?? Marine boot camp question ??

My son-in-law, who was in the Navy about 30 years ago, mentioned at
dinner today that the guy who graduated #1in his platoon at Marine
boot camp was given a set of blues, free.

I think that's an urban legend. It certainly wasn't the case when I
went through Parris Island in 1946.

Was it done at San Diego?

Anyone know?

Thanks. vince norris

"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...
My son-in-law, who was in the Navy about 30 years ago,
mentioned at
dinner today that the guy who graduated #1in his platoon at
Marine
boot camp was given a set of blues, free.

I think that's an urban legend. It certainly wasn't the case
when I
went through Parris Island in 1946.

I was stationed at PI in 1953 and that wasn't the case then, but
I think that they did that for a while in the 70's when I was at
MCAS Beaufort.

Leanne

--
Saepe Expertus, Semper Fidelis, Frates et Sororis Aeterni -
Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers and Sisters Forever

vincent p. norris wrote:

My son-in-law, who was in the Navy about 30 years ago, mentioned at
dinner today that the guy who graduated #1in his platoon at Marine
boot camp was given a set of blues, free.

I think that's an urban legend. It certainly wasn't the case when I
went through Parris Island in 1946.

Was it done at San Diego?

Anyone know?

2005 - 1946 = 59 years.= almost 2 x 30. When did you
retire?!?!?!?!?

As of 1961 [2005 - 1961 = 44 years - OMG I'm getting old] when I
went through PI, honor man in a platoon got blues. Up to 10%
could be promoted PFC. honor man was /usually/ the guy who had
also been recruit platoon guide for the last phase since he had
the job /because/ he was the most squared away boot; he and the
similarly situated squad leaders and a couple/three other
hotshots usually got the stripes.

Cash sales/tailor shop managed to measure/fit the blues/sew the
stripes on between the Final Field Inspection and graduation -
wouldn't do to have an honor man blues/meritorious stripes going
to someone who managed to flunk the FFI. ;-

Dunno when it all started, but it had been going on for a while
before 1961 at both depots.

Moot point now. Since some time in the mid/late-80s, blues have
been part of the seabag issue.
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]

When I went through in '79 it was true


"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...
My son-in-law, who was in the Navy about 30 years ago, mentioned at
dinner today that the guy who graduated #1in his platoon at Marine
boot camp was given a set of blues, free.

I think that's an urban legend. It certainly wasn't the case when I
went through Parris Island in 1946.

Was it done at San Diego?

Anyone know?

Thanks. vince norris

On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 22:50:28 -0500, vincent p. norris
postulated :
My son-in-law, who was in the Navy about 30 years ago, mentioned at
dinner today that the guy who graduated #1in his platoon at Marine
boot camp was given a set of blues, free.

I think that's an urban legend. It certainly wasn't the case when I
went through Parris Island in 1946.

Was it done at San Diego?

Anyone know?

Thanks. vince norris

It was true the summer of 1955 when I went through PI.
(Damn; almost 50 years ago !)

Greasy

Greasy Rider© @invalid.com wrote:

vincent p. norris postulated :

My son-in-law, who was in the Navy about 30 years ago, mentioned at
dinner today that the guy who graduated #1in his platoon at Marine
boot camp was given a set of blues, free.

I think that's an urban legend. It certainly wasn't the case when I
went through Parris Island in 1946.

Was it done at San Diego?

Anyone know?

Thanks. vince norris

It was true the summer of 1955 when I went through PI.
(Damn; almost 50 years ago !)

OK, fellow Jarheads, I'm bringing in the big guns on this. Just
sent a query off to Leatherneck Magazine - those guys are good
at this sort of USMCiana, and we'll get to the bottom of it yet.
Chapter and verse, I'd warrant. Right now I'd guess the honor
man dress blues award was a post-Korean War thing, and we know
from Vince that they weren't doing it immediately after WWII
[prolly 'cause the USMC had more worries, with Truman/Johnson
trying to shut them down], so lets see what the Leatherneck
memory/trivia banks come up with.
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]

2005 - 1946 = 59 years.= almost 2 x 30. When did you
retire?!?!?!?!?

I didn't serve long enough to retire. I got out in 1953.

Because of a childhood injury, I was 4F in the draft--physically unfit
for duty. But I wanted to fly, so I tried to get into the Navy V-5
program. No soap.

Then I heard I could enlist in the marines and be guaranteed a chance
to take a test for flight training. By telling a few fibs about my
physical condition, I passed the physical and even survived Paris
Island.

I passed the test for flight training, too, and was sent to college
for two years and then to Pensacola. I got my wings in 1951 and kept
passing passing physicals until 1953 when a nosy flight surgeon
decided I really wasn't fit to fly Uncle Sam's airplanes (which I had
already done for about 1400 hours) so I was discharged.

I never had a set of dress blues, either.

vince norris

Thanks, guys.

vince norris

The platoon honor man got dress blues when I graduated in 1970.
They were bought by a private organization which was named at the
graduation ceremony. The series honor man got some additional money or
gift, I forget which.


Joe

vincent p. norris wrote:

2005 - 1946 = 59 years.= almost 2 x 30. When did you
retire?!?!?!?!?

I didn't serve long enough to retire. I got out in 1953.

slaps forehead

Duh. Shoulda been able to figure that out on my own. If you had
served long enough for a pensioned[1] retirement, you would have
served long enough to know about that blues thing, and not asked
in the first place.

/slaps forehead

[1 - Since once a Marine, always a Marine, the only difference
between "retired" Marines is if they retired before or after the
20 needed to rate the pension {or retainer pay, retired pay, or
whatever your pedant heart wants to call it}.]

[Snip general stuff, addressed below, except...]

I got my wings in 1951 and kept
passing passing physicals until 1953 when a nosy flight surgeon
decided I really wasn't fit to fly Uncle Sam's airplanes (which I had
already done for about 1400 hours) so I was discharged.

Tail end of Korea - when the health requirements for warm bodies
in cockpits were returning to peace-time levels.

In fact, through most of the post-WWII/peacetime draft/cold
war/lukewarm war period, warm, willing, and get-in-shapeable
bodies covered for a lot of sins, health history-wise, like the
aftermath of your childhood injury or my hay fever/
not-ever-formally-diagnosed-even-if-I-was-an-Army/
Marine-Brat-who-had-been-under-military-health-care-all-my-life-asthma.

I served with a lot of Marines in my career ['61-'82] who would
have not been accepted for enlistment today for health reasons.
With hindsight, safe in retirement, I can say that the USMC is
right. I was lucky and never got into circumstances, even during
VN tours as a helo gunner, where my "hay fever" presented a
problem. BUT, if I had faced such a situation, I could have
damned well taken down a lot of other good Marines with me.

I never had a set of dress blues, either.

Well, you would have, post-Korea. Blues were part of an
Officer's required kit, pilot or otherwise. ;-

[You could, though, have held off on the Mess Dress until you
made Major. Gotta have the fancy togs to go along with the
scrambled eggs.]
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]