The following biographies, recent photos and contact information belong to the the members of 3rd Platoon "G" Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division's Fleet Marine Force at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina taking part in the U.S. Navy's Solant Amity I Cruise to South America and Africa, from November 1960 through April of 1961. This page contains biographies of members with last names beginning with G-Z. Others are found at A-F.

Peter A. Greco : Born in 1938, I was raised and joined the Corps in Utica, New York.
Sworn in on 3/2/58, I graduated with Parris Island Platoon 127-58 and, after ITR at Camp Geiger, was assigned, first, to 2nd Marine infantry. With the implementation of controlled input I found myself thereafter being sent to G-2-6, where I remained until leaving the Corps on 3/1/62 as an E-4. So, except for boot camp and ITR, my four year active duty stint was all infantry.
It didn't take long to get back into the swing of things In New York. I found myself in the construction industry.
Before too long I was a heavy equipment [ mostly bulldozer and backhoe] operator with the Operating Engineers and continued to do so until retiring in 1995.
In 1968, I married Marie and we had two children, both of whom are well. One day, perhaps, there will be grandchildren. Marie passed away in 2002.
I spend most of my time in Florida where I commonly fish five days out of every week and then spend a few months each year in the Utica area, where I might find myself hunting as far north as Canada.
Someone has to except the challenges in life, right?
It has been a lot of years since we last saw one another and I couldn't have been more surprised or pleased when hearing "blast from the past" Trevor Davies on the phone. To get a clearer idea of what I've re-associated myself with, Trevor told me to check out the Solant Amity website. And, I will when next I visit my local library.
I gave up my computer a few years back, thus I've no email address. So, if you've a mind to, give me a call at [ Cell Phone] (315) 272-9928 or drop me a line at 1050 Plymouth Rock Drive, Naples, FL 34110.
I'll be back at the Florida hacienda within a few days, but for now: Semper fi from Utica.

John Hynes: DECEASED Efforts to find John produced the following results. Upon leaving the Corps, John joined the New York City Police Department on October 14th, 1963. He was assigned to the 23rd Precinct and had on a number of occasions spoken with George Bitsoli, while on duty in the vicinity of where George had worked.

John had a Midtown beat near the mid-town-eastside Kips Bay Theater I worked at on East 38th Street near 2nd Avenue.

Often, especially on cold nights, he would come in and have coffee to warm up while taking his allotted break. When I was busy he would wait in the house auditorium or lobby. I enjoyed chatting with him, especially if the nights were slow and business was doing poorly. I really enjoyed having his GUN around. !!!
But, in addition to the secure atmosphere he provided, I enjoyed the conversation about the "old days" in the Barracks and our banter there.

My recollection of John was that he was always a true Buddy, always friendly and helpful. Our times shared in the Corps and later were enjoyable.

Luckily, when I transferred to Brick Town New Jersey to manage a theater there, across the road was a State Troopers barracks. Again I felt reassured, and attempting to replace the feeling of added security of John's presence, I always made sure the Troopers had plenty of passes.

Sometime afterwards, I heard that John had perished in an auto accident on the Tri-Borough Bridge. I don't think he was working or in a pursuit. Rather, I was lead to believe he was off duty and riding with a few other folks when the accident occurred.

NYPD records indicate that John died while off duty, on May 21, 1972.

On 19Apr06, George Bitsoli received a phone call from John's son. Subsequent email communications furnished the following additional information about the 3rd Platoon's John Hynes.
He is survived by two sons: 1) John (Jr.), a 38 year old detective with the Pelham Police Department who, with his wife of ten years and two daughters, lives in Pelham, New York; 2) another son, now 36, living in Pennsylvania near Penn State; and 3) his former wife, now remarried.
"I have red hair like my dad and was but 4 years old when dad died in an auto accident when coming home from work in 1972.
"I will look for pictures of my father so I can send them to you.
"I would like to hear any stories from his former Marine buddies. Please send them to detppd@aol.com .
"I'm really glad that I found your website."

