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Vietnam War Commeration
To thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War,
including personnel who were held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action,
for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States
and to thank and honor the families of these veterans.

Click Above for More Information

2017 Reunion Newsletter
Click the above link for news and highlights from the Chicago reunion

Click on the above images to view slidshows of reunion

PICTURES, Memories and Sea Stories

From Members of The Thundering Third
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This article is from TOGETHER WE SERVED

USMC VOICES

It's a must read for Viet Nam Era Marines and Corpsmen
Click the photo for the story

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Photos from the Reactivation Ceremony at 29 Palms

clink link for album

Reactivation Message from Darkside 6

click link

John Koopman, the SF Chronicle reporter who was embedded with the Battalion during Operation Enduring Freedom filed reports almost daily. His articles regarding 3/4 in Iraq have been archived so you need to select the archive Type koopman into the search box in the upper left hand corner of the page. (Click on picture to go to SF Chronicle).

Veteran Business Guide
Veteran Guide To Starting and Owning A Business

This link was sent to us courtesy of Ms. Denise Chapman's class at The Brenham Community Center in Texas

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Note: The following books either are written by former Marines of 3/4 or
feature 3/4 within the book. Links to Amazon.com or other
publishing companiesare just for your convience,
not a recomendation to purchase.

The Sun Sets on Vietnam: The Firebase War These stories were written 47 years after the author led an infantry platoon which was part of Lima Co., 3rd Battalion 4th Marines around the mountains and jungles of Quang Tri province in 1969. They defended firebases including Hill 950 above Khe Sanh, Vandegrift CB, FSB Fuller and Russell. Lima Co. was on Russell when it exploded with Jimmy Jackson and others still aboard. The epilogue includes the history that led to Vietnam and helps explain why we were there. The book is available at Lulu.com paperback or ebook select bookstores and other on-line sites. Reviews: Lou Washington: “Viet Nam conjures up visions and memories to all who lived through that era. Most accounts, then and now are drenched with the paint of political agenda, social commentary or other filters meant to amplify a message. This book is refreshingly straight forward and honest. Devoid of the varnish of rhetoric, it comes across as genuine, authentic and credible. I highly recommend for those interested in that period and associated events.” Old Runner: “No embellishment, no agenda. Just a story of a personal experience. Honest. Balanced thoughtful epilogue.” t-mop: “Good read” Henry Zeybel: “…An average reader should finish Haseman’s book in one enjoyable afternoon.”

The true story of Lieutenant Steve Joyner, who carried all the traits of a "perfect Marine" - character, compassion, determination, patriotism . . . an All-American football star. But then came the harsh and unforgiving realities of combat in Vietnam. How the two worlds he inhabited both connected and conflicted reveals the character of an extraordinary man gone far too soon. "Promise Lost is a touching, crisply rendered account of a Marine lieutenant who fell heroically in the final, bloody days of the 1968 battle for Khe Sanh while leading a counterattack into the teeth of an overwhelming enemy assault force," writes Vietnam veteran and author Michael Archer. "Yet, the real story here is of Steve Joyner's life, his personal character, and enormous potential. Dan Moore reliably and deftly weaves this poignant tale of friendship, honor and fate; culminating in the agonizing reality that war does not end on the battlefield; but rather back home, often decades later, within a fallen warrior's circle of family and friends."

