While I was there in Aug to Dec of 84, the Brass Rail was just a bar. Good place to loose your self. The Anchor (Shanker) was the strip club.
Millington was a great place for a young dumb kid with more dollars than sense to get in over his head!

Hogs

Just thought I'd jump in and say I was in Millington for AQ-A school from approx 9/56 thru sometime in the spring of '57. Finished first in my class and got to go to Opa Locka to join VMF-251 as it was rotating back from Korea. We had some worn out FJ-3s with APG-51A firecontrol radar. MOS in those days was 6614.

Semper Fi,
ole buck Sgt Ed

I was stationed north of Memphis in 1970.

Got to drive home once a month to St. Louis area.

My first school.

Ahhhh, Millington.

November 1978, and I was a slick-sleeved prive fresh out of Parris Island. Eighteen years old, and thought I had the world by the you-know-whats. Turned out to be the other way around.

I arrived after my 10 days post-boot camp leave, nothing on the blouse but a toilet-bowl shooting medal, and walked right into ... 30 days of mess duty.

I still remember the morning after first reporting there, because they held reveille in the receiving barracks at 0230. Yep, it was right there on the blackboard, and I missed it. So Barracks Support could do a field day.

I remember some Corporal -- he looked like a gas station attendant, and needed a haircut -- walking up to me in my Winter Service Alphas and asking, "Private, do you own an iron?"

"No, Corporal, I don't," I said.

"Well, you'd better s--t one, then," he said.

Welcome to the Corps.

Navy Road, all the places, the head shops, Space Invaders (we thought that was the game to end all games), getting smashed at the E-club, mess duty, finally getting into school and the barracks.

Taking classes from "Jim-Jim" (his mother stuttered) and getting boarded. Finally making it through, taking one last walk into Millington and then heading out to El Toro.

Those were the days ...

Ahhh yes, Millington...

-plane watch
-avoiding the squid trails
-living right next to the chowhall (Bks 402?? Looking at the front of the chowhall at the RA-5C, face left, there was my Bks...)
-Mongos... the Rail... the Skanker... Beale St....
-the "Hog Board" in the Barracks SNCOIC's office
-Barracks Support
-"rock study" for those that couldn't get it...
-"Patches"

Man, those were the days...

I was at Millington in 1995, one of the last classes to come through there, I think. I can't believe what it is like there compared to back then, makes me kind of sad. I believe I was in barracks 453, but not positive. It was diagonally across from a McDonalds on one side and a little sports bar on the other side. I definitely also remember the Brass Rail also.

By the way, I've got some aerial shots of the base area that was taken within the past few years, and I was was wondering if anyone could help me take a look at them and see if you remember where everything was back then? Things have changed so much, it's hard to tell. I'll be glad to email them if anyone would be interested. They are great aerial pictures of that whole area, in excellent detail. Let me know, and I'll even post them in here if possible.

I was just thinking about Millington again recently because I read that the Rev. Adrian Rogers died. He was the pastor of Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, and they had a pretty aggressive proselytizing presence on the base.

I got baptized live and in color at the church one Sunday. I remember that I wore my civilian suit and split my trousers afterward.

When I first got to Millington, just past the tracks was a place with a sign that read "Nothing to sell, just a place to sit and talk." I went in there and got the scoop on Jesus, et al. After I started going to Bellevue Baptist, I remember that I got into a talk with a guy there again, and he said "I went to Bellevue Baptist, and you know what? I was going straight to hell."

Made me think. I thought so much I eventually became an atheist. (Sorry to inject religion here.)

Anyway, back when I was in Millington, there was no McDonald's on the base. I did eat a lot at the McD's in town, and got a kick out of the posters on the wall, like the one with the Navy petty officer telling the sailor, who looks like he's been cleaning the bilges: "Skipper's coming. Look sharp."

Enough memories ...

The only thing I remember from off base in Millington was some bar down the street from the gate. Could have been the Brass Rail, but I can't remember the name. I had a picture of me and a couple of guys with the cute blonde barmaid there. But, my ex-wife threw it away.
Spent most of time off in Memphis or elsewhere.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: <GT6238>,

When I was there in '95, there was a McDonalds on the same side of the street as the Navy Exchange, a few blocks east it seems. I used to stop by there sometimes before I went to school.

Millington's gone As far as I know. I was there in "79" we had a blast down in overton square at Yosemites and a couple of other holes along the street. The wife and I stopped in there qite some time back and it had totally changed Overton sqare had been taken over by condo's Oh well can't go home again

Yosemite's. Was that the place with Yosemite Sam on a sign outside?

It's been a while ...

I arrived at Millington in mid-November '78 and was there through the spring of '79. My memories are pretty vague now, and I have to avoid confusing Millington with Yuma, Ariz.

I used to go to Memphis, especially on the weekends after I became a Baptist. I also used to go to the Raleigh Springs Mall.

Never went back to Millington or Memphis.

I actually lived in Millington for 4 years before joining up and coming back to Millington in 95 for school. I even lived in the new base housing area for a year in '91 till the parents split up.

