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Newsletter
Official Publication of the Marine Embassy Guard Association
MISSION OF THE MARINE
EMBASSY GUARD ASSOCIATION
To inspire love of Corps and Country
To encourage Marines to aspire to a career in the Marine Security
Guard program
To render aid to Marines and others when in need
To promote camaraderie and esprit de corps
To provide a forum in which to assemble for social interaction
To serve as a catalyst for communications on matters of mutual interest
To revere the memory of our departed shipmates
To assist in preserving the historical records of Marine Security
Guards and their achievements
To perform any other lawful purpose or purposes
Summer 2009
MEGA Board of Directors 2009
Timothy J. Wood, Chairman, Director
New Delhi, IN 84-85, Santiago, CL 85-86
Term of Office 2007-10
jarhead5811@comcast.net
Ike Inacker, Vice-Chairman, Director
Warsaw, Pl 1982-83, Hamburg, DE 83-84,
Vienna, AT 84-85
Term of Office April 2008- 2011
ike1013@aol.com
Kevin J. Hermening, Treasurer/Secretary,
Director
Tehran, IR 79-81
Term of Office April 2007-10
kevinh@hermeningfinancialgroup.com
Kevin Earley, Director
Prague, CZ 78-80, Helsinki, FL 80
Term of Office 2007-10
kfeentllc@aol.com
Eugene (Gene) W. Frantz, Jr., Director
Moscow, RU 76-77, Dublin, IE 77-79
Term of Office April 2007-10
ewfrantz@verizon.net
Committee Chairmen:
Joe Mitchell, Director
Eugene (Gene) W. Frantz, Jr., MCESG Liaison
Moscow, RU 76-77, Dublin, IE 77-79
Ankara, Turkey 62-65
Term of Office April 2008-11
braniff2@sbcglobal.net
Stewart Grant, Archivist/Historian
Ankara TK 61-62, Abidjan CI 62-63
Charles (Chuck) L. Norris, Director
Paris, FR 58, Warsaw, PL 58-60,
Brussels, BE 60
Term of Office May 2006-09
chuckn38@comcast.net
Virgil M. Johnson, Elections Committee Chairman
Taipei 57-59
William McClure, Membership Chairman
Calcutta, IN 61-63
Ed Vasgerdsian, Director
Joe Mitchell, Ship’s Store
Ankara TR 62-65
Cairo, EG 56-59
Term of Office 2009-12
evgrunt@aol.com
Charles (Chuck) Moseman, Newsletter Printer
Singapore 58-60
Stewart Grant, Director
Lance Parcell, MEGA Website Manager
Paris FR 92-93, Prague CZ 93-94
Ankara, TK 61-62, Abidjan, CI 62-63
Term of Office 2009-12
sgrant@embassymarine.org
Juan Rocha, Group Chaplain
Kabul 64-65, Leopoldville 65-66
William McClure, Director
Calcutta, IN 61-63
Term of Office 2009-12
bmcclure@embassymarine.org
Fred Samarelli, Web Administrator
Karachi & Manila 77-79
Thomas Butler, Legal Advisor
Ed Vasgerdsian, Newsletter Editor
Cairo 56-59
1
Cairo, EG 54-56
Serves at the pleasure of the
MEGA Board of Directors
Butler_Dugan@msn.com
Chairman’s Corner
planning and execution of a successful reunion. Chuck
Norris has volunteered to step up and assume the
responsibility of Reunion Chairman. His committee
members will be announced soon.
I hope everyone has recuperated from the reunion’s festivities. I know I had a grand time because it took me a
few days to get back in proper form. I want to thank
each and everyone that attended for your participation
and good spirits. Without you we could not have had
the awesome reunion that we did.
I am pleased to announce that Juan Rocha (Kabul, AF
64-65, Leopoldville CD 65-66) has accepted the
position of MEGA Chaplain. In the past a Chaplin was
selected from our members present for the duration of
our reunion dinner. With the appointment of Juan, the
position becomes established as a fundamental part of
our Association. Juan and wife Zelda are no strangers to
our Association as they have been actively involved with
reunions and committee work. We are confident that
Juan is the right choice for this job as he will continue
to be a great asset to MEGA. Welcome aboard
Chaplin Rocha.
