Montford Point Marine Fought in Three Wars

Marine who embodied Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream never stopped marching
OC Register
By Joanna Clay Staff Writer
January 17, 2016

Simmons served for 22 years in three conflicts – World War II, Korea and Vietnam. He wanted to fight for his country, despite the prejudices that existed, his daughter said.

Maj. Gen. Ronald Bailey, left, places a replica Congressional Gold Medal on

Montford Point Marine Jesse Simmons of Santa Ana during a commemorative ceremony

at Camp Pendleton in 2012. LEONARD ORTIZ, FILE PHOTO

Jesse Simmons enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943. Until then, he was ineligible because he was black.

He was sent for basic training at the segregated Montford Point training camp, outside Jacksonville, N.C. The white drill instructors urged the recruits to leave. The recruits couldn’t go into town for a meal. They’d be risking their lives in the Jim Crow-era South.

“My dad’s favorite saying was ‘continue to march.’ … ‘If someone spits on you, continue to march,’” daughter Angie Jacobs said. “And that’s what he did.”

Simmons died Thursday in Fountain Valley at age 92. It was just a few days shy of today’s holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

A fixture on the Santa Ana family’s dining room wall was a plaque of the civil rights leader with the famous inscription, “I have a dream.” Simmons was inspired by King’s unwavering faith that change was possible, Jacobs said.

“He, unfortunately, had to live through it, but he got to see the change and see whites and blacks be together,” said Jacobs, 53.
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Camp Pendleton Marine Family’s Tragic Crash

‘Please God, Don’t Let It Be Them’: Camp Pendleton Marine Family’s Tragic Crash
NBC San Diego
By Bridget Naso and Samantha Tatro
January 3, 2016

It wasn’t long ago that Staff Sergeant Evaan Ball and his wife Ashley attended the Marine Corps Ball in San Diego, but today it feels like a world away as Ashley fights for her life in a New Mexico hospital after a deadly crash that killed her brother.

“I thought I’d be the one in the hospital one day, not her,” SSgt. Ball told NBC 7 San Diego in a phone interview this week.

Ashley’s brother, Steven Marrow, was helping the couple move from Camp Pendleton to SSgt. Ball’s new post in Louisiana on Dec. 23. Ball drove one car, with the couple’s two children in the back. Marrow drove the second car with Ashley sitting in the passenger seat.

As the group drove down State Route 550 in Farmington, New Mexico, Marrow lost control of the car while passing a truck and crossed over the divide, crashing into an oncoming tractor-trailer, Ball told NBC7. Ball was driving ahead of his wife and her brother and had successfully passed the truck.
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1st Marine Then Star Wars Villain

'I'm Going to Be a Man': 'Star Wars' Star is a Former Marine
CNS News
By Mark Judge
December 17, 2015

Driver then pursued an acting career, going to the Julliard School in New York. "After I got out, suddenly I realized that I could handle civilian problems," he told the Military Times. "They all seemed pretty small by comparison."

Actor Adam Driver, who plays villain Kylo Ren in the new "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" movie, is a former Marine.

In a 2014 profile in Rolling Stone, Driver explained how the attack on 9/11 inspired him to enlist:

"I was having an argument with my stepfather, and he was like, 'Why don't you join the Marine Corps?' And I was like, 'Noooo! Well, maybe, actually . . .' I went and saw the recruiter, who was like, 'Are you on the run from the cops? Because we've never had someone want to leave so fast.' I was like, 'I'm going to be a man.'"

Driver trained at Camp Pendleton in California, becoming an 81mm mortar man with the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines.
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San Diego Veterans Court Chance for Support System

VA Seeks To Aid Veterans Behind Bars
Program helps San Diego veteran turn life around
KPBS News
By Steve Walsh
December 9, 2015

“They found there is a gap between those who are in custody and those who are getting out,” Angela Simoneau, Veterans Justice Outreach specialist with the VA in San Diego. “Usually, when you’re released, it’s 'here’s a bus token figure out where you going to go.'”

