WE GOT 'EM OUTNUMBERED

When we were part of an Amphibious Ready Group, my ship had several hundred Marines aboard.  A Staff Sergeant who was a communications specialists asked and received permission to come up and stand watches in the radio shack.  Ostensibly for familiarization, but he really only wanted to get out of the miserable troop berthing spaces for a few hours a day.  There wasn't much he could do that was useful, but he sat in the comm center, drank coffee, and swapped sea stories with us.

The Group pulled into White Beach to pick up some supplies and a few hours liberty was granted.  The sergeant went on the beach with my section.  We were sitting in a little bar sucking down cold Asahi beers when a PFC walked in the door.  The sergeant said, "Hey, another Marine!  Now we have you damn squids outnumbered!"  The PFC looked around at the seven or eight sailors and the one sergeant.  He whirled and ran back out the door so fast his cap fell off.  He didn't come back for it.

- by Tony Gallier (Reprinted here with his permission.)