1.Colonel RobertEgglestonGibson1, born 12 Mar 1928 in Long Beach, CA.. He was the son of 2. Jack(John J)Gibson and 3. Babe MaryAllyneKing. He married (1) RosanneRoney1 19 Jun 1954 in Pasadena, CA.. She was born 20 Jun 1931 in McCook, Red Willow Co., NE., and died 21 Aug 1995 in Kailua, Honolulu Co., HI.. She was the daughter of John Sweeney Patrick (Pat) Roney and Wilma Gertrude Donovan. He married (2) SandraBarman1 01 Nov 1997 in Malibu, CA.. She was born 03 May 1943 in San Francisco, CA..
Notes for Colonel Robert Eggleston Gibson:
Bachelor of Science at USNA and Masters in Management Science at USNPGS, Monterey, CA
Roman Catholic religion preferred.
Forty Years at Parade Rest and a Few Dance Steps
By Bob Gibson Dedicated toMy Dear Wife Rosanne And OurSeven Children,Mark, Paul, Mary Rose, Ann Terese, Linda, Geralyn and Elizabeth
CONTENTS
1928-1932 Long Beach and Family
1
1933 Kindergarten and Earthquake
2
1934-1938 Elementary School
3
1939-1941 Junior High School
3
1942-1944 High School and Comus 4
1945 ASTRP's, Stanford and V-J Day
5
1946 University of Utah, Basic Training and OCS
6
1947 Salzburg and Vienna
6
1948 Company A and US Military Academy Preparatory School 7
1949 1802nd Special Regiment and Stanford
7
1950 Rosanne, Stanford and US Naval Academy
7
1951-1952-1953 USNA, Broken Knee and the Army
7
1954 Graduation, Marriage and Basic School
8
1955 Ft. Sill, Mark, Camp Pendleton and Japan
8
1956 Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Ft. Sill and 29 Palms
9
1957 Paul and the Honest John Rocket Battery
9
1958 Mary Rose and orders to Quantico
10
1959 Ordnance School, Captain, USNA and Ann Terese
10
1960-1961 Linda and US Military Academy
11
1962-1963 Geralyn, Camp Lejeune and Guantanamo Bay
11
1964-1965 Ft. Sill, 3rd Mar Div, Okinawa and Vietnam
12
1966 MCRD San Diego, CO Cdr., EXEC, Staff Sec and Major 12
1967 Ft. Leavenworth, and Army's C&GSC
12
1968 California, Vietnam, III MAF Protocol Officer
13
1969 XO, then CO of 3rd Bn 12th Mar, LtCol and PG School
13
1970 Advanced Degree and orders to Southern California
14
1971 MCTSSA, Earthquake and Garden Grove
14
1972-1973 Hawaii, Mark to Notre Dame, CINCPAC Aikahi Park 14
1974-1975 Korea and National Security Act of1947 ……………. 15 1976CINCPAC Protocol, Geralyn, Colonel and Mark's Wedding 15
1977 Top Level School, Canada, Paul and Mary Rose in Canada15
1978 Asia, US, South America and Europe, CO 12th Mar, CAFEX'15
1979 Chorwon Valley, Rosanne's Visit and Texas A&M
16
1980-1981 Our Second Home Purchase and Ann Terese's Death16
1982 Mary Rose, Linda & Geralyn stayed in Texas-Back to Hawaii17
1983 Geralyn joined us, and we bought home in Kailua
17
1984 Linda graduated & married, then TRIPLER
18
1985 Retired, Paul and Geralyn Weddings, Roosevelt University 18
1986-1989 ERAU, Elizabeth graduating and Final Retirement 18
1928-1932 Long Beach and Family
I entered this world in Long Beach, California on 12 March 1928. My mother was Mary King who was born in Kinsman, Ohio on a farm on the sixth of January, 1896. She had two living sisters, both of whom married before she and her parents moved to California in 1924. They lived in Riverside until Mom met Dad and married him in 1926. She was thirty one years old when my brother John was born. She had been to a teacher's college in Ohio, had played the piano and was a very gentle person. Her faith was United Presbyterian, and she saw to it that John and I went to church with her (and Bible Class) every Sunday.
My father was Jack Gibson. He was born in Whiting, Iowa on the 4th of December, 1879. For the first forty years of his life he was a cowpuncher and rancher in South Dakota. He had a brother who died early in his childhood. Dad was a small person as a teenager, and became a jockey for some of the horse races conducted near his father's ranch. Formal education included only the sixth grade, but he was an avid reader and an excellent speller. He served as chief of police at Sturgis, South Dakota from 1914 to 1917. He worked afterwards for two years as motorman on the Twin Port Electric Lines, Duluth, Minnesota, on an interstate run between Duluth and Superior, Wisconsin. In 1919 he came to Long Beach, and went to work for the Pacific Electric Lines (the Red Cars). He was first married to Grace Steward, who died with the birth of their son, Bill. He then married Grace's sister, Pearle, who perished after the birth of their son, Harold. He was then married again, this time to Inga Anitzen. The union brought forth another son, George. That marriage ended in divorce. He married a girl from Duluth, Martha Hogstrom who died of influenza during the flu epidemic of World War I. After moving to Long Beach, he met my mother. Dad was the disciplinarian of the family. When Mom said "wait ‘till your Dad comes home" I (and usually John too) knew that we were in for a peck of trouble. When Mom would type a letter for him, he would take his pencil, make changes and give it back to her for retyping. So, therefore I have one full brother, John (born 7 Feb 1927) and three half brothers, Bill, Harold and George. Harold, and then George lived with us at 813 Washington Place, Long Beach. Dad built a shed in the backyard, next to the garage, where George could live. Our house was full. There were only two bedrooms and one bathroom. Dad's father, Joe, was also in our household. None could hold a candle to Dad's ability to swear, except perhaps his father. I inherited that trait from him (them).
1933 Kindergarten and Earthquake
I attended Washington Elementary Kindergarten until its destruction by the earthquake on 10 March 1933. My teacher was Mrs. Lorentzen. She was a beautiful woman, and I had a crush on her. It was just two days before my fifth birthday. School let out at about 2:20 in the afternoon of 10 March. We were sitting down to dinner--hamburgers, my favorite meal. The first tremor (the biggest) started at about 5:20. The earthquake jarred pots, pans and glasses loose from their shelves, and Dad told us to go to the living room. It was fortunate that almost all of the city's children had returned home from school when the earthquake commenced. Over 100 people were killed, and almost every school in Long Beach collapsed, thank heaven, without the the death of a child in school. When Dad brought his father out west to live with him, they booked into the Villa Riviera, the tallest and most elegant hotel in Long Beach. The reception clerk offered them a room on the 14th floor. Grandpa said "lets get out of here. If there is an earthquake, we'll never make it out alive." They settled in a room on the first floor. Grandpa, who was deathly afraid of earth tremors (mainly because he hadn't experienced one), was sitting at his favorite chair the evening of 10 March, and laughed at us careening off of each other, as we weathered the storm. Dad wanted us to stay inside until the tremors subsided. Then we went outside. The moon had a large ring around it, and Dad said that John, Mom and I would sleep in our 1930 model "A" Ford out in the driveway that night, while he and Grandpa slept in the house. The next day we viewed the destruction produced by the earthquake. The house had skewed clockwise on its foundation, the chimney had crumbled, and the stone mantel in the living room had crashed through the floor and rested in the crawl space of the cellar below the floor. We went to the Armory at 7th and Washington Place where evacuees were asked to go, and I had my first cup of coffee. Bill arrived two days later from San Diego. He and Dad put the house back on its foundation, cleared away the bricks from what was left of the chimney, and re-mantled the living room mantel place with wood, after having repaired the floor. Grandpa was an interesting person. He would take my brother John and me down to the Pike (an amusement park on the waterfront in Long Beach) from time to time. We would go to a candy-making shop there, and he would buy strawberry rhones to take home (and any other candy we wanted). That night he would go to bed sucking on the rhones, and when we would arouse him in the morning, his long flowing white beard would be dyed red from the candy. He would also take us down to the "Spit and Argue Club" that congregated on Rainbow Pier regularly. There the wise old souls who were active members of the gathering would solve world problems by soap boxing the pro's and con's of an argument with a captive audience. They were captive, because the younger were octogenarians, and no one could move very fast. I remember one time when Grandpa was working at the wood working bench in our back yard with a hammer. He tried to drive a nail, but couldn't because an arthritis cramp occurred on his left forefinger. He laid out that finger, hit it a resounding whack with the hammer to straighten it out, cussed a blue streak and never went back to carpentry (at least as far as I know) during the remainder of his life.