Kudos must go out to Mike Lagano, Terry Adams, Jerry
Paull, Loretta and George Schaudel for their incredible
work as committee members. Hats off too, to their
loved ones, for putting up with the time away from
home that was needed to pull this event together. And
a final thanks, to the Holiday Inn staff that were very
accommodating and ready to assist.
The auction was something to behold. We raised nearly
$10,000 for the scholarship fund, which is now nearing
$25,000. Thanks to Ed and the Paris Marines. They
drove this auction to new heights.
While speaking of the Chaplain and his responsibilities,
if any member has knowledge of the death, injury, or
serious illness of another member, please notify our
Chaplin or the Board. We are dedicated to stay abreast
of the status of all our members.
Credit numerous other people that helped make the
reunion a success; Wally Calderon, Mary and Jim Tracy,
Dan Ward, Stew Grant, Bill Potts and all the Page
Masters, Jack McGarry, Denny Krause, and the list
goes on and on.
That’s it for now. There are several other great things
brewing for MEGA and I hope to announce them in
the next newsletter. Meanwhile, start making plans for
St. Louis in 2010.
We had the honor of having former Commandant of
the Marine Corps General P.X. Kelly as our guest. He
was captivated with MEGA, and Ed’s auctioneering.
Our Guest Speaker, Major Fred C. Lash USMC (ret),
was superb. He spoke of the 1983 suicide bombing of
the United States Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon killing
over 60 people. His first-hand account was riveting.
Semper Fidelis,
Tim Wood
Chairman
After discussions at the General Membership Meeting
and among Board members, I am happy to announce
the 2010 Reunion will be held in St. Louis, MO. The
dates are April 22-25. More information will follow in
our next newsletter and on our website.
Toward that end, the Board has also decided that the
2010 reunion and future reunions will have a permanent Reunion Committee. This enables the committee
to grow more efficiently in handling countless issues
that arise from one year to another. As we know, the
task is huge when you consider all that goes into the
2
National Marine Corps
Council Spring 2009
Conference
ments of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary
warfare missions”
The (EFV) designated to replace the old amphibious
tractor are self-deploying, high water speed, amphibious
armored track vehicle capable of transporting 17 combatequipped Marines (included a 3 man crew) from Navy
ships beyond the horizon to shore locations. It is lighter,
faster, better armored and has increased firepower.
The procurement of the EFV is controversial, and the
timeline for production has been extended. Current
projections now have 532 units, down from the original
1,000+, rolling off the line to the Marines sometime
in FY 2012 at the earliest. More EFV information is
available at www.efv.usmc.mil
Gene Frantz, Representative to the National Marine
Corps Council (NMCC)
The April 18, 2009 agenda included briefings from the
Commandant’s representative, Brigadier General Timothy
Hanifen (Deputy CG for Combat Development
Command), who reported the most current information
shows 1st term re-enlistments topping 90% while the
career ranks continue to grow. The total active duty
Marines at the end of March 2009 exceeded 210,000.
The primary aim of Marine Week is to increase public
awareness of the Marine Corps to the nation and
encourage a positive environment for recruiting. The
next Marine Week will be held in Boston sometime in
2010. There is extensive information about this program and Marine Week at: www.usmc.mil/marineweek
Current operations update from Lt. Colonel Clifton
Carpenter (Commandant’s Staff ): In Afghanistan
increases will be almost 4,000 Marines deployed and
scheduled to increase to 10,000 by May 30, 2009. In
some cases Marine units are re-deploying to Afghanistan
from Iraq until their rotation is completed. Equipment
in Iraq is either being shifted to Afghanistan or returned
to CONUS for refurbishment and allocation to numerous material pre-deployment centers around the world.
