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""Take me to the Brig. I want to see the "real Marines". - Major General Chesty Puller, USMC, while on a Battalion inspection.
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Heroes
in the fading photographs?
Strong in body, strong in mind,
with eyes that are hard to recognize;
the thousand-yard-stare
we don't understand.
They look out like ghosts
wanting to speak (or do they?)
their stories of losses, fears,
and cries in the nights;
of dark skies that lit up
with brilliant lights that killed
and maimed,
and took their friends away…
thoughts of, "Who is next?"
The faces do not speak
and we are sad,
for the eyes in the photographs
are the eyes we see in you
-on occasions-
when your minds return to Vietnam.
Who are the young boys
in the fading photographs?
They are our brothers, fathers, grandfathers.
Still strong in bodies and minds
to we who love them;
never growing old in our hearts-
for heroes
never grow old."
Biegun
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Aurence enlisted in the USMC in September of 1965. He signed up with high school friend, Danny McGee, on the buddy program. After two weeks at Parris Island boot camp they were separated. Aurence never saw Danny again.
Aurence spent three months at Parris Island. He arrived in Vietnam in August of 1966, and was stationed at Marble Mountain and Dong Ha. Aurence spent his tour of duty as a door gunner with the MAG-16. See Aurence's discharge and Purple Heart papers.
Aurence was wounded by shrapnel in the arm and leg when a mortar exploded three feet from his head during an attack on Marble Mountain in August 1967. His hearing was also impaired by the blast. When he was medevaced to DaNang, a medic doing a late night bed-check noticed his sheets were soaked with blood--he had lost so much blood they had no time to administer anesthesia. After surgery, he was immediately medevaced again to the USS Repose. Aurence was short at the time of his injuries but missed his rotation back to the states when the Repose was sent to assist the Forrestal and was routed to the Philippines where Aurence spent another 30 days and was eventually deemed well enough to return to Vietnam where he was put back on duty while the chain-of-command worked on his freedom papers.
Aurence will never forget, had it not been for the medic who had happened by that night in DaNang, he might not be here today.
Aurence is searching for information on another Marine who was in the hooch with him when the camp was attacked. The attack came at night. It was chaos, the hooch destroyed. When Aurence jumped from his bunk he saw a Marine standing where a door used to be; his arm had been blown off and he was in shock. Though wounded, Aurence managed to grab the Marine by the belt buckle and dragged him to the safety of the bunkers. He has thought about that Marine for many years and hopes he survived. There was another Marine sleeping in the bunk next to Aurence when the mortar destroyed the hooch. The mortar landed about three feet from Aurence's head, instantly killing the Marine sleeping next to him. He would like to find that Marine's family as well as the Marine he pulled to safety.
Aurence is also looking for anyone who may have served with Danny Dean McGee. See Story and photos.
 Parris Island |  Semper Fi!  Marble Mountain |
Aurence returns to his old barracks at Parris Island in July, 2005--his first time back since graduation. Bet he didn't have that smile on his face last time he was there!
Thanks to you Parris Island Marines who gave us personal tours and treated Aurence so well. A big thanks to the Drill Sgt. who bought us a beer. That was a real treat for Aurence. Sorry we could not find a tin garbage can. I really wanted to make him feel at home while on base--nothing better than a good waking up with a tin can and a Drill Sgt. in your face. Oh well, we tried.
