I finished the shift with Herberich and Gularte. Nobody got shot, and they sort of bonded in that single time together. Not with me, but with each other. I understood, in the back seat, that I wasn’t really bondable material. I had my wife and daughter and that was about it, and maybe the way it was supposed to be.
I drove home in the dark, the Volks making sounds like it was more ready to do a Fourth of July celebration than a simple ride back to Cabrillo where I lived. I wondered about my approach to giving Herberich the therapy he so badly needed and also the counseling that Gularte, late of the A Shau Valley where he’d been shot like me, also badly needed.
Who and why would someone place that personal gear and Marine IDs under neatly folded and squared away blankets on the beach ?? Methinks a whodunit is about to happen about the time of the ball !!??
Can’t wait for the continuation of the mystery afoot !!
Thanks for another great chapter James !!
SEMPER Fi
SgtBobD, thank you for illustrating the mystery in your comment. It was a difficult one
and came out of nowhere. As you shall see, the pilot thickens, as you imagined it would.
Semper fi,
Jim
There were still a lot of racial tensions back then. I won’t be surprised if there are three white Marines found later.
Laddie, the history of it has to play out as its laid down, chapter by chapter so I can’t comment.
But I much appreciate your speculation and thought about what’s going on.
Semper fi,
Jim
2nd attempt to comment! As I have said before Cowardly Lion grabs all of us returning Nam. Combat, SoCal, 68/69 Racial and the conflict with “civilians”! Nothing was the same but some of us had learned to kill! Very few were as adaptable as Ashau, Nixon Whitehouse, Life insurance, Beach patrol…..
Well, Homan, you said a whole lot in that comment. Yes, the returning guys still alive, especially those who engaged in ground combat. A different
sort entirely. Life just keep throwing ‘pitches’ at me and I kept trying to hit, catch or do whatever I could with them. Chapter XVIII is about to reveal even more
strange activity…
Thank you, my friend,
Jim
seems to be a false flag Op
can you be sure that Angela Davis was not involved? Also, this seems like the work of Jane Fonda to me. This is a very tricky description of a scene which seems most likely to illustrate your magnificent writing abilities and success into a crazy storyline and that’s the problem. Crazy storylines are usually true, but I still think Angela Davis is involved
Poor Angela, gets kidnapped, raped no doubt, and then forced to commit crimes…and finally gets sent to jail for it when rescued!
Jane Fonda, I met in Santa Fe in the nineties on the street. Somebody told her about my military background. She came over, shook
my hand and apologized for what she did during the war. I was stunned and truly blown away. Couldn’t hate her after that.
Thanks for the humorous and interesting comment, which is sort of a real compliment…I think.
Semper fi and thank you so much.
Jim
James, Your reply may refer to Patty Hearst instead of Angela Davis? I’m not sure about Richard’s meaning.
Interesting anecdote about Jane Fonda. In an interview with Chris wallace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9bPOP4PnlY it was stated that for much of her life she turned to men for guidance and validation. So she was following her husband Tom Hayden. Later in the interview she said she only became her own person in 2000 at the age of 62.
http://academics.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/Vietimages/fonda.htm
In 1988, Fonda went on ABC’s “20-20” news program and apologized to Vietnam veterans and their families for her actions.
Blessings & Be Well
DanC, Jane’s public apology was surface, at best, but not to me personally. I felt she really meant it although I can understand
just how such stars have to be so very careful about everything they say.
Thanks for the comment, as usual.
Semper fi,
Jim
LT I relate to this chapter for two reasons. First your comment “They weren’t my Marines to lose, anymore, but I felt like they were.” I have always felt that way! My marines in 1st Force (and any other Marines) are still to this day “My Marines” Their commanders from Platoon leader on up to the Commandant of the Marine Corps think they are their Marines but they are MY MARINES!! I just let those people use them!! The second thing that I relate to is the folded towels and personal effects on the beach. When I was the Charge nurse at a Veteran’s Nursing home We had a patient go missing. We let Law Enforcement know when we couldn’t find him. The Sheriff’s office called a few hours later and let us know they had found the patient’s clothes and personal effects neatly folded on the shore of a very shallow lake about a mile away. They ruled it a suicide and dropped the case. The staff at the nursing home disputed this. The patient was a COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) patient on supplement Oxygen. If he had wanted to commit suicide he would have shot himself, if he could have found a weapon or stepped in front of a car or train, there is an active train line between the home and the lake. The last thing he would have done is drown himself. A COPD patient can’t stand anything in their face! That scares them the most of anything. The staff and I have always thought there was more to the story than just a simple suicide! Beyond that another engrossing chapter in your “interesting” life. Semper Fi LT.
Thanks Doc, really appreciate such a lengthy explanation of your own feelings and how they are in sync with mine.
There was something all wrong with the scene, as will become more evident as time goes by.
