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decided to resign his commission he did not stay with our company when we left for Viet Nam.
First Lt. John Clancy would eventually replace Lt. Page as our Co. XO. Lt. Clancy was born and raised in the South—graduated from the Citadel and spoke with a deep Southern accent. John had played football at the Citadel and joined the Quantico football team after receiving his Commission. He had been a running back during the couple of years he was on the team before joining E Company. He had a calm demeanor and worked well with the younger officers in our Co.
Camp Pendleton was/is a hot dusty place with thousands of hills--most of which we marched, ran and climbed in the upcoming months. We were also located next to the beautiful beaches of California and the Pacific Ocean. We would train in the surf and along those beaches also in the upcoming months. This was my first experience on the West Coast. California living was completely different from where I had been raised in the hills of West Virginia. I was in awe of the people and the lifestyle which were completely different from those I had known on the East Coast.
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