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Page 45 text:
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EEE MEET E EEEEE EESEEEE EEEIEEEE' EEEES Graduafes of The Marine Corps Candidafes' Class aT Ouanfico, Va., are immediafely senT To Reserve Officer's School where They sfudy and work for anofher Ten weeks. Upon successful complefion of The ROC The sTudenT officers are senf To The field where They complefe Their educafion on acfive dufy wifh Troops in The field. This educaTion confinues as long as They remain in The Corps. Life as an officer isn'T as Tough as Candidafes' Class, buf men sTill are graded consTanTly on milifary bearing and command presence. The ROC is more like a graduafe school. ln Ten weeks, officers' receive The emergency equivalenf of a nine-monfh course once given Naval Academy graduafes af Philadelphia Basic School. Classes are held in a modern school building wifh a large audiforium suifable for showing Training films. Tacfics are sfudied from an officer's viewpoinf, The individual and squad maneuvers give way To movemenfs of plafoons and companies. Baffalion, company and plafoon officers are changed each day among The sTudenT officers who acfually com- mand Their own groups for all formafions. Alfhough s+iII yelled aT, The prefix genTlemen, accompanies The verbal reproach. Whaf a far cry from The hey, you days! Trucks are used for Travel, and Table linen and personal waifers make The mess more aTTracTive. Some of The men geT married shorfly afTer being commissioned. ln spare momenfs There are bowling and pisfol Tournamenfs, class elecfions and hours on The golf course, aT The swimming pool or The sfable. Off dufy, life resembles a counfry club scene. Sfudenfw officers are sired To deafh by The enlisfed men and salufed so much Thaf They ofTen duck down an alley rafher Than risk The main drag, Two blocks long. Formal and informal dances af The club brings ouT The besf in Soufhern womanhood, especially during summer monfhs when senior officers' daughfers are home from college, Maior General l-l. M. Smifh, commanding general, gives a recepfion for each class. Men work iusf as hard as before, buf in a differenf manner and sfudy a good deal more. Buf The pressure isn'T as greaf and milifary self- assurance has been gained. The liTTle chapel is The scene of a few weddings. IT has Two wings, a small and a large, and a revolving alfar. During week days The small chapel is used for The Cafholic alfar, and on Sunday bofh Cafholic and ProTesTanT services are held in The larger wing. There is no more peaceful place in The world Than The dimly-liT chapel wifh The vigil lighf flickering soffly as The sound of Taps echoes across The camp proclaiming Thaf all is well. ln The ROC, men sfudy naval law, Topography, camouflage, combaf infelligence, aviafion, arfillery, communicafions, anfiaircraff defense and combaf principles of Tanks, infanfry weapons, rifle company, plaToon and squad. They learn abouf mess managemenf, posf exchange work, company adminisfrafion, Terrain appreciafion, aerial phofographs and landing operafions. ln all These and ofher subiecfs, class work precedes field problems and work on The acfual Terrain. The ground on selecfed siTes is sfudied for The bes+ infanfry locafions, for machine gun emplacemenfs or morfar holes, for locaTing anfi-mechanized defenses and guarding bivouacs againsf air affack, Each solufion is poinfed ouf in The field wifh Tesfs in every subiecf sfudied. The baffalion Travels an hour's ride for one week To Manassas To view hisforic Civil War Terrain and To relive some of The problems ThaT confronfed Lee and Sfonewall Jackson and The affacking Union generals. IT is a sobering Thrill To see old Trench rows running Through grassy hill counfry where nafure has nof yef erased The scars of The Civil War, The landing operafions complefe The formal ROC Training, The baTTalion arises af 0200 some morn in silenf blackness pierced only by The sfabbing barracks lighf. Affer a hasfy breakfasf, wiTh sand- E411 wiches sfuffed in pockefs, men march down To The Pofomac, carrying The regular equipmenf of an infanfry baffalion minus packs. Morfars, machine guns, aufo-rifles and regular arms are carried. Down af The dock, The Higgins landing boafs mill around, creafing a sfrange sighT in The murky fog, Their lighfs dimly visible from shore. Men climb from cargo nefs info boafs as They come Equipmenf is lowered down wiTh ropes and hand over hand, rifles slung over backs, dangling. alongside The plafform. The men climb The neTs canfeens and bayonefs OuT on The misfy river The boafs roam, waifing for The formafion To complefely assemble. lnsfrucfions have been issued and