Commandant Brian Sekardi 480-332-3163 [email protected]Editor: Esther Alger Phone: 480-835-1929 Email: [email protected]Saguaro Detachment #554 Marine Corps League PO Box 15015, Mesa, AZ 85211-5015 Schedule of events Calendar Young Marine Spotlight 2 Project Marine Care New Members Fall Conference Agenda 3 Caring for Our Own Reminder to sponsors When Does Your Mem- bership Expire?? 4 Saguaro Blossom Auxiliary Nat’l Vice Cmdt SW Division’s Corner 5 USDR Legislative Alert New PTS Rule to be An- nounced by VA House Passes Bill to Help Parents of Deceased Military Members 6 From the Sr. Vice 7 List of Officers Life Membership Fees Back page Getting to Know Judge Advocate Tom Schwarz 8 You Would have Never Guessed 9 MCL Membership Sum- mary 10 Inside this issue: Fellow Marines: I will try to make this message brief. The cere- mony for our color guard at the Diamondbacks game is August 8th at the Sunday game. If this works well for us and other Department color guards then future pres- entations could be in the works. Our number one priority right now is to get organ- ized with the coming birthday ball. We seem to be behind other detach- ments in our planning. The convention in June took up a lot of our time. Any members who want to help us get into high gear can contact me at anytime. We are cur- rently trying to book a speaker and have nar- rowed our choices down to 4 or 5 possible candi- dates. The first meeting of our committee was on Thursday, August 5th, so we have work to do and limited time. I don’t want to infringe on our Chaplains duties, but anyone who wants to e- mail or give Tom Schwarz a call would be appreci- ated. He was scheduled for heart surgery but that has been delayed. The attendance at the July meeting was fantas- tic and it was great that so many wives and auxil- iary members showed up. The quarterly dinner meetings are meant to foster camaraderie and seems to be working just fine. Starting at the next meeting we will be having our 50/50 raffle to help promote the color guard so bring a few extra bucks, or bones as the Devil Dogs say. That’s all for now, Semper Fi Brian Commandant’s Message 15 Aug. 2010 Dan Valaubi receives a Scholar- ship from Detachment Comman- dant Brian Sekardi. Arnett Brice and Tom Schwarz in background. Awards The “old” and “new” Marine Corps… Thee has been lots of speculation about when the “Old Corps” ended and the “new Corps” be- gan. I researched this and found the answer. In 1775 the Marine Corps was formed at Tun Tav- ern in Philadelphia. In the beginning they an- nounced that any new recruit would get a free tankard of rum. But they didn’t get as many recruits as they wanted so they an- nounced that from now on all new recruits would get two tankards of rum. A Marine in the back ranks said, “We didn’t have it that good in the Old Corps”.
USDR Legislative Alert New PTS Rule to be An-nounced by VA House Passes Bill to Help Parents of Deceased Military Members
6
From the Sr. Vice 7
List of Officers Life Membership Fees
Back page
Getting to Know Judge Advocate Tom Schwarz
8
You Would have Never Guessed
9
MCL Membership Sum-mary
10
Inside this issue:
Fellow Marines: I will try to make this message brief. The cere-mony for our color guard at the Diamondbacks game is August 8th at the Sunday game. If this works well for us and other Department color guards then future pres-entations could be in the works. Our number one priority right now is to get organ-ized with the coming birthday ball. We seem to be behind other detach-ments in our planning. The convention in June took up a lot of our time. Any members who want to help us get into high gear can contact me at anytime. We are cur-rently trying to book a speaker and have nar-rowed our choices down to 4 or 5 possible candi-dates. The first meeting of our committee was on
Thursday, August 5th, so we have work to do and limited time. I don’t want to infringe on our Chaplains duties, but anyone who wants to e-mail or give Tom Schwarz a call would be appreci-ated. He was scheduled for heart surgery but that has been delayed. The attendance at the July meeting was fantas-tic and it was great that so many wives and auxil-iary members showed up. The quarterly dinner meetings are meant to foster camaraderie and seems to be working just fine. Starting at the next meeting we will be having our 50/50 raffle to help promote the color guard so bring a few extra bucks, or bones as the Devil Dogs say. That’s all for now, Semper Fi Brian
Commandant’s Message
15 Aug. 2010
Dan Valaubi receives a Scholar-ship from Detachment Comman-dant Brian Sekardi. Arnett Brice and Tom Schwarz in background.
