Echo Company Two-Seven Tooter
 
Echo Company 2/7
Vietnam Veterans Chapter
1ST Marine Division Association 
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Two-Seven Tooter
 
Two-Seven Tooter
Message Board
8th & I Marine Barracks Washington, DC
USMC Drum & Bugle Corps, Silent Drill Platoon and Color Guard
Sunday March 21, 2010
Rose Bowl Stadium
101 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena, CA
FREE and open to the public
Gates open 1 PM
Event starts 2 PM
For more information contact:
Sergeant Monique Wallace
(818) 373-5531
 
March 30 of every year is "WELCOME HOME VIETNAM VETERANS DAY"!! Welcome home and thank you for your service!!! 
 
FMDA Annual Reunion San Antonio
It's never to early to start planning for the 2010 Reunion in San Antonio Texas.
THE ALAMO CHAPTER WELCOMES THE 63RD ANNUAL
1ST MARINE DIVISION ASSOCIATION REUNION AUGUST 23-29, 2010
This year's event will be held at the El Tropicano Hotel on San Antonio's famous Paseo del Rio (Riverwalk). 
Click on the link below to access the Reunion Schedule and Registration Form
     
  The FMDA's
 Official Newsletter
The Old Breed News
The official publication of the 1ST Marine Division Association.
1ST Marine Div Association Web Site
The Official Newsletter of the 1st Marine Division The Latest Blue Diamond
Famous Quotes
 
"Basically, if you hear the boom, it's good. It means you're still alive after the thing goes off."
~ Lance Corp. Justin Hennes, USMC, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Marjah in Afghanistan's Helmand province 
 
"The Marine Corps has been called by the New York Times 'The elite of this country.' I think it is the elite of the world".
~ Admiral William Halsey, U.S. Navy
 
"Be a man of principle. Fight for what you believe in. Keep your word. Live with integrity. Be brave. Believe in something bigger than yourself. Serve your country. Teach. Mentor. Give something back to society. Lead from the front. Conquer your fears. Be a good friend. Be humble and be self-confident. Appreciate your friends and family. Be a leader and not a follower. Be valorous on the field of battle. Take responsibility for your actions."
~ Major Douglas Zembiec, USMC 
Major Zembiec was Killed In Action, 11 March, 2007, during his fourth tour of duty in Iraq during a raid against insurgent forces.
  

Marine Corps Relief Efforts
Official U.S. Marine Corps News & More

Here are some links following news reports on Active Duty 2/7 Marines serving with the 31st MEU in the Pacific-Asian Region.
Combat Center units leave for 31st MEU Hundreds of Marines and sailors from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment and their augments said goodbye to families and friends.
Though Marines have been deploying alongside their Navy brethren for more than 234 years, there is still room for new adventure and first-time experience within the Corps' ranks. 
More than 500 Marine and Naval forces from the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of South Korea and the U.S. stormed the beach during a mock amphibious assault as part of Exercise Cobra Gold.
News - Photos - Units - More 
Echo Company 2/7 
Memorial Monument

88 Fallen Hero's of E 2/7

We have met our goal!!
The memorial fund now stands over $33,000!! This is something of a miracle since it only took about six months to accomplish.
The Echo 2/7 Memorial Fund will close-out on April 30, 2010.
A $1500 donation was made to the Echo 2/7 Memorial Fund from the Echo Company 2/7 Vietnam Veterans Chapter, 1st Marine Division Association. The donation was approved by a unanimous vote of the chapter membership.
The Echo 2/7 Memorial Fund received our chapter's donation and we received a thank you card from Colonel Martin C. Higgins, USMC (Ret.). He indicated the monument will now be built as soon as possible.

Semper Fi,
Donate & More Info Here!!
 
Retirement Planner
 Special Extra Earnings for Military Service
Under certain circumstances, special extra earnings for your military service from 1957 through 2001 can be credited to your record for Social Security purposes. These extra earnings credits may help you qualify for Social Security or increase the amount of your Social Security benefit. The information that follows applies only to active duty military service earnings from 1957 through 2001. Here's how the special extra earnings are credited on your record.
For every $300 in active duty basic pay, you are credited with an additional $100 in earnings up to a maximum of $1,200 a year. 
Enter your email address below to sign up for our mailing list.
Join Our Mailing List 
 We look forward to keeping you informed. Semper Fidelis! 
 
Join Our Chapter
Enroll Online Here!!
"Ready for Anything 
Counting on Nothing"
 		15 March 2010 
   
Military Payment Certificates
Called 'funny money' 'Monopoly money' or 'play money', and also known as "script", military payment certificates were among the most ubiquitous American items in the Vietnam War.
 
