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2/4 Secretary Secretary, 2/4 Association, 2868 New Berlin Road, Jacksonville, FL 32226-1722

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The Magnificent Bastards

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William (Bill) Rittenhouse Looking for Echo 2/4 Members from Late 1969

February 8, 2023 by 2-4 Admin Leave a Comment

Hi fellow Bastards,

Hi… I was a member of Echo 2/4 in Vietnam for about 5 weeks (Sept 28 – Nov 3, 1969)…or until unit was withdrawn…I went on to 2/26 near Lang Co for 4 months (then they pulled out) and then moved on to 2/7 at both LZ Ross and LZ Baldy- leaving Nam on Sept 17, 1970.

I don’t remember anyone from Echo…I was the only new guy who made it, and being too tired and scared (as we were on an extended tour of mountains and valleys…lol). I think of Echo fondly though. The squad and platoon seemed to have Marines there a minimum of 8+ mos. in country and most had purple hearts…You might say I was the platoon’s pack animal..carrying everybody’s everything (or so it seemed)…basically, I did whatever I was told. By the time I left Echo I had gained a lot of survival knowledge which somehow allowed me to survive a whole tour being sniped at, shelled, mortared, ambushed, and booby trapped up the gazoo… My later tasks went way beyond the standard 0311 and 0331 MOSs I had. I did have a secondary 9940 MOS (Vietnamese language)…became a liaison with an ARVN unit to coordinate air and artillery strikes(so I had map, radio skills, and F.O added to my growing MOS list. The I became a battalion S-2 Scout-was attached out to companies (find the enemy, find and/or mark booby traps, did a kind of super point with a Kit Carson scout partner…set up listening devices…and night killer teams, long range LPs and a host of special missions) I never slept.

Anyway, I’d appreciate it if you’d steer me to other Marines who might have been there in early October-November 1969. What do you suggest? By the way I turned 21 in Vietnam with Echo.

Thank you,
Bill Rittenhouse

Contact Bill Rittenhouse with any further info

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The 2/4 Association is a tax exempt 501(c)(19) veterans organization (Tax EIN 31-1720488) formed to operate and administer members and former members of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, United States Marine Corps (The “Magnificent Bastards”). This includes all personnel having been attached or assigned to the Battalion during its inception in 1911. Others may join as discussed in the Association Bylaws.
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