Thanks so much for the compliment too…
Semper fi,
Jim
uniform. I felt, in her expression toward me, that I might indeed be the war hero that some people thought I really was, instead of what I felt like what I was.
Delete the 2nd “what”
DanC, good job editing !
And as usual, the story continues to intrigue !!
Thanks for the help Joel. DanC is a miracle and so are some of you others who provide similar editing services.
Semper fi,
Jim
This chapter was awesome, keep them coming. Your world back then was never dull, was it! I have two son in laws both did multi tours in Afghanistan during the push, one a Marine with the 3rd, the other with the 100 & 1st. Having never served myself, but getting the stories from my Dad, a Marine from WWII, 1st Marine exp force, at Guadalcanal, first landing, war never goes far away in ones mind. My Father said to me a year before he past he was glad I never got to see the horror of war, yet I see its effect each time I’m with my son in laws. I offer what help I can to them, and they both have wonderful and supportive wife’s. Thank you for sharing your story, and sorry for the lengthy response, needed to get it out.
Thanks Bob, for coming on here and telling a bit of your own story, not to mention the nice compliment as well as the compliment in doing so.
No my time wasn’t ‘dull’ at all, and really hasn’t been since coming home…or going back out there in the rest of the world again.
The horror of war that is the real horror is mostly hidden from the public because to enter combat zones is mostly to die or be horridly maimed, physically and mentally.
Semper fi,
Jim
Get the next chapter going Please? You are a great writer James.
XVIII is underway as I write this, as I’ve indeed been on a roll. Thanks for the compliment and putting it up in public.
Semper fi,
Jim
The plot thickens, and you draw us into the web!
Thoroughly enjoying the story, Jim, and like others, appreciate the diversion. Damned Agent Orange is stepping up the relentless attack; need all the diversions I can get.
Truly enjoy Dan’s edits – even better than what I used to do for a few other writers.
Looking forward to the next chapters for sure!
Glad to be of some service Craig. Sorry about the Agent Orange results.
I have always wondered about myself, since I was so drenched in it for awhile over there.
Nothing to speak of, however. Thanks for the chapter and enjoying the reading.
Semper fi,
Jim
I stop the car, park, and read the chapter when it hits my phone while driving. It’s that good. You are normally period correct with firearm stuff. To help you stay that way, do away with “cordite” if you are talking about the smell of ammunition. You probably have never smelled cordite ammunition, but you for sure didn’t fire small arms ammo with cordite in Vietnam. It was long gone as a small arms propellant before WWII ended. I do not know if it was used in other larger weapons or explosives, so if that is your meaning you know better than I do. I anxiously await the next chapter. Thanks!
Thanks Dave, I don’t think most writers get that sincere a compliment in their entire life! Wow. Moving, or not moving, if you get my drift.
You are absolutely correct about cordite. I knew that but used the word for its effect, like it gets misused in discussing fireworks, as well.
The smell of the escaping gases from small arms fire is distinctive, and that’s what I was getting at. It smells like nothing else, not even the by products of artillery. Thanks for the exhibition of intellect and inventiveness behind the comment, and putting it up here too…
Semper fi,
Jim
Evidence left pristinely, in a location where it will surely be found, and indicating something bad has happened to the owners of that evidence. The lead detective starts a wild goose chase and ignores the evidence. Why would you ever think it was well planned cover-up? Can’t wait to see how this pans out.
At that age and lack of investigatory experience myself Rick I presumed that Hoodoo was
truly well-experienced and knew what he was doing. The story develops, of course, with real
life being more surprising in many ways than fiction.
Thanks for the well thought out comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
What a great “edge of your seat” story! I look forward to every installment!
Thanks Steve, means a lot to me to read comments like your own.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim, You’re an excellent writer and I have enjoyed reading about your service in Vietnam and coming home. In my eyes, every person who served in Vietnam is an American hero. I can’t imagine the pain you had to endure after being wounded.
I have a question though because maybe I missed something. Weren’t you still in the Marines while you were working for the Western White House? Didn’t the Marine Corps kind of wonder where you were? Was it normal for an active Marine to be given this kind of duty?
This is off topic but I live a few miles east of De Pere Wisconsin where your alma mater St. Norbert’s College is and I graduated from Abbot Pennings High School right there next door. Small world.
I was already discharged. Thanks for your comment, Dennis
“taking them to the range to scope in.”
Maybe say taking them to the range to sight in.
Yes, Tony, probably more accurate, although I do recall when going to ranges throughout the early days of
my life that ‘scoping in’ was used quite often when actually ‘sighting in’ would have better described
the operation. In range shooting of the time the scope was the scope used to see the where rounds impacted on
the target, not a scope on the weapon.
Thanks for the interesting comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
“They weren’t my Marines to loose, anymore, but I felt like they were.” Just more confirmation of what kind of leader you are LT. What all of us have known, for a long time now. Semper Fi Sir.
