"Marine in Need" - It is not taught in manuals, yet it is the
most impressive lesson a recruit learns in boot camp. One feature which
has made the Marine Corps such a respected organization, is a custom of
the Marine Corps Leaders to look out for their men.
About RedHeart
I
was born June7,1949 at the Atlantic City hospital in Atlantic
City,New Jersey. My parents David and Ethel moved back to Philadelphia
from whence they came when I was two years old. Once back in Philadelphia
my mother Ethel gave birth to my sister Catherine on October23,1951 and
my sister Anna on March5,1953. Shortly after my birth my mother had me
Baptized at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church which is also in Atlantic
City, New Jersey. I attended both Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Stella Maris
Catholic elementary schools. I went on to attend Saint John Neumann Catholic
High School but only until completion of the tenth grade.On
June 30,1966 I left for Parris
Island,South Carolina to begin Marine Corps Basic Training. I had no
direction at that time just having turned 17 and I no longer wanted to
stay at home. I went to the Marine Corps Recruiter office with a buddy
of mine with the idea that we were both going to sign up sometime before
traveling to boot camp but after I signed he changed his mind saying"I
dont want to go to Vietnam"! I may not have graduated from high school
but I manage to graduate from The United States Marine Corps Boot Camp
and I was proud of myself. I spent four years and eight months in the Marines
and was given an eary Honorable discharge for medical reasons on March10,1971.
I had aspirations of spending the twenty years in the Marines making it
a career after having re-enlisting for an additional 6 more years while
in Vietnam but it never materialized completly.On
or about October 8, 1971, I met my now wife whom at that time was Phyllis
A. Hunt (Lumbee Indian)just after working all summer working as a waiter
at Wildwood, New Jersey. On March 25,1972 we were marrid by a Justice of
the Peace. On March 25,1977 we renewed our vows at St Marthas Catholic
Church. On October 17,1996 atop the Statosphere Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas,Nevada
to celebrate our almost then 25th Anniversary.Phyllis
and I are proud parents of Shawn
T. Peterson whom will be twenty-one on January 27,1998. He is our little
boy but he has grown to be 6FT-6in tall and weights in at a lean muscular
weight of 240 pounds. He is attending college and he plays college basketball.I began getting interested in the computer Christmas 1996.
I spend much of my time on it since starting my homepage which I devoted
to my wifes honor and then to all Native American Indians. On April 1,
1997 I began the homepage weblink. Not long after that a great man called
TwoWolf came into my life when I was having problems with instituting this
weblink and inspired me ever so much to go on and honored me with the name
RedHeart. Twowolf is an inspiration to me every single day and I could
only hope that I can be equally as inspiring to others in the same way.Thomas W. Peterson (RedHeart)
DAY 1-I
arrived in country August 12,1967 at Danang airbase in SOUTH VIETNAM. Spent
the night on the ground. Sleeping was imposible with the sound of the war
going on all around and the continuously lit up sky. I was trembling with
fear and it was beginning to set in that I was truly in a war and my imagination
of what it was going to be like was wiped clean by the reality of the war
that was beginning to both amaze and frighten me. "I WANTED TO LEAVE"!!
"MAN, WHAT DIDN'T
HAPPEN IN BETWEEN"!!
DAY 860- I
boared the plane back to Travis Air Force base in California on January10,1970.
I looked out the window and said goodbye to the war for the last time.
I was not happy that I was being ordered to leave and that I was turned
down for a fourth extension tour of duty. I felt proud to have taken part
in preparing our fallen Marines for their journey back to their families
at home and their final resting places. My orders were to Parris Island,South
Carolina to attend Drill
Instructor School. "Semper Fi...Sing Loi...
and all that good stuff". "I WANTED TO STAY"!!
Some of the Marines I served with in Graves
Registration while serving in Viet Nam were:
This site is not affiliated with the United States Marine Corps
and any views expressed herein are those of the pages author: Thomas W.
Peterson (RedHeart). If you or anyone you know was part of the Graves Registration
Unit which served in the Marines during the Vietnam war, I would like to
hear from you at peterst@voicenet.com
Former
Marines Website
TheVietnam
War as I remember
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