Joe Sheehan:
CLASS OF 1971
Tenney High SchoolClass of 1971
Methuen, MA
Joe's Story
Some time in April I took a battery of tests giving by the marines to see where I would fit in as a marine if and when I finish boot camp. The recruiter was very honest about alot of key questions except the amount of years I could enlist for. He told me I had to enlist for four years and had to leave soon. When he said soon I had to inform him that I was still in high school. That's when he said we will wait until after the tests come back. Some time in June the recruiter called and said the results for the tests came back and you did really well, He stated that I had my pick as to what I wanted to do if I qualify so I selected heavy equipment operator, driving back hoes and bull dozer, and he said I could leave in late October. Some how I received a call from the recruiter that I had to leave in early July for boot camp. I hated to leave for South Carolina this early in the summer because of high heat and humidity. I left Boston on a Friday and arrived at Parris Island around 3 am, the drill instructors met us at the white building and started screaming for us to get off the bus and form up by the yellow foot prints on the road. I knew I was in trouble right away when I started laughing and they were right in my face, It seems what ever they said I started to laugh and they, for some reason did not like it. I thought they went too some comedy school, Finally I finished boot camp and they weren't as funny any more. I learned alot from boot camp and infantry training, the the best was to come after I finished one of the schools they sent me for. I was to trained to become an MP which I hated. I tried for force recon at Camp Lejeune which I passed. The training was extremely tough. After some ti...Expand for more
me they sent me to Quam, Viet Nam, California. In October of 1974 my father became blind for an accident he received, an requested me to come home from Quam, so my commanding officer granted me thirty days leave to come home to help my mother with this ordeal. After a week home I contacted my commanding officer if he could help me to get stationed closer to home. It took him about two weeks with three places close to Methuen, one was Portsmouth Shipyard in Virgina, the other two were to far west. Late one night I received a phone call from my first sergeant about an opening for a staff sergeant at Portmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire. I requested all the information before I contacted them. I sent my request for the vacancy for training instructor at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard which I was granted. Meeting with Major Mallard, the commanding officer he explained to me what he wanted to change so all the guards would have all the basic training and enough time off. It took some time to come up with a solution, but I remembered how we did it in Quam. Three platoons with fifty marines each. One group on guard duty or ceremony duty, one at training the third group off. Time went buy so fast because I was so busy I thought I would see why my re-enlistment papers never arrived. I was selected by my CO to go to Officers Candidate School at Quanogo, Virginia. but I first had to re-enlist for six years. While stationed at Portsmouth I met a wonderful person whom I married and had three children, which none of them have any of my traits which is good for them. Right now all have graduated from colleges, and now all three are going to get married or already married. So far life as I thought it to be is good.
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