ATTENTION ON DECK!
Dallas/Fort Worth MEGA
Members
In support of the increased Afghanistan presence, the
realistic combat training program, Mojave/Viper, has
been transitioned from Iraq to requirements of
Afghanistan deployments. The environment has been
described as worst then Iraq and the Marines are being
trained to “live hard” with minimal support facilities;
unlike what they experienced in Iraq with amenities and
quality of life services. The Southern Operations zone
contains Kandahar and a whole lot of desert. The
Marines will be heavily reliant on air operations and
delivery of supplies given the lack of any roads and the
wide dispersal of the units.
Bill Allen, Raconteur
Jeff Gray (Sofia 80-81/Vienna 81-83), Joe Mitchell
(Ankara TR 62-65), Ralph Caton (Calcutta IN 59-61)
and Bill Allen (Sofia 71-72/Hamburg 72-73) met for
lunch in Grapevine, TX. The conversation was hilarious
with enough lies and innuendos to fill a gunny sack.
We had such a good time, and wondered if there were
others that wanted to join us for the next go-round? We
scheduled a “Happy Hour on Wednesday August 26th
from 5:30pm to 7pm. Please come join us!
As reported by M/Sgt William “Spanky” Gibson on
Legislative Affairs: The Marine Corps Legislative Affairs
Office continues to make strides in ensuring our elected
leaders in the House and Senate are fully educated on
the needs of the Corps and supported in achieving those
requirements by 18 Marine Fellows in all the key committees and sub-committees. The top programs being
focused upon include the Expeditionary Fighting
Vehicle (EFV); Suicide Awareness and Prevention and
the continued building of “amphibious transport dock
warships (LPD) that embark, transport, and land ele-
Tap-In Grill & Pub (owned by a former Marine)
120 South Main Street
Grapevine, TX 76051
817-329-3117
If you know of other members, invite them too.
For any further information contact Bill at
(214) 493-2600.
3
Committee Reports
MCESG Gets New Commander Membership Committee
Gene Frantz, MCESG Liaison
Bill McClure, Membership Committee Chair
The Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (MCESG)
bid farewell to Colonel Vince E. Cruz and welcomed
the Commander Colonel Douglas H. Fairfield. The
Change of Command Ceremony was held outdoors at
Marshall Hall, Quantico on Friday May 8, 2009.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE could use a few more
hands to develop plans and work toward the enlargement of our membership rolls. Tony Lopez, our former
MEGA Secretary, has joined the team and we’re looking
toward recruiting a few more MEGA Members
/Associate Members to help out. If you’ve ever given
thought to how you can help your association, this
might be it.
For more information, contact Bill at (352) 746-5184
or wmcclure6@tampabay.rr.com
Historical Committee
Stewart Grant, Historical Committee Chair
Website News:
Under Commanding Officer Colonel Vince Cruz’s
watch, commencing in July 2007, MSG forces experienced a significant build up. During his command period 1200 Marines graduated from MSG School, managed several US Embassy incidents worldwide and
chaired the ground-breaking ceremony for the new
MCESG Headquarters and Training Facility. The
MCESG Command, U.S. Department of State, and
MEGA honored Colonel Cruz with plaques and letters
of appreciation. Col. Cruz also received a one-year regular membership in MEGA. He is retiring from the
Marine Corps and returning to Texas.
Protection to the MEGA website Member Area has
been increased with a new password requirement.
Starting immediately, all passwords must change from
the present format to one of your own choosing.
Passwords are case sensitive and should contain both
letters and numbers only. They should not include any
part of your name, spaces or punctuation.
To perform the password change on the Member Area
login page, click on the word HERE at the bottom of
login box, login as you normally would, using your
name in the Last Name field. Enter your newly created
password in the New Password field and click on the
Submit button. You will get a confirmation of the
password change.