Above: Marine veteran Shaun Tullar talks about his future after

jail from his room at Veterans Village San Diego, Nov. 16, 2015.

(Nov. 16, 2015, Steve Walsh/KPBS)

As part of the effort to end homelessness among veterans, the Veterans Administration has been going into the courts and the prison system, looking for vets who may have been left untreated, once they get out.

In August, Shaun Tullar was spending 90 days locked in the Vista Detention Facility in San Diego County. He joined the Marine Corp, hoping to turn around a cycle of drugs and alcohol that started when his mother died in 2003 — while he was in high school. For a while, the Marines Corp worked.

He was sober through a seven-month tour in Helmond province in Afghanistan, but he began drinking after he came back to Camp Pendleton. He went into a substance abuse treatment program on Point Loma, just prior to leaving the Marines.

“I felt very optimistic about the future. I had a lot of good things in place, however my support network wasn’t out here,” he said.

Then, on Jan. 20, 2012, one week after he left the Marines, he got a call from his sister.

“I got a phone call from my sister, found out my brother had died in Afghanistan,” he said.
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Boys and Girls Scouts help feed 800 people at Camp Pendleton

Thanksgiving Feats: Volunteers, Boys and Girls Scouts help feed 800 people at Camp Pendleton
San Clemente Times
Eric Heinz
November 25, 2015

Food for Thanksgiving piled up on Monday at the commissary at Camp Pendleton in order to provide the holiday feast for U.S. Marines and their families.

People make their way to the donations from the Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway organized by the San Clemente Military Family Outreach on Monday at Camp Pendleton.

For the past eight years the nonprofit San Clemente Military Family Outreach has hosted a Thanksgiving drive to help out the families in the north Camp Pendleton to people living in San Onofre Housing. Many of the families have a relative or loved one who has been deployed. Recently about 2,000 troops were sent to South Pacific Asia.

“It got started by the predecessor by the Friends of San Onofre Marines,” Robert Crittendon, a volunteer with SCMFO, said. “They had started the distribution for units that were being sent overseas. On one occasion, the St. Margaret’s Church had invited them, and there were 250 people who had signed up. The church I think was overwhelmed and they really had to scramble to provide that meal.”
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Camp Pendleton Marine Finally Went to Ball, She's 94

94-year-old veteran honored at Marine Corps Ball 
FOX5 News
BY GREG MILLS
NOVEMBER 13, 2015

Medvid reached the rank of Corporal during World War II. She was stationed in San Francisco and learned to repair radios for ships at the time when women were encouraged to join the service to free up men for combat.

SAN DIEGO – A 94-year-old veteran fulfilled her lifelong dream Friday when she attended the Marine Corps Ball in University City with her husband.

Tillie Medvid was the guest of honor at the ball, which celebrated the 240th birthday of the Marine Corps. Her attendance was made possible by Camp Pendleton. read more here

GoPro Camera Captures Last Ride For Marine

Young Marine, Father Dies in East County Motorcycle Crash 
He would help anybody, even if we couldn't afford to help someone," his wife told NBC 7
7 News San Diego
By Andie Adams and Steven Luke

Dorson was a Camp Pendleton-based heavy machinery mechanic, and Jessica, who is pregnant with their third child, is a Navy service member.

Justin Dorson and his son

A young Marine killed in an East County motorcycle crash had two boys and another on the way, his wife told NBC 7 Monday.

Justin Dorson, 26, died Sunday after he overcorrected his 2012 Triumph motorcycle and ran into a large boulder on State Route 94, outside of Dulzura.

A friend's Go Pro camera captured the final images of Dorson's ride on his dream bike.
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Camp Pendleton Marine Found Dead At Shooting Range

Marine found dead with gunshot wound at Camp Pendleton 
CBS News
October 5, 2015

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A Marine has been found dead with a gunshot wound to the head at a shooting range at Camp Pendleton Marine Base, the Associated Press reports.