Awards
The “old” and “new” Marine
Corps…
Thee has been lots of speculation about when the “Old Corps” ended and the “new Corps” be-gan. I researched this and found the answer. In 1775 the Marine Corps was formed at Tun Tav-ern in Philadelphia. In the beginning they an-nounced that any new recruit would get a free tankard of rum. But they didn’t get as many recruits as they wanted so they an-nounced that from now on all new recruits would get two tankards of rum. A Marine in the back ranks said, “We didn’t have it that good in the Old Corps”.
Schedule of Events
• August 26th Young Marine Fundraiser at CiCi’s Pizza on Gilbert Rd. N. of South-ern from 1700-2000 contact Frank (Gunny) Alger 480-570-4032 for more information
• October 1st, 2nd & 3rd Fundraiser at Phoenix Home and Garden to volunteer contact Bill Ebright 602-618-1515 or email: [email protected]
• October 3rd fundraiser at 2 Fry’s Stores to volunteer contact Bill Ebright 502-618-1515 or email: [email protected]
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 John & Agnete Christiansen Anniversary
2 3 4 Emily Campbell & Carole Schwarz Birth-day
5 6 7 8 9 10 Dept. Fall Staff Conference
11 Dept. Fall Staff Conference Phoenix Gun Show
12 Phoenix Gun Show contact Bill Ebright 602-618-1515
13 14 15 16 Frank & Esther Alger Anni-versary David George Birth-day
17 Barney Cox Birthday
18
19 Clem & Sunny Amorose, Bill & Betty Archer, Doug & Rose Maria Brown Anniversary
20 21 Richard Amorose Birthday
22 Mary Ellen Walker Birthday
23 24 25 Mesa Gun Show Contact Bill Ebright 602-618-1515
26 Mesa Gun Show
27 1900 Detachment Meeting
28 29 30
September 2010
.
PAGE 2 SAGUARO SENTINEL 15 AUGUST 2010
Remember that these are the future leaders of our country. If you want to know more information about any unit in the State you can go to the Regimental web site at www.grandcanyonyregimentyoungmarines.webs.com and find out more. If nothing else just stop in and observe a unit and talk to the Young Marines and staff, this will encourage them and show them that the Marines in the area do sup-port their efforts and are interested in their success. Remember that we have eleven units in the State. Re-member that they value your sup-port and even a visit is encouraging to these young people, so take a lit-tle time out of your schedule and make a visit in the next 30 days and
Saguaro Detachment,
The Young Marines as always are looking for volunteers to help build tomorrow’s leaders. We have three Young Marine Units in the East Valley they are Chandler Mustangs, East Valley, and Salt River Young Marine Units. We should be proud of what these fine young people are doing and the leadership they have. I would encourage everyone to get involved with the unit that is clos-est to where you either live or work and show these Young Marines that we are proud of what they are doing and the leadership that they are showing. This is a great time to become involved as the election of officers for the next 2 years for all units Regiment and below is going on and since change comes with the elections this is a great time to get involved.
see the excitement that these Young Marines have
The East Valley Young Marines is having another fund raiser at CiCi’s Pizza place on Gilbert Rd just North of Southern on August 26th from 1700-2000. Come on out and support and meet your local Young Marines and enjoy some pizza.
Frank (Gunny) Alger Commanding Officer Patriot BN Young Marines Commanding Officer East Valley Young Marines Saguaro Detachment Young Marine Liaison
Young Marine Spotlight
Meetings held at the Citadel 520 S. Higley Rd Mesa, Arizona
To steal information from a per-son is called plagiarism. To steal information from the enemy is called gathering intelligence.
Only in America do we have a General in charge of the post of-fice and a Secretary in charge of defense.
New Members
On 24 July, PROJECT MARINE CARE sent 10 large Care Packages to Army Sgt Jason Fitzpatrick, whose name was provided by mem-ber Marine Dan Herrera. Here is the email we received back.
