Welcome New Life Member:

DENNIS RALPH GRUENEICH is one hell of a combat Marine. He served with Echo Company 2/7 during the Vietnam War 1968-1969.

 

Welcome New Chapter Member:

JOHN F. HARLEY is one outstanding Marine! He fought with Echo 2/7 in the Vietnam War 1968 -1969.

Most of you know that Force Levels are in flux due to emerging requirements in South West Asia.
The Division is doing its best to fight 2 wars and still host an abbreviated Anniversary Celebration here at Camp Pendleton from 1-3 February 2010. Support our Marines! For complete information and itinerary contact oldbreed@sbcglobal.net 

More Info 

Made in the U.S.A. the M14 rifle is one of the Top Ten Combat Rifles ever produced

Type: Semi or Fully Automatic Rifle
Caliber: 7.62 x 51 mm (.30 inch)
Muzzle Velocity: Approximately 2,799 feet per second
Rate of Fire: 700-750 rounds per minute

 

By the end of World War II, with an American infantry platoon carrying as many as four different weapons -- and four types of ammo -- the U.S. Army decided to develop a single weapon that could fulfill multiple roles. The result was the M14. First fielded in 1957, the rugged, accurate new rifle had plenty of stopping power with the standard NATO 7.62 mm round. It first saw major action in Vietnam, where Marines and soldiers liked its performance but struggled with the weight of both gun and ammunition. Before long it was phased out in favor of the lighter M16, but a few frontline units still use the classic weapon, primarily as a sniper rifle.

  VIDEO: See an M14 in action

The M14 rifle is a magazine-fed, gas operated shoulder weapon, designed primarily for semi-automatic fire of the NATO 7.62 mm cartridge. After World War II the Army began the search for a lightweight replacement for the M-1 Garand and the M-1918A2 BAR. The Army selected the M-14 rifle in 1957.
The M14 was the Table of Organization rifle for the Marine Corps during the early years of the Vietnam War. Production of the M14 rifle was halted in 1964 after 1,380,874 were procured.

  Characteristics of the M14 Rifle, Models

The rifle served adequately during its brief tour of duty in Vietnam. Though it was unwieldy in the thick brush due to its length and weight, the power of the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge allowed it to penetrate cover quite well and reach out to extended range, developing 2,470 ft·lb of muzzle energy. However, there were several drawbacks to the M14. The traditional wood stock of the rifle had a tendency to swell and expand in the heavy moisture of the Vietnam jungle, adversely affecting accuracy. Fiberglass stocks were produced to resolve this problem, but the rifle was discontinued before very many could be distributed for field use. Also, because of the M14's powerful 7.62x51 mm cartridge, the weapon was virtually uncontrollable in fully automatic mode, so much so that most M14s were permanently set to semi-automatic fire only so as to avoid useless waste of ammunition in combat.

  The M14 rifle - Development, Deployment, Usage In War

Zippo lighters have become iconic symbols of the Vietnam War. Now, a California artist is using these reminders of a war gone wrong. These Zippos tell a heat felt story.
 

  VIDEO: Morley Safer Reports - Zippo Torches Hooch CBSNEWS

The 174 Zippos depicted on the following pages illustrate the variety of "themes" that exist within the world of   Vietnam War Zippos.

Every Marine is a rifleman first and foremost. 

A soldier wears branch service insignia on his collar, metal shoulder
pins and cloth sleeve patches to identify his unit, and far too many
look like they belong in a band.

Sailors wear a rating badge that identifies what they do for the Navy.
Airmen have all kinds of badges and get medals for finishing schools a
showing up for work. Marines wear only the Eagle, Globe and Anchor together with personal ribbons and their CHERISHED marksmanship badges. They know why the uniforms are the colors they are and what each color means. There is nothing on a Marine's uniform to indicate what he or she does nor what unit the Marine belongs to. You cannot tell by looking at a Marine whether you are seeing a truck driver, a computer programmer or a machine gunner or a cook or a baker. The Marine is amorphous, even anonymous, by conscious design.

Every Marine is a Marine. Every Marine is a rifleman first and foremost,
a Marine first, last and always!  You may serve a four-year enlistment
or even a twenty plus year career without seeing action, but if the word
is given you'll charge across that wheat field!  Whether a Marine has
been schooled in automated supply or automotive mechanics or aviation
electronics or whatever is immaterial. Those things are secondary - the
Corps does them because it must. The modern battle requires the
technical appliances and since the enemy has them so do we. But no
Marine boasts mastery of them.

All Marines die in either the red flash of battle or the white cold of
the nursing home. In the vigor of youth or the infirmity of age all
will eventually die, but the Marine Corps lives on. Every Marine who
ever lived is living still, in the Marines who claim the title today. It is that sense of belonging to something that will outlive our own mortality, which gives people a light to live by, and a flame to mark their passing.