Officials at the military base say the Marine was taking part in a training exercise in which live ammunition was used Monday morning.

The circumstances of the fatal gunshot are under investigation. read more here

Camp Pendleton Marines Honor Navajo Code Talkers

Navajo Code Talkers return to the Blue Diamond 
DVIDS
Story by Cpl. Demetrius Morgan
October 2, 2015

Major Gen. Daniel O’Donohue, commanding general, 1st Marine Division, pays respect to retired Navajo Code Talkers during a tour with the Navajo Nation aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 28, 2015. Navajo Code Talkers were first put into action during World War II in early 1942 to establish an undecipherable code which could be used in combat environments to communicate sensitive information. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Demetrius Morgan/RELEASED)

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Retired Marines who served as Navajo Code Talkers during World War II and members of the Navajo Nation visited the 1st Marine Division during a tour aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Sept. 28, 2015.

Marines with the division hosted a ceremony to honor the code talkers for their pivotal service World War II.

“It’s an honor to have you here today,” said Maj. Gen. Daniel O’Donohue, the commanding general of the division. “The Navajo nation provided a duty that no one else could at that time. You humble us by returning to the division. The sacrifices you made we can’t even imagine and your legacy and your spirit live on.”

Navajo Code Talkers were first put into action in early 1942 to establish an undecipherable code, which could be used in combat environments to communicate sensitive information.

The Navajo code was selected because of its difficulty and obscurity and was deciphered by enemies of that time. This allowed commanders to issue out commands securely in the heat of battle against the imperial Japanese enemies. The code remained secret until it was declassified in 1968.
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Fake Camp Pendleton Marine Can't Keep Story Straight

Fake Marine vet caught trying to get discount on pepper spray
Popular Military
By Michele Katz
October 1st, 2015

He claims he was a Gunnery Sgt. stationed at Camp Pendleton.

But when confronted with more probing questions, it becomes clear that the man being recorded on this cell phone video is stealing valor.

When asked if he was retired, the man claimed he was “Section A: medically discharged.”

“You were a gunnery Sgt. over there, what pay grade is that?”

“It’s a G9,” the man says.

The person recording the exchange, later identifies himself as an Army veteran but initially tells the man he’s doing a school project — some documentaries –and asks, “Do you mind if I record this?”

While the conversation continues for a while after that, the man first says that he can’t talk on camera because he’s in “private contracting.” He goes on to say that he works ‘private security’ for non-profit organizations.

Then, pointing to his clothes, says “These are ACU’s.”

The soldier who posted the video on YouTube wrote: “Caught this POS in a tobacco store in Orange, CA trying to get a discount on pepper spray because he apparently was a purple heart recipient, gunny sergeant, recon, about to deploy.”

Apparently the man who was stopped on the sidewalk, graduated with a psych degree from Cal State, and went to officer training school.

“You got gunnery Sgt. in a year,” the service member asks. “I was only in Marine Corps for a year made it out of boot… was supposed to get Lieutenant – I went to basic OCS.”
read more here

From September 8, 2015
This was filmed by an Army Officer, and his wife Michelle, he noticed a guy that seemed out of place in a Marine Corps uniform. His wife posted a photo to our FB page and asked if he looked out of place, he threw up a lot of red flags. They confronted him, and he admitted he was a fake. said he was attending a wedding.


This one is from September 11, 2015

This guy claimed he was a member of 7th Special Forces Group, he was confronted by several current military members. He was also wearing several badges, including a CIB. It would seem he was getting discounts or free drinks, several national chains give free drinks to military in uniform.

Five Camp Pendleton Marines Still Hospitalized in Critical Condition

Five Camp Pendleton Marines still hospitalized in critical condition after accident
Orange County Register
By ERIKA I. RITCHIE STAFF WRITER
September 14, 2015

A Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement similar to the vehicle the Camp Pendleton Marines were using. Four of 18 Marines injured in a rollover accident were listed in critical condition Monday. The 7-ton truck carrying them flipped during training at Camp Pendleton on Thursday, killing one Marine.
COURTESY OF USMC

CAMP PENDLETON – Five Marines remained in critical condition Monday following a rollover accident last week that killed a 21-year-old Marine from Louisiana and injured 18, base officials said.

