My name is Mack Ferrick (former) Sgt. USMC, 1962-1966. I was an infantry squad leader with Company C, First Battalion Seventh Marines in Quang Ngai Province, Republic of Vietnam, on March 1966.Operation Indiana occurred on 28 March 1966 against an NVA (North Vietnamese Army) Battalion in Quang Ngai Province, Republic of South Vietnam. The battle was incredibly ferocious and the bloodiest endured by the First Battalion in its first year in country. Approximately 59 casualties were sustained, with 55 from C Company, better known as “Suicide Charley" ? of Guadalcanal fame. Half of the company was either killed or wounded that day.

Photos By: Eddy  Skipwith 1967

It all happened by pure luck. Two former Suicide Charley Marines finally meet up after over a year of conversations that came from them meeting on the SuicideCharley.Com website. The two Marines, Dean Smith and Patrick Huwiler (Active Duty) finally were able to shake hands and take pictures upon the arrival of the 31st Meu in Brisbane Australia early September, 09. Dean showed his gratitude to the Marines by inviting SSgt Huwiler to an exclusive dinner aboard the USS Essex. The invite was a special invitation from the state dept for a special reception aboard the USS Essex, as guests of Rear Admiral Richard Landolt, amphibous force U.S. Seventh Fleet. Later that week Dean celebrated his 62nd birthday and the Marines made a special trip from the ship to attend as guests  in Deans' home for an awesome barbeque. After the barbeque was finished, the Marines Shook hands andsaid their good byes and got onto a bus and headed back to ship. The ship pulled out of port the next morning and headed back to Okinawa, Japan. All in all it was a great time seeing Marines from two different parts of the world unite.

Please take some time and look at the pictures below:

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif.  —A young Combat Center couple, separated by deployment, received a welcomed gift April 23 at the Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital one day after the birth of their second child.

Sgt. John Henry, a squad leader with Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, and his wife Kimberly were reunited through a teleconference provided by the Freedom Calls Foundation, a non-profit organization that connects deployed service members to their loved ones back home.

“I was really surprised because I’ve never heard of this program before,” Kimberly said. “When I found out he organized this, I got really emotional because I knew he was thinking about the baby.”

Corporal Christian Barthelette
SuicideCharley 7/94 to 9/97
0331 Machine Gunner Weapons Platoon

I arrived in 29Palms after an abbreviated tour in Bangor, WA as an 8152 (security forces). I believe 1/7 had just returned from Okinawa and was on leave when I arrived. Just like any new guy, it took a little while to get adjusted, but I was accepted into the family like I had been there for 10 years.