From: “Fitzpatrick, Jason D 1SG USA USD-S Headquarters Support Company, DHHB, 1IDAFZN-HQ-H” <[email protected]> To: “[email protected]” <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 13:27:28 +0300 Subject: THANK YOU
Mr. Amorose,
Words cannot express the gratitude that I feel towards you and your organization. I received your pack-ages and have already distributed all the contents to my Soldiers. The packages couldn’t have come at a
better time. The Hot Sauce and pep-per sauce add a much needed boost to the doldrums of the dining facil-ity. After seven complete months of eating in the dining facility with the same menu being served every seven days, you can only imagine the monotony. The dining facility is nothing like MREs, but after seven months, there are times that a splash of hot sauce goes a long way towards making the food palatable. You and your organization brought a smile to the faces of several hun-dred Soldiers, please don’t hold the fact that we are Army against us. We all appreciate your donations and care packages just as much as a Marine detachment would I am sure. My unit is Headquarters Support Company, Division Headquarters Battalion, First Infantry Division
“The Big Red One”. We are out of Fort Riley;, Kansas and for almost 60% of my Soldiers, this is their first deployment. For your organiza-tion to send us packages lets these “kids” realize that we are fighting for people who care about ours and our family’s sacrifices. If for no other reason than that, I say thank you, but the amount and variety of the packages was staggering and for that, words are not enough. A little bit about me. I have been in the Army for just over 21 years. I am married with five children, and my parents live in Mesa. I am origi-nally from Colorado, but the Army has made Kansas my home. I started out as a Military Police Offi-cer and although I retain the Mili-tary Occupational Specialty of and MP, being a First Sergeant is tak-
Continued on page 4
Project Marine Care PAGE 3 SAGUARO SENTINEL 15 AUGUST 2010
Marvin Haines, Jr. was in the Marine Corps for 20 years. His wife’s name is Eina and his hometown Mesa, Arizona
Merced Lujan was in the Marine Corps for 22 years. His wife’s name is Cynthia and his hometown is San Jose, California
Guest Speaker at July Meeting
AGENDA FALL CONFERENCE
SEPT. 10/11 2010
FRIDAY, Sept. 10, 2010 Commandant’s Council 1430-1600
Board of Trusties Meeting 1615-1715 Dinner on your own
MODD Pups & Dogs for advancement 1830 Military Order of Devil Dogs Growl 1900
SATURDAY Sept 11, 2010 Opening Ceremonies 0800-0830 General Meeting 0830-1150
LUNCH (At Hotel?) General Meeting Reconvenes 1330-?
We were very pleased to have as a guest speaker, Bern Bagley. He is the founder of Project We Remember and host of a weekly radio program dedi-cated to veterans. He is advocating for the government to do more for veter-ans and trying to promote this in sev-eral different venues. For those of you who attend the Fall Staff Conference in September, Mr. Bagley will be broadcasting his radio show from there live. He will be inter-viewing members so put it on your schedule. September 11th.
The conference is being held at the Crowne Plaza on the North East corner of I 17 and Peo-ria in Phoenix. Picture l to r Sr. Vice John Malta, Project We Remember Bern Bagley, Commandant Brian Sekardi, Adjutant Bernie Bidwell & Chaplain Arnett Brice
Hi Marines,
Ralph Huit had a prostate operation at Banner Baywood Hospital on July 29, 2010. He is recovering very well. We as brother marines need to call and check on him. Would like to share a prayer with all of my fellow marines. Say it each morning to protect you and your family. The title of the prayer is the “daily prayer covering.” Dear Heavenly Father, I pray this prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ I bind, rebuke and bring to no affect all division, discord, disunity, strife, anger, raft, murder, criticism, con-demnation, pride, envy, jealously, gossip, slander, evil speaking, curs-ing, complaining, lying, false teach-ing, false gifts, false manifestation,
lying signs, wonder, poverty, fear, of lack, murmuring spirits, complain-ing, hindering spirits, retaliatory spirits, deceiving spirits, religious, cult, spirits, including spirits of anti Christ. This will cover your whole family and all the crazy things that are going on in the world. Eric Guyton was a guest speaker at our July meeting. He is the medical administrative officer from the East Valley VA Hospital and gave us some insights on medical benefits. We want to thank him for his time. That’s is all I have to report. Chaplain, Arnett Brice arnettbrice@hotmail 602-670-5147
Caring for Our Own PAGE 4 SAGUARO SENTINEL 15 AUGUST 2010
When does your Membership Expire???
