MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- It was raining when the Denny's crew took a field trip to Camp Pendleton, but no one seemed to mind. The soft drizzle couldn't hold a candle to the torrential downpours and harsh climates 11 retired Marines experienced in Vietnam and Korea.
The former Marines, who collectively had more than 300 years of communications experience, visited with their modern-day counterparts at a field-exercise site April 20.
The members of the breakfast club know one another from their time on active duty, as well as from stories told by other communicators they've worked with in the past. Some have traveled cross-country to attend the informal gathering, said retired Master Gunnery Sgt. Walt Brown, who served from 1956 to 1986.
He said he had been looking forward to the base visit, which was coordinated by Lt. Col Thomas E. Davis, deputy communications officer for 1st Marine Division, after Davis attended the Denny's rendezvous in March.
Brown, who is from Los Angeles, said he took the trip because he was eager to see the technological advancements made on communications equipment. "When we were in the Marine Corps, we used tin cans and string, you know."
He wasn't too far from the truth. The double-wire, analog systems used by Vietnam-era communication Marines were 'primitive' compared to today's digital devices, said Master Gunnery Sgt. William S. Warren, communications chief, 9th Communication Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force.
The equipment had changed so much in appearance that one retiree said he didn't recognize anything, but as the group toured the area and heard the familiar squawk of a field telephone, they all agreed that some things never change.
However, there was distention as to which communicators, past or present, have had a more difficult job. Each generation lauded each other, rather than themselves.
The retired men avowed their active duty counterparts, explaining that the tool upgrades over
the last few years would have been hard for their generation to keep up with.
"Seeing how these Marines work, it's really exciting," said retired Master Gunnery Sgt. John Torres, a 75-year-old from San Antonio. "What you guys call modern, we call unbelievable," he
added. Torres landed at Inchon, Korea, in 1950 to defend the Pusan Perimeter.
More than 300 active duty Marines from communication commands throughout the Base, including I MEF, 1st Marine Division, and 1st Marine Logistics Group, concluded the field exercise at the 33 area site April 26.
Other Marines were located at different sites all around the base to take part in a mission rehearsal trial. The two-week-long exercise validates current standard procedures and creates the opportunity to update them, said Warren, a 46-year-old from Snyder, Texas.
After 'roughing it' in the field for a few nights, today's communicators didn't hesitate to pay respect to those who came before them.
"They are the forefathers of communication who have left us with what we have," said Staff Sgt. Benito J. Barrios, a 32-year-old from San Bernardino. Barrios is the platoon sergeant for Radio Platoon, Communications Company, Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division.