36 yrs in law practice, 4 yrs prosecutor (best civilian job I ever had except cowboying -I was raised on a cattle ranch in West Texas), Board certified in Civil Trial Law since 1985. At this advanced age, I still enjoy the verbal & mental combat of the courtroom. ( Still crazy afer all these years!)
Below is a poem that I wrote one rainy night at home after my OCS/ TBS classmates reunited on the web. I recited it a it a memorial service at the Wall at our 40 year reunion in D.C. and Quantico in 2007 and again at Mess Nignt for our reunion in San Diego last year. It was published in Leatherneck in Nov. 2007.
THE BOYS OF QUANTICO � 2007
From all across the country
They came to join the Corps.
They walked away from everything
Knowing not what was in store.
They pledged their lives & loyalty
For reasons only they would know.
God bless the men who joined back then,
The Boys of Quantico.
In '66 they came 500 strong
To find and follow their dreams.
Could they prove they had the stuff
To become an Officer of Marines?
Now some were born to money
While most were regular Joes.
They all faced the test of OCS,
The Boys of Quantico.
They came to test their mettle,
To march & fight & drill.
To push beyond their pain & fear
One clear goal, theirs to fulfill.
Thru sweat & blood they earned their Bar
And the greatest title one can bestow.
Known as "Marines" 'til Heaven's scenes,
The Boys of Quantico.
At TBS, in classrooms & in the field
For days & nights they trained, you see.
For their mission was to learn to lead
A platoon of Marine Corps infantry.
Their work was hard but each man knew
In the end, to war they would go.
They did their best at TBS,
The Boys of Quantico.
Soon orders came for all of them
To serve their tour in Vietnam.
They'd lead their troops to the fight
In Hue City, An Hoa & Khe Sahn.
They led & loved those in their charge
And bled & died fighting the foe.
One and all, they each stood tall,
The Boys of Quantico.
Most came home, though some did not.
All served with honor to behold.
Some were wounded in the flesh,
But all were touched in the soul.
At home they worked to make a life,
To never forget times long ago.
They faced their fear & shed a tear,
The Boys of Quantico.
With years & years of living,
They come to meet again.
They'll laugh & cry with drinks held high
And they'll remember when
They served with pride and honor
For those who died so long ago.
God bless the men who served back then,
The Boys of Quantico.
-John Augustine-
Other Comments:
After many years of just not thinking about it, I have found myself remembering more and more about the wonderful/ horrible times in our beloved Corps. Every thing has been gravy since 1969, found a good woman (also beautiful) who has stuck by me for 44 yrs. Three children who are good, productive people that I love dearly, three grandsons and a beautiful granddaughter who, in a totally unbiased observation, are far above their peers in intellegence, looks and character. I made it home and I have been blessed. _
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)/Operation Hue City
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
March / 1968
Description The Battle of Huế during 1968 from January 30 to March 3, (also called the Siege of Huế), was one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the Vietnam War (1959–1975). Battalions of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), two U.S. Army battalions, and three understrength U.S. Marine Corps battalions defeated 10 battalions of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN or NVA) and the Viet Cong (Việt Cộng or VC, also known as National Liberation Front or NLF).
1st Marines and 5th Marines operation to drive NVA out of Huế (Battle of Huế) during Tet Offensive
With the beginning of the Tet Offensive on January 30, 1968, the Vietnamese lunar New Year (Vietnamese: Tết Nguyên Đán) large conventional American forces had been committed to combat upon Vietnamese soil for almost three years. Passing through the city of Huế, Highway One was an important supply line for ARVN, US and allied forces from the coastal city of Đà Nẵng to the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It also provided access to the Perfume River (Vietnamese: Sông Hương or Hương Giang) at the point the river ran through Huế, dividing the city into northern and southern areas. Huế was also a base for United States Navy supply boats. Considering its logistical value and its proximity to the DMZ (only 50 kilometres (31 mi)), Huế should have been well-defended, fortified, and prepared for any communist attack.
However, the city had few fortifications and was poorly defended. The South Vietnamese and U.S. forces were completely unprepared when the North Vietnamese army and Viet Cong failed to observe the promised Tet Truce. Instead, the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army launched a massive assault throughout South Vietnam, attacking hundreds of military targets and population centers across the country, among them the city of Huế.
The North Vietnamese forces rapidly occupied most of the city. Over the next month they were gradually driven out during intense house-to-house fighting led by the Marines. In the end, although the Allies declared a military victory, the city of Huế was virtually destroyed and more than 5000 civilians were killed (2,800 of them executed by the PAVN and Viet Cong according to the South Vietnamese government). The North Vietnamese forces lost an estimated 1,042 to 5,000 killed, while Allied forces lost 668 dead and 3,707 wounded. The tremendous losses negatively affected the American public's perception of the war and political support for the war began to wane.
