January 2012

Change of Command

FORT MEADE, Md. (Jan. 12, 2012) – Capt. Clark Carpenter relinquished command of Marine Detachment Fort Meade, Md., to Maj. Beatriz Yarrish during a change-of-command ceremony at the detachment here Jan. 12. Carpenter, who has commanded the detachment since July 2010, will continue his assignment here as a full-time instructor Read more…

By Jason Fudge, ago

A Family Of CCs

Dorothy Jeanne Crane

(Ed. Note:  We learned two things recently:  One, old timers do come back to us and, when they do, it can be gangbusters!  The second thing we learned was there were Woman Marine combat correspondents in World War II, at least one we now know of.  In an email, former CC Crane Davis notified us he was making a contribution to the Denig Memorial Fund and wanted to know if we could list it in memory of his Mom and Dad, both CCs during that war.  While space is limited on the left side of our web page we assured Crane we would do our best if he could enlarge upon his parents’ service.  Here’s Crane’s reply with a great photo of his mom with the World War II CC tools of the trade:  typewriter, steel pot, and the-then traditional cigarette.  P.S. He also sent in his membership application.)

In early September 1941, my dad,  Bob Davis,  was a junior at University of Maine and a reporter at the Bangor Daily News, with a beat that included recruiters. The Marine Corps announced a program to recruit radio and print reporters, then train them as publicity men for local recruiters and return them to their hometown.  Bob ended up working in Portland, then set up a new office in New Hampshire.  My guess is that he put in for combat correspondent in the winter of 1942-43 and he said that he was almost immediately sent to Londonderry for almost a year.  In early 1944, he went to Camp Pendleton, where the 5th Division was just forming.

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By Jason Fudge, ago