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"Anyone else here shoot expert on the rifle range, in the rain, with an M-1?"

I need to rephrase that a little, CHIEF:
"Anyone else here shoot expert on the rifle range with an M-1?"
YEP!

BTW: Did you do that at Camp Mathews?
Did y'all stay in tents, or did they have dorms built at that time?

My Reserve unit from San Antone, was a Recon unit. A few Force Recon recruiters were on the rifle range the day I had the highest score in my platoon, using an M-14. The next day, they tested me with an M-1, and still shot expert in the rain. The M-1 and M-14 were not that different, once you "sight the rifle".

Parris Island, SC. Platoon 3026, 3rd Batallion, (lovingly called Disneyland - 3 story brick building)

2nd Force Recon, Camp Geiger, NC.

Very interesting post here. If I'm not the eldest Retired Marine on FR I'm pretty close to being so. That doesn't make me any more special than the Marines I witnessed graduating from Boot Camp at Parris Island less than 30 days ago. Might give me a few more sea stories to tell but that's about it.

Now, about the Army's Riverines ... I salute you!

The Marine Rifle Company I was with in Vietnam (2nd tour, 1968) had set up a perimeter defense, truly in the boonies in the waste country north of PhuBai. We were part of a Reinforced Marine Battalion that had been dropped into an area for search and destroy mission. The Battalion was well scattered, no other friendlies within 7 clicks. Just after nightfall one of our perimeter patrols got ambushed. Six Marines, 6 casualties. Try as we might we couldn't get to those guys. Dark as pitch, incoming rockets, mortars, .50cal machine gun fire, you name it, we were getting it. Med evac choppers from an LPH off the coast were orbiting but couldn't get close.

Up on the radio freq comes a voice from nowhere asking for particulars. He was a Riverine in an airboat. He'd been listening to our comm with the patrol leader. After proper ID we gave him the coordinates. We kept the NVA pinned down and he got our troops out. Didn't find out where he took them or where they went for more than 30 days. They ended up in a hospital on Guam.

Took a lot of guts for him to do what he did. We'll never know his name nor ever get to thank him personally. But on behalf of a number of Marines who might otherwise have come home in body bags, since we don't know him, I salute you.

Yes, we are a special breed and I could tell Illbay a few stories of how the rivalry of the services played its part during WWII ... and I mean during the war, not after. It's always been that way. I can appreciate his attempt to try to get his point across but unless he's "been there, done that" he's out of his element ... on this thread at least.

BTW: Did you do that at Camp Mathews? Did y'all stay in tents, or did they have dorms built at that time?

Hey, COBI, just so you don't feel 'generationally isolated'....

Yes, and in January, the tent sides had frozen dew when we scrambled out of our cots to roll up the tent sides in our skivvies (which had snaps and ties on the sides - NO elastic!).

Did Matthews with my (love of my life) M-1 - saw my first selector switch for an M-14 when we went to Da Nang as part of 9th MEB in '65. Still preferred my M3A1 grease gun, but no .45 tracer rounds for the mags....

Thanks - 'old and cold' enough?

Semper Fi!