They were the soldiers who pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein — the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, led by Lt. Col. Bryan P. McCoy (radio call sign: Darkside). And this is the story of their war, seen from the inside by the reporter they called Paperboy. From the build-up in Kuwait to the first push into Basra, from the briefings to the heat of battles planned or stumbled upon, San Francisco Chronicle reporter John Koopman captures the war in Iraq as it was lived, fought, and felt — the nitty-gritty as well as the guts-and-glory of it — and as he saw it firsthand from Darkside’s humvee or riding with the sergeant major (the Marine infantry battalion’s "most feared, respected, loved, and hated man"). A former service Marine himself, Koopman was seeing combat for the first time, too. His account, part memoir, part biography, part battle history, encompasses all the bravery and fear, camaraderie, excitement, humor, and sorrow experienced on the shifting front line of America’s war in Iraq. In spring of 2004, author Koopman returned to Iraq and reunited with McCoy’s Marines following their return to Iraq and the new insurgent war. This "rest of the story" makes for a fascinating epilogue. Format: Hardbound Pages: 288 Length: 6w x 9h ISBN: 0760320888 Catalog ID: 138706AP Usually Ships in 24 Hours

The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division By Bing West and MajGen Ray Smith Bantam Books Granted extraordinary access across the battlefield, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Bing West and retired MajGen Ray Smith, traveled with 18 Marine units, seeing combat on 16 days. In this book, two combat veterans describe the modern battlefield. Bing West was a member of the Marine recon team which ambushed a North Vietnamese battalion and initiated the behind-the-lines campaign called Operation Stingray. He is the author of The Village and The Pepperdogs. Major General Ray Smith has commanded Marines on battlefields around the world, receiving thirteen medals for valor, including three Purple Hearts and the Navy Cross. This book is a description of modern ground combat - who these young infantrymen are, how they fight and how they are led, from three-star generals to tough corporals clearing the trench lines. Reviews of The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division “This book will stand as the definitive account about the nature of ground combat as we enter the 21st Century.” - James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense and former Director of CIA “This is the face of war as only those who have fought it can describe it.” - Senator John McCain “A picture of what life and death on the front line were like.” - Sir John Keegan, author of The Face of War “Cuts to the very bone to reveal the experience of the modern fighting infantryman.” - General Anthony Zinni, former Commander in Chief, Central Command “Makes the readers hear, see and feel the fighting.” Leatherneck Magazine “You will not put it down…a winner for students of warfare.” - Marine Corps Gazette “...rigorously honest…a balanced and unblinking account that will certainly become one of the standard texts on the second Gulf War…Required reading for everyone serving in the armed forces -- and for anyone exercising policy influence over the institution they serve.” - Washington Post Book World, September 14, 2003 “What a brilliantly fought campaign, and what a wonderful account of it.“ –The Wall St. Journal, September 11, 2003 "As one Marine put it..."they want to die, and we want to kill them." The March Up, like The Anabasis, is destined to be a classic." - National Review, September 17, 2003

This book was written by Capt Jackson
CO for Mike Company 1967
For Review and Purchasing Information
click on book

Our very own Doc McNiff has written about
his experience's while attached to 3/4
For review and Purchasing Information click on book,
search on "Hell looks differnt now or McNiff"

Throughout much of 1967, a remote United States Marine firebase only two miles from the demilitarized zone captured the attention of the world's media. That artillery-scarred outpost was the linchpin of the so-called McNamara Line, intended to deter incursions into South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese Army. As such, the fighting along this territory was particularly intense and bloody, and the body count rose daily.
In Con Thien, James P. Coan combines his personal experiences with information taken from archives, interviews with battle participants, and official documents to construct a powerful story of the daily life and combat on the red clay bull's-eye known as "The Hill of Angels."As a tank platoon leader in Alpha Company, 3d Tank Battalion, 3d marine Division, Coan was stationed at Con Thien for eight months during his 1967-68 service in Vietnam and witnessed much of the region's notorious carnage.

Con Thien was heavily bombarded with impunity by enemy artillery because it was located in politically sensitive territory and the U.S. government would not permit direct armed response from Marine tanks. Coan, like many other soldiers, began to feel as though the government was as much the enemy as the NVA, yet he continued to fight for his country with all that he had. In his riveting memoir, Coan depicts the hardships of life in the DMZ and the ineffectiveness of much of the U.S. military effort in Vietnam.

