James J. McQuaid: Born in 1940 and raised in Massachusetts, he did his stint at Parris Island, ITR at Camp Geiger and was assigned by September '59 to the 6th Marines at Camp Lejeune where he came to serve with G-2-6 during Solant Amity I and beyond.
Leaving the Corps in '63, he served with a Massachusett's municipal Fire Department beginning in March '64 and retired therefrom on 17July05: one very long and rewarding career.
We learned that he has been married for most of that time, has four children and is making the most of his retirement. Beyond that Jim has chosen to maintain his privacy and those, such as myself, having only the fondest memories of Jim, wish him well in his retirement pursuits.
Should you, as a former member of G-2-6 only, have an interest in contacting him, please send any inquiries to this site's webmaster , who will forward your request to him.

Roland Craig Peyton: Born in 1940 in Washington, DC where I was, at the age of one and in anticipation of the eventual DC crime wave, hurriedly moved to Saint Petersburg, Florida where I was raised and joined the Marine Corps in August of 1958. This was a no-brainer, written-in-the-stars moment as my father was a Marine in the Spanish American War. "How might that have been," you ask. Well, my father was 63 and my mother was 23 (yes, 23) when I was born! This explains why I'm still around and feel like 50. Unfortunately, my mom died when I was eight and dad died, at 81, when I was in boot camp at Parris Island.
After Parris Island, Platoon 330, I finished ITR at Camp Geiger and was assigned to G-2-6 in the fall of that same year and...after extending my enlistment to take part in the Solant Amity episode...remained with it until transferred to Quantico in 1962 to keep track of the Officer's Club alcohol supply.
Leaving the Corps, I returned to the west coast of Florida and began the long process of developing skills used in the commercial lighting end of the Electrical Construction industry.
Married in 1979, my wife and I have two daughters and four grand-children, all of whom are going to get a big kick out of learning what their grandfather did back in the last century. We just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary - Boy what a ride.
In 1987 we had the opportunity to move to Richmond, Virginia and start our own business, Illumination Concepts and Sales. My wife, Linda, and I sold the business in 2003 and I have been retired since. She, however being much younger than I (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree) decided to continue her education and became an RN. To this day I am still a "kept man".
The three and one-half years in the Corps were some of the best years I ever had. To explain, I enlisted for three years and extended 6 months for the Solant Amity cruise. A decision I never regretted. Especially, since I became an international hero when participating in the capture of "Terrorist-Hijacker-Pirate" Henrique Galveo on the Santa Maria. Those of you who were with me on the Gearing will fondly remember that auspicious occasion.
Another event which comes to mind as I'm writing this occurred when I was part of the rescue team that went up the Congo river to help evacuate some badly shot-up soldiers from the jungle. They had been ambushed. Time has faded the details; but we were on some sort of ship (a flat-bottomed affair) that carefully wound its way into a narrow waterway, with land close-by to both port-and-starboard, lowered a gangplank to the shore and and watched as wounded troops slid from the tree-line, formed a column and walk aboard. Whether they were French mercenaries or part of the UN forces I cannot recollect. BUT, I do recall just how emaciated and badly injured many of them were from apparent dysentery or worse, and burns, as well as open and infected puncture wounds of various sorts. Then, too, I remember that were carrying lots and lots of money in their overflowing knapsacks, as well as their blouse and trouser pockets.
One can only assume that it was not pre-WWII German Reichsmarks they'd found along some stretch of Congo road nor was it likely that they had received it from their unit payroll officer...at least, not voluntarily.
Lastly, I REALLY liked being in the Corps. INDEED, had it not been for an unfortunate run-in with a Board of Summary Court-martial for a brief AWOL stunt, I'm sure I would have stayed in. However, knowing that the court martial "stigma" would never leave my file, I opted to return to civilian life. Which, in retrospect, may have saved my life and family tree as, in staying in, I likely would have found myself in Nam and unfortunate enough to not return. So instead of reading this wonderful little biography, you would be reading an obituary account.
So many years, so much wine and so many "good" women. Wow! Was...and is...it not great to be Marine?
Reach out and drop me a line at rcraigpeyton@msn.com, I'd love to hear from you.
"SEMPER FI" -- Craig or Roland or just RC - whatever fits.