August Rick Zeiner September
No memberships expire The following will be dropped
for inactivity Robert Boggs James Fain
Continued from page 3
ing care of Soldiers is what I am doing instead of arresting them. More job satisfaction watching a young Soldier grow from being a fresh our of Basic recruit into a fine young Soldier and Leader. Very similar I am sure to the sat-isfaction that Marine Gunnery Sergeants and First Sergeants get when they get to take care of Marines and watch them “Grow Up”. You and your organization
have made it a little easier to take care of them. Again, thank you from the bottom of this ole Soldier's Heart. V/r Jason D. Fitzpatrick 1SG, USA First Sergeant
REMINDER TO SPONSORS OF POTENTIAL NEW REGULAR MEMBERS: The Marine Corps League requires that all applicants for Regular Membership submit a copy of their FORM DD-214 with their Applications. This is often overlooked by sponsors soliciting new Regular Members. Applicants for Regular Membership must be able to prove that they served on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps for a period of not less than 90 days. They must also furnish proof of an Honorable Discharge.
The requirement of furnishing a copy of Form DD-214 exists because there have been a number of cases, nationwide, of potential Regular Members fraudulently claiming that they have served on active duty with the Corps and saying that they received an Honorable Discharge.
The Form DD-214 screens for these requirements of Regular Membership.. MCL National now requires that Detach-ments keep copies of DD-214s on file.
Effective immediately, the Detachment Paymaster will not submit to MCL National an Application for Regular Mem-bership until a copy of the applicant's Form DD-214 is received.
Clem Amorose Paymaster
l to r: Sr. Vice John Malta, VA Hospi-tal Rep. Dan Guyton, Commandant Brian Sekardi, and Adjutant Bernie Bidwell
July Meeting Guest Speaker number 2
Marines,
I hope you will share this informa-tion with your detachment and rec-ognize those detachments who have done an exceptional job for the year end. First, our total membership is up 6.28 percent for the year (our goal was 5-7%). Our goal was the same for increasing our “regular” mem-bership, and we managed to in-crease 4.72%. In both instances, our increase ranked us 3rd in compari-son to the other 9 divisions of the Marine Corps League. This num-bers reflect the increased emphasis on recruiting and addressing delin-quencies. Please thank our mem-bers and detachment for their ef-forts in the last 2 quarters. We need to continue that focus. The detachment of Hawaii have shown the greatest increase in membership (30%), large lead by the Aloha Detachment which has nearly doubled its membership from a year ago. Thanks to the Ma-rines on Oahu for this tremendous effort and demonstrated results. Rankings in this statistical analysis
The Auxiliary members met on July 26 in the Activity Center of the As-sistant Living Building at the Cita-del. Plans were discussed for up-coming events as well as final plans were made for our August fundrais-ing at Chili’s - Give Back Day Event. Remember to mark your calendar for our Arts and Craft Event on November 6 & 7 as well as the garage Sale/Bake Sale on November 20. A special welcome to our newest member Margaret Ivory. We are pleased to have Margaret join our Auxiliary. Its exciting to see our membership continue to grow each month. Plan to support our next fundrais-ing event! Chili’s is sponsoring the Marine Corps Auxiliary
Give Back Day Event on Satur-day, August 21 from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM at 1435 S. Power Road in Mesa. Remember to submit your flyer with your bill and Chili’s will donate 10% of the sales to our Aux-iliary. Flyers are available through all of our Auxiliary members as well as on our website: saguaroblos-somauxiliary.webs.com Come and be a part of the Saguaro Blossom marine Corps League Aux-iliary. Our next meeting will be held on Monday, August 30.
