Posted on 11/30/2009 7:43:24 PM PST by syc1959
A friend of mine sent me this story of his time in the Marine Corps. Read through to the end, it’s a shocker.
What strikes me most is what he said as to where he grew up: Indonesia. He told me he wanted to be President of the US someday. I remember lightly smiling and commenting that maybe by the time he gets to be 40 or so, America will be ready for a Black man to be President and I wished him luck. We spoke of the racial tensions I saw at home while growing up and I asked him if he ever saw that overseas or since he returned back to Hawaii. I don’t remember his answer, but we spoke more of his time overseas and his thoughts on life and philosophy of government. He made some strange comments to me, it was obvious he never set foot for any time in the continental United States and I told him he better realize that he is making judgments about the United States when he himself never actually lived there. I told him, “Hawaii aint the United States!”
He also told me something that I never forgot, for it caused me to do some other things in an effort to be nice to him and possibly a favor. We spoke of where I had been and the world as I saw it. I told him I had been to Africa , Mombassa specifically, and he said to me abruptly, “I was born there”. I told him he is not eligible to be president if that was true, but I remembered he said his mom was an American, so, maybe it was okay.
(Excerpt) Read more at nygoe.wordpress.com ...
In the initial replies to this post, there was some doubt as to whether RaceBannon was what he said he was, when he was. I was stationed at kaneohe MCAS from 1981 thru 1984, I had liberty in Mombasa in 1983 with MAU-37 during the infamous 11 month float that had us sitting off the coast of Beirut for a couple of months. There is no doubt in my mind at all that RaceBannon was a K-Bay Marine in the early eighties. I also find it believable that an 18 year old Barry would stick out in the Oahu of that time. It can’t be proven of course, but I believe RaceBannon may have had a close encounter of the manchurian kind ;)
Semper Fi, Brutha!
I have almost the same fruit salad as you. Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, check. Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, check. Good Conduct Medal, check. I forget the name of the light blue one, I dont have that one but I always understood it to be an Iceland Northern Atlantic Nato thing.
Pretty much the classic set of ribbons for a Corporal with a few deployments under his belt from the late 70’s - early 80’s. So for you doubters out there, this isn’t one of those absurd fake veterans a la Jessie McBride, just a real Marine who volunteered to serve in the post draft era Corps, in that strange twilight at the end of the Cold War when we were
neither at peace nor at war, when The bamster was too busy to even send in his selective service registration card.
Yeah he has his chest hair sticking out of his shirt and a haircut we used to call “marginally regulation” thus proving his air wing bona fides but that was the way it was back then back in Kaneohe on his side of the base. At least he didn’t have the ‘stache thing going on like a lot of guys with relaxed Top’s did!
I have almost the same fruit salad as you. Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, check. Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, check. Good Conduct Medal, check. I forget the name of the light blue one, I dont have that one but I always understood it to be an Iceland Northern Atlantic Nato thing.
Pretty much the classic set of ribbons for a Corporal with a few deployments under his belt from the late 70’s - early 80’s. So for you doubters out there, this isn’t one of those absurd fake veterans a la Jessie McBride, just a real Marine who volunteered to serve in the post draft era Corps, in that strange twilight at the end of the Cold War when we were
neither at peace nor at war, when The bamster was too busy to even send in his selective service registration card.
Yeah he has his chest hair sticking out of his shirt and a haircut we used to call “marginally regulation” thus proving his air wing bona fides but that was the way it was back then back in Kaneohe on his side of the base. At least he didn’t have the ‘stache thing going on like a lot of guys with relaxed Top’s did!
My Hitler Mustache grows straight out, not combed downunless it is 2 inches long!
the light blue and purpple ribbon is the Humanitarian Service Medal, Vietnamese refugeees in 1981, that pic is from just before I got out
Yes, the famous “football” mustache, 11 hairs on each side :)
Oh, always wondered about the blue ribbon, I saw quite. few of them and now it makes sense.
As far in the past as this is I have to respond.
Airwing Marines all to often look like Navy airwing. In other words not all that spic and span. To validate that statement I am a retired airwing Chief petty officer.
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