LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
REUNIONS & ASSISTANCE
Sound Off
Edited by R. R. Keene
Have a question or feel like sounding off? Address your letter to: Sound Off Editor, Leatherneck Magazine, P.O. Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134, or send an e-mail to:
r.keene@mca-marines.org. Due to the heavy volume, we cannot answer every letter received. Do not send original photographs, as we cannot guarantee their return. All
letters must be signed, and e-mails must contain complete names and postal mailing addresses. Anonymous letters will not be published.—Sound Off Ed.
Letter of the Month
(Leatherneck will pay $25 for the Sound
Off Letter of the Month.)
I am a Marine veteran and was in harm’s
way during the Vietnam War. I have a pet
peeve that really gets to me. For as long
as I can remember I have loved the Marine
Corps and the flag of the United States of
America. I have seen it burned in protest
in our country and countries around the
world; it was hard but I lived with the fact
that Old Glory was, and still is, treated
with such disrespect.
The thing that really gets to me is the
people, companies and even state and federal buildings that fly our flag with good
intent. What upsets me is that no matter
where I go—small towns, large cities, or
a lone house on a country road—I see
Old Glory in all sorts of disarray. While
these people and places of business fly
our flag with good intent, once they put it
out, they forget it. I have seen faded pink,
baby blue and molded white flags flying.
I have seen torn flags, flags totally wrapped
around poles and other flags flown next
to Old Glory at the same height. I have
seen no concern from the owners at all
once their flags have been displayed.
When I see a flag flown in a way mentioned above, I will stop and ask the people
(who had good intentions) to take down
that flag and replace it or fly no flag if they
can’t fly one with the respect it deserves.
Most people and places of business thank
me and replace their old, ragged flag with
a new one.
When I see Old Glory flying at night, I
ask people to place a light shining on our
Stars and Stripes or take it down before
sunset and raise it again the next morning. A few of the people I talk to tell me
to go to hell and mind my own business.
Too many men have fought and are fighting for this flag and what it stands for. I
do consider it my business, and I hope all
of you do also.
I ask all of you to do as I and inform
2 LEATHERNECK APRIL 2008
people, who mean well, to fly Old Glory
with respect and honor.
James B. Herring
Claxton, Ga.
• Jim, you are so right, and we salute
you for your service and patriotism. What
it is really about is respect for what the
flag represents. For you and those like you,
here’s that “Ragged Old Flag” by John R.
Cash, ©1974 House of Cash Inc.
“So we raise her up every morning,
take her down every night. We don’t let
her touch the ground and we fold her up
right. On second thought, I do like to
brag, ’cause I’m mighty proud of the
Ragged Old Flag.”—Sound Off Ed.
More on Marine Armor at Hue
I just finished reading, with great interest, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond A.
Stewart’s overall good February article
about Marine armor in the Battle for Hue
City: Tet 1968.
As a Marine who fought with “
Charlie” Company, 1st Battalion, Fifth Marine
Regiment during Operation Hue City, the
battle for the Citadel fortress, I was rather
amazed, however, at a few of the statements the author made, and I feel I must
challenge them.
First, LtCol Stewart reports that “On
12 Feb. … Major Robert H. Thompson’s
1/5 was helilifted into north Hue—the
Citadel.” That actually would have been
nice, but it never happened. The Marines
of 1/5 (at least Charlie Co and the battalion command group, and I’m pretty sure
all the rest) rode LCUs [landing craft,
utility] atop thousands of pounds of high-explosive ammo—from the boat ramp on
the south side of the river, proceeding
downstream to a ferry ramp about a kilometer from the northeast corner of the
fortress—and humped on foot to the gate
that opened into the 1st Army of the Republic of Vietnam division compound.
We attacked south, on foot, from there.
Second, the author failed to mention
the evolution of “killer teams.” The courageous and competent Marines of an Ontos platoon entered the Citadel a couple
of days after we arrived, under the leadership of Second Lieutenant B. C. Morton,
and did a great job during that hellacious
battle over the ensuing days. Each Ontos
teamed up with an M48 tank crew inside
the Citadel, creating deadly “killer teams”
that were of significant support to the
“grunts” of 1/5.
When we hit a strong pocket of resistance during the height of the battle for
the Citadel, we would call for one of these
armored killer teams. Shortly thereafter,
we would hear the lumbering but deadly
M48 tank as it approached our designated
target, with both machine guns full ablaze
and its 90 mm cannons barking out death
and destruction; and then, as the M48
pulled slowly back, still shooting at the
North Vietnamese Army soldiers, the Ontos would rush forward and deliver all six
106 mm high-explosive rounds into the
target, immediately eliminating NVA resistance and allowing us to move forward.
This killer team approach worked to great
effect, especially on the wider streets in
the close confines of the Citadel.
Although I am in agreement with the
author and recognize the extremely important role that Marine armor played in
Hue, I wish to correct the author’s contention that “Marine tanks had led the
charge into south and then north Hue.” I
can’t speak for the battle in south Hue,
because I wasn’t there. But I was there on
the morning of 13 Feb. 1968, and I saw
what happens when a potent Marine in-fantry/armor team is defeated by rules of
engagement.
That morning, and all throughout that
too-long day, the M48 tanks were under
strict orders to not fire their 90 mm cannons, under any circumstances. They were
there with us, and many of the brave Marines manning those tanks were badly hurt
and even killed when they took hit after
hit from enemy rocket-propelled grenade