Thanks Mike. Once a leader of Marines, well, always so…just becomes genetically a part of you…or at least me.
Semper fi,
Jim
Another good chapter. Always leaving me wanting more.
Good job LT.
Thanks a lot for the compliment and writing it on here Barry…
Semper fi,
Jim
Spell binding, as usual LT.
Good job.
Thanks for being such a fan Barry…sure glad to have you.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks, Jim. Needed a break today and a new chapter really helped.
Dear Steve, just how do you expect me to deal with a compliment like that? That is seemingly so lightly given, but after thought’s deep and meaningful as all get out.
Thank you for making me think of my work as something I don’t often consider when I write it…or of those times.
Most Sincerely,
Semper fi,
Jim
Chapter 17
James, Very telling that you planned to purchase life insurance on yourself to provide for your family.
Nothing smells like Hoppes or burnt powder after firing a round.
Some minor editing suggestions follow:
“We’re going to the Pat Nixon birthday party, and we’ll be properly dressed for the occasion. How did you do this? I had no idea.”
I’m not sure who is speaking. Maybe:
“We’re going to the Pat Nixon birthday party, and we’ll be properly dressed for the occasion. How did you do this?” she asked.
I had no idea.
I left the store fifteen minutes later, three hundred bucks lighter
Last chapter the stated budget was: $300 for the .45 from Gularte; $200 for another .45 (this one); $500 for Mary to purchase clothes. So difference between chapters on amount to be spent for the 2nd .45
I wanted to work in the afternoon with Gularte.
This sentence should start a new paragraph.
on into the night, I worked at filling out
Comma unnecessary – no pause
on into the night I worked at filling out
I missed the men as the men they were and allowed me to be a part of.
Maybe add “who” before “allowed”
I missed the men as the men they were and who allowed me to be a part of.
Maybe something explanatory after “of” – “them” or “their life” or “their experience”
I missed the men as the men they were and who allowed me to be a part of their experience.
Whom and what did Haldeman and Ehrlichman think I was?
“Who” seems better than “whom”
Who and what did Haldeman and Ehrlichman think I was?
both my wife and daughter gathered in the kitchen
Add “were” before “gathered”
both my wife and daughter were gathered in the kitchen
Volks drive up or my come in the door.
“coming” instead of “come”
Volks drive up or my coming in the door.
I went upstairs and stashed the twenties I had left wrapped in a polishing rag and placed the still hefty stack inside my shoeshine box.
I thought the $1,000 had already been disbursed.
which was not Lieutenant Gates special Marauder
Apostrophe after “Gates” to indicate possessive
which was not Lieutenant Gates’ special Marauder
That Volkswagen was selling
“That” is extra
Volkswagen was selling
Gularte had come and gone to the department
Maybe add “to” after “come”
Change “to” after gone” to “from”
Gularte had come to and gone from the department
“No,” said, in return. “Get out and unsnap your holster.”
Add “I” before “said”
“No,”I said, in return. “Get out and unsnap your holster.”
well before the start of any of the San Clement personnel history
Possessive of personnel? “personnel’s”
well before the start of any of the San Clement personnel’s history
Gularte and I had to hold the scene as it were until
Maybe “was” instead of “were”
Gularte and I had to hold the scene as it was until
I carefully crept forward to move from one folded blanket to another
Substitute “towel” for “blanket”
I carefully crept forward to move from one folded towel to another
“What is that going to mean to us?’
Full quotation mark after us?
“What is that going to mean to us?”
but beaches in San Clemente, fully exposed to the direct surf always moving directly onshore, changed the nature and shape of the place all the time.
Drop commas; add “were” after “Clemente”; add ‘which” before “changed”
but beaches in San Clemente were fully exposed to the direct surf always moving directly onshore which changed the nature and shape of the place all the time.
Finally, three lifeguard jeeps running at high speed
Maybe add “came” before “running”
Finally, three lifeguard jeeps came running at high speed
everything about the circumstances of evident about the apparently missing men
Maybe “evidence” instead of “evident”
Change “of” to “and”
everything about the circumstances and evidence about the apparently missing men
“Either he’s right, what with his many years as a real detective, he’s an idiot or there’s more to this mystery that he knows about, and we don’t.”
Add “or” before “he’s”
Before “there’s – change “or” to “and”
“Either he’s right, what with his many years as a real detective, or he’s an idiot and there’s more to this mystery that he knows about, and we don’t.”
their bodies aren’t going to be found anytime soon, although it’s likely they’ll turn up soon.
Change second “soon” to “eventually”
their bodies aren’t going to be found anytime soon, although it’s likely they’ll turn up eventually.
Blessings & Be Well
As always you are Number ONE, DanC.
WTF is going on here??? Can’t wait to see what happens next. I have a feeling what ever it is isn’t going to be legal or goo.
As usual Pete, you are correct in just about everything you write in these comments!
Thanks for paying such close attention to the work.
Semper fi
Jim