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Probably out of line, but I will take a chance. Somehow a distant bell rang on the Parris Island Boot Camp. To my amazement the infamous incident that set my mind working was in 1956.

Briefly a Staff Sergeant aroused his platoon of recruits on a night march. Six died from drowning. He had been drinking. One, General Lewis Puller (Chesty Puller) came in for the defense. Much was made of this and other statements etc. The Staff Sergeant was ruined career wise and served only three months brig. He was busted to Pvt and discharged. It was stated by General Puller that previously ten men had died on a course and nothing said. The press drove much of the case.

One may have one's opinions about this type of thing of course. I remember the "nine mile bash" in the British Army. When I did my "bash," I heard of some fools of Sergeants elsewhere, running a conscript hoisting the elbows, just to make sure everyone finished the course. He was collapsing. He died of heart failure, being an office clerk and portly in build.

No time for Sergeants indeed! (chuckle).

I remember reading about the incident when I was a teenager. It caused quite a stir throughout the country. My uncle was a Drill Instructor at Parris Island around that time. I did my “Squarebashing” at San Antonio, Texas. Air Force boot camp was really tame compared to the Marine Corps.

Not out of line at all sir. My dad was there in 1956. My dad loved the Marines from a very early age till the day he died. He did not like the DI in question and knew of him. We talked a lot before my time about what was acceptable, what was unacceptable and making decisions as a man on where you draw the line. The DI's I knew were as close as my father. I still correspond to an 86 year old Sgt Maj who I love as if he were my own dad.

If you were in the British Army, my father fought along side some of you and your Gurkhas in Borneo as a "TDY" assignment before he went to Vietnam. He said they were some of the scariest men he's ever seen fight. hahahahahaha.. He just couldn't believe that these little guys were such tough little bastards and fearless. He also thought that the Brits were just Very Very professional. Coming from my dad those brits and gurkhis must have been some real carnivores.

He always thought that you all knew how to handle the guerillas better than we could because of the way you were allowed to fight and with the way you kept television and the press away from the action. I don't think a lot of people realize that the helicopter in jungle warfare was perfected by the Brits first and opened up a whole new way for our mobile infantry to conduct operations. Small world, huh?