Leyte (CV 32) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 125 text:

Headquarters Section A Company— Capt. W. C. Doty, Commanding WITH Capt. Doty ' s understanding and example Johnnv Carter ' s good natural worryings, Able Company stood out as being one of the, if not THE, best outfit in the Second Battalion. First Reinforced Rifle Platoon A Company— Lt. C. B. Thompson, Commanding w II 1 1 c ries i ' ( tome on, you leatherheads, and Oh. Lord, forgive them for they know not what the) do the Firs! Platoon was spurred on to greater ichievements than believed possible Who. for instance would have believed that w - could ever gel that compartment so clean.

Page 124 text:

LT. COL. C. L. BANKS, USMC PROLOGUE THE 2nd Marines, under the command of Lt. Col Charles L. Banks, embarked aboard the vari- ous ships of the Sixth Task Fleet at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, for the 49-50 winter tour of duty in the Mediterranean. Our purpose in being out here is to act as a landing party for the protection and evacuation of American nationals in case of an emergency. In connection with this we have made two full-scale training landings— one on Crete and the other on the famous island of Malta. While on board ship we have attempted, with limited success, to carry on a rigorous training program of the many subjects required by the infantry. For the last three weeks of our tour our training has been boiled down to a thorough course of instruction on our four basic weapons— the rifle, carbine, .45 pistol, and auto- matic rifle. Speaking of weapons; incidentally, re- minds us of the rifle matches we held with the French and Greeks which we won hands down. It wasn ' t always easy as our opponents, particularly the French, had some excellent marksmen. For the most part, all Marines have found the ports we ' ve hit and the things we ' ve seen and done there most interesting and educational, and there are not a few of us who are looking forward to com- ing back out at some time in the future.

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Second Reinforced Rifle Platoon A Company— Lt. G. J. Kleess, Commanding TO SAY THAT George Kleess and that hard-charging second John on his left, Bugs Foor, kept things under control would be quite an understatement. Evidence of this is shown by the way Bugs kept himself informed of the whereabouts of that gentleman in the third rack from the bottom, etc. Third Reinforced Rifle Platoon A Company— Lt. J. P. O ' Connell, Commanding WITH Chuck Quinn and Sgt. Mason ever at his beck and call, Seams O ' Connell kept his lads pretty well in tow. With the coming of the new organization, the 3rd Platoon will be broken up and not a few of us will be more than sorry to see it happen.