1934-1938 Elementary School
Since Washington Elementary was rubble from the earthquake, John and I were transferred to Stevenson Elementary, and my first teacher there was Mrs. Turnbull. She asked me my name, and when I told her, she took me by the ear, and said, "Oh, you're John's brother! You're probably just like him, and I aim to set you straight early." Mrs. Chamberlain was the Principal, and she had very strict rules concerning cleanliness of the school. My brother John would put his hand on the hand rail of the steps leading up to the second story of the two storied building just to test the system. That was against Chamberlain's law. John would get his hands smacked by a ruler in the Principal's office from time to time for those terrible infringements. Mrs. Chamberlain would start each school day lining up all of the students along the fence. At her command, we would sweep forward, picking up all refuse along the way. If we didn't do the job according to her expectations, we would repeat the effort again. I wanted to excel, and became a hall monitor, and vice president of my class, and attempted to get "all A's" in my grades. I began dating early in life. I got a crush in third grade on Jacqueline Celotto. It lasted until she moved to Gardena during the sixth grade. My first dog came into our home. It was a wire haired critter we named Biff. While Mom, John and I were visiting Mom's parents in Riverside, Grandpa Gibson passed away, and shortly thereafter we took in my mother's parents. Grandpa King had a stroke, and passed away shortly after having joined us. Grandma King died while on a trip to visit another daughter, Abby Lewis at Charlevoix, Michigan, a couple of years later.
1939-1941 Franklin Junior High School
Franklin Jr. High School was next, where I met lifelong friends Riley Brown and Brad Waite. Riley and I were always after the same girl. I'd win one round. He would win another. I joined Boy Scouts to become a member of the same patrol, "The Golden Eagles," as my brother, John. We met at the Methodist Church on 4th and Olive, and Carl Brenner was our Scoutmaster. While Mom, John and I were visiting Rollie and Abby Lewis (Mom's sister) in Charlevoix, Biff was killed by a car. Mitzi, a dog of like lineage, replaced him upon our return to Long Beach. When we were in Charlevoix, I was challenged by some of the "rough guys of Charlevoix," while I and the Egglestons who lived across the street from Aunt Abby and others were passing through the woods behind Aunt Abby's house. The big challenger teed off on me and kept punching at my jaw. I couldn't reach him, so I took the blows. As soon as he determined that he had done enough damage to me, he decided that a younger brother could finish me off. I remembered Dad showing me how to defend myself, and I lay in to my new adversary. He hit the ground, and I asked his older brother if he wanted some of that. They departed very quickly, and I became the defender of my friends. I fell in and out of love with Ruth Aldridge and Phyllis Hansen during 1941 and 1942 and was graduated from Franklin to attend high school. At that time, World War II was on, and I wanted to join the US Marine Corps, but my thirteen years of age stood in my way. I remember Kyoshi Matsuoka, a Nisei friend who lived on Terminal Island. Since there were no schools there, he attended Franklin with me. He would show up at my house at 7:00 in the morning, and I would ride him to school on my bike handle bars. One school morning he didn't show up, and we later read in the newspaper that all Japanese lineage people, American or foreign born who were on Terminal Island had been moved to internment camps in Northern California or Arizona. I never heard from him again.
1942-1944 High School and COMUS
I attended Polytechnic High School, whose Principal was Howard H. Hicks, where I learned math, physics and chemistry, principally from Mr. George Tracy, whom I greatly admired. I joined a fraternity, COMUS, having been pledged to the club by Tom Turner. Both Riley and Brad were in the club, also. Our school supported many fraternities and sororities. My brother, John was pledged to Phi Kappa Phi. Everyone who was anyone was in one of the social clubs. Our sister sorority was Socii.
Neither two world wars, floods nor an earthquake, the Korean conflict nor Vietnam could halt the Comus Club of Poly High School. It had met every Tuesday without interruption since the Club was founded. That's a long time, considering the first meeting was the 10th of February, 1909, with the last meeting in the late sixtees. How is it that the club started by ten Poly High school lads could survive the decades that saw hundreds of similar organizations die off? The right numbers were picked, and they, in turn, picked successors of their own caliber. High school standards were required and athletics were fostered. The ten original members were Harry Buffum, William S. (Bill) Casselberry, Leslie Lynn, Clinton McCutchan, Wayze Middough, Harold Crowe, George Green, and the three Dunn brothers, Henry, Lawrence and Ralph. The boys did everything together and decided it might be fun to form a club. For lack of anything better, they called themselves the "Soreheads." One of the first things they did was go out and buy bright red sweaters and sew giant gray S's on them. There first mini-crisis came when Buffum's father, Carl A., said he did not like the name, Soreheads. It was Casselberry who came up with an alternative name. He was studying Milton's "Comus" in English literature class. Comus, in Greek and Roman mythology, was the god of festive joy and mirth. The group liked it and it stuck. Throughout it's almost one hundred year history, the group took into it's membership a high percentage of Poly and Wilson's football players as well as other outstanding athletes and scholars. All along the group induced its members to go on to college. In 1959, during the club's fiftieth anniversary, a check was run on the members, and it was determined that eighty per cent were college educated in comparison to the national record of twenty-two per cent. Some of Comus' better known members included Representative Craig Hosmer, R-Long Beach; Air Force MajGen Ned Anderson; James Lawson, Stanford football captain in 1924, a Walter Camp All-American and Roy (Bullet) Baker, who graduated from Poly in 1918, later from the University of Southern California, and went on to pro football. In order to be fully accepted by the elite of the school, one had to pledge one of the social clubs. In order to qualify, one must be a jock, a brain, a student leader, or a combination of the above. I was construed to be a "brain." Pledge time was almost one full semester, with meetings each Tuesday evening. Pledges were required to put on a show each of those evenings, and were mercilessly beaten with large paddles by the actives and inactives of the club prior to the commencement of the meeting. We were also required to work for the members on weekends. Some such jobs included sanding a vehicle prior to a new paint job, and doing lawn work. During Spring Break, COMUS would go to Crestline (a small mountain community in the San Bernardino Mountains). There we pledges would become slaves, cooking, cleaning up the place, making fires, and getting our butts beat at the drop of a hat. Finally, the time came for initiation. The pledges were blindfolded, and in an old vacant lot we were tackled as we ran upon command of any active member. Then the group was taken to the Signal Hill graveyard, and instructed to find each of their names on a grave stone. Bob Schwenk threw on a sheet and cavorted about and claimed he was a freed member of the dead. At this time, two pledges decided to take a hike home. After this frolicking, we were taken out to the Santa Ana river bed and received "hot rub" on our private parts, were paddled incessantly, and our hands were tied behind our backs. Members tied strings around raw liver and made us swallow it, then jerked it up, and started the ritual over again. We were also given "asphidiac" that changed the color of our urine to a dark purple. Later we were taken one by one to a place beside the fire to receive a vote to be entered into COMUS or not. Neil Buchanan became my spokesman, developing my weaknesses and strengths. Each pledge who had not previously quit was welcomed into the club at the camp fire. We then formed a circle and sang the COMUS song:
COMUS, COMUS, we'll be true, From our school days on, From our hearts, we'll always be, Faithful to you, alone. We're all good fellows, Each one's the other's friend, And we'll be good fellows, Until this world shall end, And while we're all together, Let's give a rousing toast, Here's To all good Comus, The one's we love the most.
When we were dropped off at home (in Jack Fesmire's car), my Dad took one look at me, stormed out of the house and chased Jack's car a full block before returning to the house. At this time, my brother, John, had contracted a disease that would reduce his hearing capability by 75 %. There was only sulfa in those days. Penicillin was still being tested in the lab.
Going through the initiation and becoming a COMUS instilled in me that I could withstand any amount of pain and other stresses. (We didn't know the definition of stress at that time.) We met at Smith and Benson's Pool Hall each Friday evening after school. After playing a couple of games of Snooker, we would pool our money (eleven cents) and buy one ticket to the movie. The "chosen individual" would enter the movie house, wait a few moments and open up an exit door to let the other members in. We had it down to a science, and all would scatter when we entered, and then get together when things quieted down.
1945 ASTRP's, Stanford and V-J Day
I took an entrance examination for the Army Specialized Training Reserve Program (ASTRP) on 12 April 1945 in Poly High's auditorium. The exam was interrupted to announce the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt and to announce Harry S. Truman, who had been his vice president, as the new President of the United States. I spent three summers at summer school so that I could be graduated while the war was still on. I left behind the class that I was with during junior high, so I was graduated six months earlier than they. I received my diploma from Poly High in June and reported to Stanford University in August as an Army Enlisted Reserve Corps private. At that time I met three individuals who would become lifelong friends, Tom Giles from Santa Monica, John Erdelatz from Berkeley and Frank Geisel from Petaluma. All of us were seventeen and I was very much enamored with a military life. Tom was standing beside me during our first inspection. He always had to shave twice during the day, and was growing a five o'clock shadow by the time of the inspection. The inspecting officer blew right past him, and gigged me for one being in need of a shave. That evening I had my first shave. The three of us celebrated V-J Day in San Francisco, sleeping on fifty cent cots at a YMCA near San Francisco's City Hall that night and hitchhiking back to Stanford the following morning.