every minufe is accounfed for. Finally The boafs are loaded and The waves of snub- nosed craff move off in formafion Toward The rendezvous area a few miles Toward The sea. There The ships circle again before making The inifial sfabbing aTTack. Scouf bombers from The Fleef Marine Air Group pepper The hosfile shore wifh flour sack bombs in preparafion for The advance. Then The firsT wave speeds shoreward, followed by a second and a Third. As The boafs Touch boTTom, Marines leap ouf, holding rifles high ouf of The waisf-deep wafer. Gaining The shore, They charge againsf waves of machine gun blank ammunifion fire. The enlisfed men of The hosfile force are pushed back across The railroad Tracks and Then, wifhouf more Than a momenT's resf, The sfudenf officers are off for special Tasks, To capfure a railhead or To Take a supply sfore in a Town several miles disfanf. All morning men Tramp and fighf againsf zooming planes and hosfile scouf cars spiTTing blanks and raking The roads wifh imaginary bulleTs. The sand bag grenades soon are expended as baseball pifches land Them in open scouf cars for direcf hiTs, Some sfudenf officers even leT fly wifh oranges and dirf clods, A grinning machine gunner is hiT wiTh a soggy sandwich. A road barricade almosT Tips one of The scouf cars as The driver skids and plunges To one side To avoid a heap of logs and Tree sfumps placed in The road. Then The dusfy and firing hike back To The boafs in a rear guard acfion, fighfing all The way againsf aviafion and scouf cars Thaf have been blown off The road a hundred Times. Wading info The wafer and ouf To The boafs, The men refurn To The barracks and The knowledge ThaT Their Ten weeks as sfudenf officers is over and Thaf in weeks, monfhs and years To come They will have an opporfunify To work furfher problems where a wrong answer will bring a swifT deafh and The correcf solufion will send The hellions of l-lirohifo To Their doom and Turn back The l-liflerian legions of The damned. The sfudenf graduafes don'T say much, buf They are serving Today in Midway and Johnsfon Islands, in Hawaii and ashore and afloaf wiTh The Fleef Marine Force of The U. S. Marines, and They haven'T for- goffen Wake lsland or whaf Semper Fidelis means. . . -,k.-,, . xi V I . ,. . .se .fg,f:E. 5 K Ti .I U fl r F ?:I,2:E-V: r 4 I S A .-... 1 T .. if T i l ' -i' sy.. 'ki
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Page 44 text:
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THE llllll l Elllllll El llllllllil llllSS Everyxmonfh aT Quanfico, Va., The Unifed STaTes Marine Corps begins anoTher Candidafes' Class of young men befween 20 and 30 years of age, These men are working Toward commissions as Second LieuTenanTs in The Marine Corps Reserve, and for I0 weeks They go Through a sTiff and sfrenuous program. Graduafes of colleges in every sTaTe in The union, married and unmarried, TogeTher wiTh selecfed men from The enlisfed ranks or Trained non-commissioned officers of The Corps-The baTTalion of some 300 candidafes march inTo Their Training wiTh golden bars as Their reward. Abouf 80 per cenT graduafe. In The groups ThaT assemble aT The QuanTico Marine Barracks melfing posT are men from all walks of life and mosT professions. Graduafes of former Candidafes Classes are scaTTered wherever Marine Junior Officers are serving. Every day aT recruifing sfafions Throughouf America more men enlisf as Privafes Firsf Class. Quanfico, sifuafed on The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Pofomac main line, is abouf 35 miles from Washingfon and wiThin a few hours from New York, Richmond, Balfimore, and Philadelphia. From norTh, souTh, and wesT The men pour inTo The famous Marine Camp. Men arrive aT The Quanfico sTaTion, populafion nof over 500, and are meT by drill sergeanfs who march Them off, suifcases swinging in The wind, Three blocks laTer They arrive aT Their modern red-brick barracks. Uniforms for The firsf few days are issued-green dungarees and field haTs. Rifles, bayonefs, haversacks, canfeens and arm loads of small pamphlefs on subiecfs such as chemical warfare, hygiene and sanifafion and scoufing and pafrolling are given The men. These are The bibles, These and The words of plafoon leaders and non-commissioned officers. Picfure some 300 young ex-collegians, all befween 20 and 30, Take Them from every sTaTe in The union and almosT any college or universify, have Them close up law offices, leave accounfing iobs, shuT salesmen's books, wriTe Their lasf newspaper sfory, say goodbye To The schoolroom, and wind up all Their affairs. Then bring Them TogeTher for I0 weeks of a highly regimenfed life in a sudden divorce from civilian soffness. Add