[Editor's note: As of now, those closest to John Sr. have not been found. If you are one of them, PLEASE reach out to John's son AND drop me a note as I'd like to add you name to our contact list.
In the meantime: Semper fi to all and may the soul of John Hynes "Rest in peace."


Kenneth R. Kollai: born in 1940 and raised in Parma, Ohio. My USMC active duty began 5 April 1959 with Platoon 320, Parris Island, South Carolina. Thereafter, I was assigned to the Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Geiger, North Carolina for a month and then proceeded to my first infantry assignment with "F" Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division's Fleet Marine Force [FMF ] at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.
About 15 months later, I was reassigned to "G" Company, 2nd battalion, 6th Marines for the Solant Amity I Cruise and remained with that unit — getting married in November of 1961 — until finishing my required 30 month controlled input stint with the infantry around March of 1962. Thereafter, I was then reassigned to the 8th Communication Battalion and finished up my four years of active duty, being Honorably Discharged as a Lance Corporal, in April 1963.
Returning to my home town in Ohio, I soon went to work for Alcoa in the company's Millwright Apprenticeship Program and, after four years, obtained my Journeyman's card and remained with Alcoa until 1974, when I moved to Fort Myers, Florida.

There, I immediately took a job at John Deere construction equipment dealership as a field service technician and functioned in that capacity for the next 20 years. Over the many years since, I progressed first to shop foreman and, for the past few years, I have been the service manager for the dealership's facility.
My wife, Charlotte, and I have remained married for these past 40 years. We have 2 sons named Dale and Jim, as well as 3 wonderful grandchildren: Jennifer 15, Kyle 10, Donald 6 years of age.
 Seeing this site and all the names from our outfit brings back a lot of memories that I would not trade for anything in the world. It fact, in seems that with each passing year the images seem to grow clearer and clearer. Why is it, do you suppose, that happens??
Semper Fi.
My email address is krk271@att.net

Robert A. Lane: Now DECEASED was born 7/4/40 and entered the Marine Corps in 1959. Volunteering for the Solant Amity Cruise in 1960, Bob left the Corps in 1963.
Subsequently, he was married and had three children. Two of those children are still alive. One lives in Maine, the other in Utah.
He had, over the many years since we last saw him, engaged in a number of businesses while living in Maine. He was toward the end of his life working in the computer service related industry.
He had had open heart surgery as early as 1981 but, ultimately, succumbed to a heart attack on June 30th, 2001 in South Portland, Maine.
May his soul "Rest in peace."

John R. Lemongelli: born 1938 and raised in Islam, New Jersey, I entered the Marine Corps in September of 1958 and was assigned to "F" Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines in December of that same year.
Sometime in October of 1961, I volunteered for and was reassigned to "G" Company 2/6 just prior to the unit proceeding on the Solant Amity I cruise.
After existing the Corps, I worked at various things for a few years, until I began work for Rutgers University in New Jersey.
My wife, Helen, and I have been married for nearly forty years. We have four children and nine grand-children…all of whom I'm very proud.
Retiring in 2000, after 33 years with Rutgers, I'm enjoying the opportunity to benefit from those many years of labor.
To say the least, learning of the efforts to find me and others with whom we spent so much "Old Corps" time was a surprise. It was great to learn of their well-being and I look forward to an opportunity for us all to come together in the near future.
My email address is DopeyLemon@aol.com. For those of you having no computer of your own, I can be reached by snail mail at 305 Briarwood Court, Bath, PA 18014-8246.


James J. McCarthy : born 1941 and raised in Philadelphia, PA, I joined the Corps on 17Apr59 and, after finishing boot camp with Platoon 121- 59 at Parris Island, was assigned to "G" Company, 2nd Battalion of the 6th Marines for the duration of my time at Camp Lejeune.
With but a year of required active duty time remaining in 1962, I grabbed a few extra months enlistment in order to find an assignment out of the North Carolina area. The typically obliging Marine Corps then sent me to 1st Recon on Okinawa. By March of 1963, however, there was an ongoing "early release" program afoot and the Corps gave me my walking papers around the same time I might have received them had I not requested an extension.
Cast into the world of the working classes, I was within a year married and driving for the Schmidt's Brewery, followed by a stint with Quaker City and finally the Miller Corporation.
My wife, Ann, and I have three really wonderful children: Kevin, Steven and Kelly Ann. And, since I'm announcing some of the brighter highlights in my life, after 41 years in harness I retired on 2Dec05. Both achievements rate a high volumed "OooRAH!"
It was my daughter that first found the Solant Amity website and I'm so very pleased that she did, as the Solant Amity cruise provided an adventure filled with memories that have lasted a lifetime. I'm so glad that I was part of it and was able to share the time, experiences and the company of so many good men.
My email address is annie0620@comcast.net . Semper fi to you all.

