Photo By Sgt. Joshua Young | Veterans and retired Marines who once served with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Ezekiel George, a retired Marine who once served with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company was among the first Marines on the ground in Vietnam.
He joined dozens of Marines and veterans to celebrate the 61st anniversary of the founding of 1st ANGLICO during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, Calif., March 1, 2012.
Veterans of 1st ANGLICO reconnected with old friends they served with and connected with new Marines. They toured the facility, saw how the mission has been continuing and participated in the birthday cake cutting ceremony.
Lt. Col. Brian T. Bruggeman highlighted George and several other past 1st ANGLICO members in a speech during the ceremony.
“George served as a communications chief during the Easter Offensive,” Bruggeman said. “He is credited by his battle buddy Joe Swift as having saved all of their lives.”
The Marine Corps has evolved and changed since George’s time with 1st ANGLICO. Advances in technology, communication equipment and training show the progress since that time.
“The standard barracks were mile long-empty rooms with bunk racks,” joked John Telles, who was a naval aviator with ANGLICO.
“I’ve seen it evolve little by little over the years. It’s a fantastic standard of living change and it’s long over due. If you put it all on the line like the military guy does, you deserve to have some nice things at home.”
The type of missions 1st ANGLICO undertakes has changed, like fighting in mountainous countries. There is less of a need for support from the sea and more of a need from the air.
“One of the missions that has changed is that we are in the desert and mountain environments,” Telles said. “There doesn’t seem to be as much need for long-range naval gunfire support. It’s all changed now with the focus in Afghanistan.“
The Marines and veterans may have used different technologies but their overall mission has not changed. 1st ANGLICO has been supporting the armed forces of the U.S. and it’s allies for 61 years.
“We can come together and look each other in the eye as fellow ANGLICAN’s, despite our different theaters and generations of service,” Bruggeman said. “We all know the significance of calling in a life-saving or enemy devastating fire mission, air strike or bombardment. We all know when the seconds mattered; we made the hits count with overwhelming firepower.”
George and the other veterans got a tour of the facility and some of the modern equipment used by 1st ANGLICO. Many took photos, asked questions and commented about how impressed they were by the advances.
“I was amazed with the communications equipment and all the new stuff,” Telles said.
Veterans reminisced, telling stories, comparing yesterday’s Marines to today’s and laughing as they told old jokes they remembered throughout the day.
“Every time we have something like this, I come from anywhere in the United States,” George said.
Telles and George were both excited to hear of the birthday celebration and hope that more get-togethers like this continue for them and future members of 1st ANGLICO.
“We all build on each other’s experiences,” Telles said. “It’s good for the soul, it’s good for the history and for the young and the old. A lot of things go into making up who I eventually became as a Marine. All of these events and experiences in the Marine Corps are a part of who I am today.”
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2012 20:01 |
| Story ID: | 84686 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 666 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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