Colonel Douglas H. Fairfield joined the Marine Corps
from his NROTC Program in 1986. His career has
Please note: Any password that has not been changed to the
been primarily in Fleet organizations with a specialty in new format by 1 December 2009 will be deleted thus denyfield artillery. Col. Fairfield participated in numerous
ing the member access to information in the Member Area.
operations including Operations Desert Shield and
If you have any questions, please contact:
Desert Storm. His last billet was as the Head of
Lance Parcell at lparcell@embassymarine.org or
Current Operations Branch, Plans Policy and
Bill Potts at bpotts@embassymarine.org
Operations department at HQ USMC. During his
opening remarks Col. Fairfield indicated he plans to
continue the work ingrained by Col Cruz and stated to
the assembled HQ Group Staff that his first priority
will always be the Marines in the Group. Col. Fairfield
also mentioned his desire to continue the fine relations
established with MEGA by Col. Cruz.
4
St. Louis–Site for
2010 Reunion
The Marine House Bar
Wally Calderon, Mixologist of the Highest Order
The Marine House Bar is secured for another year and
that means the 2009 MEGA Reunion is history. As
Chief Bartender and Bottle Washer, I’d like to say
thanks and OORAH to Barkeepers Ike, Dan, Jeff, Bill
and Joann. Wherever our next reunion is held, I’m sure
the same group will step forward and lend a hand, but a
few more volunteers would be appreciated. Graduates
from the National Bartenders Bartending School need
not apply.
Charles “Chuck” Norris, Reunion Chair
The Reunion Committee and the Board of Directors are
pleased to announce the 2010 MEGA Annual Meeting
and Reunion is to be held in St. Louis, Missouri at the
Marriott Union Station Hotel on April 22 to April 25,
2010. This site was selected in response to a majority of
members seeking a Midwest location.
MEGA room rate is $111.00 per night and includes a
hot buffet breakfast each day. This same rate will be
available for two nights on either side of our reunion
dates. Marriott does not run the parking garage, and we
are trying to negotiate a package rate with the garage
directly. The committee will make every effort to keep
reunion registration fees at or near $100.00 per person.
Some items that I believe belonged to members were
left behind are now are in my possession. I may have
what you believe was lost. If so, call or email me to get
them back. Until next year my friends, keep safe, and I
hope to see you all at our next reunion.
For more information, contact Wally at
amustangsandy@netzero.net
The Marriott Hotel is in an excellent historical location
with easy access to the Metro-Link Light Rail Rapid
Transit system providing service to the airport and
downtown locations. The hotel is incorporated into the
site of the original Union Station, which has several
restaurants and shopping in the mall separate from the
hotel. St. Louis is the gateway to the West and a very
interesting city with a lot to do aside from the Reunion.
Gateway Arch and Museum, Mississippi River,
Anheuser Busch Brewery, and historic downtown are
close to the hotel making St. Louis an outstanding
venue.
Ships Store
Joe Mitchell, Purveyor of Fine Goods & Apparel
I am sure everyone knows, we had a great reunion and a
great Ships Store event that generated over $4000.00 in
sales. In case you weren’t aware, Ships Store has now
included Special Order items of polo shirts, mugs, steins
and plaques, the later of which Jack McGarry handled
through the MEGA Archive site. We’ve added a new
Special Order cover (baseball style cap) to go with your
detachment polo shirt. The cover is $20.00, plus $6.00
for shipping and handling. We sold about 20 + of these
at the reunion.
We are still in the planning stages and expect to provide
a web link directly for hotel registration. Also, as soon as
we have a schedule of events, we will send out that
information.
More good news, Ships Store now accepts Visa and
Master Cards (Credit or Debit). We are still working on
getting Pay Pal added, making it easier to do everything
on line, but that’s still being worked on. We do accept
checks and of course CASH.
Military Reunion Planners (MRP) will once again
provide their outstanding service for our Reunion.
Please check the MEGA website for updates and the
hotel at www.unionstationmarriott.com
There are some special reunion T-shirts ($10.00) and
a limited stock of reunion umbrellas ($10.00) still
available. These and many other things can be found
through the Ships Store web page. Finally, “Thanks to
all”, for supporting the Ships Store.
