Several weeks ago, Jack (on this board) sent to me a message. He said that that he had something in his possession that an old fart Marine such as myself might enjoy. He asked for my home address. I sent it along.
I have sports stuff, the Irish tri-color, and a lot of baseball stuff up on the walls of the downstairs saloon. Horse things too. The 1955 World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers are up big time. The only military things are my father's decorations from WWII. He was wounded twice and was awarded the Bronze Star. He was most proud of the Combat Infantry Badge, however, for being under under German small arms fire for a long time in Italy.
Anyway, John Spendolini sent me something. My mailman knocked upon the door and told me that he had to pull his truck up to drop off a package. It was from Jack, the Van Scammer. 1/8 Pole broke down the packaging and my old eyes filled up with tears. I cried like a baby.
This thing hit me hard. I remember meeting an old man named Jimmy Sullivan who crossed a wide-open field under devastating fire to get into Belleau Wood with 6th Marines in 1918. Fifth and Sixth Marine Regiments were attached to 2nd Division, United States Army in 1918. The French were running and the U.S. Marines were attacking. To this day Belleau Wood is known as "Les Bois de Brigade de Marines" - the Woods of the Marine Brigade. They took it despite enormous casualties. The Frogs ran off their own soil to let the Americans fight.
Anyway, 1775 Marines and 2009 Marines are brothers and I would think that the bitching and moaning and brawling have been going on well for 234 years. No Marine rifleman has ever been happy in a firefight up against an enemy but the Corps has been 'ready to go' and "First to Fight" for over two centuries.
That's DIXIE BOURBON rolling home to make everybody temporarily wealthy.
