Posted on 03/21/2008 10:19:58 PM PDT by Judith Anne
I've heard several times that B. Rocko Bama's Rev. Wright served as a Marine.
Does anyone have any idea when or where he served? What kind of discharge he got? Did he get any medals? In other words, I am starting to wonder.
His middle name is Alvesta
Reminds me of the original line from Cheap Trick’s song “Surrender”:
Before they married Mommy served in the WACs in the Phillipines
Now I have heard the WACS recruited old maids, dykes and whores
But Mommy isn’t one of those,
I’ve known her all these years...
[The record label made them get rid of the “dykes and whores” part, unsurprisingly.]
FWIW
From that bio, his Navy years were the same as mine. I did my ‘boot camp’ in San Diego, followed by “A” school and to the fleet aboard a Tender out of San Diego.
That “valedictorian” issue doesn’t carry a lot of weight with me... sounds like he’s just braggin’ that he had the best test scores in his company of 80 men vs a brigade.
The cross-over from Marines to Navy is a bit strange. Enlistments were generally 4 years and another 2 years inactive reserves. Yet he has 2 years as a Marine and then 4 as a squid. Also, the cardio pulmonary technician issue is interesting. He had to be a Hospitalman (Corpsman) with a specialty which would require specialty schooling. The Navy provided Corpsmen to the Marines. The Marines did not have med personnel of their own. Same with the Chaplains.
I’m just thinking the bio doesn’t tell the whole story.
I just read some of the quotes on your profile page. This one really jumped out:
“There are but two parties now, Traitors and Patriots, and I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter . . . We have a government, laws and a flag, and they must all be sustained.” – Ulysses S. Grant
I wonder what the very Rev Wright would say about that....?
Thank you! See—I knew there was something possibly interesting about his “Marine” service, just the way no one was ever more specific than that...
i believe one of those was by George Burkley, the Physician to the President for his participation in a surgery on the president. LBJ did not sign the one all the blogs are posting? is he calling that a Commendation “from” the president?
National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis?
Something is not adding up here.
Did enlisted marines serve in medical career fields? Thought that was job of Navy corpsmen (medics).
Weren't all USMC enlistments 4 years active. Later, during VN war, some men were drafted into USMC and served 2 years active, but not in early 60s.
Never heard of tern valedictorian used in military. “Distinguished Military Graduate” and “First in Academics or “First in Flying” etc. but never Valedictorian.
Paging Buckhead and the other investigative heads...
In 1959 Wright enrolled at Virginia Union University, in Richmond, where he remained until 1961. That year he left school to join the military.
He served in the Second Marine Division of the U.S. Marine Corps from 1961 to 1963, achieving the rank of private first class.
He must not have been a very sharp troop, since he only made E-3 in two years. Most would have been at least E-4, with the really sharp troops being looked at for E-5 by then.
That struck me too. "Honor Grad" is the term used most commmonly in the Army. I've never heard the term valedictorian used in any branch of the military either.
Bookmarking.
I think there’s something here. Better find it before it vanishes.
That rings a bell. I think I saw “Hospital Corpsman Class 3” on the letter. I’ll link it if I can find it again.
That’s the letter I saw.
Okay, just thinking out loud this morning.
Wright got the “presidential commendations” when he was a medic at Bethesda, for helping with LBJ’s heart surgery.
But B. Rocko Bama doesn’t talk about Wright being a Navy medic, he always mentions that Wright served as a Marine.
So, what did he do as a Marine? Why was it only a two years enlistment, as opposed to the more normal (at the time) four? What is the deal?
And a blessed Easter to everyone.
My wifes brother in law is a proud Marine. After my wifes mother suffered severe brain damage from a stroke, he and his wife quickly went through my wifes mothers life savings and left her several hundred thousands of dollars in debt and facing eviction from the nursing facility until my wife could financially and legally intervene. My point is what does the Marine Corp have to do with it?
Good point. Very sorry to hear about your MIL, and her troubles. B. Rocko just keeps mentioning the Marine bit, that’s all.
My point is: what kind of Marine? Where and when did he serve?
During the fifties and into the sixties, there was compulsory military service ( the draft). To avoid being drafted there were many variations of enlistments. One such form was joining the reserve of the bracnch of your choice ( including the Marines) and serving for two years active duty and then four years active reserves (attending monthly meetings).
Was the surgery to remove LBJ’s shlong from his zipper?
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