Four other Marines still in the hospital are in stable condition, said 1st Lt. Colleen McFadden, for the 1st Marine Division. One of those Marines last week was listed in critical condition but has since improved. Nine Marines have been released from hospitals since the accident occured Thursday afternoon.

The Marines are being treated at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and in San Diego County at Scripps Memorial Hospital, Palomar Medical Center, Sharp Memorial Hospital and Tri-City Medical Center.

The accident occurred when the Marines were being transported in a 7-ton truck known as a Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement and were returning from a routine training exercise, McFadden said. Base officials closed down Basilone Road from Camp Las Pulgas to Camp Horno.
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Camp Pendleton Marine Convicted on Sexual Assault of Female Marine

Man Sexually Assaulted Fellow Marine at Camp Pendleton
Pedro Javier Orellana, 24, said he had received training about sexual assault prevention while stationed at Camp Pendleton
NBC 7 News San Diego
By R. Stickney
August 21, 2015

A Maryland man was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting a fellow U.S. Marine while the woman slept. Pedro Javier Orellana, 24, was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and based at Camp Pendleton north of San Diego at the time of the attack.

It took jurors just one day of deliberation to convict Orellana.

He admitted to investigators he didn’t really know the woman and had only seen her in passing a few times. However, on Nov. 2, 2014, Orellana took advantage of the active-duty Marine who was “too drunk to know what was going on” as he explained to Navy investigators.
read more here

Camp Pendleton Marine Faces Charges For Shoving Women Off Cliff

Marine arrested in cliff-shoving incident 
10 News KGTV San Diego
City News Service
Jul 15, 2015

A Camp Pendleton Marine is expected to face assault and battery charges for allegedly pushing two female companions off an oceanfront bluff over South Carlsbad State Beach during a drunken argument, seriously injuring one of them, police said Wednesday.

Bradley Huston, 20, and a fellow serviceman were socializing with a 17-year-old girl and 18-year-old woman alongside the cliff at the foot of Cerezo Drive when they got into a dispute shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday, Carlsbad police spokeswoman Jodee Sasway said.

As the disagreement escalated, Huston allegedly shoved the victims, sending them tumbling 10 to 15 feet down the precipice.
read more here

Camp Pendleton Marine Died Doing What He Loved

Utah Marine dies in on-base crash; body returns home Saturday 
Deseret News
By Ben Lockhart
Published: Friday, July 10 2015

"He loved being a Marine. He loved riding his motorcycle. He loved his family, and he loved people," the elder Haggarty said. "He died doing what he loved, being who he was."

SALT LAKE CITY — Sean Haggarty knew there was always a chance his son, by virtue of enlisting as a U.S. Marine, could die at a young age.

But after his 20-year-old boy died unexpectedly in a motorcycle crash at Camp Pendleton in San Diego this week, Haggarty says he is no more equipped than any grieving parent to describe the overpowering heartbreak of losing a child.

"There are no words to explain the loss we've got," Haggarty said. "There are no words to explain the pain."

Sean Thomas Haggarty, who has the same first and last name as his father, was killed on base Monday in the crash, his father said. The elder Haggarty was notified by Marines at his home around midnight that night. The days since have been filled with family members clinging to memories and each other for consolation.

"We sit there, and we cry, we laugh, and remember (Sean)," his father said.
read more here

UPDATE
Utah Marine killed in motorcycle accident gets final honors from military, community

Fox Company 2nd Battalion 23rd Marines carry the casket of Lance Cpl. Sean Thomas Haggarty Saturday, July 11, 2015, out of the Delta Airlines air cargo hangar in Salt Lake City, with family and friends standing by, as he is brought home for the final time. Sean was killed in a motorcycle accident at Camp Pendleton in San Diego on Monday, July 6, 2015.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Navy Chief From Michigan Died At Sea

Sailor Who Collapsed at Sea Was Chief 
Jason May, of Chesterfield, Mich., 38, complained of chest pains and collapsed in the Middle East on a ship carrying Camp Pendleton Marines.

