Echo Company Two-Seven Tooter
 
Echo Company 2/7
Vietnam Veterans Chapter
1ST Marine Division Association 
                                                              
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THE ALAMO CHAPTER WELCOMES THE 63RD ANNUAL 1ST MARINE DIVISION ASSOCIATION REUNION IN SAN ANTONIO.
AUGUST 23-29.
Our 2010 San Antonio Reunion is shaping up to be the best ever. Big thanks go out to Ed "Tex" Stiteler and his fellow Marines in the San Antonio Chapter of the FMDA for all their hard work this past year. We're expecting a great crowd as usual.
This is our once a year gathering to reunite and share that bond that only we can know.
Come join us for an enjoyable time.
 Here's a link to the hotel's web site
Famous Quotes
"I have only two men out of my company and twenty out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold."
~ 1st Lt. Clifton B. Gates, USMC, in Belleau Wood, 19 July, 1918
* Clifton B. Gates is one of the few officers of any service who had commanded a platoon, a company, a battalion, a regiment, and a division under fire. He served as the 19th Commandant of the Marine Corps from January, 1948, until January, 1952.

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem."
~ U.S. President Ronald Reagan, 1985
 
"Can you imagine being in a country with 500,000 brothers. How lucky can someone be?"
~ Bobbie "The Weather Girl" Keith, 1967
The young American woman who took to the air to report the weather - and stole the hearts - of thousands of GIs during the Vietnam War
 
A Blast from the Past-
Remember the "woobie blanket"??
A poncho liner (woobie blanket) is a piece of field gear which originated in the United States Marine Corps. It was intended to provide warmth in mild temperatures used as an expedient sleeping bag when attached to the standard issued poncho by means of integral lengths of material which are looped through the poncho's eyelets.
Troops generally hold the poncho liner in high regard, as a very useful piece of equipment, light and packable yet reasonably warm. Some Marines refer to the poncho liner as a "woobie" showing the same attachment an infant has for it's comfort blanket. The poncho liner found  acceptance amongst many US troops in Vietnam, providing just enough warmth for cool tropical nights but light and small. But the fact is most Marines didn't carry it along simply because of the added weight on the hump.
 
Q: Where did Marines in Vietnam sleep during the war?
A: US Marine Infantrymen in Vietnam slept on the ground. Rarely did they dig holes, except when they were drawing fire or had drawn fire earlier. Then they'd dig! The reason "grunts" didn't like to dig holes (foxholes) is because they moved so much. As soon as grunts dug a hole, they were ordered to move out again! They'd get fed up, and just sleep on the ground; rolled up in their poncho or poncho liner and not dig. Unless Top said so.
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"Ready for Anything 
Counting on Nothing"
 15 August 2010 
 
USMC "Kit Carson" Scouts
from foe to friend
 
The Kit Carson Scouts (Hồi Chánh Viên in Vietnamese), loosely translated as "members who have returned to the righteous side" belonged to a special program created by the U.S. Marine Corps during the Viet Nam War involving the use of former Viet Cong combatants.
 
The Kit Carson Scout Program was started in 1966 when Staff Sergeant Johnson, USMC, of 5th CIT (counterintelligence team) recruited two former Viet Cong (Hồi Chánh Viên or Chiêu Hồi) to work with U.S. Marine infantry troops in a program proposed to and agreed on by Major General Nickerson, the commanding officer in Viet Nam of the 1st Marine Division.
 
L/Cpl James Zalpis and Echo 2/7 Company Scout - August 1966
 
Kit Carson Scouts were former Vietcong guerrillas who had "rallied" to the government, frequently under the Chieu Hoi program, and who were willing to act as scouts for U.S. units. New scouts would be closely watched and observed with suspicion, for they could not always be trusted. Some "rallied" only to work for the Vietcong as spies or to lead Marine patrol units into traps, although most were very reliable, risking and often losing their lives for the units they served. As a result, good Kit Carson Scouts were highly prized and treated accordingly by their units.
 