After the end of World War ll, the United States found itself with military bases in many nations, most of which had devastated economies and very weak currencies. In order to discourage unlawful currency transactions and other forms of black marketing, a special form of scrip termed military payment certificates (MPCs) was issued to personnel in nearly all the U.S. military's foreign bases. In theory, this currency could be used only on base by authorized military personnel. A unique feature of MPCs was that they could be demonetized on very short notice and replaced with a new issue. The day on which one series was replaced by another was known as C-day. During the 27-year period when MPCs were in use, there were 13 different issues of these notes.
 
There were four issues of MPCs used during the Vietnam War. Series 641 (1965-1968), Series 661 (1969), series 681 (1969-1970), and series 692 (1970-1973).
   
    
Military Payment Certificates - Click on any MPC to enlarge
Most MPC series consisted of seven denominations - 5 cents, 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents, $1, $5, $10, but the last three series used in Vietnam also contained $20 notes, a denomination that was used exclusively in that country.
 
The fractional and $1 notes were much smaller than normal American currency, but the $10 and $20 certificates were the same size as American notes. The earliest $5 MPCs were also of this size, but in all the later issues, the $5 notes were a bit shorter.
 
All certificates were printed in bright color that differed radically from issue to issue. In the case of Series 641, the first of the Vietnam issues, the 25-cent notes were bright red, while the 50-cent notes were bright orange. Series 641 was by far the longest lived, remaining in service from August 31, 1965 to October 21, 1968. It was also the most widely counterfeited.
 
The designers of the series chose to honor all the armed services. The fractional notes depicted the nuclear submarine USS Thomas A. Edison on their faces; the backs showed the spacewalk by Major Edward White during the Gemini 4 flight. The $1 note depicted an Air Force pilot on its face. The $5 note a Navy Petty Officer on its face, while the $20 note showed a GI in helmet. The back of the latter pictured a Boeing B-52 in flight. The $10 note related most closely to the land in which it was used. The face of the note showed an Army Special Forces master sergeant near a jungle village with a helicopter in the background, and the back depicted a M-48A4 tank.
 
All MPCs were designed and printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington. The final day of use for MPCs in Vietnam was March 15, 1973. Claims for unredeemed MPCs were still being honored as late as September 30, 1980, after which date all MPCs ceased to have validity as currency.
 
Although MPCs are no longer legal tender, they are far from worthless to collectors. The fact that they could be demonetized on short notice meant that few were kept as souvenirs, especially the higher $5, $10, and $20 denominations. A total of 31 different MPCs were used during the Vietnam war.
 
MPCs are now popular collectors' items that are attracting increasing attention. If you have leftover MPCs from your days in Vietnam, you may have something most worthwhile.
 
Military Payment Certificates Vietnam Era - MPC Image Tour
  Series 641 (1965-1968)   Series 661 (1968-1969)
  Series 681 (1969-1970)   Series 692 (1970-1973)
  Thai MPCs These were used by Thai troops during the Vietnam War 
  Korean MPCs Used by Korean troops during the Vietnam War
 
Ho Chi Minh Trail Notes
These notes, also called Vietnamese MPCs, were used during the Vietnam War by Vietnamese soldiers.  Ho Chi Minh Trail Notes
 
Vietnam War Revisited
"Fragging" and "Combat Refusals" in Vietnam
The question of crimes such as "fragging", "combat refusals", desertion and AWOL within the Vietnam conflict is one which brings emotions to the fore. Many veterans deny that "fragging" or "combat refusals" occurred, whilst others feel desertion and AWOL was merely a means of resisting what was felt to be a unjust and illegal conflict. One partial reason for such sharp differences in the perceptions of veterans: support for the war back home, and the perceived prospects for victory, declined sharply during the seven years of heavy American involvement in Vietnam. Some took positions of resisting because they were afraid of combat and the fear they might be killed.
 
Indeed, military leaders themselves recognized a crisis among Vietnam soldiers in the war's last years. In an article called "The Collapse of the Armed Forces" published in the Armed Forces Journal in June, 1971, Colonel Robert Heinl declared that the army in Vietnam was "dispirited where not near mutinous."
Combat Refusal.
Where soldiers refused to obey orders this became known as a "combat refusal". In a report for Pacifica Radio, journalist Richard Boyle went to the base to interview a dozen "grunts" from the First Cavalry Division. The GI's had been ordered on a nighttime combat mission the previous night. Six of the men had refused to go and several others had objected to the order. "They'll have to court-martial the whole company," one soldier told Boyle. "I say right away they can start typing up my court-martial."
Historians say so-called "combat refusals" became increasingly common in Vietnam after 1969. Soldiers also expressed their opposition to the war in underground newspapers and coffee-house rap sessions. Some wore black armbands in the field. Some went further.