Meredith T. Phillips: Born 1941 and raised in the area of Knoxville, Tennessee I joined the Marine Corps on April 15, 1959. Graduating with Parris Island Platoon 59-121, I and what must have been at least another 500 "new" Marines that month proceeded to Camp Geiger's Infantry Training Regiment for a month before being assigned to the 2nd Marine Division's 6th Regiment. There I was to become part of "G" Company of the 2nd Battalion, where I would remain until 1962 when reassigned to Shore Party and the Combat Engineering unit, with a new functioning MOS of 1380. Almost unbelievably, after so long a stint as an infantryman, I found that in the few months remaining of my four year enlistment, I was to return not once but three more times to a place we all new so very well, Vieques. It seemed as though I just couldn't stay away from the heat, rolling hills, kunai grass and periodic spraying of DDT. Then, shortly before my long anticipated exit date, I tore up my knee and found my tour extended until the knee was functional enough for me to move back into civilian life in May of 1963.
Well, then life began anew and I returned to Tennessee for about six months before proceeding west to Kal-i-for-nia, where I remain to this date. Though I have moved around a few times. I was first in Venice, CA where I worked as an heavy equipment operator for Yates & Wright Construction. Three years later, I began working for an electronics systems manufacturer where I rose to foreman and, perhaps more importantly, met my "to be and still" wife Emily, whom I married on April 20th of 1967. In November of '67, I once again changed working horses. This time I was to work in a machine shop [Stevelyn Machines] where I would develop the lathe operation to machinist, quality control and management skills that would carrying me forward for the rest of my working career. In 1991, Stevelyn's folded and I found work in still another machine shop, which I remained with until 2000 when I fell on the operations floor and badly injured my spine. Originally on disability and going bunkers at home, I eventually opted to take on a new and less physically demanding job with the school district.
Over the years, I've raised and loved three sons: Nat and John, Emily's by nature and a previous marriage and mine by nurture, and then Lance of our own union. They, in turn have furnished Emily and I with six grand-children [ three gals and guys] and two OUTSTANDING grand-daughters. Life IS good.
Those four years back in the last century had an enormous impact on my life. Some may not grasp what those years of up close and personal exposure to the cultures and communities of other nations in the Caribbean, Africa, South America and Europe had on our perspectives of the world and the many advantages we as Americans really have...but I do. Some may not recognize what those years of discipline, concern for a mission and loyalty to something bigger than ourselves...but I do. Some may not have found themselves, thinking 'bout those days and fellow Marines of yore while shaving before mirror...but I do.
And, Solant Amity? Hey, I remember having a priest wake me up in a Recife church on Christmas day, 1960...and not knowing how I'd gotten there, only to give the priest a donation and leave the church for still more revelry. I remember encountering and coming to near blows with the lunatic fringe of the pro-Castro movement while trying to party in Tenerife, in the Canary Island. And how about being observed and assisted by a Spanish police officer in the "Only God knows where" outskirts of Cadiz, Spain who, on his motor-scooter, drove me to the Pay-Pay Club and "civilization?" And Cape Town, South Africa!!!! Is anyone EVER going to forget that place? I still remember running through the surf of the Indian ocean, with rolled up trouser legs, half-assedly wondering whether it would feel any different from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean...a mile and a half away. In short what was there NOT to like?
I'm so glad to find myself back in the fold with which I was so comfortable a half-century ago.
Please, send your email to winterbane@mail.com or call me at 1-(805) 494-9034. And, lastly, SEMPER FI.

Paul R. Saphore : Born 1935 and raised in Pennsylvania along with thirteen brothers and two sisters, I entered the Marine Corps out of Harrisburg, PA in June of 1958 and was first assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines. I was next sent to "H" Company of the 6th Marines. Then, just prior to Solant Amity, I once again transferred to "G" Company for the next 15 months or so. After which, with not much time remaining on my enlistment, I was lastly assigned to Camp Lejeune's Headquarters Unit as part of the base's military police force.
Leaving the Corps, I returned to Pennsylvania and, after a time, to the outfit I'd worked for before entering the service...Willcox Forge in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I remained with Willcox, eventually retiring in 1991 at 56 years of age and after 35 years with the company.
Though coming close over those many years, I've never married. Which may alone account in some small measure to my longevity. (:-))))
Since then I've done pretty damn much as I please. On the day Ed Shea called, for example, I was cutting up some old trees just before coming in for lunch.
A lot of years have past, for all of us, since those several months of SoLant Amity and, for most of us, those four years of being active duty Marines of the last century. I could not have been more surprised to learn of the efforts to contact we "chosen few" that spent those months together aboard the Graham County.
I've no email address but can be reached by regular mail at 1329 Church Street, Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013.
A big "Semper fi" to you all.