1946 University of Utah, Basic Training and OCS
After two semesters in Encino Hall at Stanford, ASTRP closed there and continuing eligibles transferred to the University of Utah. I remained in Salt Lake City one semester and then received a call to active duty in April. Tom Giles was young enough to get an additional semester at Utah. My induction took place at Camp Beale, California. I was assigned to infantry branch. Frank Geisel, Jim Lusk, John Kane, Bob Davies and others from ASTRP's joined me. We received orders to Fort McClellan, Alabama to attend Heavy Infantry Weapons School (81 mm mortar, heavy machine gun,106 m.m. self propelled rifle, etc.). I transferred into the Regular Army on 15 May 1946 and was promoted to PFC. Our field first sergeant, (TechSgt) Ray Hite decided he wanted to trade his stripes in for a pair of gold bars. Several of us, including my friends from ASTRP requested and received selection in August to attend Army Officer Candidate school (AOCC-2) at Fort Benning, Georgia. It was the Army's requirement that qualifying individuals must be passed by a board of officers before gaining acceptance. The senior member was a graduate of Stanford, and he asked me if I could identify Hank Liusetti. I did, and named Stanford's starting basketball lineup for his playing years, including Jim Pollard. He was thrilled, not knowing that I had attended Stanford. I was passed quickly by the board. We remained at Fort Benning undergoing training in the Harmony Church area for the remainder of the year. Jim Lusk, Don Adcock and I became good friends during those months. We went on long speed marches, and many times toward the end of the march we were carrying extra rifles for some of the older candidates so that they could finish the march. We adopted a school song that went something like this:
Far above the Chattahoochi, Neath the Upatoi, Stands our loyal alma mater, Benning School for Boys, Onward ever, Backward never, Follow me and die, To the port of embarkation, Next of kin, good-bye.
The Candidate course was six months long. We started with almost 200 in our class, ending with about ninety five for graduation. The last person "to be found" was a chap named Ginsberg, one day prior to graduation. At that time, very few people of the Hebrew faith, and very few blacks were allowed to graduate.
1947 Salzburg and Vienna
Graduation came from Army Officer Candidate Class-2 on 23 April 1947, at which time we went home for pre-embarkation leave. Then I met Jim Grobaty in Long Beach, through my brother, John and a friend, Ben Guggenmos. Jim became a lifelong friend. Jim Lusk, Don Adcock and I remained close and after AOCC graduation bought a 1942 Packard, as each chipped in $100.00. The fellow who sold us that controlled wreck then offered to re-upholster it, and rebuild the engine to the tune of another one hundred dollars. After completion, the car looked like it had been in two world wars. Jim would not be seen in it because it always had to be pushed to start. Don and I were after the girls of Columbus, and I dated Francis Farmer and then a little Georgia peach by the name of Jackie Stewart. After completing Army Basic Infantry Officer's Course at Benning, Frank, Jim and I signed up for Jump School. When I took my physical, the doctor told me when my chute opened I would go up instead of down. I weighed 129 pounds. So there went Jump School. I was detailed to the 25th Infantry Regimental Combat Team at Sand Hill. The 25th was an all black unit, with white officers (of course).The military had not yet been called upon by President Truman to integrate. The Regiment lost its colors at Chapultipec during the Mexican War and it was difficult to establish esprit de corps in Company "A." I spent most of my off hours in Phenix City, Alabama as an officer investigating incidents attributed to members of
my platoon. My orders arrived, and it was on to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. I remember going to New York on two occasions. I saw Frank Sinatra at the Paramount, and then on to the Stork Club that evening. Later on my return visit, Sinatra had moved on, and I saw Gordon MacCrae at the Paramount. That evening a group of us went to Roseland where you could have a "taxi dance" for a dime a dance. I embarked aboard the USS Black at Brooklyn Navy Yard in August for a European tour. I was seasick the entire voyage. We landed at Bremerhaven, Germany for duty with US Forces, Europe. I went to the Replacement Depot in Marburg, fell in love with a German girl, Graeta, and then entrained to Company "F," 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division at Salzburg, Austria and remained there for three weeks, before being transferred to Company "A," 1st Battalion 16th Infantry at the Stiff Kaserne in Vienna, Austria. I had immediately forgotten about the German girl in Marburg. I remained there for the remainder of the year, primarily as Platoon Commander of the US contingent of four power platoon guards occupying the International Zone (the US, USSR, France and Great Britain) in Vienna. I remember one of my platoon guards. His name was Shanks, and he was completely illiterate. I used him as a supernumerary, because he had memorized the special orders for each post. I put him on the Franz Joseph Bahnhauf (railway station) one day, and I checked the posts at night. As I rounded through the railway station, I looked for him. I was driving a jeep, and I heard five M-1 (Garand) gunshots. I stopped my vehicle, and I had found Shanks. He had ordered me to halt, although there was no way for me to hear him, and then pumped several rounds in my direction. Thank God he didn't hit me or that would have been the end of my story. It took a lot of juggling to explain that loss of ammunition to the battalion executive officer, Major Maurice J. Reynolds. My company commander at that time was Donofan Carter. The battalion commander was (LtCol) John C. Speedie who later in his career was promoted to general. His wife was a beauty, and we lieutenants had to pass a rigorous inspection from her as she gave up her charms to the newcomers. We of the International Patrol became participants in the filming of "The Third Man," starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. I was nineteen years old and certainly dangerous. When one of the members of my platoon went AWOL, I tracked him down, busted open the front door, and exclaimed "If you don't come out, I'll blow a hole in you." Thank God, he came out, as I leveled my pistol in his direction. There were just too many girls for us young second lieutenants to handle, but we did our best to capture them. Some friends there were Bill Robbins, Henry Korotsky, Woody Collins and Bill Ward. Woody's wife accompanied him, so we were over to their house many times. He was USMA class of '46, and ended his career as a LtGeneral. During those trying days of a struggling Austria, a pack of cigarettes or a box of chocolates could buy one anything, or anyone on the streets. We were switching between Viennese and US dependent girls for our social life.
1948 Company A and US Military Academy Preparatory School
The 1st Infantry Division colors were relocated at Graffenwhor. New colors were provided to my parent unit. It became Company "A," 1st Battalion 350th Infantry Regiment, 88th Mountain Division (whose last home had been in Lavorno, Italy).
I remained in Vienna until August, at that time requesting reassignment as a first sergeant (E-6) to attend the US Military Academy Preparatory School at Stewart Field, New York for competitive appointment to the US Military Academy. I felt that my contemporaries who were graduates of West Point were on the fast track to success. All I had was a couple of years of college. One could not be commissioned and attend the school, so the Army converted our ranking from lieutenants to the top enlisted grade. I attended the school in New York for the remainder of the year. Frank Geisel was also there. A young lady, by the name of Sara Nono, caught my eye. She was a black eyed beauty of Italian descent, who married a West Pointer long after I had left.
1949-- 1802nd Special Regiment and Stanford
My exam results were good enough for entrance with the Class of '53 but a broken arm delayed entry until after Beast Barracks (which is the cadet's initial boot camp) had started. Naturally the Army wouldn't let me join the Corps of Cadets until the following year. Frank wasn't accepted, either, because the medics determined he had a curvature of the spine. Frank did regain his commission, and retired as a colonel in the regular army. I remained with the 1802nd Special Regiment at West Point until requesting release from active duty in August so that I could pursue civilian college. I entered Stanford in September to spend the remainder of the year on that campus. Dad retired from the railroad on the second of December, 1949, just before he turned seventy years of age.
1950 Rosanne, Stanford and US Naval Academy
I became disgruntled with civilian school life. I really didn't know what major I wanted to pursue and didn't like the academic cheating that seemed rampant on campus at Stanford. Students needed to cut their hair and gain some semblance of humanistic tendencies. I wrote to my senators and congressman to see if there were appointments available to academies. My congressman, Clyde Doyle indicated that he had one principal appointment to the Naval Academy available, and I competed for the appointment by taking a civil service examination sponsored by the congressman. In the meantime, I met my future wife, Rosanne, through her brother, Bill Roney, who was my roommate at Stanford. Bill and I were having a wonderful time terrorizing the young ladies of Lagunita girl's dormitory. Neither of us had any money except for the seventy five dollars each of us was provided monthly while we were in school (that we received as veterans from Uncle Sam). I took him home during a break in terms, and went in for a cup of coffee. Bill had told me he had a little sister. She was on the phone, breaking a date, and when I looked at her I knew she was the one for me. I told her I would call that weekend. In the meantime I called Tom Giles, and he wanted me to get him a date. I called Rosanne, and asked that she get a date for Tom. She did--Barbara Hinkley, and we four had a Sunday afternoon at the beach. We doubled again to see "Cinderella" the following weekend, and the week after that, I took her to see "The Jolson Story," without doubling, and I knew I was hooked. She was just starting college at Immaculate Heart College, and was graduated in 1953 with a sociology degree. I then received a principal appointment to Annapolis, bought a bus ticket in June and was sworn into the Naval Service on 15 June as a plebe with the Class of '54.
