In 1965 I joined the U.S. Marines. It was great, I had arrived at what I was good at. I embraced all the Corps could hand me. I was boot camp pull-up champion for my platoon. The Corps had martial arts training as an elective study. I would strive to be the machine they endeavored to train. The duty assignments were given out after infantry training and I was attached to Pentagon Security and State Department duty. I was attached to a unit under arms to guard the most sensitive security units in the Pentagon, and elsewhere about Washington, D.C. One of my duties was the security of President Lyndon Johnson when he was out of the White house. No, I wasn't Secret Service. I was attached to a squad of Marines armed with the M-14 and capable of sustaining withering fire against targets of paramilitary size. Mandatory and elective training in small arms and tactics are required to remain a part of the unit. I did a full two year tour in this unit.
I did not volunteer but found myself next in Marine infantry, republic of Vietnam. 3rd Btn. 5th Marines.I was a squad leader attached to guns(M-60). Anyone from my unit please drop me email.. I did a few good operations, earning the presidential unit citation, and a lot of night ambushes. My skirt was around DaNang and I Corps, the A Shau valley and Chu Lai. I was wounded, sent to Okinawa to heal damaged cartilage. I received orders to Hawaii where I provided security for the Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Marine Force, West Pacific( WestPac), the brain housing of all Pacific forces and the directing of the VietNam war. My wartime experience with small arms are typical of Marine infantry.
I ended my tour in Cuba, manning the lines separating communist Cuba from Guantanamo Bay, Naval Base. There I was platoon Sgt. and armourer for the 8th Marines. I became intimate with the corps weaponry of U.S.armed forces. The armourer repairs and maintains all weapons found in the infantry battalion.
During my college years I worked as a body guard and headed a team of men which provided security for entertainment events, nightclubs and wealthy men who needed such services. After college I became a critical care nurse and remain so to this day, working in a number of high acuity ICU's and trauma centers. The people I work with today remain in the trenches fighting a war which never ends.
I am a graduate of North American School of Firearms. I specialize in defensive pistols and favor the 1911, my old friend and military acquaintance. I do not sell a weapon without offering a minimum amount of instruction. I am not a know it all gunsmith. I can't do everything but I maintain connections to specialists in their field. You have the benefit of my thirty-five plus years in the trade.
As elite military forces and police agencies know, the handgun is the ultimate martial art. I emphasize basic martial arts training for immediate self defense and weapons retention. During my tour of duty I studied sundry martial arts. Okinawa Te, Okinawa Kenpo, Chi Do Kwan Tae Kwan Do, and eclectic styles training from the Hawaii Police which trained marines from security attachments in Hawaii. Although the Hawaiian training is perhaps the best practical training one can obtain, the only unarmed police force I can recall seeing is the police of Yokosuka, Japan who maintain crowd control with batons. Defenders of either sex, or physical build can train to proficiency with the firearm. I hope you will check out the links provided and click on the gunclock, especially if you are skeptical of firearms for self defense.
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected]
