A Seriously Funny Email Exchange

This pretty much speaks for itself but just in case, this is an email exchange between me and a guy I used to know briefly a long time ago when we were both young Marines. I've hidden his name just to be nice. We'll call him .... Bill.

(Please read to the end, it's classic)

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Hi Jason,

On this rather quiet afternoon here at the office I decided to Google a few names of fellow jarheads from way back. So I entered Brian Rebello, and ended up on your site.

With great interest I read your Gulf War pages and checked out the pictures ... I found a lot of familiar names there: Mabe, Machowski, Accord, Mortensen. I remember those guys from the '89 & '90 Westpacs out of Yuma I went on.

Why am I thinking we met? (I'll be 40 this year so forgive my failin' memory) Anyway, I saw the pic of your wonderful family. See if I look familiar: (website removed).

Sincerely,

Bill
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Bill,

Yes, we were in 650 together but you left shortly after I arrived. You went on float but before that, I remember a shop party where we went out somewhere and had a bon fire and afterwards had a late night dinner at a western-style restaurant in town, as a drunk group. You pissed off your girlfriend by going on about the general attractiveness of my wife (ha).

Anyway, here are some updates of people you might/might not have known:

Mark Seymon just retired a First Sergeant after 23 years. He, his wife, and three daughters live in Jacksonville, NC. He is selling cars now.

Brandon Scott is now a Gunny and runs 650 in Cherry Pitt. Currently he is in Iraq.

Mike Machowski now runs 650 in Yuma. I think he's a Gunny too.

Eric Baarstad got out and is now a techrep for 650 in Yuma.

Sal Corvo just retired from techrep'in. He was in Cherry Point and Mark says he was EXACTLY as he ALWAYS was even this many years later: serious, driven, white smock, a variety of tiny tools in his breast pocket, and willing to jump into any piece of gear. Mark said that when Mark retired, Sal came up to him and simply said he was proud of him and to Mark, this was the biggest praise he had ever received.

Brian Rebello is out and married a Mormon. Deep into it as I hear.

Mike Mabe got out and as I hear, married an absolute knock-out.

Benny Accord is out and Shane recently heard from him that he's doing OK.

Bo Mortenson is also out and I think he's working for his dad in Phoenix. Shane talked to him recently and he is a self-professed "big fat guy" but still does the drinking and skirt-chasing. Same old Bo.

Rob Doyle (620) got out after the war and is now a doctor.

I don't know if you knew Shane Maxey (big mean red-headed freckled DI). If so, he got out and finished up his career in the Army and now resides in Boise running their National Guard unit.

I stayed in 650 until after the war, did a MEU-SOC pump, and then got picked up for the MECEP program as a Sergeant. I went to UW in Seattle, got commissioned, and was assigned as the Adjutant for First Tank Battalion. I then moved up to Regiment (7th Marines) before getting hooked up with the Special Education Program where they sent me to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA for two years. Came out with a master's in IT and am now halfway through a 4 year payback tour in Quantico as a program manager for a web-based training tracking program for Training and Education Command, Formal Schools Training Branch. This leads me right up to retirement in 2007 when I'll head back to Seattle and get a picked fence for my wife and two kids.

If I think of any more, I'll send you email.

Meanwhile, check out my blog where I dump most of the contents of my head. I have so much, I have to use two blogs to do it. (Note, that's not a horn-blowing of my intelligence, just a statement that there is some wild shit up there!!!)

http://grose.us/blog3/

and

http://vipersden.blogspot.com/

-- Jason

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Hi Jason,

Woah, there's an opening paragraph... What a horrendous way to be remembered (ha) Almost wish I hadn't sent the email. Sounds like this was late '89. Excuse the drunken ramblings of a young punk (at the time). By the way, considering how the "relationship" with my "girlfriend" ended, I don't feel so bad...

Thank for the update - fun to read the where-are-they-now blurbs.

Congrats on an impressive career!

All the best

Bill

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Bill,

Well, I left out the part where you grabbed her knee under the table. She didn't even tell me that until a few years ago. I guess it's been long enough and I can see you've become a decent guy that I don't have to hold that against you.

How did that relationship end, anyway?

Thanks for the congrats. It seems like I've been through two full sets of friends that have come and gone out of the Marine Corps. Most of the officers I started with are also out. Talk about the last man standing!!

Jason D. Grose

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Oh that's just wonderful... quite an impression I made.

Seriously I wish I hadn't sent that first email ... ugh.. I don't remember that at all and I wish it had stayed that way :-(

Please accept my apologies (again)

That "relationship" w/ my "girlfriend" at the time ended with her taking off with (and doing) another guy when it became apparent I was going on Westpac for 6 months

Sometimes it is best to leave the past in the past.

All the best,

Bill