1951-1952-1953 USNA, Broken Knee and the Army
I joined the Naval Academy as a midshipman 4/C. Plebe Summer (the Navy's Beast Barracks) was our indoctrination into the "Naval Service." Our leaders were members of the last graduating class (1950). One of them (Chuck Dobeny) we dubbed as "Mr. Morechest" since every other word he said to us was "I wanna see more chest." Unfortunately he was killed later the next year while at Pensacola taking flight training. All of us looked around to see whom we would choose as our roommate(s) during the academic year. During those days, all roommates had to be taking the same language. Our room ended up with Pete Yadlowsky (USMC), Jake Everett (USMC), Harry Pilcher (USN), Fred Knops (USN), and P. X. O'Neill (USN), a turn back from the class of '53. We were all signed up for Russian language.
I broke my knee playing soccer and spent the last part of 1951 and most of 1952 attending classes at Hospital Point, USNA. My room mate was Charlie Chapman, and both of us had hip casts. Over Christmas Charlie's mother drove down from Marblehead, Massachusetts and took us home with her for the holidays. My roommates helped me get through the year's courses, and my English, History and Government (Bull Class) teacher, Jim Cutting, got me through the academic year. Jim started to matriculate at the Naval Academy with the Class of 1923, but after a while decided that he should transfer to Princeton. Upon graduating from Princeton, he returned to USNA as an instructor, and remained there until retiring some fifty years later. Jim passed away in 1999, at the age of 98. During that first year, my class elected me to be President. The six of us had the largest room in the 4th Wing. In the evening, it would be the room of passage for all those going over the wall on "French Leave." They wore bathrobes to roam through the halls, and left them on the beds in our room while out on the city, Crabtown By the Bay, or Annapopolis, the little Greek free state. In 1953 Rosanne came out to be with me at the Ring Dance. Ralph Flanigan's band played at the dance. I gave her a miniature of my class ring, as she had already received my Class Pin, and a diamond engagement ring I had bought (for $100.00) while on the USS Midway during Second Class Cruise. During 1952, the Army requested my return to active duty as a captain for the Korean conflict. The Commandant of Midshipmen, Captain Bob Pirie, had those orders rescinded. He said the Navy had me, not the Army. During my senior year, Rosanne and Sheila Tomlinson came to Annapolis with Sheila's mother as a chaperone. I found a place for them to rent at Turkey Point, a little beyond the seven mile limit we had to adhere to. Rosanne could be with me for our social occasions, and I could get dates for Sheila. I became the Midshipman 2nd Regimental Commander during the football season, and finished the year as 20th Company Commander.
1954 Graduation, Marriage and Basic School
Graduation occurred on 4 June 1954, and I married Rosanne in Pasadena on 19 June. Neither of our parents could afford to make the trip to Annapolis. I had reserved first place for the wedding ceremony at the Chapel but we gave that up to go home to be married. We honeymooned through Crestline, Sequoia, Yosemite, Mount Rushmore, Niagara Falls and the Susquehanna River, staying at her aunt's place in Havertown, Pennsylvania, and then reported to Basic School 3-54 at Quantico. Our first apartment was a basement one-roomer in Triangle, Virginia, Triangle Guest House. Basic School was completed by the end of the year. We had many of our friends who were not married to our home for an evening meal, but you can't wine and dine people very well on 232 dollars per month. In the basement apartment were hundreds of crickets. We took in a cat whom we called "Punkin" and she kept the cricket population down.
1955 Fort Sill, Mark, Camp Pendleton and Japan
We remained at Quantico for several weeks while I attended a post graduate course, held for regular officers. About the most constructive thing we did during the course was to bring our copies of the Marine Corps Manual up to date. I believe twenty-six changes had to be entered into the documents. At that time, all regular officers had their own copy of the Marine Corps Manual. We drove to Fort Sill, Oklahoma in February and found a home at 1310 Ferris Street, Lawton. I commenced the Field Artillery Transition Officer's Course 12-A, and we departed in May after our first born son, Mark, (20 April 1955) arrived. I was in a transportation class, and one of the teachers entered to say Rosanne had a baby girl. I said "no, it's a boy!" My orders took me to Camp Pendleton, California in May where I waited for the first sea draft to the Western Pacific. We remained there at an apartment in Oceanside (Portola Arms) until September for the ship draft to form. I remember being paying officer for about 1000 men. It was all in cash, and I spent two days reducing the line. Rosanne, with Mark moved to her Mom and Dad's place at 2501 N. Allen Avenue in Altadena. While I was embarking, Jim Grobaty, his wife Joanne and their two children were on their way south from Long Beach to help Rosanne move. They were in a head-on collision, which killed Joanne. Jim received many wounds, and the children escaped relatively unharmed. Jim later married Elaine, and she became a wonderful wife to him, and mother to his two children. My brother, John, helped Jim through those trying times in the hospital after the accident. I sailed on the troopship USS Nelson from San Diego. Moored next to us was a Navy ship, with LT(jg) Tom Giles aboard. We were able to talk for a couple of hours before sailing time. Our ship headed for Japan, stopping at Okinawa to off load troops. Thank heaven my name wasn't called to disembark, and I would see plenty of Okinawa later. We proceeded to Japan, off loading at Yokosuka in October.
I hopped aboard the back end of a 3/4 ton truck at Gotemba with two other 2nd lieutenants on the trip to Camp Fuji McNair. We joined 4th Battalion, 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division at night in the field. We had driven around the artillery impact area most of the night. Battalion Commander Jim Crottinger was hopping mad (as was his operations officer Major Pete Mulroney) since they ceased fire hours before because of the 2nd balloons wandering around the impact area. We lived in tents at the foot of Fuji-cold weather but wonderful times. Yoshita (for the staff NCO's), Funatsu (for the officers) and Yamanaka (for the lower enlisted grades) were our liberty towns, with occasional jaunts by taxi down the mountain through the Canto Plains to Tokyo. I remember one particular trip to Tokyo. I was in my second lieutenant uniform, shopping on the Ginza. A Marine first lieutenant was also shopping. As he reached his arm out to look at a piece of merchandise, I noticed that his hands and fingernails were very dirty from immersions in grease and oil. I confronted him, and said "here is my ID card, please show me yours." He said, " you're only a second lieutenant. I don't have to show you mine." There were no MP's around, so I couldn't force the issue, but I said, "You are impersonating an officer, but I will find you back in camp." Upon return to Camp Fuji McNair, I started checking out enlisted SRB's. At that time, the first page had the individual's picture in it. I had gone through about thirty books, and there he was, a mechanic PFC from 1st Battalion, 12th Marines. I looked him up and read him his rights, and asked if I could go through his footlocker as a search effort. He said no, and I told him I would get his commanding officer's release for the search. He then led me to his tent, and opened his footlocker. There, buried under clothing were three 1st lieutenant bars, and a three ribbon bar (Korea Service, Korean citation and National Defense ribbon). He tried to bribe me, by saying "take them." I directed charges on him with his commanding officer, and a Special Court was held soon after. His defense council asked me "how did you recognize him?" I said," I burned his face into my memory." The accused received "justice and two-thirds" (six month's confinement at hard labor, two thirds pay reduction for a like period, and a bad conduct discharge).
1956 Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Ft. Sill and 29 Palms
I embarked for landing in Iwo Jima (I was the Battalion Survey Officer but served on the control and maneuver team), as the 3rd Marine Division did each year in commemoration of the World War II landing. My division closed completely from Japan to Okinawa (Okinawa was still under the US as a protectorate) in 1956. We went from McNair to Camp McGill (Division Headquarters) near Yokohama to Camp Napunja on Okinawa, which was called that by our predecessors, the Army, who had moved to Camp Sukeran. The Marine Corps renamed the camp as Camp Hague that we immediately renamed it Camp Hogwallow. The Army stripped our Quonsets of everything moveable and took the bounty with them to Sukeran. No Schwab or Hansen had been built yet, and the living conditions at Hogwallow were almost intolerable. Just after a hurricane that leveled Quonsets and Butler buildings, I departed Okinawa, joined my family in California at which time we returned to Fort Sill for an Honest John Warhead Course. There was only one Honest John unit in the Marine Corps at that time. We then reported in December to 1st Heavy Artillery Rocket Battery, commanded by Major Ed Bailey at 29 Palms. We first lived at 6125 Baileya in Smoke Tree. I remember Rosanne waltzing our washing machine throughout the kitchen and then into the living room. Then we moved onto the Base early the next year, since I was carpooling with the Base S-4. He was tired of hearing me gripe about not being able to come aboard the base for government housing, particularly since Rosanne was again pregnant, and the one bedroom-one bath in Smoke Tree was tiny.
1957 Paul and the Honest John Rocket Battery
We moved to 9-A Ironwood Drive. My father Jack passed away shortly before our second child Paul was born. Paul entered our lives on 22 June at a twenty bed civilian hospital in downtown 29 Palms. There was only one pediatrician (Dr. Smith) in town and he was too late for Paul's birth. He was being born while Rosanne was being wheeled into the labor room. The nurse and I did the honors of helping Rosanne (and Paul). Our battery was firing Operational Suitability Tests (which were firing of rockets that were mockups of atomic ordnance). I was called in out of the field, but Rosanne seemed to be getting better. Then off we went on our voyage to the hospital. Paul was a happy baby, constantly drooling and laughing. Mark loved him very much, and could hardly wait for him to grow up.
