Someone is Having a Birthday

Happy Birthday, Gunny!

Watched Full Metal Jacket for the umpteenth time last night. R. Lee is a poet.

A doll? What a riot! They are, I just learned, available on EBay and there is an “Extra Salty” version. I don’t know if this is that, but here’s a YouTube link to the talking Gunny Doll. It’s a scream.

@4, Yeah, I heard him tell his story, he was Medically Retired as an E6, but “Gunny” Ermey still ROCKS!

“The color yellow makes me sad”. By far the best Geico commercial ever.

Gunny was our honorary guest and speaker at my first Marine Corps Ball (3rd BN 7th Mar) when I got to the fleet…2002. Me and a few friends got to drink with him. Have a few pictures of us together. He was a lot of fun to hang out with and didn’t make it about him. He wanted to know all about us and really did a good job of making us feel like we belonged in his Marine Corps. In 2003, less than a year later, we were part of the invasion of Iraq and ended up in Karbala after we took Baghdad. We were having a shitty time out there because we were told that we would be going back to CONUS after reaching Baghdad because, you know, the Marine Corps used to not be an occupying force. ANyways, 5 USMC infantry battalions were tasked with staying back for “1 month”. Turned out to be 5 months more, but that is beside the point. So, in our 2nd extra month, we had reached the point were we knew we were there for the long haul and had made our Firm Base somewhat livable with the help of the Seabees (thanks gents). We get told when we get off standing post and are done with our patrol duties, go to the CO’s office. Thought we were screwed but when we got there it was none other than Gunny Ermey. Somehow, he remembered me and my buddy and our time at the Ball. He joked with us about “how the fuck did they promote you to Lance CPL (I was a PFC at the Ball) and gave my buddy shit for still being a LCPL). Longer story shorter, it really boosted my morale and made the stay there easier to swallow. I realized that it was all part of the job and Marines have been putting up with a lot less for years before I came along. The rest of the deployment and my next two to that hell hole were done with this new perspective and they were easy… Read more »

Yeah, he looks great for 37!

By far the best movie scene ever.

@16

I like to share it when I can. He made a difference in a lot of Marines’ lives by simply visiting us in Iraq. Perhaps it was more personal for us because of our previous interaction with him, but I think he is just that kind of person. I don’t know many Marines who haven’t watched FMJ before heading off to bootcamp in recent years lol. He is a character but genuinely supportive of the military in general, Marines in particular, naturally.

Two Things:

1. Don’t tell Gunny he shares a birthday with Elton John.

2. In reference to Full Metal Jacket, Vincent D’Onofrio lives down the block from me. We see him at the store and local pub. Over a beer one night I asked him about making the movie … he said it was tough. He is a skilled actor!