Patch.com
By MIRNA ALFONSO (Patch Staff)
July 1, 2015

A sailor who died aboard the San Diego-based USS Essex -- carrying Camp Pendleton Marines -- was a 38-year-old senior chief petty officer, the Navy announced today.

Jason May, of Chesterfield, Michigan, complained of chest pains and collapsed during routine operations Monday, according to the Navy.

Medical personnel were unable to revive him. read more here

Real Marine Confronts Imposter on Video

UPDATE
Fake Marine’s lawyer says client wasn’t trying to steal valor

Confrontation between Marine and ‘imposter’ goes viral 
WDTN News
Jeff Wagner
Published: June 12, 2015

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind (WISH) — A confrontation between a local veteran and a man he says was posing as a Marine has gone viral.

The incident happened outside the graduation ceremony for Noblesville High School Tuesday. Since then, the video of the confrontation has gotten more than 100,000 views online.

Marine Brandyn Skaggs, who was attending the ceremony for his younger brother, said his plan was to expose the man in uniform as a fraud in front of the man’s family, then leave it alone.

But Skaggs’ father recorded it all. And little did he realize that his fight to keep someone from stealing valor was a battle going on across the country every day.

In the video, you can hear Skaggs ask the man where he was stationed. The man answers Camp Pendleton. Skaggs follows that up by asking what unit the man served with. The man then replied, “none of your business.”

“I started to call him out and, obviously, at that point, he is a fake,” said Skaggs.

From the uniform to the medals, Skaggs, who spent four years in the U.S. Marines, said he had all the evidence he needed.
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Sgt. Rafael Peralta To Receive Navy Cross Posthumously

UPDATE
Peralta family will donate fallen Marine's Navy Cross to ship

The family plans to treasure the Navy Cross over the summer and donate it to the ship for its Oct. 31 christening, Peralta-Donald said.

A photo of the newly named Navy destroyer Rafael Peralta is displayed during a ceremony in San Diego. (Photo: Lance Cpl. Anna Albrecht/Marine Corps)

Family of Rafael Peralta, fallen Iraq war hero, to accept Navy Cross award after long refusal
Washington Post
Dan Lamothe
May 28, 2015

The family of one of the most celebrated Marine Corps heroes of the Iraq war will soon accept the nation’s second-highest award for valor on his behalf, nearly 11 years after he was killed in combat and almost seven years after the Pentagon made the controversial decision to deny him the Medal of Honor.

Sgt. Rafael Peralta will soon receive the Navy Cross posthumously during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, Calif., said his younger brother, Ricardo. Peralta’s mother, Rosa, still believes the sergeant deserves the nation’s highest award for heroism in combat, but is tired after years of appeals. She had refused to accept the Navy Cross, citing her belief he deserved the higher award.

“That decision does not mean that she was willing to settle,” Ricardo, 24, told The Washington Post in a phone interview. “It just means that she grew tired of it.”
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Will Sgt. Rafael Peralta's life finally be honored?

Denial of Medal of Honor for Sgt. Rafael Peralta causes anger to survivors

The decision is "almost like somebody called me a liar," said Marine Sgt. Nicholas Jones, 25, who was with Peralta that day. Jones, a recruiter, said Peralta's actions have become part of Marine Corps lore, as drill sergeants and officer-candidate instructors repeat it to new Marines. "His name is definitely synonymous with valor," said Jones, who was wounded by the grenade blast.

"I know for a fact that I would have been killed … and that my daughter, Sophia, our new baby, Sienna, would not be here or coming into the world. And that my son, Noah, would have grown up without knowing his dad," said Robert Reynolds, 31, a corrections officer and former Marine who was with Peralta that day.