1958 Mary Rose and orders to Quantico
I spent the year as platoon leader, then as battery commander. Mary Rose was born 15 September in the same Hospital (Thomas A. Ince) as Paul. We loved living at 29 Stumps. Many friends were made, and many babies were being born at this far away desert station. Our friends included people from LtCol to 2nd lieutenant because we were all in the same boat. All of us in the 1st HARB thought we were breaking new ground, because this was the first ground to ground device that could hurl an atomic weapon with some semblance of accuracy toward a chosen target. We were getting so good at it that we split our group in half, sending the other half to Camp LeJeune to form the 2nd HARB. (Capt) Bob Jones took that group to North Carolina. Of course the USMC couldn't trust a captain for such a huge job, so they wrung in Major George Balzer to CO the new unit, 2nd HARB. We then received orders. I was to be at Quantico by 1 January 1959 as a student in Ordnance School. Heaven knows I didn't want to go to Ordnance School. Most Ordnance billets were filled with capable warrant officers, who had spent many years as enlisted persons in the ordnance field. I fought the orders, but lost.
1959 Ordnance School, Captain, USNA and Ann Terese
I drove to Virginia, and Rosanne and our three children flew to National Airport at Washington, DC. I had found a house at 403 4th Street in Woodbridge, Virginia. We moved in during a snow storm. My promotion to captain occurred in January. The six months of school were a complete waste of time. I was graduated behind one of the Vietnamese students. (That's how bad I was at that great school.) The instructors issued us tools, and our main effort was to strip apart an obsolete pom-pom gun and put it back together. The effort got us dirty, with skinned knuckles and crushed fingers. Orders were cut for me to be Ordnance Officer, Schools Troops, Quantico upon graduation, but I asked my monitor, Dean Harp for any other job in the world. He gave me my first choice, the Naval Academy. We reported there in June, and were provided with a large apartment at G-6 Perry Circle, USNA. My first job put me on the plebe drill field to instruct close order drill. (Capt) Bill Leftwich and I shared the assignment. (LtCol) Bob Twisdale was the ranking Marine on duty there. My next assignment was to be a Company Officer for Midshipman 4th Company in the fall. Ann Terese was born at USNA Hospital on 4 November. (Capt) Pete Yadlowsky was then detailed there to teach Russian language and (Capt) Jake Everett came aboard Marine Barracks, Annapolis. So three room mates of midshipmen days were together again.
1960-1962 Linda and US Military Academy
We had two glorious years at USNA. Linda was born at Hospital Point on 2 May 1961. I was nominated for and received orders to USMA as Naval Academy Exchange Officer. We arrived at West Point in July and we were provided with Navy Exchange Officer's Quarters 159, USMA, West Point, New York. I was assigned to 1st Regiment (2nd Regimental Commander was [Col] Richard G. Stillwell). Stillwell was promoted to Brigadier General and reassigned as Commandant of Cadets. (MGen) William C. Westmoreland was Superintendent. I became TAC Officer for Company I-1.
1963 Geralyn, Camp Lejeune and Guantanamo Bay
Geralyn was born at USMA Hospital on 10 May 1962, just one day after (Gen) Douglas MacArthur delivered his farewell address to the Corps. Our Commandant, (Gen) David M. Shoup decided that officers couldn't be promoted to a higher grade unless they passed a series of tests that covered a wide spectrum of topics, from the Marine Corps Manual to the Supply Manual to the Military Justice Manual, etc. We at the Army installation were required to request the study documents from Headquarters US Marine Corps. It It took months to get the correct study documents, and then the test was upon us. Less than thirty percent of participants passed the tests (I did), and it was the only time the test was ever administered. I received orders that month to the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. A second set of orders was sent, changing my destination to Junior School at Quantico, but we were on our way to Lejeune when they arrived at West Point. The executive officer at Marine Barracks, Annapolis decided to send my orders by 2nd class mail, and the pony did not arrive in time. We found a house in Northwoods, 602 Williams Street in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I signed in to Battery "K," 4th Battalion, 10th Marines as Battery Commander on 7 August, and deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on 15 August, to remain there until Washington's birthday the next year, because of the "Cuban Missile Crisis." We enjoyed seeing Eddie Fisher, Ed Sullivan, Perry Como and others during the crisis, and our unit lived in holes in the gun park during that deployment. When Como and his crowd visited us, I appeared at Navy's Dear Point Officers Club and overheard a conversation with young ladies from his troop and members of the Navy contingent aboard Gitmo. The sub-mariner said "come visit us- We'll show you the bottom of the ocean." The black shoe Navy representative said "we'll show you how GITMO looks from the sea lanes." I interjected my conversation into my contemporaries' remarks with the exclamation " We'll pick you up tomorrow at 0800 and show you how the Marines win wars, at dress right dress!"-----and we did! My Marines were proud, happy and full of positive information for the beautiful women who joined us in the gun park the next day. I had eight (towed) 155 mm howitzers, six (towed) 105 mm howitzers and two (sp) 155 mm guns under my command. HQMC detailed (BGen) William R. Collins as the MEB commander for the buildup. He came into country with an entourage, to include a crazy aide, (Capt) Hockaday Walker. Walker mounted a heavy machine gun on a Navy gray colored jeep and preceded the general, threatening and intimidating everyone in his path. Later in his career he failed to be reappointed to major, and was released from active duty. That action probably saved a few lives. We enjoyed Camp Lejeune, and moved into new Capehart housing at Quarters 3421, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. I remained battery commander of Kilo Battery throughout 1963.
1964-1965 Ft. Sill, 3rd Mar Div, Okinawa and Vietnam
I received orders to the 3rd Marine Division via TAD to Fort Sill for the Artillery Advanced Course. I drove with the family to California, and put them in a place close to her folks (Dad Roney found it for us) at 2390 E. Glen Canyon Road, Altadena, and departed for Ft. Sill in January of 1965. Then I returned to California after the 19 week's course, and said good-bye. I reported to the 3rd Marine Division Headquarters in July. I was assigned as Off-Island Scheduling Officer in G-3. (MGen) William R. Collins was Commanding General (CG) and (BGen) Ray Davis was Assistant Division Commander (ADC). (LtCol) Don Blanchard was 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion Commander and the 3rd Marine Division was engaged in planning scenarios for South East Asia operations. In August of 1964, I was a member of III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) contingency plans group that arrived in Yokosuka for the quarterly 7th Fleet Planning Conference. Admiral Blackburn broke up the conference by announcing that the USS Madson had been fired on by North Vietnamese gunboats in the Tonkin Gulf. Upon return to Division Headquarters at Camp Tengan, I became an action officer for Jungle Drum III operations for the Lower Peninsula of Thailand. As Military Assistance Command Vietnam's (MACV's) requirements came into focus, General Westmoreland (MGen Stillwell was his deputy) requested immediate introduction of the Army's 197th Infantry Brigade (Okinawa) into South Vietnam. By this time, BGen Davis had been relieved by (BGen) Fred Karch and the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade (MAB) that was then called 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB), was afloat off the horizon of DaNang with (LtCol) McPartlain's Battalion Landing Team (BLT) 3/9 (3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment)and a UH-34 medium helicopter squadron on the LPH (Landing Platform Helicopter.) The Army was not ready to move the 197th, because many dependents in Okinawa would have to be relocated to the Continental United States. The Commanding General of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, (LtGen) Victor H. Krulak informed Westmoreland that a MEB could be landed immediately, BLT 2/3 by sea within five days and BLT 1/3 by air. On 8 March 1965 BLT 3/9 was off loaded with MEB Headquarters and the helicopter squadron at DaNang. UH-34's went to Marine Air Group (MAG)-16 at DaNang and 2/3 shipping was diverted from Jungle Drum III to DaNang. At the same time, 1/3, under the command of (LtCol) Herb Bain, was airlifted from Naha and Kadena into DaNang as McPartlain's battalion waded ashore at Red Beach with Karch and his headquarters. MEB was changed to MAB upon entry into the combat area, since "Expeditionary" had a stigma with the Vietnamese. "Expeditionary" reminded them of the French occupation, but "Amphibious" seemed unobtrusive. Bain came in with USAF C-130's
