It was period in my life where I was having a hard time holding down a part-time job. It seemed like evertime I got a new job, I’d get orders causing me to abandon the position. However, one such job I lost, had nothing to do with the Marine Corps. Rather it had to do…

During his final week of indoctrination Doc’s squad drew night guard duty. The first night of guard duty he drew an abandoned field filled with junked vehicle parts. The Officer of the Day pulled up in his jeep, with him was the company officer. Doc was instructed to recite my first general order, to which…

The wife says my pants are too long. I tell her she’s got it all wrong. My jeans are meant to be this way, Come workin’ time or for play. She says a shorter size I could fit, And a smaller size I should get. But I know they need come down Over my boots…

In my short 20-years of living I had no idea how terrible a smell a refugee camp could smell. We were there as a part of the UN Peacekeeping Forces. Privately, none of us were happy about being in the position we were in, we considered ourselves to be warriors not peace-niks. Eventually we would…

I can’t seem to do nothin’ right, Like goin’ to town an’ gettin’ tight, Then thrownin’ up upon the ground, I somehow manage to throw down!

Kay was sitting in the front room surfing the Internet with her new laptop. I was enjoying a cup of coffee, listening to the radio. Suddenly she jumped up and disappeared down the hallway only to come rushing back a few seconds later. In her hand she had a pair of what appeared to be…

It was the morning after Super Bowl XIX. The San Francisco 49ers had defeated the Miami Dolphins 38-16. The date was January 21, 1985. It was about 1 a.m., when 17-year George Lamson was blown from Galaxy Airlines Flight 203, which had jus’ lifted off from the Reno-Cannon International Airport. The plane actually crashed one…

Generally, Twenty-nine Palms is referred to as “Twenty-nine Stumps,” by most Grunts stationed there, either temporarily or on permanent station. And it’s pretty true as there isn’t a palm tree anywhere to be seen for miles. But this is an aside. This morning my son, Kyle was helping me move some stuff around when he…

I’m the third Tom in a series of “Tom’s” born during the 20th century. Originally, my dad’s name was supposed to be the same as my grandfather. However there was screw up at the Luthern Hospital in Fort Dodge and instead of Thomas Edward, Jr., the name on the birth certificate was transposed into Thomas…

We received a newly promoted staff sergeant. His first day on the job, he told us how much he didn’t like us and how much he didn’t want to be in our platoon. So obviously, he wasn’t a platoon favorite from day one. As a result he tried to make our lives more difficult because,…