Frank Schmidtt: born 1941 and raised in Elmont, New York. My USMC active duty began on 3/11/59 with Platoon 216. Suffering from a weight problem, I was immediately sent to the "Islands" famed Motivation Platoon [ Which, should you not recall, was also know as the Fat Man's Platoon ] for an insufferable 30 days. I was then reassigned to Platoon 221 on 4/11/59 and graduated Parris Island around the end of the first week of July 1959. Like all east coast Marines of the time, I was thereafter sent to the Corps' Infantry Training Regiment [ ITR ] at Camp Geiger, North Carolina followed by an "around-the-corner"reassignment to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force [ FMF ], Camp LeJeune, North Carolina where something called "controlled input" was just being inaugurated.
Spending the first half of the 30 months required controlled input with "E" Company, I joined "G" Company for the Solant Amity Cruise and the remainder of my stint with the infantry. In 1962, I left the frying pan that was the grunts only to leap into the fire that was the 2nd Recon Battalion. After six months in that lash-up, I was AGAIN transferred. This time to Quantico, Virginia and "B" Company of the Schools Demonstration Troops [SDT ], functioning as part of the resistance forces used in the training of officer candidates. I remained there until being discharged in March of 1963.

Returning to New York, I worked for an auto dealership until April of 1964, when I started my 32 year-long career with the Long Island Rail Road from which I retired in June of 1996.
In 1965, I married and lived in Woodside, Queens, within one of the five boroughs that make up New York City. We bought our first house in North Babylon, New York on Long Island and moved into our second and present home in Shirley, New York...also on Long Island...in 1972. We have two children, our first, Frank, was born on 11/5/66 and three years later on 2/11/69 our daughter Kathleen was born. Neither has made the big step to the altar. In the past, we have enjoyed boating and camping, with both a motor home and trailer. And we continue to regularly travel to Clearwater, Florida, as my mother lives there.
Hearing from Ed Shea and Trevor Davies has brought back some VERY old and good memories that make me feel like a young kid again. I look forward to hearing from you OLD salts. My e-mail address is Schmidt41f@aol.com. Semper Fi

"Most importantly, it gave me something that very few 'jobs' ever offer, the opportunity to extend my adolescence while pretending to be an adult.
"Functioning in my own behalf, attorney pro-se, I was divorced in 1982 and awarded custody of my three sons, the house and all related indebtedness.
"I retired from the Fire Department in 1987.
"So, between the four years in USMC and 23 years in FDNY, first the nations of the world and then the residents of New York City had 27 busy years to kill me. Both failed.
"Subsequently, I taught Chemistry of Hazardous Materials for the National Fire Academy both at its Emmitsburg, Maryland campus and around the country and wrote a published text on Hazardous Materials Operations Site Practices.
"And now? Well, having sold the house I 'won' in that divorce, I bought a place in Florida back in July 2002. More recently, I purchased a 37 foot Pacific Seacraft sailboat and look forward to more than a bit of traveling. My email address is: edshea@sageauthoring.com"

Editor's Note: Some may not remember that it was Ron who provided the shipboard entertainment and news aboard the USS Graham County during the Solant Amity cruise. After leaving the Corps, as you'll read in the following obituary provided by WBAL, he went on to become Baltimore radio's "Voice of Reason." He died December 19, 2011. He WILL be missed.
From the website of Baltimore's radio station WBAL:

Ron Smith 1941-2011

Ron Smith, WBAL’s show host who became known to generations of listeners as “The Voice of Reason” died Monday night from cancer.
He had turned 70 on December 2.
He died at his home in Shrewsbury, surrounded by his wife June and the rest of his family.
Funeral services will be private. A public memorial service will be scheduled at a later date.
Ron shared his final days with his listeners telling them “don’t mourn me."
Ron announced to his listeners on October 17 that he had been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
He underwent treatment at Johns Hopkins' Kimmel Cancer Center, but on November 17 told listeners that he would halt his chemotherapy treatments after consulting with his doctor and his wife, June.
On November 28, Ron announced he was retiring from his on air duties because of his declining health, and that he had begun home hospice care.
Ron also wrote a weekly column for the Baltimore Sun.
In his final column last month, Smith wrote, “What is a mere individual to do? Live as sane and decent a life as you can, love your family and friends and understand that everybody is in this together. My work here is done.”
In the final days of his life, Ron received many phone calls, letters and emails from colleagues and fans.
Coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens called Ron on his birthday and called their 30-minute phone conversation with Ron, "one of the most encouraging and motivational conversations I've ever had with anyone in my life."
Harbaugh gave Ron the game ball after the Ravens beat the Cleveland Browns Sunday, December 4.
Ron first came to Baltimore in 1973 as a reporter and anchor for WBAL-TV's "Action News."
When station management decided to "part ways" with Ron in 1980, Ron became a stockbroker.
In 1984, Ron was hired to host a talk show for WBAL Radio, where he stayed on the air until November.
Although Ron's politics leaned to the right, Ron called himself a Libertarian and was critical of both Democrats and Republicans.

