I remember my last day in the Marines. I had been stationed back in the states for just about a year from overseas deployments to Japan, Viet Nam & Thailand. I was ready to get out and go home and go back to college.
At the time I was working in the Sgt. Major’s office and had been receiving advice from him to stay in the Corps. Even my father advised me not to get out. Well today was my last day and the next day was the “Hookâ€!
The Sgt. Major was on the phone and when he got off he told me the CO wanted to see me. I just thought this would be another talk about staying in the Corps. The CO did give me the reenlistment talk. After telling him I was going back to college he asked me to come with him. He took me out to his car, a little MG. He drove me to the base barbershop and had me given a regulation hair cut, high and tight. Oh Man! I was getting out of the Marines the next morning and driving back to Mississippi. I never got spit on.
I got out in 68 after two tours. I was lucky that the area I lived in had a very HIGH number of VN Vets. We had a small number of altercations with the locals but other than that we got on with our lives.