Six Marine Helicopter Crash Victims in Nepal Identified

Six Marine Helicopter Crash Victims in Nepal Identified
Military.com
Richard Sisk
May 18, 2015

The remains of six Marines and two Nepalese soldiers who died in the May 12 crash of their helicopter while on an earthquake relief mission in the Himalayas have been recovered and identified.

Marine Lt. Gen. John Wissler thanked U.S. and Nepalese search and recovery teams that found the charred wreckage of the Marine UH-1Y Huey helicopter in dense forest at an elevation of more than 11,000 feet and recovered the remains despite mountain storms and temperatures below freezing.

"You never hesitated in the joint effort to bring our brothers home. Everyone united -- the soldiers hiking through hazardous terrain, the pilots flying in uncertain weather conditions and the Nepalese special forces standing watch over our Marines on a mountainside at night," Wissler said.

"We honor our fallen comrades through our unselfish support to each other in this time of grief," said Wissler, commander of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force and of Joint Task Force 505 which arrived in Nepal on April 29 following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 8,000.

The six Marines aboard the Huey from Marine Light Attack Helicopter squadron 469 based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., were identified as:

Capt. Christopher L. Norgren, 31, of Sedgwick, Kans.
He was a UH-1Y pilot with HMLA-469, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Camp Pendleton.

Capt. Dustin R. Lukasiewicz, 29, of Harlan, Neb.
He also was a UH-1Y pilot and was with the same unit as Norgren.

Sgt. Ward M. Johnson, IV, 29, of Seminole, Fla.
He was a UH-1Y helicopter crew chief with HMLA-469.

Sgt. Eric M. Seaman, 30, of Riverside, Calif.
He was a UH-1Y helicopter crew chief with HMLA-469

Cpl. Sara A. Medina, 23, of Kane, Ill.
She was a combat photographer with Marine Corps Installations Pacific in Okinawa, Japan.

Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Hug, 22, of Maricopa, Ariz.
He was a combat videographer with Marine Corps Installations Pacific, Okinawa, Japan.

read more here

Osprey Hard Landing Leaves Marine Dead and 21 Injured

MV-22 Osprey 'Hard Landing' in Hawaii Kills One Marine, Injures 21 
Associated Press
May 17, 2015

A Marine Corps Osprey aircraft made a hard landing in Hawaii on Sunday, killing one Marine and sending 21 other people to hospitals as dark smoke from the resulting fire billowed into the sky.

The tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey, which can take off and land like a helicopter but flies like an airplane, had a "hard-landing mishap" at about 11:40 a.m., the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit said in a statement. Officials didn't provide details about the conditions of the injured.

Twenty-two people were aboard the aircraft, including 21 Marines and one Navy corpsman assigned to the unit, spokesman Capt. Brian Block said in an email.

The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit is based at Camp Pendleton in California and is in Hawaii for about a week for training.

The Osprey was being used for training at Bellows Air Force Station on Oahu at the time of the hard landing. read more here

Marine From Hawaii Found Dead At Camp Pendleton

Marine found dead in Pendleton barracks room
Marine Corps Times
Staff report
April 30, 2015

A Hawaii-based Marine attending an enlisted professional military education academy in California was pronounced dead Wednesday morning after he was found unresponsive in his barracks room.

The Corps is investigating the death of the Marine, who was assigned to Headquarters Battalion out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii, according to a news release. He was temporarily assigned to Camp Pendleton, California, where he checked into the Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy on Monday to attend the Advanced Career Course. read more here

UPDATE

Corps identifies Marine who died at Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps Times
Staff report
May 2, 2015

Corps officials have identified the Hawaii-based staff noncommissioned officer who died in California this week.

Gunnery Sgt. Eugene Jones, who was assigned to Headquarters Battalion at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, was pronounced dead on Wednesday after he was found unresponsive in his barracks room at Camp Pendleton, California. Jones had checked into the staff NCO academy at Pendleton Monday to attend an enlisted professional military education course.
read more here