I remember dating a girl whose dad was a Chief in the Navy and caught me in her room. I hauled *** outta the window and he never caught me. That is, until 4 years later I go into the barbershop for a haircut and lo and behold there he is retired and cutting hair. We actually had a good laugh about it...well I did anyways.

The brass rail was just past the RR tracks if im remebering correctly and got closed down when they tried to clean the town up. One of my good friends is a detective there for the Millington PD. Kinda funny how we used to raise hell and run from the law there, and now he is the law.

quote:

Originally posted by bucksgted:
Just thought I'd jump in and say I was in Millington for AQ-A school from approx 9/56 thru sometime in the spring of '57. Finished first in my class and got to go to Opa Locka to join VMF-251 as it was rotating back from Korea. We had some worn out FJ-3s with APG-51A firecontrol radar. MOS in those days was 6614.

Semper Fi,
ole buck Sgt Ed

Hey Bro how are you doing?
Scooter

Went to MAD NATTC Memphis (Millington) right out of boot camp in 1960. First was Mechanical Fundamentals School and depending on score you got to stay for "A" School. I went through "A" School as a 6641 Aircraft Structural Mech. Finished high enough to get my choice of duty stations and chose El Toro since my brother was then stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Remember that one of my school buds had a 40 Ford sedan, painted pink of all colors, and we used to haul butt into Memphis and change into civvies at the locker club and then start trolling for chicks. Could not have civvies on base. Heard that the CO's brother had the locker club concesssions off base, but have no proof of that claim. Really didn't care, at 18 years old I was hell bent to see the world and the petty stuff was just that.
Also remember being quartered in some old wooden WW2 barracks that had seen much better days. Went to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, Nov.10, 1960. Winter Greens were the uniform if one didn't have "Blues", and I didn't. Seemed colder than Colorado, where I came from, and was wearing my big wool overcoat on the way back to the barracks after the Ball. It started one of those cold, drizzly rains and damned if that overcoat didn't outweigh me by the time I got back to the barracks and stunk to high heaven of mothballs. Ah! The memories.

Semper Fi! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I remember going to church with my mom and the drizzling rain and the coat kind of reminded me of a wet dog..... ['63] when I was on leave from NAS Memphis Avionics

Semper Fi Merry Christmas!!

aa8vs,

What shop (MOS) were you in when you were attached to VMA-311?

I was attached to them in 63-64 before end of AD, was a 6641 A/C Structural Mech.

Semper Fi!

'65 - '66 I worked the flight line but my mos was communication/ navigation tech in Chu Lai. '64 '65 at El Toro I worked out of the shop. '66 / '67 I was in HMS 33 at Beaufort, SC.

Chuck

I was at NAS Memphis for the Basic Helo Course in 1987. Man these posts bring back a lot of memories. Silkys and Beale St. were my weekend hangouts and I had a blast there. Remember many a weekday night stumbling across a grass field from the E-Club with my buddies. Would love to hear from any of you from my BHC class or anyone else I mighta known.

Joe,
Steve Lind here. I was the OIC of BHC from '88 - '91. Just missed ya. I went through HYdraulics "A" school from Jan-Apr timeframe of '73. Had to march to Northside from barracks 415. I still remember the exact barracks I lived in there cause later on as a Sgt I lved there again when I went back to Hydraulic "B" school in '75. No "B" school anymore. The BRAC made a big political mistake when they relocated the training to Pensacola. That's another thread so I won't ramble. Just wan't to say hello to a young BHC graduate...as I was already kind of a crusty CWO3 when I was there in '88.

It was a great school and a lot happened after you left. Got a lot of new trainers and equipment. A Master Sergeant reported in around '90 to be the NCOIC and we knew each other. The first thing he asked was..."How come they don't wax the hangar deck any more?" Since I didn't go through BHC for my first school I didn't know they used to do it. Evidentally, when the MSgt went through, the decks shined like a new penny. Well, I told the MSgt he could do whatever he wanted to do since he was the NCOIC and I sure as hell wasn't going micromanage how decks are cleaned...unless they look like Shiite. The entire appearance of the schoolhouse improved a bunch. Each different strand H-1, H-46, and H-53 would have competition between themselves to see who had the best hangar deck. Now, this was NOT busy-work or "rock-painting"...this was between the students.

Anyway, it's great to read about memories from Millington. My home town was 140 miles away up in Dexter, Missouri so I got home pretty often...in my 1963 Plymouth Valiant...225 cuin slant six. What a machine. It carried my wife and I to Tustin, Ca for our first duty station. Had everything we owned in that little car. Our pride and joy was like a 19" black & white TV that we got for a wedding present. We were in tall cotton brothers.
Semper Fi..and Merry Christmas,
Steve...Pensacola
USMC 1972 - 2003

Reading all the entries brings back so many memories seems like we all had a blast regardless of the time era we served there I was there in 1985 fresh from boot camp and I remember it like it was yesterday I never spent much time in Millington we always went into Memphis to "Silky Sullivans", "Flanangans" , "Chelseas" or the Mall of Memphis at 18 with steady pay you have to find and explore thw world. Semper Fi