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By Robert B. Steinberg, former Sgt. USMC
I recall that Lou Gulling assumed command of the squadron as a Major. I believe he had come to us from HMMT-301. He was promoted to LtCol. shortly after arriving. He was always well liked by the enlisted, as best as I can remember. I think we became more fond of him the closer we came to deploying, and realized that he'd soon be leading us into combat. One little anecdote that might illustrate how we felt about LtCol. Gulling concerns a coordinated effort to provide him with his own staff car once we arrived in-country. Lts. Vinny DeMaria and Jimmy Durr scrounged up an old Studebaker Lark and brought it over to Hangar 2. There, I used the resources of the metal shop paint locker to apply a full coat of Field Green paint to it. The lieutenants were pleased with the results, and we were all laughing about how cool it would be for our CO to have his own staff car to tool around our base with. The only problem was how to get it aboard the LPH-8 Valley Forge, docked at Long Beach. The car was driven up to the six-bys parked in front of the barracks that were ready to transport us to Long Beach, where it provided a huge morale boost and a good laugh. DeMaria and Durr managed to pose for a couple of photos before driving it to dockside at the Valley Forge. The squids on the Valley Forge didn't have a sense of humor, so we weren't able to convince them to put it on board for us. The Studebaker remained on the dock, and we sailed for WestPac. |
