List the worst Birthdays you had while in the Marine Corps. Don't generalize, be specific, where exactly and what exactly were you doing when the minute struck.

I turned 19 the second to last week of SOI standing in a PT formation with 300 other students on a cold, rainy, January day at 6AM. As my Staff Sergeant called out "begin" for our 3 mile run I checked my watch to track my run time and realized I had just turned 19.

On my 20th Birthday I was in Iraq sitting in a Humvee positioned as a temporary post on watch with my doc. Again it was freezing and raining and this time as I looked down at my watch so that I could complain over the net about our late relief, I realized I had turned 20.

I celebrated both of these occasions alone because I couldn't contact my family and because, as any grunt knows, mentioning your birthday is an invitation to pain.



21st Birthday was actually pretty good so I won't bring it up.

Our unit was always doing our spring training at Ft. Bragg at the end of March so I was there for my 19 and 22. My 20 was spent pulling gate duty on my FAP to PMO, and my 21 ws spent in An Nasiriyah processing fire missions. For the life of me I could not tell what I was doing exactly when I realized it was my birthday. I've made up for it in spades sense then though (not that there is much remembering of them)

The birthdays wern't bad all in all, what realy sucked was being in boot camp on my first wedding aniversary. I don't know what was worse, the *****ing I had for the next three years from the ex-wife, or the thrashing I got from the DI's

In 1979 Massive refield day Inspection during A school Memhpis, it was a Saturday and it was a Hot August day. We had to have a Charle Inspection while the powers to be went through the barracks, talk about sweating through a shirt. (JD was still in High School playing with Jodee)

In 1980 (JD was not even a boot yet) was spent it on the USS Saipan heading to Europe for a Nato war game.

In 1983 on the USS Tarawa (JD just had his head shaved) off the coast of Somilia, the western part of the WetPac, so we thought. It was hot there too.....

3 out of 5 $ucked...

My 21st birthday was spent outside of a huge resettlement village near Cam Lo, Vietnam. My tank platoon was the anvil of a hammar & anvil operation. One of the 3rd Mar Div grunt outfits, maybe 1/9 or 2/26, swept from Camp Carroll east toward our position. One of the main force VC outfits was supposed to be hold up in that area. My crew and I "celebrated" my becoming an "adult" with C-ration pound cake and fruit cocktail. Yippy Skippy!!! The next day a small group of VC was spotted up in the foothills. An airstrike was called in and in no time we mounted up and headed home to the Charlie Co rear.

My 24th birthday was spent in a fighting hole I had just dug during MCT in April, 2001. It was cold and raining like pouring piss out of a boot. I stood up from my fighting hole and starting singing "happy birthday" to myself at 0120 in the morning. My MCT instructor (Sgt Pena) turtle f*cked me and sent me to the bottom of my rain soaked fighting hole.

My 30th birthday was spent on the MSR between Fallujah and BIAP in April of 2005. I was the rear convoy commmander and was stopped behind a haji truck driver at 0120 in the morning. I waited about 10 minutes before getting out and walked up to see why he had stopped. The haji was taking a dump in the middle of the highway!! He hiked up his man-dress and was pinching a loaf right there beside his truck! After some yelling and screaming, I threw him in his truck and told him to drive or "else". He shit on me as I was "helping" him back in his truck.

After getting back in my vehicle, the gunner in the my gun truck was like, "what's that smell?" I told him I had stepped in dog poo. Good times...

being in MSG school on my 21st...circa 1997.

doesn't sound too bad, but all eyes were on you, if you know what I mean...couldn't let loose...and really, had no time.

not as bad as others I guess.

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maybe 1/9 or 2/26

Not sure John, but believe that was BLT 2/26 under Lt Col. Drumright.

2006, Mojave Viper Range 400.

Running the whole range at the hottest part of the day in full gear after rolling my ankle in the first 5 minutes, that was fun.

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Originally posted by George_Holy:

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maybe 1/9 or 2/26

Not sure John, but believe that was BLT 2/26 under Lt Col. Drumright.

Early December 1968...

Aboard the LST USS Westchester County swinging on the hook in Buckner Bay, Okinawa in freaking heavy weather. Happy Birthday to me walking guard on the weather deck at o'dark thirty.

Another aborted deployment in December, 1960. We finally deployed to Northern Thailand up on the Laotian border 3-months later (that other SE Asian war).

When they put you on C-130s, you know you are going. On LSTs you can float around for weeks and never deploy.

- LarSim

"Welcome to The Corps"! Had so many, along with Christmas's, etc., that they all seem to run together in memories. Definitly in WESTPAC. Good times,though.

"Semper Fi"

January 98, 29 stumps, advance party cax. Cold, wet, I was the NCO in charge of my MOS, had 2 lance coolies working with me, one was dumber then a box of rocks, the other ended up in the brig before the end of the cax.
But relative to others posts, it doesn't seem as bad as I remember.

In my 20 months sea duty I was nebver out of the country at the Holidays. Missed a few weddings and other things like funerals. But was never gone for turkey day or xmas...

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Originally posted by Stubain0481:
My 24th birthday was spent in a fighting hole I had just dug during MCT in April, 2001.

My 30th birthday was spent on the MSR between Fallujah and BIAP in April of 2005.

Wow times flies in the Corps, you aged 6 years in 4 years!

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Originally posted by gsemarine94:
January 98, 29 stumps, advance party cax. Cold, wet, I was the NCO in charge of my MOS, had 2 lance coolies working with me, one was dumber then a box of rocks, the other ended up in the brig before the end of the cax.
But relative to others posts, it doesn't seem as bad as I remember.

I was there too, so my story is similar. We started at 29 stumps in January 08 98', birthday was durning the FINNEX in February. It was cold raining, I was stuck in a fighting hole after breaking 3 E-tools in that shale shiat of a place.

CAX sucks, but the winter is better than the summer CAX.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SgtWaltzMCIWS,

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We started at 29 stumps in January 08, birthday was durning the FINNEX in February

I got there Dec. 26, birthday was Jan 10 I was so busy equiping all of the incoming squadrons that I didn't remember my birthday until the next day.

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Originally posted by gsemarine94:

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We started at 29 stumps in January 08, birthday was durning the FINNEX in February

I got there Dec. 26, birthday was Jan 10 I was so busy equiping all of the incoming squadrons that I didn't remember my birthday until the next day.

We got there on Jan 3rd as the advanced party (but the gear did not show for about half a week), and stayed until March 17th as the rear party.

Two CAX's and two FINNEX's later, that place blows. We were on the FSSG side. Good thing is we were with Engineers and they made poker tables and shiat for ouor hooch.

CAX SUX.

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Originally posted by FormerEmbassyMarine:
CAX SUX.

Of course here I am complaining about CAX, when some Marines have done 2 or 3 tours in Iraq/A-Stan. Keeping everything within perspective....CAX DOES SUCK!

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Originally posted by FormerEmbassyMarine:
CAX SUX.

The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.

I wish more young Marine officers had done more CAX exercises...especially with tanks prior to their deployment to Vietnam.

A lot of young grunts were wasted when their officers did not understand the shock, mobility and firepower that a Marine tank can bring upon the enemy. Having your men "Hey diddle diddle right up the middle" and leaving the tanks behind to pick up the dead is not what it's all about.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: johnwear,