[kevin]

An old buddy of mine just sent me this picture of when we were in.

This is the machine gun section, Weapons Plt., Kilo 3/7, 1st MARDIV. as it was in October, 1987.

I'm second from right, bottom row.

We just got the M60E3 before we went to Twentynine Palms. Nobody liked them. Ya, they were a few pounds lighter, but at the cost of a thinner barrel, so you had to change barrels more often. The E3 also had the flimsy frame mounted bi-pod legs and forward pistol grip. I bent a bi-pod leg going prone on a rush. Our armorers managed to keep our M60 barrels and we used those on the E3s. Better barrel, but now you had two sets of bi-pod legs on the gun. Just because its newer, doesn't mean its better. SIX60

 

[drbub22]

Ha ha! As soon as I saw that pic I knew it was a hootch at 29 Stumps. I stayed there in Jan-Feb 1989. The Beer Tent had been set up right next to our hootch, and when everyone was drunk late in the night, they would start singing.

I remember it being coooold at night, and the Marine Corps in its wisdom had decided that heaters would be a fire hazard, so we did without.

I also remember shoveling sand up around the edges to block out the wind from blowing through. I see in your picture the sand is shoveled up on the edges, too.

I remember Lcpl Joey Pugh playing cards and winning everyones money, too. LOL And a guy from down South named Fred had a guitar and wrote a song about a guy he knew that had gone UA ( "He's the UA kid and he ain't acomin' back no more") We also had the soundtrack cassette to The Lost Boys movie, and a Sam Kinison cassette. (AAAAAGH!) Lcpl Rutherford could do a perfect Sam Kinison imitation. One of our guys was making pretty good time with a WM who seemed to always be in PT gear. We ate MREs solid for about 2 months, and worked long hours. One day the jets bombed and napalmed over by the mountains, and did low flyovers over us, while we had steak and beer purchased with the Beer Tent revenue (beer = 50 cents). Some of us were there longer than others, because we were on the advance party, and arrived 2 weeks early to set up a whooole lot of big GP tents.

 

[Jeremy2171]

Wow...I remember those when I was there in '92 and '96. They are long gone now.... replaced with a hard sided building and concrete pad floors with electricity and heat....

 

[kevin]

The Beer Tent had been set up right next to our hootch,

the beer tent was my favorite place......ALCOHOLIC1

 

[kevin]

another 29 Stumps pic, from 1985, first time I was there....

 

[0331GruntMarine]

Damn! Semper fi guys. I got out back in 08 and still live in the stumps. Hahaha, I think the grunt life made me a lil crazy

 

[berndog]

Man did I hate those hooches! Brought back memories.

Ah the beer tent! Yes!

 

[smallie9]

WOW, I remember spending a few cold nights in those "shelters". How about having to keep everything off the deck, you know the "little critters" running around at night.