M110 Gets Dirty at Camp Lejeune

M110 Gets Dirty at Camp Lejeune
Submitted by SSGT Keith Bowers
February 1988

We [5/10 2d Mar Div] had just come ashore from a "Mike Boat" on Onslow Beach at Camp Lejeune, NC. Just down the tank trail a piece was this hole that never dried up and regularly claimed trophies. Anyone in his right mind knew to steer around this pit. Many, if not most gun drivers enjoy swimming with their guns trying to displace as much mud and water as possible when the opportunity arises.

However, we had just come back from a short deployment to Veages, Puerto Rico. All the guns were clean. No, inspection ready; immaculate, when we left Rosy Roads. Puerto Rico had a small snail or some kind of bug that the Dept. of Agriculture wanted to stay there and all vehicles had to be spotless to leave the island.

For some reason this [driver] decided to go through this bottomless pit. Even better, the driver and chief had failed to replace the inspection plates before leaving the ship. The hull filled to the brim with sludge. (At that time 5/10 was the largest firing battalion in the free world "N" 5/10 (M109A3), "O" 5/10 (M109A3), "P" 5/10 (M109A3), "Q" 5/10 (M110), "R" 5/10 (M110), "S" 5/10 (M110), "S" 5/11 (M110)).