Information and Photos Furnished by Dean "Chip" Reid
Language School at DLI East
After I completed boot camp at Parris Island, I was sent to Camp Geiger, NC
for Individual Infantry Training (ITR) and since my Military Occupation
Specialty (MOS) was 0311 (Rifleman) then I went to Advanced Infantry
Training (AIT) there also. The training was intense, with days starting
before daylight and lasting until dark. We usually went to the field
training areas by Cattle Car (Large Trailers) pulled behind trucks. The
training areas were designed for teaching us infantry tactics, from
fire-team to company level, weapons handling, and everything else they could
cram into us in the short period available. We also were further divided by
those with the MOS for machine gunners, mortarmen, etc.
I continued training as a rifleman until one day the Troop Handler told me
to go to HQ 2nd Marine Division aboard Camp Lejuene and take a test. When I
got there I found out that it was a language proficiency test. It involved
translating a fake language (Esperanto) and some other exercises. I suppose
someone had looked at my records and saw that I took Latin and French in HS
and College. A few weeks or so later, I was told that my MOS was being
changed to Intelligence (0200) and that I was being sent to Language school
to learn Vietnamese in Washington, D.C. That was like a gift from heaven, a
miracle.
So at the end of February, I took a bus to Washington along with 13 other
marines and we arrived in Washington for 9 months. Jerry Kelleher from my
platoon at Parris Island was also among the group. The school was supposed
to be at the Defense Language Institute (DLI), but it was full with no
physical space for more students. So we were sent to the Institute of Modern
Languages at 2120 S Street, NW. That school was under contract to teach
State Department folks various languages. Also, there were many students
from South America there learning or refreshing their English prior to
starting their college studies. We did not wear uniforms for the first month
or so but then HQ Marine Corps said we needed to look like Marines so we
wore our uniforms the rest of the time.
The classes were intense. Our Teacher, Miss Co, was from Saigon and she
spoke very little English. Each day after lunch we had language lab for one
hour where we listened to tapes. My class had eight students: Tim Murray,
Bob McFarland, Bill McGee, Pete Yanky, Tom Lemmon, Capt Sams, Capt Hemphill
and me. The other Vietnamese class had these students: Frank Gillen, Jerry
Kelleher, Robbie Holman, Mike Robinson, Butch Knoll and Gene McGowan plus
two officers (1stLts?) that I cannot remember. Two other men (Paul Johnson
and a Canadian that I can't remember his name) went AWOL to Canada and when
they returned were dropped back to their 0311 MOS and shipped off to
Pendleton and Vietnam as grunts. We lived at the Marine barracks at
Anacostia Naval Annex along with the Marines that were at DLI. I believe the
MGySgt Fred Clayton was the senior NCO who successfully kept most of us
behaving like marines during this time.
Once we graduated, we were ordered to 5th MarDiv at Camp Pendleton where we
took the IPW course during Jan-Feb 68. Capt Dale Marshall was there during
part of the course but I don't remember if he was directing it or what. We
also had drown proofing and rifle range in Feb 68. There was a large group
of Cpls and Sgts there, all having completed Language school. I think we
were all under the 21st ITT but I made be mistaken. Some got individual
orders for specific teams in Vietnam right after TET '68 but one day all the
Cpls were called outside and given orders as a group to go as replacements.
We got sent through staging battalion (Las Pulgas, etc.) and wound up being
assigned to a team after we had been in country a month or so. I was
assigned to the G-2 3rd MarDiv initially with Charlie Steed, Bobby
Henderson, J.T. Johnson, Eric Hangin and a few others. Some went to the 1st
MarDiv and some to 3rd MarDiv teams.
Chip Reid
15th ITT
The 15th ITT was deployed in Jul ’67 as a team. That team pretty much rotated back around the same time in Jul-Aug 68. I was in the next batch that made up the 15th ITT, but I briefly met a few of the first group but not long enough to get to know them or remember their faces. The day after I joined the team, I was sent to the 3rd Marines with Mike Robinson as a sub-team. Mike and I had gone to language school together at DLI East. I think it was Gunny Espinoza who drove me up to Camp Carroll where the 3rd Marines were. A few months later when I got back to Team HQ at Quang Tri, more new team members had arrived and the original guys were gone. Mike Wunsch was the team CO and Top Richard Swank the team chief then.
Below a photo of then SSgt
Zack Fuentes, SSgt Bang, one of our interpreters and me (Sgt Chip Reid) at
Vandergrift (LZ Stud) in Western Quang Tri Province in late ’68. We were a
sub-team with the 9th Marines. The other photo is either on
Dawson River or Dewey Canyon with the 9th Marines in mid-late Jan
‘69. One operation started right after the other so I don’t remember
exactly which one but I think that is near LZ Razor in the rain.
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