and (LtCol) Clement's BLT 2/3 that had been diverted from Jungle Drum III arrived about 13 March by ship. During 1/3's arrival at DaNang airstrip we received a message from Westmoreland that said to slow down entry in-country. (MGen) Rip Collins said, "Let's get more in, faster!" In 1964 Krulak had flown the east coast of South Vietnam with other Marines in his staff, including (Col) Regan Fuller, in a Marine C-130, saw a bay and christened it Chu Lai (which, allegedly in Chinese means Krulak).It was then up to III MAF as senior headquarters to the 3rd Mar Div (FWD) and 1st Mar Air Wing (FWD) to fill Chu Lai with Marines. General Krulak embarked the 4th Marine Regiment and most of the air arm in Kaneohe for an amphibious landing in California. Its code name was "Solid Shield." Elizabeth was born at the Pasadena Hospital on 23 March. “Solid Shield" was executed and we at Marine Bases, Okinawa, knew that this was a diversion. That 1st Marine Brigade showed up at Okinawa on 18 April of 1965. General Wallace M. Greene, then Commandant of the Marine Corps, was in Okinawa taking his Western Pacific tour, and seemed to know nothing of our plans to commit III MAF to South Vietnam. He was interested in rewarding (Maj) Bill Leftwich with the Navy Cross. Bill was wounded commanding the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion in Vietnam in 1970. General Collins called me from his office after I had told him LANSHIPRON-9 (12 LST's of the Amphibious Force, 7th Fleet) was going to leave Okinawa to go to its home port in Yokosuka. He asked me if we could put a BLT on those ships and I said "Yes." I called (LtCol) D.C. Hall, CO of BLT 3/3 and asked him to execute an embarkation with LANSHIPRON-9 immediately, as an order from Rip Collins. Staff members of III MAF, 3rd Mar Div and 1st Mar Air Wing met to determine which battalions and how much of the Air Wing would go in country to Chu Lai. A third enclave was designated to be at Hue Phu Bai. The staff recommended, (and it was approved by the CG) to take Ed Dupra's 4th Marines with three battalions (Hall's 3/3, Bull Fischer's 1/4 and Bob "Bonzo" Perrich's 2/4) with the 7th NCB's and MAG's 11 and 12 and 3rd Recon Battalion Headquarters into Chu Lai. BLT 3/4, commanded by (LtCol) Woody Taylor was to sail with (BGen) Marion Carl (as CG 3rd MAB) into Hue Phu Bai. These plans were executed, with the Seventh Fleet questioning the authenticity of each move. The 9th Marines Headquarters, under (Col) Frank Garretson, and 3rd Marines Headquarters, commanded by (Col) Ed Wheeler with the 4th and 11th Naval Construction Battalion's with their 3rd Regimental Headquarters closed into DaNang. This occurred on 7 May 1965 at the same time Chu Lai was opened. We said good-bye to Rip Collins and ushered in (MGen) Lew Walt as the new CG. The 9th MAB under Karch was chopped to CG 3rd Mar Div and MAG-16 under (Col) John King was chopped to 1st Mar Air Wing (FWD) commanded by (BGen) Bruce McCutcheon. (MGen) Paul Fontana, GG of 1st Marine Air Wing, stayed at Iwakuni). Later, the 7th Marines, commanded by (Col) Oscar Petross, sailed from San Diego and debarked at Chu Lai and by July the Marine Corps had two regiments at DaNang and two at Chu Lai with a separate battalion (3/4) at Hue Phu Bai. Not one fighting force from the US Army had yet entered the fray. During those days and nights there was little sleep. I remember Don Blanchard walking up to me and saying, "My God, we are the only Marines awake in Headquarters of the 3rd Mar Div." (LtCol) Joe Muir came into country as operations officer (G-3) 9th MAB, and when the chop occurred, he became G-3 Operations Officer of 3rd Mar Div. I remember when we went out one day into "Indian Country" (just beyond Lei Mi) to watch F-2/3 on a clean and sweep operation. (Capt) Pete Yadlowsky (a USNA roommate of mine who commanded the company) saw us coming. Joe was sauntering around during the firefight and Pete said to me, "Jesus, teach that LtCol how to duck, for Christ's sake!". Joe was fearless. He was chosen to command 3/3 and was killed in action in August of 1965. I received orders to Recruit Depot (MCRD), San Diego, and enplaned to Okinawa to inform (BGen) Henderson (the ADC, Rear) to apply pressure with CMC to close the remainder of the Division and Wing in country, Vietnam. Walt was very serious about this. I reported in to MCRD in August, and our family moved to 3249 San Carlos Drive, Spring Valley, California.
1966 MCRD San Diego, CO Cdr., EXEC, Staff Sec and Major
My first duty at MCRD was as Charlie Company Commander, First Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment. Don Blanchard took command of the 1st Recruit Training Battalion. The Recruit Depot was doubling numbers of recruits to keep up with combat deaths and to feed bodies into the activation of the 5th Mar Div. I then became his executive officer, and was then picked by the Chief of Staff, (Col) Jim Bell to be (MGen) Bruno A. Hochmuth's Staff Secretary. On 9 November the General promoted me to Major.
1967 Fort Leavenworth, and Army's C&GSC
General Hochmuth went to Vietnam as CG 3rd Mar Div and later died in action. The new MCRD CG was (MGen) Lowell C. English. We received orders to Command and General Staff College (C&GSC) at Fort Leavenworth, and I was back with the Army again. We ( nine of us) moved into a 1400 square foot Army leased quarters at 1320 N. 75th Street, Kansas City, Kansas in 110 degree heat. It was 35 miles to Leavenworth from there. I promised the children we would get a dog, and Mark and I visited the local dog pound. Cleo jumped up into my arms, and we took her home. The school was resoundingly bad. Instead of studying and preparing for a SEASIA war environment, we were still fighting WWII on the tank trails of the Polish flatlands. It was difficult to believe that the Army could not give up their resounding victory, even though twenty two years and two wars had passed since then.
1968 California, Vietnam, III MAF Protocol Officer
I completed school in May and received orders back to Vietnam. We moved the family to 1821 Hermes Street, Imperial Beach, California. I flew to Okinawa, and arrived in DaNang to be assigned as III MAF Protocol Officer----almost three years to the day after having left the combat zone. The CG was (LtGen) Bob Cushman, and Chief of Staff was (MGen) Earl E. Anderson. It was interesting to develop itineraries and accompany such people as Curtis LeMay,(running mate with George Wallace, an independent presidential candidate), Billy Graham, Bob Hope, State Department people and generals / admirals who wanted to put their feet in the door, so they could say "I was there." Lyndon Johnson used to send pictures of Chuck Robb's new baby by Marines visiting from HQMC. We would dig Chuck out of the boonies, dress him up to be with four star generals/admirals to see the pictures. Much later, Chuck would be a senator, representing Virginia. Colonel Pete Mulroney was CO of the 12th Marines, and I asked him to save a battalion for me in 1969. Pete said, "Bob, don't you know that I have lots of LtCol's that are 0802's (the artillery officer's MOS) who could take command if they were designated? You are a Major." I said, "Just keep me in mind." (General) Leonard F. Chapman, who was just designated as CMC (over Vic Krulak, who retired immediately) was my last Very Important Person (VIP) while I was in the Protocol Office at Camp Horn. Of course, the Horn Direct Air Support Center (DASC) was located there, and it was a fight between USAF and USMC on who could frag aircraft for missions. The Marine Corps' position has always been "our high performance aircraft is a logical extension of close support offered by artillery. We frag our own aircraft for those missions that need deep and/or heavy ordnance drops.” 7th Air Force finally became the main fragging DASC for all combat zones, but sorties were set aside for Marine close air support assignments. After all, only the Marine Corps could speak to the Navy at Yankee Station, to the Air Force in and out of country, and to the Army's limited fixed wing units--through our Marine Air Control Squadron (MACS)-4 at Monkey Mountain. The Air Force needed our capabilities.
1969 XO, then CO of 3rd Bn 12th Mar, LtCol and PG School
I was released from the Protocol Section after Gen Chapman's visit in January 1969. MGen Anderson walked to and confronted me in my office and said he was rotating, and I could go to either division. I said "I want to go to the 3rd," and he said "OK." I hopped a commercial plane at DaNang and flew to Hawaii on 6 January. Rosanne met me there and we had a glorious week together, and then back to South Vietnam. Soon I found myself knocking at Mulroney's hooch (on 16 January). Pete said I had to serve my entrance into hell by being (LtCol) Gene Foxworth's 3rd XO (he had fired two before me) in a row until Gene's tour ended. I said "yes" and established a relationship with Gene, as his exec at Quang Tri while he was forward at Vandergrift overseeing our troops at Fire Support Base (FSB) Fuller, FSB Russell, FSB Cates, and FSB Greene, as well as FSB Sandy and Vandergrift Combat Base. Rockets were dropping down on us, and a very sad day engulfed us when Fuller and Russell were hit by regular North Vietnamese troops, and we received many casualties (16 dead) on 26 February 1969.The first person on FSB Russell after the attack was our 24th Corps Commanding General, (LtGen) Dick Stillwell. There was only one Helicopter Landing Zone (HLZ), so I had to wait until he departed to set down, and provided our occupants with beer and soft drinks. I inherited the 3rd Artillery Battalion on 4 May and commanded the battalion through the attachment of several Army artillery units, until we had the largest artillery battalion in our Tactical Area Of Responsibility (TAOR). I was promoted to LtCol on 1 July by Pete Mulroney, and received orders for the Naval Post Graduate School (NPGS) at Monterey, California in August. My change of command was to (LtCol) Harry H. Bair as I departed from the combat zone. Rosanne and our seven children relocated at 1083 Spruance Road, La Mesa, Monterey, California in August. I immediately started to school in refresher courses to prepare me for the oncoming blitz at PG school.
