Letters from a Son

These are the letters sent to my mother, Betty Davis, and father, Wilfred Davis, during my three years and four months in the Marine Corps. The letters from boot camp were written in pencil on a small pocket notebook, usually in five or ten minute spurts. They were jumbled and repetitive and required massive editing to make them readable. I expected to experience a hard three years when I enlisted in the Corps late in 1962. Most of the time I wasn't disappointed. I joined on a "120-Delay Program," along with my high school classmate, Bob Keller. We enlisted in November 1962, shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and went on active duty in March 1963. The two people most responsible for my decision to join the Marines were my grandfather, Orin Phillips, a World War One veteran, and my high school English Teacher, Bob Lee, a former Marine. Both of these men were very articulate in explaining the need for patriotism and military service. I arrived at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), San Diego, shortly after midnight on 19March1963, after my first ever airplane ride. I wrote my first letter home two days later.