Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper

Veteran's History Project - John D. Shaffner

John D. Shaffner

Lance Corporal

U.S. Marine Corps

1971-1973

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is one of many American Veteran accounts published in The Sidney Sun-Telegraph. The writer, who is from Potter, is conducting the interviews as part of the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project.

At 18, John Shaffner joined the United States Marine Corps. It was an easy decision for him, but one that probably caused some consternation in his family.

On his father's side, there were many, including his father, who had served their country – they were mostly in the Marines and Navy. His mother's side of the family had an entirely different view of things. Admiration for those serving the country wasn't part of that, at all.

John enlisted anyway.

In 1971, he signed the papers contracting his service for two years. On a continuous motion, he boarded a bus from Ventura, Calif.. The bus took him and others from the area to the Los Angeles Enlistment Center. There, they received their physical examinations, took the ASVAB tests and, if all were acceptable, the new people were sworn into the USMC.

The same day, they were back on the bus and off to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego. This would be boot camp. Here, they would get off the bus onto a paved lot. On the pavement were yellow painted foot prints. "Each of you, get your feet on a set of foot prints. Yes right now!"

If you were on your yellow footprints, you found that you were in lines to your left and right and front and back (unless you were on an end). To their front was a large, billboard-sized sign. Among other things, it contained a display of ranks of enlisted marines and ranks of Marine Corps Officers. It had the 11 general orders of a Marine Sentry. There was the Marine Corps Code of Conduct. Memorize 'em.

These few men had to wait a few days for other recruits to arrive before the platoon was full and training could begin. And begin it did. Their drill sergeants were Gunny Sgt Shaw, Staff Sgt Holmes, and Sgt. Hanson.

One couldn't be a drill instructor unless he had been in combat. Of the 75 young men who started MCRD basic, 42 graduated. Most weren't prepared mentally or physically for what was in front of them. Some got injured. The demands were strenuous – "The Few, The Proud."

John liked it. He did what he was told. He kept his attitude up. He kept his head down. You college boys can't make it. Don't be the first in the line, and don't be the last. Work hard. Believe in yourself. At the end of ten weeks, he was a Marine. He had made it through boot camp! He wanted to stay, he liked it so much. Sorry, you have to leave here for more training.

The next stop was Camp Pendleton, Calif., for Infantry Regiment Training. Here they work more on larger unit tactics, small arms training, etc. He found out that his test scores were such that he was best suited for the Combat Engineer section of the Corps. After completing training, he was sent to Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Here, training took place at Court House Bay. They were trained in mechanics skills of welding, tooling, responsibility for equipment. John had a lead on his peers here because he had grown up close to a Navy maintenance facility in California. He knew what they did there.

They also were trained in guard duty, pass and challenge drills. They formed up in platoons and companies, and soon were headed for Japan and onto DaNang, Vietnam. They were attached to the First Marine Aircraft Wing.

A fairly secret deal had been struck with the government of Thailand and the U.S. An airstrip would be built in an un-named part of Thailand. It would be used by U.S. aircraft so that they could perform bombing runs and/or close-air support over targets in North Vietnam. It was a strategic location, but no one knew about it. John was on the advanced party making initial contact at the place.

Because the Thai government wanted the air strip, didn't mean the people or the enemy wanted it. As the work progressed, the Marines were continuously shot at, harassed, and worse. This was a work that was going to take almost two years to complete. There would be nearly 3,000 marines assigned to do secure the area, keep it safe and complete the work.

One of the first jobs they had to do was clear the foliage. With the use of small cakes of "something," they could light it in thick jungle cover. The "something" would blow upwards and form into a plume and kill the plant life around it. They were told it was safe stuff; it wouldn't hurt you. The something was Agent Orange. This stuff has shortened the lives of many thousands who were exposed to it.

There were many casualties. Some died from dysentery. Some died from gunfire. The enemy found out that some of our service men were susceptible to heroin and they gave it to our guys. To this "red rock heroin", guys became addicted. The same with "white horse" meth. No matter how many times they were warned, it was very costly in so many ways.

John was able to stay in touch with family at home by letters and they did have a short-wave radio in their midst (MARS). They could use Ham radio operators and relay messages/talk with family. The food at first was not good. The dysentery casualties mounted up. The antidotes helped as did the construction of their own mess hall.

There was ugliness as well. In this isolated area, the boredom was staggering. There were criminal acts perpetuated on local women. Many of the acts were not items the marines would be proud of. Knowing it and watching some of them brought on mental problems to others even though they didn't participate. Rules are rules.

This was very difficult for John to endure, especially when those officers and senior NCOs who were in charge didn't seem to want to discipline their men. War isn't only about shooting and being shot at.

Toward the end of his enlistment, it was time to leave this assignment. As they began to re-deploy to the U.S., they had to stop at various offices in country. One was the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. They confiscated several photo albums from John. He had used his small Kodak 110 and had lots of memories on film. It was a matter of national security they said.

The unit was replaced and his was flown back to the U.S. They first went to Treasure Island to out-process. He had earned the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam medal.

He left the USMC as a lance corporal. He wanted to re-enlist but he had medical problems. There was a nerve disorder, hearing loss, tumors, etc. He could claim disabilities – which he did. He continues to need medical attention for numerous maladies.

Soon, he went on to the San Francisco Airport in uniform. He was met there by protesters. The airline requested that he switch his uniform with civilian clothes. He refused. After tying up the trip for over 30 minutes, they flew to Los Angeles where he could take a bus home.

Protests continued even when he arrived to the homes of family. Some obtained one of his uniforms and burned it. Now, 40 years later, he has essentially two or three pieces of military memorabilia.

Cheyenne County's Veteran Service Officer , Ron Gusman, is working to get the medals replaced. ID "dog" tags will appear, as will a P-38. This marine needs to get the things he earned replaced. Veterans will help Veterans.

John is the commander of the local Disabled American Veterans Post 40. He is the commander of the local VFW unit. He has found that life in Sidney is good.

A great job, marine! Thank you for your service, Lance Cpl. Shaffner!

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/08/2024 08:32