Comments for Charlie Grunts

Comment on Discussion by larryfry

larryfry — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:43:26 +0000

yes russ that is where i had my induction to the military way of life both basic/ait the white stips and all

Comment on Discussion by Gary Capshaw

Gary Capshaw — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:18:03 +0000

Dan:

If I happen to see it, I’ll come back with a report for you. However, since we’ll be working all over Port au Prince building houses all day long in the 106-115 degree heat index weather, I doubt I’ll be in much of a mood to look around by the end of the day. LOL

This is going to be a struggle for me on a couple of levels. One, I’m 61 years old and may come to the conclusion that physically demanding mission work is something I ought to leave behind. I’ve done chain saw, mud out and debris cleanup and it gets harder every time. The recovery time gets longer and longer too.

Plus, I have to give up my cigs for the whole week. But, the Spirit told me just as plain as day that His strength would get me through that without any problems and I’ll stand on that. He’s already reduced my daily intake of cigarettes from about 60 to 3 in preparation for leaving. That alone is a miracle! LOL

Comment on Discussion by Dan Roczniak

Dan Roczniak — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:12:02 +0000

Gary, we have been contributing money to The Friends of the Orphans for several years. One of the Orphanages we suupport is in Hati. Our church also collects old sheets and linnens and sew’s crosses on them to be used as burial cloths for the children in Hati. I hear that they average seven funerals a day and they don’t have coffins. You may get a chance to see the FOTO facility. Good luck, we’ll be praying for you.

Comment on Discussion by Bill Beckum

Bill Beckum — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:57:56 +0000

Amen Brother!

Comment on Discussion by Gary Capshaw

Gary Capshaw — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:18:38 +0000

Bill:

Thanks for the kudos.

Yes, it’s not really a mystery as I can see the hand of God working all through my life, even before I knew Him. Amazin’, ain’t it?

There will be Baptist’s in heaven, but I think those of us who occassionally sneak a beer and smoke will be put with someone besides other Baptist’s.

Comment on Discussion by Bill Beckum

Bill Beckum — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:32:40 +0000

Gary,
Bless you and your group for your efforts. God does not work in mysterious ways. He has a plan if we will only listen. If God can use me, he can use anyone. Here I was trained to kill the body & now Jesus uses me as a Methodist pastor to save souls. Being a Methodist I am convinced there will be a Bapitist or two in Heaven despite what those other Methodist say.

Comment on Discussion by Rick Lowell

Rick Lowell — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:22:52 +0000

Gary;
Godspeed. You have obviously wrapped your heart and mind arount this mission. You’ll wrap your arms around it when you get there.
These fine people have been dealt a devastating blow, from which they may never recover. People like you, are the only link to hope that they have.
My wife, Barbara and I will keep you in our prayers and thoughts, as we do those affected by this catastrophe.
Please use this medium to keep us up to date on your progress.

Comment on Discussion by Gary Capshaw

Gary Capshaw — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:02:08 +0000

My brothers:

Please pray for me next week. I’ve been chosen to spend a week in Haiti building permanent shelters for the victims of January’s earthquake. Our team leaves Sunday.

I’ve been doing disaster relief with the Southern Baptist’s for about 5 years now, but this is the first time I’ve been offered the chance to do it overseas. I’m as excited as a kid before Christmas! This will be my 14th or 15th deployment in response to 10 or 11 disasters, so this isn’t anything new, but the chance to impact the lives of desperate people in the name of Jesus in Haiti is a blessing which I can’t quite wrap my arms around.

Who woulda thunk that someone like me, chief among sinners, could have such an opportunity? The last time I was in a third-world country, the mission was to kill and destroy. This time, it’s to build and love.

God works in mysterious ways, doesn’t he?

I just had to share this with my brothers and ask for your prayers.

Comment on Discussion by Bill Beckum

Bill Beckum — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:34:51 +0000

Lt,
I was sent to Ft. Dix as I was going to be an officer. I had elected artillary & armor. However they said we all were going to be infantry or go as an enlisted. I chose to go as a PFC. Stayed two extra weeks & got out after my return with 19 months as an RA. Remember the marches well.

Hey Gary,
Training must have been OK. Still kicking today. Not sure about LT, but when I was there it was WWII training. Had two weeks of jungle training when I hit Nam. Not sure any training could prepare a guber like me for Vietnam.

Comment on Discussion by Gary Capshaw

Gary Capshaw — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:47:00 +0000

LT:

Yeah, they probably were doing that as Ft. Polk graduated an entire battalion of Infantry every week I think, most of whom went directly to Vietnam. I was in A/4/3 (or A/5/3?), and the battalion had 5 companies. All but one got orders for Vietnam the day we graduated.

It was us. We all went to Germany, except for some who left for specialized training such as dog handlers school, jungle school, jump school etc.

Polk was a busy place in late ‘69 and early ‘70. There were 5 training brigades there (2 BCT, 2 AIT and 1 CST). Most of the brigades had 5 battalions and the battalions had 5 companies. Add that up and it comes to about 125 training companies. Since training companies were much larger than line companies, that’s a LOT of trainees!