Boot Camp

Hi-O-Lay!

“Blee-Blee-O-Leh, Hi-O-Leh, Hi-O-Lay,” a song I still can hear,

Though the rest of Sixty-Three, really ain’t all that clear.

Gunny Buell countin’ cadence, beneath his Smokey Bear,

Chest full of ribbons, though we never asked him where.

There at the Depot, the Grinder was his home,

Never let him catch you, lettin’ your eyeballs roam.

Sixty pair of corded heels a’ clickin’ like as one,

He’d make us all Marines before his job was done.

Corporal Kempton, far from Erin’s emerald shore,

Wasn’t quite a Limey, so he had to join the Corps.

Always wore his greens when he took us for a run,

Never missed a step, ran backwards just for fun.

Ashbrook was a Sergeant with an impish grin,

He swore an Irish pennant was a mortal sin.

Torment was his forte, his weapon was PT,

“Maggot, y’er a squirrely four-eyed cluck* to me!”

Staff Sergeant Anderson was A-jay squared away,

But if you ever crossed him, there’d be hell to pay.

“Drop your cheap civilian ways, do it just this minute,

‘afore I unscrew your head, and hafta’ spit* right in it!”

And Lord I must confess, we Privates were a mess,

“Recruiters scraped the barrel,” the Gunny would profess.

In our yellow sweatshirts, the fuzz upon our domes,

First time most of us had ever missed our homes.

McDaniel couldn’t cut it, got sent to STP,

Then he’s o’er the hill, wantin’ to be free.

Spears he went a missin’ middle of the day,

D.I said he had to go, Private Spears was gay.

 And Jonesy took a walk, Runway Number One,

With a Section Eight his Gyrene days were done.

At Matthews did we snap in, our rifles at the fore,

Steven’s broken glasses, caused him not to score.

Spent a week in Balboa, dropped out of a run,

Lungs were full of phlegm, wasn’t very fun.

Gomez crossed the border, Smitty, he was a Black,

When the goin’ got real tough, both would have y’er back.

Beers, he was slacker, never could keep up,

Passed out in the ranks, such a buttercup.

All the rest would pass the test, Uncle Sam’s Marines,

Follow them straight to hell, got fightin’ in their genes.

Semper Fi!

LDT Nov 10, ‘21

GLOSSARY:

-Gunny- Marine rank of Gunnery Sergeant (E-7)

-Cadence- A Drill Instructor’s call to keep the troops in step.   Every D.I. has his own unique rhythmical style. Cadence calls: https://youtu.be/X52lJG2glQU

-Smokey Bear- The Campaign Hat worn by D.I.s.

-Depot- Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego

– Irish pennant- A loose thread hanging from one’s uniform.

– Yellow sweatshirt- One of the first items issued to Marine recruits was a yellow sweatshirt with a red eagle, globe and anchor. It was a sign of a newbie. We hated them.

– Grinder- Parade field.

– STP- Special Training Platoon. Out-of-shape and overweight recruits were sent there for extra physical training.

-Over the Hill- Absent without Leave (AWOL). I saw McDaniel at the Separation Barracks six months later. He never made it out of Boot Camp

 

Gay- Nobody was gay in 1963. Marines used a lot of Homophobic slurs. To SSgt Anderson’s credit, he was completely professional and non-judgmental when he told us about Spears. I got the impression that he had talked to Spears’ parents.

-D.I.- Drill Instructor. NCO responsible for all aspects of Marine Recruit Training.

-Runway Number One- MCRD San Diego is next to Lindberg Field. We had a guy who was caught sleep-walking down the main runway in his skivvie shorts. Not a good habit for someone serving on a ship or in combat.

-Section Eight- Discharge for mental reasons.

-Gyrene- Archaic nickname for Marine.

-Snap in- The first of three weeks of training at the rifle range is devoted entirely to assuming the offhand (standing), sitting and prone firing positions (snapping in). Two days before qualification, a recruit got too close to the receiver when he fired, shattering his glasses. Had he qualified, our Head D.I. could have claimed the coveted 100% qualification distinction.  

-Matthews- Camp Matthews, where recruits got their rifle training. (Now closed.)

-P.T.- Physical Training.

-Balboa- Balboa Naval Hospital. I spent a week there with pneumonia. Got the Doc to release me a bit too soon.

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