seasoned regular veferans and you have The Candidafes Class. No college iniTiaTion or frafernify hell week could approach The pledgeship Thus served under susfained discipline. A spof on a Tie, a blof on shoes, a wrong sfep in drill, inaTTenTion af lecfures all are accompanied by swiff and sudden reprimand and many are The windows washed, The decks swepT and swabbed fall floors are decksj and The weeds dug from The lawn ouT fronf, Classes afTer evening chow are held occasionally during which an unbeloved corporal insTrucTs in The noble arT of shoe shining, spif and polish, rub and brush. The non-coms don'T miss a Trick, and They hold all The Trumps. lf a rifle is dropped in drill or formafion, The culprif sleeps wiTh iT ThaT nighf. lf a bed shows a wrinkle during inspecfion if is ripped aparT. Men learn To be careful of liTTle Things, and a dirfy rifle is cause for week- end liberfy resTricTion. ThaT rifle becomes a Tender babe, To be coddled and polished cleaned and handled carefully. The enlisfed man depends for his life on his piece and candidafes are never allowed To forgef ThaT a rifle is far more precious Than food or gold To a Marine on expedifionary duTy. Those veferan nonvcoms, backbone of The Corps' glorious hisTory, soon whip The rookies info line, drill Them unTil They can march, chill men for shorf- comings and Thrill Them on off momenfs when They unbend To shoof The breeze wiTh sfories of The Tropics, The banana revolufions and France of yesferyear. The Baffalion rises abrupTly aT 0540. On The dying nofes of The bugle comes The bellow of The day's dufy officer- off your cofs and info your socks. A sleepy-head lingering in bed has his coT ierked up and down by an irafe non- com. Tumbling info clofhes and grabbing rifles men fall ouT by 0550. Then comes roll call. The men push and heave The nine-pound demons unfil arms are ready To drop off and The rifle seems weighfy as a morTar barrel. Those dawn-lighT calisfhenfics are for hardy souls. All survive and sprinf around an endless block before refurning To The barracks. Then To shave, wash, complefely dress, sweep and swab The deck and down To mess formafion in fiffeen minufes. Affer chow, back To The cleaning deTail, Tidy bunks, lock lockers and away for The firsT formafion of The morning af . Mr 94 il' 0 Q5 l40fl 0730. There are generally four hours of mixed class work, pracTical insfrucfion and drill in The morning. Then chow again aT noon and back To The books or The weapons for anoTher Three hours beginning aT I300 and ending aT l600 ifhe Navy uses a 24fhour clocki. Home for a brief glance aT The mail, if any, and Then Three quarfers of an hour of supervised aThleTics. Back To barracks, wash, dress for evening chow and if one hasn'T landed in any black book during The day, he is free To do whaf he chooses for The evening. Candidafes generally choose To clean and disassemble rifles, polish shoes and belfs, sfudy lessons, wriTe home, shoof The breeze, affend The Tree Theafer or do washing. AfTer a few aTTempTs af ironing shirTs, mosT men prefer The Posf laundry. Taps come aT 2200 and lighfs go ouT. There are always plenfy of PFC's scurrying around in The dark, caughf in The midsf of a leTTer, a shoe deTail or wiTh rifle parfs sTrewn all over a bed. Each of The four companies have a school room and lighfs are on There unTil 2300. As a lasf resorT, There is always The Head lMarine for washrooml which remains Iighfed all nighf and where The sleepy PFC can sfudy, wrife and polish undisfurbed. AfTer a re-glance aT a sample day's schedule, The civilian realizes why reveille sounds like an echo of Taps To many. BuT To parficularize, The chow is excellenf and There is plenTy of if. Of course, one has To gef accusfomed To eafing all courses aT The same Time and somefimes sfarfing on The pie and finishing on meaT if he misses The firsT round of The plaTTer. There are no real gripes on The food, generally men gain weighf on The dief. Life in odd momenfs off dufy is pleasanf, many fine friendships are made and philosophies exchanged in friendly bull sessions. The firsf few weeks of drill, drill, drill plus class room work provide The rudimenfs of marching. There are exfra-Time awkward squads for Those wifh Two lefT feeT. Then comes pracTical work on bayoneT drill and disassembling The rifle, 45 caliber pisfol, Browning auTomaTic rifles and laTer on, The Browning .30 caliber machine gun. Bayonef work is somewhaf sickening for The genfler souls who are TaughT To bash in a man's head wiTh various Thrusfs, To iam a bayoneT info The Throaf and To counfer and parry an opponenT's weapon. Then comes hours of running The course againsT sfraw dummies lined up for The