Cpl Villegas. Great guy, funny, smart. He got out of the Corps within a year of the war, married a beautiful woman, and settled down in Charlotte. I missed the ceremony by a matter of hours but did get to see the video (instant replay) at the after the reception get together.

In the background are 10K and 4K fork lifts and even a duece and a half (2.5 ton truck)

ASP #3 (Al Mishab) April or May 1991.

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After all the trucks were unloaded of their unserviceable ammo, line charges were laced across. Line charges were used to open up breaches in the Iraqi front lines. Launched like a rope tied to an arrow, these explosives laid out a snake of destruction. When ignited it took out any obstruction, soldier, or land mine around, opening a safe passage for tanks, trucks, and artillery.

Here the line charges were a simple and effective wick...

The vehicle in the background is one of the trucks from Germany. Great vehicles; too bad the instructions were all written in incomprehensible German...

ASP #3 (Al Mishab) April 1991.

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One of my favorite pictures, this polaroid shot is of several members of the night crew posing for one of my infamous "Kodak Moments." We are gathered around a Sea-Bee (naval engineer) built picnic table near a line of hootches (tents) at ASP #3 near Al Mishab, Saudi Arabia. Back row: Quinn, Cerqua, Artus, and Villegas. Front row: Colicioppo ("Oppo") and Gulnac. All corporals but Artus (a sergeant). These guys were the best, and funniest Jarheads I ever had the privilege of working with. Quinn was a take-no-prisoners laugh riot, who would do ANYTHING for a laugh--but also knew how to take care of his ammo. Cerqua, a second-generation Marine, had a dry wit and a sharp mind. Villegas could turn any day into a comedy session--or story hour--but he knew his ammo backwards and forwards. Oppo was the funniest man in country. A native New Yorker he had no problem turning every situation into its own private joke--brilliant guy. Gulnac, a little more reserved than the rest, but a great man--he could drive any fork any time, and picked up Ameslan like a first language.

May 1991, one of our last times together.

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Another shot of the ARAMCO party. They knew how to take care of a gaggle of hungry jarheads. Chips, cookies, hamburgers, hot dogs, candy, soda. They couldn't pass it out fast enough. As you can see there was a lack of "casual wear" among the Marines. You had a few desert uniforms, a lot of forest uniforms, and your PT (Physical Training) gear. Blue jeans and T-shirts? Not many.

I remember working up a major tan once I got to ASP#3. The war was over, and during the 12 hours off we got practically every day, there was letter writing, eating, and beach volleyball.

ASP #3 (Al Mishab) April 1991.

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Yeah--real beef! Not camel. Not dehydrated MRE "meat." Not even Spam (we had a pallet of it near the tool shed. I saw three cans disappear in three months).

The employees of ARAMCO stood in the hot desert and cooked over a hot barbeque to give us real hamburgers!

ASP #3 (Al Mishab) April 1991.

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