A Day with R. Lee Ermey

            December 16th was a special day not one that was on our normal training schedule at least. Our unit was asked by MCB Camp Pendleton’s Public Affairs Office to do a photo shoot with Mr. R. Lee Ermey. The unit was on hand to donate all of the toys they had collected over the past few weeks for the Toys for Tots program. The Temecula Valley young Marines collected and turned in on this day to Mr. Ermey (60 Children DVD's, 10 Stuffed Animals and 40 other various toys Mostly donated by the units Young Marines) , , . The Temecula Valley Young Marines also met up with another Young Marine unit that had been collecting toys for the drive, the Eagle Young Marines from Oceanside, Ca. Mr. Ermey came outside and said hello to the Temecula Young Marines and said what a wonderful job they had all done , , . Mr. Ermey then went over to the Eagle Young Marines and talked to and congratulated the Eagle Young Marines on a job well done , , , . Mr. Ermey took some pictures with the Temecula Valley Young Marines and then with the Eagle Young Marines and then both units together it was a great event and one that the Young Marines and staff of both units were proud to have helped in . When the visit with Mr. Ermey was done (he was very busy signing autographs for everybody that showed up). The CO took the unit up to the Marine Corps exchange and let them all do a little Christmas shopping on a Marine Corps base. It was a long but fun day for the Young Marines and the staff. And it definitely was a pleasure to have met Mr. Ermey who is also among other things the National Spokesperson for the Young Marines.  Ooh-Rah!! Young Marines and Semper Fi, Mr. Ermey Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to have your picture taken with our Young Marines and thank You to our Parent volunteer Mr. Rivera, Mr. Blanchard and CWO3 Byers.

Some History for those of you who do not know who Mr. R . Lee Ermey may be:

Ronald Lee Ermey Born ( March 24, 1944) in Emporia , Kansas, Mr. Ermey enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1961, after being arrested several times as a teenager. A court judge gave him the choice of the military or jail. He later joked that the Marine Corps "put a screeching halt to my unconventional manner." He spent two years as a drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in San Diego, California, from 1965 to 1967. In 1968, Ermey arrived in Vietnam where he served for 14 months with the Marine Wing Support Group 17. He then served two tours of duty in Okinawa, Japan, during which he rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant. Mr Ermey is a former U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor and later Golden Globe-nominated actor, often playing the roles of authority figures, such as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning and Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He currently hosts Mail Call, a military history program on The History Channel, where Ermey answers military-related viewer questions. Ermey is also an official spokesman for Glock firearms, Tupperware, Hoover vacuum cleaners, and the Young Marines. On May 17, 2002 he received an honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant (E-7) by the Commandant of the Marine Corps (later Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)) United States Marine Corps General James L. Jones, becoming the first retired military member in the history of the United States Marine Corps to be promoted.