ALAN R SCHULTZ

    ALAN R. SCHULTZ
    Lance Corporal, United States Marine Corps
    F Co, 2nd BN, Ninth Marines, 3rd MarDiv, III MAF
    Levittown, Pennsylvania

    For most Vietnam Veterans, Memorial Day is the hardest day of the year.  It’s no different for me.  Whether it be remembering high school classmates lost or remembering who you served with.  I served with Alan Schultz in the Fall of 1966 at various training installations at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.  But I knew Alan before that in the Summer of 1966 at boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.


    Alan was not in my boot camp platoon, but was in a platoon that was in our series that consisted of four platoons.  Our Platoon 2027 was known as the Yankee platoon as we primarily had eighty-one Marine recruits from Connecticut and New York.  Alan’s platoon members were from Pennsylvania and Delaware.  Alan was a very short man and wore very thick glasses and was hard of hearing in one ear.  But with the Vietnam War on, any recruit was welcome to join.

    But where Alan stood out he was prone to many gaffes whether it be marching or any physical activity.  He had the heart but he really did not have any natural talents or coordination.  And from our vantage point in a brother platoon we could see his failings as his drill instructor would single him out when he invariably screwed up.  But Alan wanted to prove himself and become a Marine.

    Alan graduated from his boot camp platoon the same day that our Platoon 2027 graduated.  From Parris Island, South Carolina we were next sent to the Camp Lejeune Base and assigned to Camp Geiger, North Carolina for Advanced Infantry Training.  We were no longer in separate platoons but together in Company “P” at the end of August and early September 1966.  That’s where I first got to know Alan as someone more than a boot camp Marine recruit.

    And as skill sets would have it Alan, I, and other Marines that we had served with in our boot camp platoons upon completion of our Infantry Training were assigned to Montford Point, South Carolina (now known as Camp Johnson) for Supply School training.  This course lasted through October and to mid November 1966.  More bonding and camaraderie  over the six weeks resulted.

    more about Alan

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