1970 Advanced Degree and orders to Southern California
After sixteen years out of the academic classroom, I found myself facing sixteen to seventeen graduate units each term in a four term year's curriculum. In December 1970 my diploma for a Master of Science in Management was handed to me and we said good-bye to the Naval Post Graduate School at Monterey. In the meantime, the four Lieutenant Colonels of the course, Jim McCormick, Joe Hopkins, Dick Johnson and myself, had not received orders anywhere. I asked them where they would like to go, and called our monitor. We all got what we wanted; Joe and Dick to Washington, and Jim and me to West Coast tours. I had written a paper about the Marine Corps Tactical Air Command and Control Systems (MTACCS) being born at Marine Corps Air Facility (Helicopter) at Santa Ana, California, and I wanted to join the new unit.
1971 MCTSSA, Earthquake and Garden Grove
We moved to 12771 Melody Drive, Garden Grove, California, and I became Exec of Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA). On 20 January, the earth began to tremble. It was early in the morning and Paul wandered into our room, saying "everything is falling down!" It soon stopped, but our children had learned how fragile we mortals be. The organization was built around the Marine Corps' Tactical Air Control System, and our seniors in the Development Center at Marine Corps Development and Educational Command (MCDEC), Quantico gave us free reign to create a military interface with the industrial complex in computer, communication, location, command and control, antenna systems and other systems that would allow us to monitor progress and provide impetus to efforts to improve our war fighting capabilities.
1972-1973 Hawaii, Mark to Notre Dame, CINCPAC and Aikahi Park
We developed the system support activity into a Test Division, Software Support Division, Service/Support Division and Marine Corps Tactical Air Command and Control Systems (MTACCS) Division. I became Director of the Test Division, and Mal Jolly who was designated as OIC of Sub Unit 1, MCTSSA. Mal and I designed the new facility that was to be located at Camp Pendleton California. It was time to move on, and we received orders in June. The Marine Corps wanted me to go to Headquarters, US Marine Corps (HQMC) for duty and I wanted us to go to Hawaii. I had to send a letter to Headquarters showing it would be cheaper to send me to Hawaii than DC. They bought it and we left as eight strong, since Mark had obtained a Naval ROTC appointment at Notre Dame. I had taken a Military Airlift Command (MAC) flight to Hawaii in May of 1973 and negotiated to buy a house in the three days I had there. Wes Hammond, on duty at FMF, Pac provided me with transportation, and Jack and Marty Donahue helped me look for a house. The only one I could find that would hold all of us was a four bedroom in Aikahi Park (249 Aikahi Loop). We departed in July, and spent 45 days at the Outrigger East in Waikiki waiting for our shipment of household goods to arrive, and then we moved into our first purchased home. It was ours! I was assigned to the J-52 section in Plans at Commander in Chief Pacific (CINCPAC), located at Camp H.M. Smith. My desk was contingency plans for Korea. During the time I had Korea Plans, there was much tension in that country.
1974-1975 Korea and National Security Act of 1947
Scenarios were established and were played out on the ground in South Korea, in combined operations with their military. General Stillwell had received his fourth star and became CINC UNC and Commander, US Forces, Korea, as well as CG Eighth Army. It was my first job in a Unified Command, and I learned each service's position as they were guarding their missions as outlined in the National Security Act of 1947, with later amendments. It was interesting to see bombshells forming if USAF were allowed to control USMC aircraft, or if the Army was to be put on amphibious ships, or if the Navy could not guard inland waterways because the Army wanted in, etc. Many nights remained sleepless as a result of guarding these interests. Arguments among services were not rare. In fact, the Army decided to downgrade its headquarters in Hawaii (US Army Hawaii). The new Army Chief of Staff (Gen Abrams, who relieved Westmoreland as MACV) had proclaimed that the Army would never fight a land war again under the command of a Navy admiral (CINCPAC). The Army billet was downgraded to a two star job (US Army Support Command Hawaii). Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face! Now the power in WestPac belonged to the Navy-Marine Corps team, with a little bit of Air Force thrown in and very little Army. The evacuation of Saigon was accomplished primarily by the Navy and USMC, with air sorties and some helicopters from the USAF, while the Army was building a tent camp in the Philippines to absorb the multitude of South Vietnamese people who had fled Vietnam.
1976 CINCPAC Protocol, Geralyn, Colonel and Mark's Wedding
The conflict in Vietnam had come to an end, and Thailand wanted the US to remove its aircraft from their country. This was done quickly, as eleven USAF F-4 squadrons were chopped elsewhere, mostly out of CINCPAC / CINCPAC Air Force's sphere of influence. CINCPAC (Admiral Noel A.M. Gayler) needed a new protocol officer, and my name had come up on the promotion list to colonel. The A.M. was put into the middle of his name because he was born on Christmas Day, in the A.M. He reached down for me and once again, I had become a "professional" protocol officer. It was a busy job, with kings, an Emperor, many statesmen, Vietnam Missing In Action (MIA) teams going to Hanoi and bringing back bones of US service members, and other bones that were matched as indigenous Asians by the Identification Laboratory. (MajGen) Frank Lang USMC (J-3) promoted me to colonel on 7 July 1976. My wetting down was on 10 July at the Camp Smith Officer's Club. Jerry Scott, Bill Condry, Dick Addison, Bill Barlow and Moody Hayes shared the ceremony. There were a lot of new "chickens" around Camp Smith. Gayler’s tour and active service duty were up, and I orchestrated the Change of Command with him and the CINCPACFleet Commander, (Adm) Mickey Weisner. Gayler also wanted a retirement ceremony, so we held it the next day aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger, which had just come into port from WestPac. Mark was to be graduated from Notre Dame the first week in May. I flew to Notre Dame to give him the oath of allegiance into the US Marine Corps, while Rosanne was in Southern California to help Mark's intended, Claudia, prepare for the wedding on 16 May at St. Columban's, in Garden Grove, California. Early in the morning I received a call from Don Morgan, who had been looking after our children on Oahu, and he said "Bob, come home as quickly as you can. Geralyn has just had an accident." I flew home that morning, and Geralyn was at Tripler Army Medical Center with multiple injuries to her body. We got through that, and attended Mark and Claudia's wedding on 16 May.
1977 Top Level School, Canada, Paul and Mary Rose in Canada
I was then selected for Top Level School. My monitor, (Col) Joe McMonagle said I could go to the Naval War College or to the National Defence College of Canada. I chose the latter. Unfortunately, Cleo had to be put away because of advanced age. Six of us departed in July for Kingston, Ontario. My last job as Protocol Director was to squire Rosalynn Carter and her daughter, Amy around Hawaii as she was about to dedicate the new Kuhio Federal Building. Paul was dropped off with Jim Lusk at Irvine, so that he could go to his chosen university, Cal State, Fullerton as a Communications major. Mary Rose went to Orange County to attend Orange Coast College in that vicinity. We arrived in Kingston after driving the width of Canada, staying a few days with my brother, John and his family in Edmonton. We drove up to 482 Roosevelt Drive, Henderson Place, and as we approached the house, fire trucks were in our way, because the people from whom we were renting had set fire to the kitchen area. The fire was put out and we moved in. Since we had come from a tropical climate to the frozen north, none of us had any winter clothing, so our first effort was a buying spree for warm clothing.
Rosanne and the children took to ice skating and cross country skiing when the snows came. The school was designed so that students would travel to as many countries as possible in a year's time. The objective was to find a Canadian problem, to match a problem that was shared by another country, and go there. There were fifty students in the class, mostly Canadian military, with some people in the work stream, some from England, Australia and the US. We flew throughout Eastern Canada (Rosanne was able to accompany us) in September and early October. We visited the Arctic and Western Canada in late October and early November. In late November and early December we visited the United Nations and Washington, DC.