Semper Fi
Marcy Trupe, President Marine Corps League Auxiliary (480) 219-6906
National Vice Commandant SW Division's Corner
PAGE 5 SAGUARO SENTINEL 15 AUGUST 2010
Marine Corps League Auxiliary-
ceived a delinquency list from Na-tional Hq., along with instructions on the MAP program which will provide some reimbursement for bring delinquent members current. We still need to work on reducing delinquencies for total membership, where we are currently at 13.1%, which is 1.2% below the national average. (compared to 0.8% for regular members). Okinawa, Hawaii, and Nevada were above 90% in paid up regular and total members, as well as lead-ing in the percentage of detach-ments who exceeded the 92.5% paid up membership. Naturally, of concern, is the num-ber of detachments, only 24 meet the goal for regular members, and 23 for total members. That means that over 2/3s of our detachments (62 and 63, respectively) have some significant work to do to even get above the 90% mark. I believe this is an opportunity for our Jr. Vice Commandants in the departments and detachments, working in con-junction with the paymasters, and
Continued on page 7
have been primarily based on regu-lar membership for reviewing the membership summaries for paid up membership. Two detachments, Inland Empire and Golden Empire of California had 100% paid up membership with membership level and instal-lation reports current. They defi-nitely deserve our recognition. They will be awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for this past year. Ira Hayes in AZ and Jim May Me-morial in Okinawa also had 100%, but are behind on their installation reports. Mitchell Paige (CA) and Silver State (NV) have 100% for regular membership, but less than 100% for total membership. The Division improved to a 11.9% delinquency rate (average of 88,1%) paid up for regular members. Our goal for the year was 92.5%. This rate is an improvement by about 2% in the last 6 months. Again, continued attention to our delin-quency lists should make the 7.5% delinquency rate a possibility in 2 0 1 1 . E v e r y d e p a r t -ment/detachment should have re-
PAGE 6 SAGUARO SENTINEL 15 AUGUST 2010
Write Your Officials to Restore the Expansion of Concurrent Receipt
Senate Cuts Expansion of Concurrent Receipt Take Action!
Another congressional effort to expand concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veterans disability compensation has failed. Facing election-year pressure to dramatically scale back new spending, the Senate voted Tuesday for a stripped-down economic assistance bill that now omits a proposal supported by the White House and passed by the House of Representatives that would have extended concurrent receipt of both benefits to almost 500,000 medically retired veterans who served less than 20 years in uniform.
House Democrats have talked about trying to restore some of the dropped items, but no firm plans were announced. The House bill had included a temporary change in law that would have increased pay for some people receiving medical retirement pay by eliminating an offset in the retired pay for those who also receive VA disability compensation.
The change would have started on Jan. 1 for those with a disability rated by VA 90 percent or more, and on Oct. 1, 2011, for those with disabilities rated at least 70 percent. The offset would have resumed on Oct. 1, 2012. The temporary nature of the proposed change was the result of an agreement to try to limit costs, with Democratic leaders hoping they could find money for a permanent and larger plan over the next two years.
The Obama administration wanted a permanent change. The 2011 federal budget proposed a five-year plan in which all medically retired veterans would have the offset eliminated by 2016. It also called for the elimination of the offset that still applies to some disabled retirees with low-rated disabilities that are not combat-related.
Please click the take action link to send a message to your Senators and Representative .
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New PTS Rule to be Announced by VA
Congressman John Hall (N.Y.), Chair-man of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assis-tance, announced that the Department of Veterans’ affairs (VA) will adopt a rule that presumes a service connec-
tion for any veteran who served in a combat zone and has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress (PTS). Currently, veterans who apply for dis-ability benefits related to PTS must demonstrate their illness is service related. Thousands of veterans are denied benefits because they are un-
able to document their claims decades after their discharge from service. The new rule will make it easier for all veterans suffering from PTS to receive VA health care and disability compen-sation, including some who may have been denied benefits in the past.
Submitted by Harold Gee
House Passed Bill to Help Parents of Deceased Military
Members The House passed legislation (H.R. 4505) that expands state veteran home eligibil-ity to include parents who have lost one or more children to ser-vice in the Armed Forces. Currently, only parents who have lost all their children to military service are eligible for residency in a state veterans; home. The bill was introduced by Con-gressman Mac Thom-bery (Texas) and will now be considered in the Senate. Senator John Ensign (Nev.) has also introduced identical legislation (S. 1450) in the Sen-ate.
