I Knew Eddie Riggins

By Frazier Strutzel

THE MARINE CORPS SERVED TO STRAIGHTEN MY IDEAS AS TO WHAT IT WAS TO BECOME A MAN AND ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY. ALWAYS FAITHFUL IS A RELIGION TO ALMOST ALL MARINES. SEMPER FIDELIS. THE STORY I HAVE SUBMITTED IS MY TRIBUTE TO A MOST COURAGEOUS AND DECENT YOUNG MAN WHO DIDNT HAVE ALMOST ANY OF THE ADVANTAGES THE REST OF US NEW WHILE GROWING UP. IT WAS AN HONOR TO KNOW HIM. I'M SURE GOD HAS BLESSED HIM. WE HAVENT BEN ABLE TO LOCATE ANY OF HIS FAMILY AND CAN'T EVEN FIND AN OBITUARY FOR HIM IN THE CLEVELAND NEWS PAPERS. I ONLY HOPE THAT ANY RELATIVES OF HIS GET THE OPORTUNITY TO READ THIS STORY AND THE TRIBUTES TO HIM FROM THE VIET NAM MEMORIAL WALL. FRAZIER

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491868805

Frazier Strutzel

ABOUT THE AUTHOR; THIS WILL BE THE SECOND STORY OF MINE PUBLISHED BY AUTHOR HOUSE. THE OTHER IS RUFF AND TRUSTY, WRITTEN UNDER MY MIDDLE NAME AND MOTHERS MAIDEN NAME FRANKLIN WOOD. I'M A 71 YEAR OLD APPLE PEAR AND CHERRY ORCHARDIST RETIRED. I'VE BEEN A US MARINE, A 24 YEARS VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER, A CONSTRUCTION OWNER AND OPERATOR. COACHED MANY YEARS OF LITTLE LEAGUE SPORTS AND SERVED 9 YEARS ON THE MONITOR COMMUNITY COUNCIL. I ALSO SERVED ON THE FIRST FOREST SERVICE FIRE SUPPRESSION CREW AT CASHMERE BEFORE LEAVING FOR THE MARINE CORP. MY MAIN INTEREST IN LIFE IS HISTORY AS I BELIEVE IT GIVES YOU SOME INSIGHT TOWARD THE FUTURE. I'M A SINGLE MAN AND THE FATHER OF FOUR GREAT KIDS AND AT THIS TIME 7 BEAUTIFUL GRAND CHILDREN.

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© 2014 Frazier Strutzel. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/07/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-6881-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-6880-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014904108

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Contents

Chapter 1 We ‘Are’ Tough Enough!!

Chapter 2 Rock And Roll

Chapter 3 The Welcome To Mcrd

Chapter 4 The Bucket Issue

Chapter 5 The Mess Hall

Chapter 6 Attention

Chapter 7 Finally Shade And Rest

Chapter 8 The Rifle Range

Chapter 9 Eddie Riggins

Chapter 10 Itr Infantry Training Regiment

Chapter 11 Christmas 1961

Chapter 12 Memphis

Chapter 13 Life At Millington Naval Air Station

Prolog

(with tears streaming down his face he yelled back at us I’ll be back you guys)

(we all knew he meant it)

Chapter 1

WE ‘ARE’ TOUGH ENOUGH!!

While the Korean War was in progress I watched for the weekend newspaper and the enclosed Parade magazine on Sundays. Every week the magazine featured a recent Medal of Honor winner in Korea. A lot of them were Marines and knowing the history of the Marines in World War II, I was determined to become a Marine. During the 1950’s several movies were made about our Second World War battles and the people in them. The one that stood out for me was Battle Cry, written by Leon Uris a Marine who had been there. I remember watching the movie showing the tough training and blisters and blood on the feet and I thought what a challenge?

One of my friends, Harold whom graduated the class before me came home from Marine Boot Camp that winter and I went to visit. He looked well and had all his Marine clothing set out. We talked for some time and he played down the harshness of boot camp. He showed me his Platoon Album and the various training a Marine has to go through. He did mention the Everly Brothers and their being in boot camp. It bothered me a little that the DI’s were very much harder on them because of their celebrity status. After all Elvis, it seemed had a camera crew with him all through basic training. By the time I went home I was more convinced than ever that I needed that challenge.

Growing up in the Wenatchee River Valley, the Apple Capital of the world during the 1950’s was a magical experience. We were basically good kids from good families but we tended to put a little pressure on our adults and especially the school staff. My family had settled in the local area around 1907, originally from Austria. Since a lot of us kids lived on orchards we had Jeeps to drive. I drove my first time at age 14. Jeeps were necessary around orchards because with the windshield laid down they went under the fruit on the trees. Our irrigation canals were high on the mountains and until Jeeps my dad, brother or me, whoever cleaned the trash from our water separation boxes had to climb the mountains twice a day. With the advent of Jeeps we could drive up to the canal. My dad never knew how much fun we had in our Jeeps when he wasn’t around. We went on many drives in the mountains and would play ditch’em around town at night. Hot summer nights with the Jeep windshield down have become a lifelong remembrance for me.

One of our favorite projects was keeping the high school supplied with ‘out’ houses because the orchards had a plentiful supply. Locating a suitable outhouse was the easy part, getting it tipped and drug out to the road was the hard part.