Richard S. McGibbeny: born 1942 in Pittsburgh. At age 7, with my mother and sister, I moved to Indiana and at 15 moved again to my father's place in Florida, from whence I joined the Corps on 4/19/59. The next three fine spring and summer months my mail went to Platoon 121, Parris Island, South Carolina and for a month thereafter to the Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Geiger in North Carolina. Then, following a short bus ride, I was assigned "just around the corner" to "G" Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, FMF, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.
Nearly the first half of the 30 months of Controlled Input I spent in "G" company was spent doing what the entire 2nd Battalion was required to do: three month stints in the Caribbean or six months in the Mediterranean protecting the mainland from marauding forces of the evil empire and, otherwise, just "hang out" in Viegues, PR practicing live fire operations and putting out brush fires started by same. Then came "G" Company's opportunity to make the Solant Amity I Cruise, solo to South America and Africa. And with that chance came my own to see a greater part of the world than most get to see; help capture a "pirate, terrorist-patriot" named Henrique Galvao off the cost of Recife, Brazil; get myself tattooed in Cape Town, South Africa under circumstances I still can't remember, and serve as part of a destroyer crew for six weeks aboard the US S. Gearing, DD-710.
All and all, it made for a great time.
After leaving the 6th Marines, I shipped over for two more years and spent my remaining service time with the 2nd Tank Battalion's Motor Transport unit. Using the shipping over to buy myself a body shop in Jacksonville in 1963, I continued to own and operate it even after leaving the Marine Corps in April of 1965. As life and good fortune would have it, six days after exiting USMC, my entire platoon was shipped to Vietnam. However, commensurate with the nation's ever greater buildup in Nam, Jacksonville became something of a ghost town. With its demise went virtually any chance of the business's continued success. So, I returned to one of those places of my "formative" years, Florida.
After spending most of the next 25 years there, in the dairy industry, I returned once more to North Carolina in 1989 and have been here ever since. More recently, I've been working for Frito Lay, so every time you buy a bag of potato chips, remember your helping this old jarhead's profit sharing plan.
Married for the second time, 21 years ago this coming August, my wife Diana and I have six children. I've two sons and daughters while Diana has a son and daughter, all from previous marriages. Then there are the 16 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren as well as the one on the way.
I enjoy old cars and have some long range plans of restoring a 1979 Firebird Formula, "just sittin' on the property." Three years away from retirement, Diana and I plan to see something of the country in a 31 foot fifth wheel trailer and rig to match. We really looking forward to it all but, like most Americans today, we're trying to cope with the events of September 11th. A big Semper Fi to you all. My email address is: ddmacs@earthlink.net

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.


Photo is all we've got at this time.

