Prayers up for these Marines.
NOT good. When you swear in, you are putting your life on the line. Combat or not. There are a lot of ways to go in the military. Thanks for your service Marines. Hopefully someone will be found.
Prayers for all involved. Training is not easy. God bless them all.
Death on the Potomac 1968
On a bright spring day a number of years ago eight men and a coxswain set out for a routine training exercise on the Potomac River across from George Washington’s Mt. Vernon Estate. The afternoon temperatures were approaching 50 degrees, the water was calm and 36 degrees, and they were all strong swimmers in top physical condition from the Marine Corps’ water survival program. When their boat capsized and they were thrown into the river “it was,” a Marine Corps spokesman said, “like plunging a hot poker into ice water.” None of them had a chance.
Lousy way to go, I’m sorry brothers. It’s up to us who remain to be eternally vigilant, may God watch over your families in this terrible time.
I was with the 15th MEU in 1998. Sounds like someone forgot to put the hull plugs in before launching. We lost one in Subic Bay in 1986 off of USS Bristol County in this manner.
RIP Marines.
Participated in a large amphibious operation on the Atlantic coast of SW Spain, just north of Rota. Our Marine unit based at Camp Lejeune, NC went ashore in Amtracs ... the bow of our LST opened up, a ramp dropped in place, and our vehicle roared of the ramp plunging into the sea about a mile offshore. The Amtrac for a short period of time was actually submerged after coming off the ramp. Interesting experience.
RIP. Prayers for the others.
Prayers Up!
Even when the tracks don’t sink, it’s a miserable ride.
Crammed in, diesel stink, bobbing around, in the dark except for one red light on the forward bulkhead, someone always pukes.
And after the first one pukes, everyone pukes. And you’re all crammed in, shoulder to shoulder, legs interleaved with the Marines on the bench across from you.
So, you end up wearing your puke and that of those around you.
It’s easy to pick out the boots after exiting the track on the beach because they have heads covered in puke from using their helmets as a bucket.
and as bad as the ride in is, I can only imagine the joy the crew must feel on having to clean all that up.
Something about rding in a floating armored vehicle just seems WRONG!
Yikes!