by Michael F. McNamara | Feb 26, 2018 | Combat, History, Leadership, US Marine Corps, Vietnam
(L) 2dLt Marshall Croy & SSgt Jim Bathurst having just come off Operation Mississippi November 1966
(R) SSgt Bathurst
Col Jim “Sgt B” Bathurst, USMC (ret) has one of the most unique Marine Corps careers I have ever heard of, rising from Private to GySgt and then 2ndLt to Colonel after he received as commission during the Vietnam War.
Our interview was supposed to last an hour and it stretch into three hours and twenty minutes because of the unique career of this leader of Marines turned author and mentor (The Young Marine Program).
In Part 2 you’ll hear about Jim’s experiences as a infantry squad leader and rifle platoon commander in Vietnam, how he was commissioned as a 2ndLt while serving at Marine Barracks 8th & I and then chosen as one of forty-five (from a group of approximately 4,500 SNCO’s who had been commissioned) .
You can buy the book “We’ll All Die as Marines” here and you can check out Jim’s blog — here.
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by Michael F. McNamara | Feb 26, 2018 | Combat, History, Leadership, US Marine Corps, Vietnam
LCpl Bathurst
Col Jim “Sgt B” Bathurst, USMC (ret) has one of the most unique Marine Corps careers I have ever heard of, rising from Private to GySgt and then 2ndLt to Colonel after he received as commission during the Vietnam War.
Our interview was supposed to last an hour and it stretch into three hours and twenty minutes because of the unique career of this leader of Marines turned author and mentor (The Young Marine Program).
In Part 1 you’ll hear the story of Jim’s youth along Chesapeake Bay, how he and his Dad fed his Mother muskrat for years without her knowledge, how he found his way into the Marine Corps after dropping out of high school, becoming a “comm Marine,” his time at Marine Barracks Yokosuka Japan, his tour as a Drill Instructor and his story of moving from the comm field to the infantry field prior to deploying to Vietnam.
You can buy the book “We’ll All Die as Marines” here and you can check out Jim’s blog — here.
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by Michael F. McNamara | Nov 9, 2017 | Current Events
Capt Barney Barnum, USMC
Col Barney Barnum, USMC
Col Baney Barnum
USMC, 1962-1989
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by Michael F. McNamara | May 5, 2017 | Marine Corps Recruit Depots
Dan Lamothe
Military Reporter
Washington Post
Washington Post military reporter Dan Lamothe joins us to discuss an article he wrote based on a Freedom of Information Act request. You can find the article here.
“The recruit’s skin was “liquefied” at the service’s storied boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., the documents said. The injuries occurred after he was ordered to perform unauthorized exercises under an upside-down laundry bin on a floor covered in bleach and required to stay in his wet pants for hours. The recruit reluctantly told another drill instructor about his burns that night, but stayed in training for a few more days. His condition deteriorated after he was told that he would not be able to graduate with his peers if he sought medical attention.”
Ultimately, the Drill Instructor was punished by a year in the brig. Intervention by other Drill Instructors might have spared a fellow Marine and the recruit horrible experiences.
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