Submitted by Harold Gee
If you or anyone you know in the MCL has gotten or is get-ting any awards from anyone Please let me know so I can have it for the news-letter and for the Americanism book. Thank You for your help. Esther Alger Editor/ Americanism 480-835-1929 email: saguarosenti- [email protected] 1022 N. April St. Mesa, AZ 85203
I was contacted by Shana William-son of the Citadel to help retire their old out door flags and pur-chase new one. Including some for their sitting room. Given the go ahead from our Com-mandant Brian Sekardi, our De-tachment donated the flags to the Citadel for our use of their facility. On Saturday July 17, 2010 with the help of Tom Schwarz, who put a Color Guard Detail together, Colors were posted at 1000. I want to personally thank Con-gressman Richard Crandall who requested Council Member Dina Higgins to take his place. I especially want to thank General Manager Richard Anlauf and Shana Williamson, also the large number of residents and families,
members of MCL 554 and friends who attended the ceremonies. It turned out to be quite an occasion Semper Fi John Malta Sr. Vice
From the Sr. Vice PAGE 7 SAGUARO SENTINEL 15 AUGUST 2010
Continued from page 5 perhaps in the formation of a member-ship committee at each level, to de-velop an effective program along with training and mentoring to attack the issue of delinquent membership. In our Division, we still have 670 regular members and another 226 associate members whose dues are delinquent. Membership, and programs to address recruiting and retention, will be the focus of the Commandant’s Council at National Convention, as well as in other sessions. I encourage those of
you who will be attending to be thinking about the issue. I will be forwarding a letter regarding the Council meeting to department com-mandants next week. Again, we’ve made some headway, in the Southwest Division, and in the other 9 divisions. Thank you for what you’ve accomplished so far, but re-member we still have a lot of area to cover. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, ideas, or comments. On the attached Excel worksheet, (on
Picture at left: What flags look like after 2 months in Arizona Summer
Above: l to r. Color Guard Dan Valaubi, Tom Schwarz, John Malta, Frank (Gunny) Alger, Cmdt. Brian Sekardi and Council Woman Dina Higgins
Picture to left l to r : Dan Valaubi, Frank (gunny) Alger, and Tom Schwarz putting up new Flags
Left: Resi-dents and visitors to the Flag Ceremony.
Color Guard bringing in the Flags Color Guard Members: Dan Valaubi, Tom Schwarz, John Malta and Frank (gunny) Alger
Placing the Flags: Dan Valaubi, Tom Schwarz, and John Malta
Dan Valaubi, and Frank (gunny) Alger
page 10) there are 3 spreadsheets which should be printed, and re-viewed. SEMPER FIDELIS,
MEADE R. MEADE PHILLIPS, NATIONAL VICE COMMANDANT MARINE CORPS LEAGUE, SOUTHWEST DIVISION PEDIGREED DEVIL DOG WWW.MCLSWDIVISION.ORG 520-991-6386 [email protected] P.O. BOX 4708, TUBAC, AZ 85646
PAGE 8 SAGUARO SENTINEL 15 AUGUST 2010
Getting to Know Judge Advocate Tom Schwarz Reporter Don Dalton
I’m not a Korean War Combat Veteran but due to age and providence served instead in a Korean theater support role following the July 27, 1953 Truce. My active service as a Marine was from 1955 to 1959 during the Cold War which con-tinued on in earnest after Korean War combat operations ended. During the Korean War I was a high school student. At age 17, I joined a Marine Corps Special Infantry Co. re-serve unit in Evanston. Illinois in March of 1955 during my senior year of High School along with two of my best bud-dies. Upon gradation all of our parents signed for us to enter active duty at 17 and we transferred from USMCR to USMC left for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego on July 27th 1955 exactly two years following the signing of the Truce in Korea. All three of us stayed together through boot camp and almost all through ad-vanced infantry training at Camp Pendle-ton, CA. Our drill instructor was Sgt George W. Gentry, a Korean War veteran who came down off the Chosin reservoir often making reference to his experiences in Korea and what we could be called upon to endure. Knowing how dependant we would be on one another his training was totally demanding and he cut us no slack. Over 20% of our recruit platoon did not graduate boot camp. We did not fully appreciate at the time how benefi-cial the training and discipline he instilled in us would favorably impact us for the rest of our lives. Following boot camp we transferred to Camp Pendleton, CA for advanced infan-try training. I remember that all our In-fantry training instructors at Pendleton were Korean War vets and our training was geared toward the type of combat tactics and situations we might encounter in Korea. Cold weather training & the night operations were complete with flares, bugles, and taunts. A severe infection acquired during Infan-try training at Pendleton landed me in the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego for about 6 weeks. On completion of ITR my high school buddies received orders to board ship for the 3rd Marine Regiment in Japan. After discharge from the hos-pital I received similar orders for North Camp Fuji Japan. By way of some historical background, when the Marines entered Korea to stem thee North Korean invasion in 1950 they