Ron Smith's Official Biography

Ron Smith was born December 2, 1941 and raised in Troy, New York.
An autodidact, he interrupted his studies and joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1959.
In 1962, he left the luscious pine barrens of Camp Lejeune for the pleasures of providing security at New London, Connecticut's Naval Base until discharged.
Returning to the world, Ron tried to figure out how he could make a living without actually working. In pursuit of that goal, he enrolled in Northeast Broadcasting School in Boston with an eye toward some kind of announcing career. Within weeks, a job was found at WHAV in Haverhill, Mass. The rest is history, as they say.
That is, a succession of jobs in radio and television which took him to Albany, New York for a time, then on to Baltimore in 1973. Ron was a TV anchor and reporter for WBAL-TV until 1980, when new management decided to make a change in his department by getting rid of him.
They parted by “mutual consent,” which is when your bosses decided you’ve got to go and you agree there’s nothing much you can do about it. He became a stockbroker for five years, which was interesting enough, but not precisely his “piece of cake”. (Remember the part above about “without actually working?”)
August 5th, 1984, he began hosting a talk show on WBAL Radio (AM 1090).
Often at odds with the Baltimore Sun, Ron was surprised when the paper asked him to join The Sun as a columnist. Beginning August 2008, Ron penned a weekly column which appeared on Fridays.
He and his wife June, affectionately known as “Mrs. Reason” – he was, after all, The Voice of Reason, lived in a once sleepy, now a bustling Baltimore bedroom community just across the Maryland state line in Pennsylvania.
They busied themselves with work and travel, having had the pleasure of many cruises and other overseas trip, and the company of their blended family of five children and seven grandchildren.
Ron was an avid golfer and spent lots of time chasing the little white ball and striving to put it in that tiny little hole in the ground.
About talk radio, Ron said, “Whatever you talk about, someone out there knows more than you do.” But he was never at a loss for words, claiming that he “swallowed a lexicon as a child and had been spitting it out, word by word, ever since.”

May his soul rest in peace....

Joseph J. Teklits: Born 1940 in Manhattan [Da' Big Apple], New York City, New York I began USMC service on 8/25/58 with Parris Island's Platoon 295, in South Carolina.
Thereafter, I was assigned to the Infantry Training Regiment [ITR], Camp Geiger, North Carolina followed by an immediate assignment to the FMF's "H" Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines for a year. Then, in August of 59, I began a 30 month stint with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. My first half of that 30 months of controlled input was spent with "F" Company, afterwhich I joined "G" Company for the Solant Amity Cruise and the remainder of my stint with the 6th Marines. But...I wasn't through with the infantry yet; nor it with me.
I was transferred to the 2nd of the 8th Marines again, this time to fill out the Battalion's need for a full compliment of cannon fodder for a six month "bruisen" in the Mediterranean; which was a far cry from our mostly R&R efforts together on Solant Amity I. Finally, I left LeJeune for a two month "walk-in-the-park" gig in Quantico, Virginia until discharged on 24Aug62.
Returning to the world, I tried my hand at a number of things until joining New York City's Transit Authority in 1973, from which I retired as a Motorman in 1995.
My wife Marge and I, in search of a new life style, then made the big leap from that of "citi-fied New Yawkers" to being "just plain mountain folk."
For sure, a lot of years have passed since I last and up-close saw the faces now arrayed on the Solant Amity website. Many had never really been lost to me but sat in the corners of my mind and would from time to time appear in my recollections of those really fine times and experiences of the Solant Cruise: the best six months I spent in the Corps. A time for wine, women and, if not careful beyond our years at the time, an occasional bout with NSU from "the strain of it all."
Drop me a line; my email address is: jjtek@q.net And a very BIG Semper Fi to you all.

John C. Thomson : the former 3rd Platoon Commander after leaving the Marine Corps in 1962 lived in Gulfport, Mississippi and died of cancer sometime between 1987 and 1992. More particlulars about both his life and his passing are being sought. Should you have any such information, PLEASE contact the website's webmaster .

Charlie Wilson

Charlie Wilson (2nd Platoon), Ken Kollai and Ed Shea of the 3rd Platoon raised their glasses in celebration of the Corp's birthday on 10 November 2005 during a luncheon together in Naples, Florida. None had seen the others since 1962! The luncheon and time since has gone by all too fast.
The biographies of Kollai & Shea can be found above. Charlie's is on the 2nd Platoon's page.

Don Carter

SPACE AWAITS YOUR ENTRY

Donald Carter, Trevor Davies and Ed Shea of the 3rd Herd met in Plymouth, MA on 28 June 2011.

Once again, I remained overwhelmed with just how easy it was to capture the camaraderie of yesteryear. Everyone, including the wives, had something to say about how "strange" it seemed that men having not seen oneanother for 50 years could so quickly sound like they had been "bowling" only yesterday.