various Types of Thrusfs and sfrokes. The SpiriT of The bayoneT becomes a live Thing as men growl af The inoffensive dummies and cuT To ribbons The gunny sack soldiers. AT The end of The alloffed Time men are qualified To drill fufure enlisfed Marines and To undersfand The imporfance of hand To hand fighTing when if is eifher you or The ofher fellow. NexT comes The rifle. Preliminary hours of insfrucfion on posfure, range, elevafion, windage, Trigger squeeze and score cards give way To acfual hours of back sfraining pracfice on posifion, on proper adiusfmenf of The rifle sling and on sTeady sighfing and squeezing. Then The play is over and real bullefs are fired, firsf The .22 for pracfice and Then The sweefhearf of The Marine Corps, The '03 Model, known as The Springfield, The piece ThaT Marines carried in France and ThaT demoralized The German final drive when iT began To kill aT 600 yards in The hands of sharpshoofers from The immorfal Fiffh and SixTh Marine Regimenfs. Many are The black eyes, bashed lips and puffed cheeks during Those firsT few days when unwary candidafes leT The '03 slip ouf of Their shoulder hollows and allow her To kick back. The classes qualify a high percenfage while blasfing away Thousands of rounds of ammunifion, a goodly share of which finds iTs way inTo The Black. Nofhing is neglecfed in The Training, because men are To be Trainers Them- selves in a few monfhs. Candidafes fire The pisTol and auTo-rifle for qualifica- Tion. Alfhough a lof of The Virginia clay was nipped behind The buffs on The range, The men know ThaT They can hif moving and sfafionary Targefs The size of a Jap or German aT disfances up To 600 yards. During The days on The range, men eaT ouT of me-sskifs in The field and TorgeT The irksome drill and become acquainfed wiTh non-coms. Gradually The horns and Tails disappear from The insfrucfors and They Too come To have a new respecf for The candidafes, loom from Their abilify To handle The Tools of The Marine's Trade. Affer work wiTh The firearms, dummy grenades are Thrown across a wide field. Then comes The digging of fox holes, hasfy field forfificafions dug in The face of an enemy. Connecfing Trenches are dug befween These 30-inch deep one-man casTles. Huge mounds of earfh are spaded in making machine gun pifs and morfar holes. ln This period, barbed wire enfanglemenfs are sfrung and Tacfics of defense in woods sfudied. Brains are nof neglecfed and men sfudy mapping, learn how To Travel by compass bofh by day and nighT in woods, become versed in firsT aid and inferior guard duTy learn milifary cusfoms and courfesies, walk Through a gas chamber and pifch Tenfs. Candidafes acfually shoof The machine gun, pracfice anTiaircrafT fire on moving Targefs wiTh rifles, examine The Garand rifle and fire The Bl-mm. morfar as The insfrucfors race againsT The deadline To give pupils a Tasfe of every weapon used by The Corps. An overnighT bivouac climaxes The field acfivifies and brings The class To a grand finale. On a Typical Candidafes finale in May of l94l, Lieufenanf Colonel B. Dubel, commanding officer, marched his baTTalion of canclidafes some I4 miles in The broiling May sun over rocky backroads in war Time formafions. During The march, Marine fighfer planes swooped low overhead in simulafed air aTTack as men deployed off The road and Took up imaginary firing posifions. AfTer pifching Tenfs and eafing field raTions carried in 50-pound haversack rolls, The four companies moved ouT info The affack problem. A rain sform came wiTh zero hour and The advancing waves of youThs in foresT-green dungarees sloshed and splashed over mud and running wafer againsT a foe enfrenched on a ridge of hills. The supporf plafoon of The supporf company never did see The enemy, in facT afTer a few momenfs They couIdn'T see anybody. IT rained so hard ThaT men goT losf from Their plafoon leaders and iT was all a man could do To keep a squad of men close To him. Back aT The bivouac area some of The Tenfs were down and many of The exfra clofhes damp and weT. Hof Tires and chow pepped up The men before They wenT inTo a Tired sleep. During The nighf a cold wind blew up and numbed many who couIdn'T make The one blankef serve bofh as maffress and cover. Men welcomed middle-of-The-nighT senfry shiffs because They could sTir Their frozen sfumps. On The way home a Thigh-deep sfream was forded. Then comes graduafion and men leave The Candidafes Class wiTh gold bars on Their shoulders. The firsT and mosT lasTing impression of The Candidafes Class is ThaT, alfhough The collegians land in overwhelming numbers, The Marines soon have Them very well in hand.
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