were hurriedly assembled and marginally prepared for a major combat role. It must have been later decided this would never again be the case should future Korean combat operations ever resume. The Ma-rine Corps saw to it that extensive and rigorous field training operations were conducted constantly in the Fuji McNair area in Japan. As a jumping off point to again quickly return to Korea, the 3rd Ma-rine Regiment reinforced was positioned in Japan at three bases (North Camp, Middle Camp, & South Camp) on Mt Fuji. North Camp was a WW2 POW camp be-coming home to the Army’s 70th Tank Battalion and also the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. North Camp was also the base of the 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines. Middle Camp Fuji based the 3 Battalion 3rd Ma-rines and South Camp Fuji the 1st Bn 3rd Marines. When I reached North Camp Fuji I was pleasantly surprised to find upon entering the squad bay of Echo Co. 2/3/3 one of my boot camp buddies I joined with was there in the weapons platoon. I was assigned as a rifleman in the 2nd rifle platoon. There I learned my other high school buddy was at Middle Camp with the 3rd Battalion as a 2531 field radio operator. Following a few weeks of field training as a grunt with Echo Co., a few of us were called out by the Captain in charge of the communications platoon to ask if we would be interested in being 2531 field radio operators and I jumped at the chance for more challenging work. Joining H&S Co. communications pla-toon I was assigned to an 8 man Naval Gunfire Team commanded by a Naval Officer, a Lieutenant JG. My responsibil-ity was the NGF communications Mark 5 Radio Jeep. We frequently went aboard ship in Yukosuka to conduct naval gunfire operations on the island of Muko Jima about 80 miles from Iwo Jima. Muko Jima was occupied by the Japanese in WW2 but bypassed as were many other small Japa-nese occupied islands. There we fired the 5” guns of various Destroyers and also the Cruiser Toledo’s 8” guns both on day & night fire exercises, obliterating the old Japanese emplacements. Training operations in the Fuji area often consisted of spotting Marine artillery fire to simulate Naval Gunfire and Night as-sault landings in rubber boats surfacing off the submarine USS Bream at Chigisaki beach. Regimental landing operations in the Phil-
ippines and on Iwo Jima were conducted during my tour and following the Philip-pine landing operations in 1957 the 3rd Marines were sent to Sukiran, Okinawa changing places with the 9th Marine regi-ment who occupied the Camps at Mount Fuji. I returned to the States from Okinawa the summer of 1957 and was assigned as a radio Jeep operator with the 2n Battalion 10th Marine Regiment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina which was the artillery Regiment for the 2nd Marine Division. In 1957 the 2nd Bn 10th Marines took part in a three month float with the 6th Marines Reinforced in the Mediterranean Sea for “Operation Deepwater”. One landing exercise was in Turkey about 10 miles from the Bulgarian border. In typical Cold War posturing, the Russians ob-jected strongly to our being there and the Marines were told to withdraw the troops from that border area. A further Battalion landing on Crete was followed by liberty ports in Greece, Sicily, Italy, and Spain. During my tour with the 2nd Bn 10th Ma-rines our battery loaded out aboard ship from Mooresville, NC for various world crisis including the crisis in the Domini-can Republic where we ended up in Vieques and the Marine Lebanon Land-ing in 1958. To our disappointment we were not the artillery battery selected to go ashore. That mission was assigned to HOTEL Battery 3rd Battalion 10th Marines in sup-port of the 8th Marines with eight 105 Howitzers and eight 4.2 mortar tubes. Awarded the rank of SGT/CPL (E-4) from CPL (E-3) in 1959 my tour of duty with the Marine Corps ended after over 4 years and I returned home to Skokie, Illinois in July, 1959 to attend college. Other than a Cold War “Certificate of Recognition” from Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, service decorations were not awarded Marines of my cold war era. I was awarded the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal in 1958. It continues to be my honor and privilege to have honorably served in the Marine Corps and to be allowed to join in asso-ciation with the true heroes of the Corps. With GODS help and those recruits who follow our brave Marine veterans in the coming years, the proud tradition of the “Marine Corps League” and what it stands for will carry on and long endure. SEMPER FIDELIS
Captain Kangaroo passed away on January 23, 2004 at age 76, which is odd, because he always looked to be 76. (DOB: 6/27/27) His death re-minded me of the following story. Some people have been a bit of-fended that the actor, Lee Marvin, is buried in a grave alongside 3 and 4-star generals at Arlington Na-tional Cemetery His marker gives his name, rank (PVT) and service (USMC). Nothing else. Here’s a guy who was only a famous movie star who served his time, why the heck does he rate burial with these guys? Well, following is the amazing an-swer; I always liked Lee Marvin, but didn’t know the extent of his Corps experiences. In a time when many Hollywood stars served their country in armed forces often in rear echelon posts where they were carefully pro-tected, only to be trotted out to per-form for the cameras in war bond promotions, Lee Marvin was a genuine hero. He won the Navy Cross at Iwo Jima There is only one higher Naval award...the Medal Of Honor! If that is a surprising comment on the true character of the man, he credits his sergeant with an even greater show of bravery. Dialog from” The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”; His guest was Lee Marvin… Johnny said, “Lee, I’ll bet a lot of people are unaware that you were a Marine in the initial landing at Iwo Jima ..and that dur-
ing the course of that action you earned the Navy Cross and were severely wounded.” “Yeah, yeah… I got shot square in the bottom and they gave me the Cross for securing a hotspot about halfway up Suribachi. Bad thing about getting shot up on a moun-tain is guys getting shot hauling you down. But, Johnny, at Iwo, I served under the bravest man I ever knew… we both got the Cross the same day, but what he did for his Cross made mine look cheap in com-parison. That dumb guy actually stood up on Red beach and directed his troops to move forward and get the hell off the beach.. Bullets flying by, with mortar rounds landing eve-rywhere and he stood there as the main target of gunfire so that he could get his men to safety. He did this on more than one occasion be-cause his men’s safety was more important than his own life. That Sergeant and I have been life-long friends. When they brought me off Suribachi we passed the Ser-geant and he lit a smoke and passed it to me, lying on my belly on the litter and said, “Where’d they get you Lee?” “Well Bob… if you make it home before me, tell Mon to sell the outhouse!” Johnny, I’m not lying, Sergeant Keeshan was the bravest man I ever knew. The Sergeant’s name is Bob Keeshan. You and the world know him as Captain Kangaroo” On another note, there was this
wimpy little man (who passed away) on PBS, gentle and quiet. Mr. Rogers is another of those you would least suspect of being any-thing but what he now portrays to our youth. But Mr. Rogers was a U.S. Navy Seal, combat-proven in Vietnam with over twenty-five con-firmed kills to his name. He wore a long-sleeved sweater on TV, to cover the many tattoos on his forearm and biceps. He was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand com-bat, able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat. After the war Mr. Rogers became an ordained Presbyterian minister and therefore a pacifist. Vowing to never harm another hu-man and also dedicating the rest of his life to trying to help lead chil-dren on the right path in life.. He hid away the tattoos and his past life and won our hearts with his quiet wit and charm.. America’s real heroes don’t flaunt what they did; they quietly go about their day-to-day lives, doing what they do best. They earned our re-spect and the freedoms that we all enjoy. Look around and see if you can find one of those heroes in your midst. Often, they are the ones you’d least suspect, but would most like to have on your side if anything ever happened. Take the time to thank anyone that has fought for our freedom. With encouragement they could be the next Captain Kangaroo or Mr. Rogers.
PAGE 9 SAGUARO SENTINEL 15 AUGUST 2010
You Would Never Have Guessed Author Unknown
Lee Marvin Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo) Mr. Rogers
Remember to become a Life Member, you must already be a “Member in Good Standing”. That means becoming a member and paying your initial dues first. Yes, according to the Bylaws, you could join the League, pay your dues and then pay your life membership Dues all in the same day. The fees are: Age Group As of 01/01/2009
0-35 $500
36 - 40 $400
41 - 50 $400
51 - 60 $300
61 – Over $150
SAGUARO DETACHMENT #554 MARINE CORPS LEAGUE PO BOX 15015, MESA, AZ 85211-5015 HTTP: / /WWW.FREEWEBS.COM/SAGUARODETMCL/