Reservations may now be made at the St. Louis Union
Station Marriott by calling (800) 410-9914, reference
Marine Embassy Guard Association.
5
Quantico MSG Class Graduation 04-09
Gene Frantz, Liaison to MCESG
On Friday, July 24th, 2009 approximately 100 Marines of Class 04-09
graduated from MCESG School Quantico MCB, Virginia. Duty stations
such as Tunisia, Togo, Nicaragua, Nepal, Cambodia, Switzerland, Egypt,
China, Russia and others, were read aloud for each Marine who stepped
smartly forward to receive a diploma.
This was the first class graduation under the new MCESG Commander,
Col. Douglas H. Fairfield. While the themes and messages he imparted
on the graduates were familiar, he again gave formal recognition to
MEGA and thanked the Association for the continued support for the
Marines and the MSG program.
The guest speaker for this graduation ceremony was Raymond F. Geoffroy,
Assistant Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations. Mr.
Geoffroy is responsible for the MCESG and the MSG program reporting
directly to the CMC. Mr. Geoffroy began his remarks by also recognizing
MEGA and acknowledging our ongoing support. He challenged the
graduates to uphold the superior standards and excellence of performance
established by MEGA members over the many years. Mr. Geoffroy said to graduates and parents alike not all (MSG)
get assigned to the highly visible glamour posts like London or Paris, but each and every graduate is filling a critical
security role and seen as a representative of the United States and the Marine Corps. Mr Geoffroy concluded with
reminding the graduates that the United States is still at war and the safety of those who depend upon them requires
a performance of duties that is nothing short of constant vigilance, dedication and professionalism.
MSG graduates, family, guests, and MEGA members proceeded to Marshall Hall for a post ceremony reception.
Safe passage to all Marines everywhere!
Reminder – Dues R Due!
The Board has established a payment plan, whereby
members may become a Life Member by making a
series of payments to cover the total coast. The first
payment would be $50.00 less the dues paid for the
year the payments start. Then, payments of $50.00
per quarter would be due until the amount of the
Life Membership is fulfilled. Quarterly payments
would be due on the last day of the following
months—March, June, September, and December.
The 2010 MEGA Annual Membership Fee Is Due By
December 31, 2009.
FEES SCHEDULE
Dues Renewal $25.00
New Members $35.00 ($25.00 + $10.00)
Life Membership (less annual dues paid)
45 years old or younger $375.00
46–55 Years $325.00
56–65 Years $275.00
66–75 Years $225.00
76 years and older $150.00
Contact the Acting Secretary, Kevin Hermening at:
MEGA P.O. Box 6226 Wausau, WI 54402-6226 for
further details.
Life membership fees are based on age, and are
shown at the bottom of the application form. You
now can renew your current membership or lapsed
membership via PayPal.
6
MEGA Marine House
If you don’t know by now Public Enemies is a film about the
notorious bank robber John Dillinger. It’s not a story, as much
as it is a “tale” as in fable, because for all its worth there’s not
much about the film that can be accounted for as true. The
story takes place in the 30’s with all of Hollywood’s best costume makers, make-up folks, Foley artists and camera operators at work. However, it drives me nuts to see movies with
sparkling clean black sedans in every shot driving on dirty city
streets or dusty country roads without seeing a speck of dust
or dirt on them. I appreciate it’s a movie and you’re supposed
to you leave your rationale aside, but the film’s producers want
to make it as authentic as possible. I guess cars never got dirty
in those days. Another thing, I don’t know how many of you
have ever fired a Thompson Machine Gun, but I can tell you,
it can’t be done with one hand with any degree of accuracy.
Bad guys and good guys in Public Enemies performed this feat
a la Hollywood style with ease. Two hours and twenty-five
minutes of flashing tommy guns and spotless cars with no
emission problems; I give Public Enemies a C+.
By Ed Vasgerdsian
MEGA Marine House is dedicated to bringing you
bits of info about the past, present and future. After
all, if there was anything happening, it happened at
the Marine House.