1978 Asia, US, South America and Europe, CO 12th Mar, CAFEX's
In January and February we were in Asia (India, Japan, China) and Africa (Nigeria, Zambia with a trip to Victoria Falls and Tunisia). In March we returned to the US, visiting US Central Command at McDill AFB, Florida, Strategic Air Command at Offutt AFB, Nebraska and other places. Annie gave birth to Keoki on 21 March. In May we were off to Latin America, stopping in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and seeing a great part of Brazil to include Recife, the Amazon River, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro. Our final trip in June was to Europe and the middle east (Germany, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Yugoslavia, Portugal, Norway and Belgium). We spent 121 days on field studies travel, visited nineteen countries, and traveled a total of eighty-one thousand miles. It was a wonderful experience, and many lifelong friends were found. It was getting close to the end of school, my orders to the 3rd Mar Div arrived. (MajGen) Cal Killeen had received orders as CG of the Division, and was at HQMC waiting to travel. I called him (having had a battalion in combat at the same time he had one) and said, "You are now speaking to your new 12th Marines Regimental Commander." He said, "Bob, when can you make it to Okinawa?" I said, "I will be there in mid-August." He said "I'll hold it for you" and it was a great feeling to know a regiment would be mine for a while. Mary Rose, Paul and Ann Terese (she had gone to Southern California early) were looking for a house for us to rent, and found 20281 Harpoon Circle, Huntington Beach. We drove there, and I hopped the first plane I could find to Okinawa. Change of command took place on 25 August, and we immediately commenced planning for a Combined Armed Forces Exercise (CAFEX) in South Korea in mid-winter. We wanted to find a piece of ground that could hold one artillery battalion, two infantry battalions, a lot of support, and several air strips and landing zones for fixed wing and helicopters. I went on two scouting missions to Korea. During the first one we were thrown out of country, because the Army thought we were capitalizing on their pullout of some combat strength of their 2nd Infantry Division. The second time, skids were greased so that I could meet and speak to (LtGen) M. Collier Ross, who was CG of Republic of Korea/US I Corps with its headquarters at Ui Jong Bu (Camp Red Cloud), and his staff. He took me up in his helicopter, and pointed out several places that we could use as a home base. All were too small, and then he said, "Let's go to the place where HQ of the 7th Inf Div used to be." We dropped in there, and it appeared that there was enough room to put in a tent camp of 2000 Marines. A ROK Armored Brigade was billeted nearby, and it's CG (ROK BGen) Han became my benefactor. I then went back to USFOR Korea HQ and interfaced with representatives of his USAF staff (312th Air Division). I told them we needed space for twenty helicopters and their support. The work was done, and we commenced the embarkation phase of the movement there. We arrived on 18 Octoberand stayed until the following February. There would be two cycles of troops. Each cycle would end with a combined exercise at Nightmare Range with A-4's and F-4's from Iwakuni, two 8 inch self propelleds simulating ship to shore bombardment fire, two maneuver battalions, an infantry regimental headquarters, a DASC, exercise and control units, and an artillery battalion.
1979 Chorwon Valley, Rosanne's Visit and Texas A&M
The Chorwon Valley was cold. We had a visit from (Gen) Bob Barrow, Assistant CMC, who would be named later that year as Commandant of the Marine Corps. With over 5000 Marines passing through our exercises, we had no casualties. While in Korea, I was talking with my monitor in HQMC to see what my next duty station might be, and called Rosanne, telling her that I wanted an NROTC unit. There were two openings, one at the University of Florida and the other at Texas A&M. I tried to give her a chance to get back to me, but the monitor needed a hurry up answer, since many of my contemporaries wanted the jobs. I chose Texas A&M, a good choice, even though Rosanne didn't think so at the time. She was able to join me for a few days in Okinawa, then we flew to Seoul. From Seoul we took an Army jeep to Ui Jong Bu, and I showed her all of the places our units had been. We visited the orphanage my regiment had adopted while we were deployed to South Korea. I was able to come home for a late Christmas leave in February, then returned to Okinawa and had the Change of Command the last week in June. We were then on our way to Texas A&M at College Station, and the person whom I relieved, arranged for us to rent a nice house at 2303 Briar Oaks Drive in Bryan. I had promised the children that we would get another dog, and a pet store provided Pua to our family. The job was fun. I had a good staff, and there were three colonels guiding activities of the Corps of Cadets. I had the Navy-Marine Regiment, the Army colonel (Jim Woodard) was Commandant, and controlled the Army Regiment, and an Air Force colonel (Ken Durham) controlled the Air Force Wing. Our immediate boss was LtGen Ormond Simpson (USMC, Ret'd) from A&M's Class of '36.
1980-1981 Our Second Home Purchase and Ann Terese's Death
In July, we bought our second home at 2721 Adrian Circle, College Station. My staff, under the guidance of Jim Sanborn (my Marine MOI), moved us in. I became a full-fledged member of the faculty, and was designated professor. We took a vacation, and headed out west to see Paul graduate from Cal State, Fullerton. All of the girls went with us and it was a great two weeks. A very sad day on 18 October 1981 occurred when we lost our darling daughter, Ann Terese in an auto accident. The football seasons at A&M were great occasions, and they were rebuilding and adding to Kyle Field to hold the throng of worshipers. In 1965 Earl Rudder, then president of A&M, made two important decisions that were to help put the institution into the 20th century, (1) allow girls to matriculate and (2), allow a male to make a choice to be in or out of uniform as an undergraduate. The University grew from about 5,500 to 35,000 through the following years, although the Corps of Cadets shrank to about 2,200 males and 150 females.
1982 Mary Rose, Linda & Geralyn stayed in Texas-Back to Hawaii
My three year tour was ending, and I called a friend at HQMC who was Director of Manpower, (D'Wayne Gray, who was on the same C-130 with me in going to the initial tour in Vietnam) and asked him to send us to Hawaii for our last tour. I told him we had every intention of staying in Hawaii for retirement. He said yes, and several billets for colonels were open. I was designated to be J-53 on CINCPAC staff, and as such I became the Strategy Officer in that Unified headquarters. Mary Rose wanted to marry Robert Estremo, and the marriage took place just before we departed Texas. We waved good-bye to College Station, and landed in Honolulu on 2 August. Both Linda and Mary Rose remained at Texas A&M to complete their education. Geralyn stayed behind, also. Several weeks were spent at the Outrigger East in the same penthouse that we were in during 1973. Our friends, the Claybaugh's were looking for a place for us to rent until we could find a place to buy. Next door to them lived a couple who were going to spend a year on the east coast. We moved into their house, 289 Milokai, and remained there while still looking for a house to buy. Mary Rose was graduated from Texas A&M at the end of the year, and waited another half year there so that her husband could be graduated.
1983 Geralyn joined us, and we bought home in Kailua
Our home in Collage Station was finally sold, and Geralyn joined us, so we had two girls and a dog with us. Now that the house in College Station was sold, we began looking in earnest for a home. Elizabeth was graduated from Kalaheo, and Rosanne got a job at Hawaii Loa College. It was time for a change of command at CINCPAC, and I was chosen again to run the show. (Adm) Bob Long relinquished his command to (Adm) Bill Crowe, and the deed was done. Elizabeth entered Hawaii Loa College in September, after we moved into our new and last (our 24th) home (1482 Kina Street, Kailua). I took many trips to Washington, DC, Korea, New Zealand, Australia and Germany. The job was interesting and my staff was a good one.
1984 Linda graduated & married, then TRIPLER
Linda was graduated from Texas A&M, and shortly thereafter, she and Bruce Raiff were married in Richardson, Texas. All of the Gibsons were there for the wedding. My leg (the one that was injured at USNA) was beginning to hurt, so I turned in to Tripler for an orthroscopic operation. The operation was unsuccessful, and I stayed on convalescent leave the remainder of the year.
1985 Retired, Paul and Geralyn Weddings, Roosevelt University
My many years in the service were drawing to a close, and I was retired on 1 April with 40% disability. It was a saddening day for me, and I knew I should start another career soon. Paul and Geralyn became engaged to their sweethearts, and that gave me something to do. Both weddings were held in Southern California (Geralyn and Bob Blowey on 1 June, and Paul and Annette on 8 June). After being back home for a day, Don Morgan called and asked if I wanted his job as a director for Roosevelt University in the Education Center at Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station. I said yes, and joined the University as a director.
1986-1989 ERAU, Elizabeth graduating and Final Retirement
Midway through 1986, it seemed Roosevelt was going to fold, so I took the job of Director, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Kaneohe MCAS in July 1986. Elizabeth was graduated from Hawaii Loa College. Mary Rose's marriage had gone on the rocks, and their divorce was accomplished mid-year of 1986. I remained with ERAU until the first week in October of 1989, at which time I retired. My mother, Mary passed away just before my second retirement.
More About Colonel Robert Eggleston Gibson:
Address (Facts Pg): 151 Villa Chiquita, Las Cruces, NM 88007
Education: Naval Academy & PG Schol, Monterey, CA; Education: BS in Science (USNA) and MS in Management
Occupation: Bet. 1954 - 1985, In the USMC; rose to Col. USMC
Notes for Rosanne Roney:
Died early morning 21 August 1995 in her home at 1482 Kina Street, Kailua, Hawaii.
Cause of death was amylotropic lateral sclerosis.
Rosanne was a great housewife, lover and mother. She spent many years with Girl Scouts in teaching our daughters Girl Scout ideas and ideals.
After they grew up, she became a Registrar at Hawaii Loa Collage. Elizabeth was graduated cum laude in 1985 at Hawaii Loa College.
Rosanne retired from the Registrars office in 1990, and passed away on 21 August 1995. She is buried at the Veteran's Cemetery (96-A9), Kaneohe, Hawaii.
More About Rosanne Roney:
Burial: 25 Aug 1995, Veteran's Memorial Cemetery, Kaneohe, HI. (96-A-9)
Cause of Death: Amylotropic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
Medical Information: Began to develop symptoms in 1993, and passed away at home on 21 August 1995.
Marriage Notes for Robert Gibson and Rosanne Roney:
Bishop Joseph T. McGuckin was the officiating individual for the Marriage Ceremony at St. Andrews Church, Pasadena. Jim Lusk was Best Man and Nancy Serban was the Matron of Honor.
More About Robert Gibson and Rosanne Roney:
Marriage: 19 Jun 1954, Pasadena, CA.
