Veterans' Day Memories

I don't know if I ever told my children about the time when I returned from Korea. This was after spending almost a year there when we were told we'd be able to get out in 6 months. The winters were killers, 50 below was not unusual several days in February. We packed up and moved to a place called ASCOM City in late March '55. I have no rememberance of what ASCOM meant, but it was some acronym for those leaving the country. We stayed there for almost 10 days and did nothing except get inspected by the UN "peace keepers" who came from those wondrous "neutral" countries like Czechoslovakia and Poland and Hungary (I think those were the countries chosen because every country in the "west" had been in Korea to kick the NK army out of South Korea and then the Chinese after that. The UN, even under the marvelous leaders like Dag Hamerskold, had no choice except them or Russians. UGH!) In any case, we were inspected so that we did not take any weapons or military hardware out that had not been accounted for. They inspected us three times, and that was our duffle bags. The tents in which we stayed were checked, sometimes twice a day and sometimes not at all. So, on April 1, we boarded what was called a leighter, a flat barge with no motor, made of what I thought of as pallets, with a "railing" of hauser rope (big stuff like 1" in diameter), and towed by some scow out to the ship in which we would return CONUS (continental United States). 13 days aboard this big grey damn thing and we finally were at the harbor of San Diego. There were almost 3,000 Marines. We lined the railing and watched as we got closer and closer to the dock. As we pulled up, and it was very very slow doing so, there happened to be a navy band on the dockside. 10 bandmembers, at the most. They appeared to be rather bored with the task. They played 5 or 6 tunes. All were Sousa marches. They even played the Marine Corps Hymn. After the last of California Here I come, they walked off, not marched of, walked off and we never saw them again. The ship tied up, we walked down the "ladder" and onto the flat earth. Then aboard buses we headed to Camp Pendleton. We'd had, maybe, almost, at most, 10 family or friends meet the 3,000 men. Not a lot of flags flew or signs hoisted. Just a few people waiting for some few of the Marines.
That was the greeting we got.
Veterans Day is important. I am glad I served. I was proud I served. Sometimes I was bored and sometimes I was irritated with the people in charge of me personally and sometimes with the people in charge of my company and sometimes even up stream all the way to the Commandant's office, but never once did I ever regret joining the Marine Corps.
Only one thing left to say about all of this.
SEMPER FI!
OoooRah!