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


Edward J. Shea was born 1941 and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He began a four year active duty USMC enlistment on 4/7/59 with Platoon 220, Parris Island, SC. Thereafter, he proceeded to Camp Geiger in J-ville, NC for infantry training and was then assigned to the 6th Marine Regiment at Camp Lejeune.
"Initially with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, I transferred to 'G' Company in November 1960 so I might take part in the Solant Amity I Cruise and stayed with it until reassigned to another Lejeune outfit: Able Company of the 2nd Antitank [Ontos] Battalion. I finally made L/Cpl, had my MOS changed to office poge [ that was "clerk," for those of you having a senior moment ] and received training in the only real world transferable skill the Corps provided me with in nearly three years: typing. Thirty days of 'A,S,D,F,G....'
"Later and finally, ignoring the shipping-over efforts, I left for inactive reserve duty on 4/6/63 and awaited the results of tests taken for both the police and fire departments of New York City. I wore nothing green for at least two years...not even on St. Patty's Day. Talk about post-traumatic-syndrome.
"Married five months before 'getting out,' I worked first as a sales-trainee at Johns-Mansville Corporation in Manhattan, entered Pace College in September and had my first son, Brian Timothy, by 12/22/63. I was subsequently fortunate enough to have two more sons, Kevin Michael and Sean O. [ He and I both keep the name behind the "O" a secret ] by 1969.
"With January 16th, 1965 began the most exciting period of my life...a Fire Department of New York career that would assist me in supporting a family, the opportunity to obtain two college degrees, to function as a firefighter, arson/homicide investigator [Fire Marshal ] and Lieutenant during the most strife torn period of NYC, indeed the entire nation's crime and fire related history.

"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"

Ronald C. Smith, born 12/02/41 and raised in Troy, New York. My USMC active duty began 4/11/59 with Platoon 221 on that wonder of wonders, Parris Island, South Carolina. Thereafter, I was assigned to Infantry Training Regiment [ITR], Camp Geiger, North Carolina followed by reassignment to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd MarDiv, FMF, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.
Spending the first half of 30 months controlled input with "E" Company, I joined "G" Company for the Solant Amity I Cruise and the remainder of my stint with the infantry. In 1962, I 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, I tried to figure out how I could make a living without actually working. In pursuit of that goal, I 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 me to Albany, New York for a time, then on to Baltimore in 1973. I was a TV anchor and reporter for WBAL-TV until 1980, when new management decided to make a change in my department by getting rid of me. We parted by "mutual consent," which is when your bosses decide you've got to go and you agree, because there's nothing much you can do about it. I then became a stockbroker for five years, which was interesting enough, but not precisely my piece of cake. (Remember the part above about "without actually working?") So, on August 5th, 1984, I began hosting a talk show on WBAL Radio (AM 1090). And happily, that stint continues to this day and—thanks to a new contract—until at least 2004.
In the nearly four decades since doffing Marine Corps duds, I've married three times and fathered four children that have, in turn, blessed me with seven grandkids.
My wife June ( she is my 3rd, and LAST spouse ) and I live in a once sleepy, now pretty bustling Baltimore bedroom community just across the state line in Pennsylvania. We busy ourselves with work and travel, having had the pleasure of many cruises and other overseas trips. I am an avid golfer (8 handicap) and spend lots of time chasing the little white ball and striving to put it in that tiny little hole in the ground.
With the exception of being confined to the USS Gearing for misbehavior in Brazil (kids will be kids), I fondly remember the SOLANT AMITY I adventure. It was a great pleasure to be among the first Fleet Marines to live aboard a destroyer since WW2. The swabbies on the Gearing were a terrific, delightfully nutty bunch.
I want to pass along a stanza from a poem entitled "Decades" written by my wife, June Ray Smith, who has acquired a reputation for being something of a local media poet laureate. It seems particularly pertinent at this stage of all our lives.
  Time flies and I with it,
the span of my life is measured
in minutes and memories. 		 
  With sudden motion, swift movement
I spread my wings as today
becomes tomorrow,
now becomes then.		  

My email address is: rsmith@wbal.com

Editor's Note: Ron's Baltimore [WBAL] radio station provides internet transmission of his afternoon program. You need only proceed to http://wbal.com/shows/smith/commentary/, then move your curser to the section on the left that says “Listen Now,” mouse-click and stand-by to hear Ron at his verbal best between 1500 to 1800, Monday through Friday.


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 .

To Return to Biographies for those with last names beginning with A-F:
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To return to our Home page, meet the 3rd Platoon , see Solant Amity Cruise or Santa Maria piracy incident related photographs. To see service and cruise related Anecdotes...both literal and photographic, a tribute to the Marines on board the Hermitage.
Maybe you would like to read the Comments of Marines and Sailors visiting the site or see our ever-expanding array of Links and Things.
Or, perhaps you would just like to see some recent photos of the Corps' Parris Island Training Center.