Gunny Purdie was attached to Third Bn Fourth Marines in Vietnam. Here's a look at his book.
Jeremiah Purdie had a tough row to hoe – literally – from the moment he was born. His mother died within weeks of his birth, his father remarried a strict and God-fearing woman who demanded perfect behavior from the children, and segregation and racism were rampant throughout the country.
He persevered, however, remaining close to his father and siblings until, at seventeen, he convinced his father to allow him to join the Marines to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a great military leader. Yet again, however, he encountered segregation and racism, finding himself reduced to attending a steward school and performing his military duties at a level little better than a paid servant until segregation was overturned by presidential order in the mid-1940s. At that point, his military career really took off, and he was able to achieve his goal of becoming a leader of men.

After mustering out of the Marines several years later as a decorated Vietnam War hero and popular gunnery sergeant, he pursued a number of career changes; however, each time he found himself placed in a position of management power within a short amount of time. It was while he was performing his duties as an East Coast district manager for a large shoe chain he met the love of his life, Virginia, and together they lived the American Dream to the fullest, raising a daughter and eventually retiring to North Carolina.

By sharing his experiences and personal life story of The Journey That Brought Me to Glory: The Black Boy, the Marine, and the Christian, he reveals how God moved in every aspect of his life as he faced tough choices and challenges of pursuing and fulfilling a life well lived.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Currently enjoying his retirement by remaining active in a number of community groups, especially those affiliated with his church, Jeremiah Purdie fills his days with caring for and about others, fishing, hunting, and enjoying his wife Virginia, daughter Lisa, and grandson Kyle.
(2005, paperback, 70 pages)

Michelle Keener describes the trials and triumphs of keeping a military family together--from her wedding to her husband's assignment to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (the famous "McCoy's Marines") and the birth of a daughter in the base hospital. She brings to poignant life the uncertainty she and other Marine wives experienced; their fear in the face of media reports of the advance on Fallujah, one of the war's most harrowing battles; the gut-wrenching knock on the door, with a Marine in dress blues standing on the front step; the coming together in shared grief over the loss of a friend's husband; and eventually, the elation of having one's own husband return home safely. With this book, Keener gives a voice to all military wives--those who receive little notice and no medals, and yet sacrifice in countless ways. Even as they stood and waited, these wives also served.

Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper (Paperback) by Jack Coughlin, Donald A. Davis, Casey Kuhlman "At another time, on another battlefield, my radio call sign had been "Gabriel," because the archangel and I have a lot in common..."

Passion of Command: The Moral Imperative of Leadership (Paperback)
Bryan McCoy has written a superb primer on how to prepare an infantry battalion for battle. He preaches the basics, the blocking and tackling of warfighting. A quick read and well worth the effort for anyone preparing Marines for battle.

Every past or present Marine should read this book. It's about a little-known and underappreciated part of their heritage. Not just more philosophy, 'Gung Ho!' brings warfare right down to the fire team level where it belongs. As such, all modern infantrymen and special operators will benefit from the read. At battle's end, he who still occupies the ground wins. 'Gung Ho!' follows the Marine Raiders and their 4th Marine Regiment successors through the Upper Solomons, Guam, and Okinawa of WWII, and then to Dai Do, Con Thien, Mutter's Ridge (3/4), and the CAP villages ( a 3/4 invention) of Vietnam. At the end is a way for both infantry branches to develop more squad proficiency. Without it, they cannot win WWIII.
Click coverart for direct sales link. Book also available from its publisher, posteritypress.org.

The association doesn't advertise or sell ad space on our web site. The two links below are companies that have provided us with large discounts on great quality Beef Jerkey and Cigars for shipment to our Marines while deployed. >

Thanks to Big Johns Beef Jerky for
Supporting our 3/4 Marines in Iraq
Click on the image for some great beef jerky.
Thanks to Uncle Mikey for
supporting our 3/4 Marines in Iraq
Click on image for some great cigars.

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