since then that is not overshadowed by the memory of that day.
ii. Our Platoon Sergeant, SSgt. Erwin Emrick, Jr., was then Acting Platoon Commander by virtue of the wounding of 2nd Lt. Chapman a couple of days before.
iii. I was always struck by the absurdity of this situation. I was in the midst of a group of highly trained and battle-tested Marines, but I was the one they expected to shoot him. I guess it must have been because I had the watch.








Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

2 posted on 05/11/2013 4:33:56 PM PDT by ConorMacNessa (HM/2 USN, 3/5 Marines RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel defend us in Battle!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Well Done CMN


6 posted on 05/11/2013 4:43:26 PM PDT by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Thank you for your service.


10 posted on 05/11/2013 4:48:52 PM PDT by pabianice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Thank you for your exemplary service, Shipmate! I’m sorry for the losses you endured.


18 posted on 05/11/2013 5:14:39 PM PDT by rabidralph (http://www.cafepress.com/westernwis)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

A guy I used to work with was a Marine who was in Hue in ‘68.He didn’t talk much about it (at least not to me) but what little he did say still gives me the horrors.I personally think he has PTSD (or something resembling it) because he sure had a temper on him.Given what he saw I suppose he’s entitled to his “weaknesses” (assuming that my “diagnosis” is correct) because I sincerely doubt that I would have covered myself in glory in a similar situation....or thereafter.


20 posted on 05/11/2013 5:43:53 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Leno Was Right,They *Are* Undocumented Democrats!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa
"You guys are the Marine's doctor--There's none better in the business than a Navy Corpsman"

Lieutenant General Chesty Puller

21 posted on 05/11/2013 5:48:24 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Leno Was Right,They *Are* Undocumented Democrats!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.


23 posted on 05/11/2013 6:29:20 PM PDT by Linda Frances (Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa
Thank you. You all are and always will be, heroes to me.

I was 1 month away from going to boot camp.

Semper Fi,

25 posted on 05/11/2013 6:58:31 PM PDT by stylin19a (Oboma -> Fredo smart)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

RIP to these brave men. We don’t deserve them.


27 posted on 05/11/2013 7:25:21 PM PDT by Amberdawn
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Made me shutter some.

God bless and thanks, all of you.


28 posted on 05/11/2013 7:26:23 PM PDT by MileHi ( "It's coming down to patriots vs the politicians." - ovrtaxt)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

We remember.


29 posted on 05/11/2013 7:26:44 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

RIP.


35 posted on 05/11/2013 11:53:25 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa
AHTENHUT!

SALUTE.

Dismissed.

5.56mm

38 posted on 05/12/2013 4:34:21 AM PDT by M Kehoe
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Conor my name is johnny moss i was in the ambush may 11 1969. I was with kilo co sgt emrick was my plt. sgt michael green was my squad leader. after he was kill i was promoted to squad leader. Patrick McClure (mink we called him ) was helping me over top of greens body when he was shot in the head. I,ll never forget that he looked right at me with his eyes glaring an fell over dead.Glen Plylar was sgt emricks radio operator, he was also wounded that day. I left vietnam the last of june while on operation Pipe Stone Canyon. My brother in the air force got me out early. I always believed he saved my life. We were ambush when eddie locklear was killed an the capt was hit in the throat by shrapnal. I was about three feet from eddie locklear when he was hit in the chest twice he spun around an landed face down in an old fox hole which was mostly filled in,I crawled up to see if he was dead an the gook through a grenade at me it landed in the middle of eddies back. I crawled backward just as fast as i could I was lucky but eddie was so unlucky god rest his soul. Anyway after leaving nam I was sent to okinawa waiting orders I then got orders for the Philipines i spent six months at subic bay an last two years at Quantico.I got out of Marines june 19 1972. Please let me Know if you remember me. Johnny G Moss from N C


49 posted on 11/26/2013 10:36:57 AM PST by j g moss
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Tom, nice tribute to our fallen brothers. I don’t know if you remember me. I was the other corpsman with 3rd pl at that time. I remember that day very well and also the night after when the vc came out of the tunnel. I was on watch just before you. I was also with our new Lt. When he was wounded. There was only 5 of us on that patrol and 3 were wounded. Sgt. Emrick brought another room patrol out to save us. Semper fi to all Jim Richardson


51 posted on 07/04/2014 12:10:00 PM PDT by jimronrich
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Awesome post. May you always have the wind at your back.


52 posted on 07/04/2014 12:13:31 PM PDT by jwalsh07
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Doc, I was close to where you shot at the NVA. Sgt Rawlins and I went searching for him with our .45s. I had my radio operator, Moses, spread the word not to shot at anyone shooting a .45.

Captain Hock was suffering from the after effects of his wound, so I was calling all the shots during the night. Every fighting hole was on 100% with two facing out board and one facing inboard. The one hole that did not do this was the one the NVA walked up to and stood over the Marine on the right. When he locked up and saw the NVA, he just rotated his M-16 over and stuck the barrel in his chest. It was on full auto, so the NVA died instantly.

nnnrmc@icloud.com

Semper Fi,
Nick McIntosh 2nd Lt commanding 3rd platoon.


61 posted on 02/22/2015 9:19:46 AM PST by Kilo 3 Actual 3-5 69 (Kilo 3/5 69)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: ConorMacNessa

Dear Conor,

Thank you so much for your service and for protecting our Marines. This is such a beautiful tribute. I believe my father was on this same sweep with you. I found a box of his letters and I am currently putting together a memoir of his tour. He was a Marine in Kilo Company and recognizes a few names listed in your tribute. He was in the rice patty right at the tree line when the ambushed started. He was medivaced the first day of the Mother’s Day Massacre. I would love to connect you two together if you would like. Thanks again for posting this and for giving this a name to him, he has always referred to it as the worst day.


66 posted on 10/01/2015 4:09:27 PM PDT by Crazy Ottos Daughter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson