Iwo Jima

65 years ago, the Marines raised the flag on Mount Suribachi. Many men died on this island. Too many.

While I was stationed in Japan, I ran into another poor leader. I checked into 3rd Maintenance Battalion and was sent to the Battalion Supply shop. I knew a lot of Marines that were already on Camp Kinser in my battalion, and they all recommended me to be the Battalion Supply Chief for Maint Bn. So, I went to check in and met the GySgt I was replacing. I was a Sgt. The Gunny was really done because he briefed me on absolutely nothing that was going on. On the day he was done, he came in to pick up a few things. Most of the Marines, including one of my Corporals, were drunk when they showed up to work. They had been partying all night with the GySgt. The office the Supply Chief had shared a door with the Supply Officer, a 1st Lt. I scanned my office and saw Marines with their heads down, unable to function. I went into the office and shut the door behind me. I said, "What the fuck was going on here?" The GySgt looked at me like I had just shit on his hat. He say's, "What the fuck did you just say?" I told him, "Look out in that office. 3/4 of the Marines aren't able to function at all. They are still drunk because they were all out drinking with YOU until 3:30 this morning. Now I have to try and get them to do SOMETHING, and god forbid someone with some brass on their collar walks in. From what I understand, you were drinking buddies with these guys instead of their leader. They didn't need another friend, they have one another, they needed a leader, and I inherited a shop that's a mess because you couldn't get them to do anything except drink with you." The Lt. was listening through his open door, and I caught him smiling. The GySgt didn't know what to say or do, and he got his stuff and left. I had my work cut out for me.

The Corporal who was passed out on his desk, well, come to find out he and another Cpl. from my shop had gone to Kadena Air Force base the weekend before I got here and gotten into a fight. One broke a bottle over another guys head, then the other jumped up as the guy drove a car at him and he kicked out the windshield! I had to go with these two Cpl's to see our Company Commander who was a Marine Captain. Because I was the senior Sgt in the Company now, he made me the Platoon Sergeant and the Deck NCO in my barracks. So, now I had all these billets, and I was loving it. Lots to do to keep me occupied because I was without my family. Anyways, the Capt wanted to hear the Cpl's stories. They each told their version, which they had had 2 weeks to prepare, and they told a story that made them the victims, of course. I did not know these guys, and the Capt asked me what my recommendation was. I told him that since the Marines were NCO's, that I trusted what they said, and if they had done something wrong, I would take care of them and steer them in the right direction. He told me that's what he wanted to hear.

The Cpl who was passed out on his desk got promoted to Sgt eventually and did an OK job for me. He would make comments about the GySgt who left, and how he had kept morale up by drinking with others, but I told him he should have stuck with his own rank. This Sgt left Japan and went to I&I duty in Marietta, GA. He committed suicide after he became involved in an investigation on hit and run. The other Cpl ended up a Private. Twice. He got caught in the PX trading shoes in boxes. he took a $90 pair of shoes and put them in a $30 box. Then he got caught having an affair. These Marines were supposed to be leaders. Non-Commissioned Officers.

Well, I was the Supply Chief for a month and they decided that they were going to merge Maint and Supply BN. They created Material Readiness Battalion out of the two. They moved a GySgt over to our shop from Supply BN, thereby making me the Supply Admin Chief. That meant I had to oversee the daily operations of the office only and was not completely responsible for the whole supply account. No biggie. It was bound to happen anyways, just ended up being sooner. Well, this guy was a piece of work. Supply work was all he had. He was in the midst of an ugly divorce and buried himself into his work, as well as all the Twinkies and pizza he could muster. PT was not a priority for him, so I had to take control and make the Marines PT. He would work the Marines until 10 at night, not giving them a break for dinner. I had to argue with him and tell him he was wrong. We bumped heads a lot, but he realized I was right. We compromised and let the Marines eat but they had to come back and work late most nights. The Marines were pretty stressed out and were leaving work at 10 and going out and drinking. I had to finally convince the GySgt that we needed to change the routine so the Marines weren't so stressed. So, he let me take over and we got a good PT program going, Marines got their meals on time, etc. Morale picked up a little, but the GySgt was still being an angry troll.

I was selected to be the Supply Chief for a Combat Service Support Detachment by the old Supply Officer, who had since been promoted to Captain. I got to go to Hokaido, Japan to support an artillery shoot. It was a good trip and worthy of its own blog sometime later. During this trip, I found out I was selected to the rank of Staff Sergeant. A week after we got back from Hokaido, I was promoted. And HERE is where I started to see the corruptness of the system.

As a Sergeant, I was in charge of everything and everyone! I got promoted and became in charge of no one but myself. A Sgt was given the Platoon Sergeant position, I moved into the SNCO barracks and did not have to be the deck NCO anymore. It was a welcome break, don't get me wrong. But the corruptness was soon evident.

Before I went to Hokaido, I went to swim qualification for a week straight. I worked my way up to the highest level, Water Survival Qualified (WSQ), and was told that it would be sent to my unit to be run in my record. Well, I got back from Hokaido and checked my record and it had not been posted. I went to my training section and was told that they had no record of me doing the swim qual to WSQ. The SSgt looked at me and said, "There's a form on my desk. If your name and qualification shows up on it before I get back, it will be taken care of." He then walked out of the office. Knowing I had done it and deserved the qualification, I put my name on the paper. I felt really weird about it, but I knew it was justified. but it also made me wonder what else this guy was doing for folks who DIDN'T deserve it.

We had a Battalion formation once a month for promotions and awards. I showed up 15 minutes prior just like I was supposed to, having been taught that as a Marine. Most of the other SNCO's rolled up just minutes before the formation. I was told it was the "SNCO" privilege. I didn't understand how I was given a higher rank and more trust, yet was actually being held to a lower standard than the younger Marines, who would have had their asses handed to them for rolling up minutes before. Hell, I was the one handing them their ass just weeks before for doing it. Now I was told to leave the leadership to the Sgt's. Very confusing to me.

I was also told that I no longer had to show up for shop PT unless I wanted to, as the Cpl's and Sgt's were in charge of it. I still went, I just stood back and let them run the show. I had never really paid attention to those higher than me before in these regards, but it was all becoming apparent to me now. SNCO's had their own little club in the Marine Corps, and I was part of it. If I wanted to show up to work at 8 instead of 7, no one cared. This didn't make any sense to me at all, but I was leaving soon for Drill Instructor school back in the states. So, I hit the gym with a vengeance, even more than I already was. It was really hard to let go of control, but I did.

I hope these ramblings make sense. Sometimes I feel like they don't, because I want to write so much more and it's hard to pick which stories to focus on. I have to remember that I am trying to get across how I went from a Marine who used to cut his hair every two or three days to getting one every week and half to two, and why it became that way.

Semper Fidelis WW-II vets.

After all that I just wrote, I just remembered when I was stationed at Fort Lewis in WA state, we awarded an Iwo Jima veteran with a Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his actions during the battle. After they awarded him his medal, we all got in a circle and listened to him tell a story. But instead of telling us about his exploits on the island, he told us a story of the Sgt that was in charge of him. This Sgt was the type of man who told his Marines to do something and then would be right there helping. Like digging fighting holes, or holes for shitting and pissing in. This Sgt was always checking on his Marines and always by their side. One night there was an incredible firefight and bombing run brought on by the Japanese. As the Marines tried to gather themselves together and were piling up the dead bodies for transport out of there home, the Marine saw his Sgt lying amongst the bodies, flies buzzing everywhere. He fell to his knees and cried for what he said seemed forever. He then took his poncho out and covered the Marine Sgt so the flies stayed off of him.

To me, this story epitomizes what the Marine Corps is about. He didn't tell us stories of great things he did, he told us a story about a Sgt who took care of him, was a great leader, and how he took care of him in the last moments he got to see him. Semper Fi to that Marine and his Sgt.