Our Alexandria Reunion was everything it should have been,
so tip your cap and give a round of applause to Terry Adams,
Mike Lagano, Jerry Paull, and Loretta and George Schaudel.
The theme of our reunion was a homage to the Beirut MSGs
of all generation. I’m not sure what the highlight of the event
was. Having dinner with some of the former Beirut guys that
included Tom Cleary, Bill Marsich, Richard Decker, and
Lt.Col. (Col. Select) Christopher Arantz was of special note.
Tom Cleary donated a wall of Beirut photos including the
attack on the American Embassy. And the presence of General
Paul X. Kelley, 28th Commandant of the Marine Corps, put
the icing on the cake…another round of applause for the
reunion committee, if you please.
*
The New York Times has finally given in to the capitalization
of “M” as in Marines in their writer’s guidelines.
*
*
The concept of using Marine guards for embassy duty started
in 1946. As early as 1947, Marines were on duty at embassies
in Rome, London, and Paris. More closely associated with ceremonial guard duty, these Marines were not trained to provide
security duty, but they were tall and looked good in Blues.
When Marine Security Guards became established, American
Ambassadors had a choice to use them or not. According to
U.S. Marine Corps History and Museums Division, “The
civilian guards that the State Department had been using were
of doubtful background, limited ability, and in many cases,
unsuitable for positions requiring such a high degree of trust
and confidence. In most instances, the positions were found
to attract only the lazy [or] old. Many of the American
guards, resided permanently in foreign countries and were
married to aliens.”
I’ve been around for a while and on
more than one occasion I’ve said how
proud I was of our members and what
we do. In 2002 Colonel Boyette S.
Hasty former MSG (Saigon RVN 7273, Bangkok TH 73-74, Can Tho
RVN 74-75) and MEGA MEMBER
was CO of MSG Quantico. Some of
you may remember, he flew from the
Boyette S. Hasty,
eve of his Marines’ Quantico graduaColonel, USMC (ret.)
tion to be guest speaker at our San
Diego reunion. This year’s MSG School Class 3-09 graduated
ninety-seven Marines with Col Boyette Hasty as Guest
Speaker. In attendance were parents of the graduates and a
large representation of MEGA Members. The Colonel
expressed some very kind and heartening words about MEGA
encouraging the graduates to join our ranks. Thank you,
Col Hasty.
*
In 1942 John Wayne played Major Daniel Xavier Kirby in
Flying Tigers. Wayne was the leader of a Curtiss P-40 fighter
squadron scouring the China skies in search of Japanese
planes. Not a terrific film, but it was good for morale and told
a story about Americans that would not have otherwise been
known. A Beijing film company with a Chinese director and
producer has come up with plans to do another film based on
the Flying Tigers, but with a different point of view from the
original. Interesting to note, in 1941 and 1942, the American
Volunteers AKA Flying Tigers destroyed 300 Japanese aircraft
while losing only 14 pilots.
There were also words of appreciation for MEGA expressed
by MCESG’s new Commander, Colonel Douglas H. Fairfield
and from Major David A. Mccombs, OIC of MSG School.
What’s more, MEGA was part of the Chaplin’s Invocation
and the observations made by Robert A. Eckert Diplomatic
Security Service. How could we not feel proud of our Association?
*
ed Vasgerdsian
7
Marine Embassy Guard Association
P.O. Box 748
Astoria, OR 97103
We’re on the web!
www.embassymarine.org
Left to right: Lt Col Chris Arantz, Beirut 1981-1982; Tom McIntyre, Beirut 1957-1960;
General PX Kelly 28th Commandant of the Marine Corps 1983 to 1987; Richard Decker, Beirut 1982-1983;
Tom Cleary, Beirut 1981-1982; William Marsich, Beirut 1964-1966
Opinions of authors published in MEGA Newsletter do not necessarily express opinions of MEGA and are solely the responsibility of its authors.