- Vietnam, I think the first few days,
you're just waitin' to get shot.
I don't know how other Marines feel that way,
but I was just waitin'.
And then, of course, you adapt.
You have to adapt because you can't function being afraid.
You have to act.
(inspiring music)
His reputation was that he never ducked, he never crawled.
- Canley,
he may not ever have
even fully understood this himself,
but Canley was a fatalist.
Is, I suppose, but he certainly was then.
And he clearly did believe that if today was your day,
there wasn't nothin' you could do about it.
- During firefights, when we'd be all huggin' Mother Earth,
(gunshots)
he'd be standing up directing us.
- The result of that is he appeared to be fearless
because he was fearless.
And we all considered him
totally, completely, and absolutely without fear.
- He stood up in the middle of firefights.
I don't know what else to say, but that's...
And I know that might sound unrealistic to people listening,
but you'll hear that from every Alpha Company Marine.
- He gave them a chance.
If they didn't get him in that first 30 seconds,
then he said to himself,
I don't have to worry about it today.
(explosions booming)
- Gunny Canley was quiet,
and unlike most Marine NCOs,
and gunnies, he spoke very softly.
But the one thing I got from him,
and I didn't have much contact with him,
until Hue City, and then after,
was he loved his enlisted Marines.
And he never scolded us, he instructed us.
But you could feel the love, you really could.
I know that's maybe a tough word in combat Marines,
but you could feel the love,
and I would screw up or something, and it was never
a chewing out, it was just, this is the way we do it.
So you wanted to do it right for him after that.
- He is individually and uniquely responsible
for saving, saving and/or protecting
the lives of a lotta good young Marines.
Good young Marines of that day, old gray-haired turds today.
(laughs)
And all of us, all of us,
the lieutenant included,
literally worshipped the ground that he walks on.
He's a special human being.
A very, very special human being.
Never takes any credit.
Never wanted any credit.
Just wanted to take care of his Marines.