06-20-2005, 10:08 PM
Hey, James...how is Gunner? ..... Looking at Gunner's picture taken in 1939 with him wearing his blue blouse, I can now appreciate that picture even more after having learned that it was no longer standard issue after 1942. The website said some of the guys joined the Marines in the very early days just so they could wear that blue blouse because it looked so sharp .....
Hi, Marilyn,
I had lunch with the Gunner today -- he is doing fine, thanks. He said that he personally joined the USMC because of the Great Depression -- his family had no money and he couldn't find a job.
As a point of interest he pointed out that when he joined the Corps in 1934 the total worldwide strength, including officers, was only some 17,000. He was briefly assigned to recruiting duty in 1939 and saved the following memorandum (which was issued in 1939 when war was beginning to envelop much of the world) which set the new goal for USMC enlisted strength at 25,000! Of course, in a few more years the total Corps enlisted strength would be some 250,000!
