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2018 New Bern gathering and leadership demographics varied

The Donald L Dickson Memorial Award winner, Chris Whiting hugs Manny Pacheco while Keith Oliver looks on.

The Donald L Dickson Memorial Award winner, Chris Whiting hugs Manny Pacheco while Keith Oliver looks on.

Professional Development and Training Symposium Wrap, Part II

New Association board member Sgt. Melodie Snarr, 22, was the youngest national officer confirmed at the annual business meeting held in conjunction with the 2018 USMCCCA Professional Development and Training Symposium; and Foundation President and Korean War veteran Tom Kerr, 83, back for “one more ride,” is the most seasoned.

Snarr is joined on the Association Board by two fellow newcomers to the decision-making table:  Active duty CWO-3 Paul Mancuso, currently stationed in Japan; and former Marine staff sergeant and multiple DPA recipient Jason Huffine, a highly-regarded crisis communications and organizational change consultant in civilian life.

Mark Fayloga and Shawn Rhodes during the seminar, Flourishing in a multi-platform environment.

Mark Fayloga and Shawn Rhodes during the seminar, Flourishing in a multi-platform environment.

Others, including Dan Clare, Mark Fayloga, James Chittenden, and Karen Holliday, have already put their hats in the ring for 2019. 

As always, national elections will be held at the business meeting; site and specific dates are being finalized in coordination with HQMC’s Communication Directorate along with the Marine Corps Recruiting Command.

Nominations Chair Christine Whiting (who is retiring from her 15-year tenure as national secretary) is actively seeking candidates for every office, including president and vice-president, as both Keith Oliver’s and Shawn Rhodes’ terms expire at the end of the current Association year.

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By Jason Fudge, ago

The great snuffie trek home

On Monkey Mountain, Da Nang, Vietnam in 2017. Left to right: Michael Stokey, Bob Bayer, Dale Dye and Eric Grimm.

On Monkey Mountain, Da Nang, Vietnam in 2017. Left to right: Michael Stokey, Bob Bayer, Dale Dye and Eric Grimm.

By Michael Stokey

Get some. I’m not sure what that some was anymore. A remnant of war, slip of the past, a time when everything was at its worse and you and the men around you were at their best – when you were really one for all and all for one? But, in our case, to get some meant you had to get there.

Enter Tim Davis and The Greatest Generations Foundation. Capt. Dale Dye, USMC Ret., a fellow First Marine Division Combat Correspondent had gotten to know Davis a few years ago. A trip most of us avoided for 50 years was in the brewing. A trip down the rabbit hole.

Left to right: Mike Stokey, Rick Grimm, Dale Dye, Gus Hasford and Bob Bayer.

Left to right: Mike Stokey, Rick Grimm, Dale Dye, Gus Hasford and Bob Bayer.

Some of the guys already prepared for an emotional ambush. We were U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents and our Holy Grail was the press pass. It was the most bastard unit in Vietnam – in any war for that matter – and it was also one of the most casualty-ridden. One of our fellow loose cannons was Gustav Hasford, now deceased, author of the novel “The Short Timers,” which was turned into the movie FULL METAL JACKET. Other correspondents had slipped beyond the perimeter. Now, seven remained who agreed to make the run, nine Purple Hearts and three Bronze Star Medals for valor between them. Mostly sergeants at the time, they included Dale Dye, Mike Stokey, Steve Berntson, Robert Bayer, Eric Grimm, Richard Lavers and Frank Wiley. We signed the dotted line to go back again. To go back with each other. To go back alone? Sorry ‘bout that.

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By Jason Fudge, ago