Marvin Rheinlaender
Vietnam veteran
Marvin Rheinlaender
Cpl. USMC
1968–1970
Cpl. Marvin Rheinlaender,
Vietnam, 1969.
Why are Marines special? Just look at the history Belleau Woods, Guadacanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir.
I joined the Marine Corp in 1968, one year after high school. One night, several of my friends and I were bowling. A Marine recruiter walked thru the bowling alley and the next thing I knew, we were signing papers.
I was in Recon in Vietnam, a sniper. We went out on 42 patrols. Patrols consisted of six Marines in search and destroy missions, I hated those. We would seek the enemy and when discovered they would pull us out as our position was compromised. One night they couldn’t get us out. That night we saw 500 lights, “We kill you Recon”. They didn’t know exactly where we were, so I called in an air strike 2-3 miles away. The bluff worked. The VC left to go to where the air strike was. I spent 18 months of my 2 years 6 months service in Vietnam.
Worst day in the Marine Corp? The day my best friend was killed and I had to carry him out of the bush. I think about it every day.
We had a lot of good times in Vietnam, the guys I was with were special.
Marvin was awarded the Bronze Star for “Performance during 18 months in Vietnam serving in every capacity from point man to patrol leader in 42 long-range reconnaissance patrols deep in hostile territory.”
I retired working all of the AC/Heat and mechanical equipment for North East Independent School District in San Antonio. {03-31-2014 • New Braunfels, TX.}