Fragging. When one American killed another American, usually a superior officer or an NCO, the term "fragging" came into use. Although the term simply meant that a fragmentation grenade was used in the murder, it later became an all encompassing term for such an action. It is known that "fraggings" did occur during Vietnam, but the precise number is uncertain.
"During the years of 1969 down to 1973, we have the rise of fragging - that is, shooting or hand-grenading your NCO or your officer who orders you out into the field," says historian Terry Anderson of Texas A & M University. "The US Army itself does not know exactly how many...officers were murdered. But they know at least 600 were murdered, and then they have another 1400 that died mysteriously. Consequently by early 1970, the army was at war not with the enemy but with itself."
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Name That MarineHeadline
Photographs of E 2/7 Marines in Vietnam
Here are some photos taken by Lewis Waters. They were taken around September, 1967 at the Esso Base Camp. Tooter readers are invited to guess the names of those in the photos.  Click on photos to enlarge
    
       01                      02                     03                    04       
    
               05                     06                    07                    08              
Send the name of any Marines you recognize in these photos to our chapter Message Board. Indicate the name by the number listed below the photo. Your response will be posted to the Message Board.   
How To Retrieve A Lost Dog Tag
The Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command Dog Tag Project
is attempting to reunite more than 1,000 dog tags that have been found in Vietnam with their owners or family members. An alphabetical list of the names stamped on these tags is posted on the JPAC website.
Go to www.jpac.pacom.mil and click on the Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) tab and select Dog Tag Project from the pull-down menu.
 
Those who believe their dog tags, or those of a family member, are on the list, are encouraged to contact JPAC via information found on the web site or call 1-866-913-1286.
 
In addition to JPAC's project, Cana Mission is a private effort to reunite dog tags with their owners. The nonprofit organization was the brainchild of a Vietnam vet and his wife who have acquired hundreds of tags in Ho Chi Minh City over the last decade. Cana Mission's searchable list of names is posted at www.canamission.com.
  
Free-Fire Zones
When in doubt, empty the magazine
A free-fire zone in U.S. military parlance is a fire control measure, used for coordination between adjacent combat units. The definition used in the Vietnam war by US troops was a specific designated area into which any weapon system may fire without additional coordination with the establishing headquarters.
 
Initially, the free fire zone was an area near an airbase which was cleared of civilians to allow aircraft bomb disposal prior to landing. The U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam MACV, based on the assumption that all friendly forces had been cleared from the area, established a policy designating "free-fire zones" as areas in which:
> Anyone unidentified is considered an enemy combatant.
> Soldiers were to shoot anyone moving around after curfew, without first making sure that they were hostile.
 
U.S. commanders issued wallet-size cards bearing the warning to "use your firepower with care and discrimination, particularly in populated areas." Often, these cards ended up in a pocket of a pair of tropical fatigues, where they remained, ignored, for the duration of the bearer's tour of duty. The intention of the Department of Defense in issuing the cards was to help prevent jittery U.S. soldiers from mistakenly, or intentionally, declaring a suspect village a "free fire zone," then destroying it and its residents. But the cards only served to accent official naiveté. In reality, U.S. troops in Vietnam seldom knew with any certainty which villages were friendly, siding with the Americans and their Saigon-based allies, and which supported the Hanoi-backed Viet Cong Communist guerrillas.
 
The practice of establishing free fire zones was instituted because many villages in what was then South Vietnam willingly provided safe haven to Viet Cong fighters. Some, by contrast, were forcibly occupied by marauding bands of guerrillas, who used the villages for cover. Many more were devotedly anti-Communist. Yet, the American forces often had fundamental difficulty in distinguishing among any of these villagers. The fact that the guerrillas commonly dressed in black cotton pajama-style outfits, like those worn by most Vietnamese peasants, served only to heighten the confusion.
 
Ineffective efforts to rein in the GIs' propensity to create free fire zones in Vietnam resulted in a sense among many Vietnamese as well as Americans that U.S. forces were undisciplined. More important, perhaps, the widely touted grand plan to capture the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese was immeasurably diminished by the perception-let alone the outbreaks of reality-that Americans did not value Vietnamese lives.
 
Faced with negative coverage and with severe difficulty in enforcing international laws limiting the imposition of free fire zones, as well as other elements of the rules of engagement, the Pentagon over time added more directives to its pocket cards: a Vietnamese village could not be bombed without warning even if American troops had received fire from within it; a village known to be Communist could be attacked only if its inhabitants were warned in advance; only once civilians had been removed could a village be declared a free fire zone and shelled at will.
 
Semper Fi,
Echo Company 2/7 Vietnam Veterans Chapter