Echo Company traveled with scouts and interpreters
Echo Company 2/7 brought along scouts and interpreters on almost every operation and many patrols. They had familiarity with the terrain and culture, understood Vietcong tactics in establishing ambushes, and could identify booby traps. They also recognized Vietcong base and assembly areas from indicators Americans did not notice. Lastly, Kit Carson Scouts were able to identify Vietcong collaborators in villages as well as Vietcong masquerading as civilians.
 
Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers were encouraged to desert by these "chieu hoi" (Open Arms) leaflets that were airdropped in areas we didn't control. The majority of early Kit Carson Scouts defected to the South Vietnamese government forces and became Hoi Chanh Vien primarily because they suffered either from malaria or grave wounds beyond what could be medically treated by the rudimentary medical care available on the Viet Cong/NVA side. Most had a distrust of Vietnamese soldiers and interpreters because of the degree to which friendly forces had been infiltrated by enemy agents, so it was imperative that their handlers be Vietnamese speaking Americans. Some of those who came over became scouts and translators for our Marine battalion.
We called them "Kit Carson" scouts.
 
Marine Corps Acronyms and Expressions
Here is a list of acronyms, expressions,  jargon, military slang, and sayings in common used in the United States Marine Corps. Many of the words or phrases have varying levels of acceptance among different units, and some also have varying levels of appropriateness (usually dependent on how senior the user is in rank).                  
    (did you know we had that many?)
First Marine Corps Officer
Samuel Nicholas (1744 - 27 August 1790) was the first officer commissioned in the United States Continental Marines (now the United States Marine Corps) and by tradition is considered to be the first Commandant of the Marine Corps. On 5 November 1775, Nicholas was commissioned a "Captain of Marines" by the Second Continental Congress. His pay was $32 a month.
Three ships in the United States Navy have been named USS Nicholas in his honor.
  Biography and Military Service
The Navy Cross
Awarded by Department of the Navy 
Navy Cross: This is the highest Medal that can be awarded by the Department of the Navy / Headquarters Marine Corps. To get a Navy Cross, essentially you must do something, during a war, that is recognized as a completely selfless and life threatening act. It must involve saving others as well. This should be SUPREME heroism on the level with the Congressional Medal of Honor. The difference between the Cross and the CMH is purely political. Most crosses are awarded posthumously. 
For a complete detailed reference on this medal click here.
 
  Recipients of the Navy Cross in the Vietnam War
Nautical Terms
Many of the Marine Corps customs are derived from the many years of service afloat. Even ashore Marines customarily use nautical terms. Floors are "decks," walls are "bulkheads," ceilings, "overheads," corridors, "passageways." The orders "Gangway!" and "Make a hole!" are used to clear the way for an officer ashore, just as it is afloat. Among other terms in common usage are: "two-block" -to tighten or center (as a necktie); "square-away" - to correctly arrange articles or to take in hand and direct an individual;" "head" - a bathroom; "scuttle-but" -a drinking fountain, also an unconfirmed rumor.
 
In the Marine Corps, the nautical expression "Aye, Aye, Sir" is used when acknowledging a verbal order. "Yes, Sir" and "No, Sir" are used in answer to direct questions. "Aye, Aye, Sir" is not used in answer to questions as this expression is reserved solely for acknowledgement of orders.
How much did the Vietnam War cost?
The Vietnam war cost the US for one year was over $85 million. The total cost of the war was around $140 billion. But the lives that were lost cost so much more. The real cost of the Vietnam War? For 58,000 Americans it cost them everything: The chance to ever see their families again, their chance to have a future, their chance to laugh, to cry, to have kids and grandkids, the chance to work at a job and experience life - all gone.

For those of us who survived: The nights when you wake up with a flashback when you can still smell burning flesh or remember blood that splattered, the terrible stomach problems that you endure because of Agent Orange, the PTSD that makes people around you wonder what is wrong with you, and the limp you have because a wound. The real cost of the war? Far beyond $140 Billion.
 
One finds in Vietnam Veterans very little bitterness about the war in which they fought. The most common regret, almost to a man, is that they were not able to do more - for each other and for the people they came to help. Such valor epitomizes the conduct of Americans at war from the first days of our existence.
 
Semper Fi,
Echo Company 2/7 Vietnam Veterans Chapter