Arrived home on Monday, 16 November from a very enjoyable and rewarding weekend. Nancy and I flew out Friday (have I told you how much I HATE flying?) to Austin, TX, rented a car. and drove to Round Rock, TX. We attended the Williamson County, TX Marine Corps League Birthday Ball on Friday evening. Our platoon Corpsman in RVN 1966-67 John (Doc) Weed is the Commandant of the chapter and he had invited me to be their guest speaker. We had a grand time. It is so rewarding for a ole warhorse like me to be around Marines for a night of commiserating and sharing stories. I don’t get the opportunity to be around Marines that often; therefore, when I get the chance to do so, it is such a rewarding and invigorating experience for me personally. Of course, Nancy has heard all my stories too many times, but she still laughs at them as though it were the first

Our XO at RS Chicago, then Major David Young (now Col, USMC retired) and his beautiful bride of eight weeks, Kristie drove over 200 miles to attend the ball. I had not seen Dave since 2003, which added so much to the night’s festivities.

I also was able to see LCpl Brian Martin, who was the navigator for our Super Squad (E 2/7) who won the Marine Corps Rifle Squad competition in 1971 — their photo and story are in the book. It still amazes me just how small this world is and especially our Corps.

Then on Sunday, we spent the day with Doc and his lovely bride, Carol. They took us to the Georgetown square for some shopping, which was a joy for Nancy, then on to their beautiful home in Sun City for some serious commiseration (war stories).

Originally posted 2015-12-07 16:48:33.