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Daniel Hartsell
Oral History Project
U.S. Military History, MW 11-12:15
Interviewer: Daniel Hartsell
Date: March 8, 2010
Interviewee: Nick Bailey
DOB: 12/30/1977
Location: residence of both persons, 166 Carriage Lamp ct. Boone, NC
Interview for Oral History Project, assigned by Dr. Judkin Browning, History Dept.
Appalachian State University Boone, NC
Which branch of service were you involved with?
I was enlisted in the Marine Corps.
What was your rank?
When I ended my service I was a sergeant, or an E5.
What is E5?
My enlisted rank.
Where did you serve?
I served in a number of different countries. I lived in Japan for a little over a year. I
hit every continent but Antarctica. I went to Australia, Vernais, Philippines,
Thailand, Norway, Estonia; I made it to a couple different places in South America. It
was fun; I got to do a lot of traveling. I got to see just about everywhere in the world.
What types of duties did you have?
I was in the logistics field. So I did a lot of things with deployable units. When we
deployed I made sure we had all of our stuff and that it was loaded correctly. We put
it on either a plane, boat, or a ship. Everybody got on, everybody had food, and
everybody had vehicles when we landed. Pretty much the coordination of where we
stayed. I just did all the logistics. As I got more senior I got to do a lot more stuff in
coordinating. I flew into places before everybody got there in setting up all the
vehicles. I would set it up ahead of time and then the whole unit would come in.
You enlisted right after you got out of high school, right?
I graduated in May of 1996 and I was in the Marine Corps in August of 1996
Where were you living at the time?
I was living in Northern Virginia. Sterling, Virginia, right outside of Washington, D.C.,
about 20 minutes away.
You may not know the exact reason you enlisted, but what was one of the main
reasons?
I think that's easy. I wasn't ready to do anything else. I was not ready for college
yet. I was not ready to go find a real job. I needed some guidance and direction in
my life. My dad was a former Marine; he was in the Marines during Vietnam. I had
�Daniel Hartsell
Oral History Project
U.S. Military History, MW 11-12:15
some other relatives in the military too, my uncles were in the Army, my
grandfather and brother was in the Air Force. My whole family has been military. I
just chose the Marine Corps because I was always told it was the best. When you
want to do something like that, I think you want to be the best. It was an easy pick
for me.
Do you still think it is the best?
Definitely. There's no doubt in my mind.
Do you recall your first days in the service?
Definitely, I was this little naive 18-year-old kid. I had no idea. My dad was in
Vietnam and he didn't talk about the war, he didn't talk about the Marine Corps, he
didn't talk about what he did until after I went in. So 1 had no idea what I was
getting myself into. I remember getting off the bus and getting yelled at. They
shaved my head bald and took everything off my body that I had and gave me
everything new. I remember lying in bed the first couple nights thinking what is
going on, what did I do to myself. As the 13 weeks of boot camp went along, it just
got better and better. I still talk to people from my platoon from boot camp, even 15
years later. It's amazing seeing that bond that they build. They really build that
brotherhood and that team feeling that you want to support everyone else.
Where were you stationed for boot camp?
I was in Paris Island, SC, the best place to go in the Marine Corps. We don't like
those "Hollywood" Marines, just kidding, but that's the joke we make about
California Marines. The Marine Corps is one of those places where there's so much
tradition and honor that you cannot help but feel that respect and tradition every
time you put on that uniform and you're told to do something. It just builds up in
you and you never forget.
Estimate how many people made it to the end out of your enlistment class?
We started with 82 in my platoon. I only know of 2 that didn't make it. One kid got
hurt and the other quit early and he got dropped and moved. I don't know if he
finished. You didn't want to get hurt at boot camp. I hurt my shoulder climbing the
rope, and it still hurts me today. I never stopped; I never let them take me back to
another platoon. They let you heal, then you go into another platoon and you're at
Paris Island for four or five months and that's not something I was ready to do. You
just take that little bit of extra pain and go with it.
What sticks out the most about basic training to you?
Leaving basic training. I felt like a totally different person. It's amazing how they
break you down and then build you back up. It totally changes your perspective on
what you can accomplish and what you can do. It made you feel apart of something.
I think it was that whole atmosphere of graduating, seeing your parents for the first
time. We didn't get to make phone calls, so I didn't talk to anybody from August 19
�Daniel Hartsell
Oral History Project
U.S. Military History, MW 11-12:15
until I graduated November 11. So I didn't talk to anybody until that weekend of
graduation.
Do you remember any instructors, and if so what sticks out the most about them?
Senior Drill Instructor Sergeant Galloway, he was the man. He was young; he was
the youngest drill instructor. I went back to Paris Island. I was lucky enough to be
stationed there. So I went back after I finished up all my boot camp and got to finish
up all my school. When I went back, I talked to Staff Sergeant Galloway. There was
Sergeant Nash, Sergeant Williams and Sergeant Kottner. They all had different roles.
Senior Drill Instructor was supposed to be the good guy, but he's still the headman.
He's in charge and he's accountable. Sergeant Kottner was the one that was going to
put you through the most pain. He was there to pretty much yell at you. Sergeant
Nash did a lot of the education stuff with history and drill. He was not light at all
about yelling or killing you. Staff Sergeant Williams was just everywhere. He was
about 5-4'. Because he was so short, he'd hop up on the footlockers and he'd just
yell at you. He'd hop up and point at the bigger guys. He was kind of funny because
he was so short, but he didn't care. Sergeant Galloway had a spider web tattoo on
his left arm. It went from halfway up his forearm to halfway up his bicep, and it was
sweet. If I had to draw it today from memory I probably could. I don't think I'll ever
forget those guys.
So you were in the Marine Corps from 1996 to 2004. Obviously there weren't any big
declarations of war during that time. Do you remember any big military operations?
Obviously there was 9/11/01, were there any other events that stick out to you?
Two in a way. I did a joint service operation in Haiti in 1998. We went down and it
was all five branches. We were doing humanitarian operations for them. The
Haitians did not like us down there. We got combat pay even though we weren't
engaged in combat because we had to carry around loaded weapons at all times to
protect us from the Haitians that didn't want us down there. I'd go shopping with a
9mm on my chest and my M16 on my other arm. It was funny to have more
weapons on me when I was walking around Haiti while we were building a school
for them. The next thing would be 9/11. We were doing a training exercise at
Anderson Air Force Base in Florida. I remember the morning in the mess hall. We
did 24- hour alerts for about two months. We stayed there for about two months
doing different operations. Our squadron did different operations. That squadron is
no longer in the Marine Corps, so it's kind of cool to be in a disbanded unit. We did a
lot of traveling around with them. I went on a bunch of different operations, but
when it comes to ones that have merit, those stick out.
On a Scale of 1-10 how would you rate the food?
It could go anywhere from 1 to 10... One would be MREs for lunch, dinner, and
sometimes occasionally getting a hot breakfast that would consist of dry eggs and
old ham. When I lived in Estonia, I was there for six months and we lived on the
beach. We were doing beach operations kind of like how we would attack a beach
�Daniel Hartsell
Oral History Project
U.S. Military History, MW 11-12:15
and off load it. I was with a squadron that was doing that at the time and we had
maybe one hot meal a day and that sucks. The MREs that we had were old, they are
not like the ones they have today. It's different situations where we would have the
same thing over and over. When we were in Vernais we stayed at the Emperor's
Place Hotel for two weeks and we ate like kings. Some of the buffet meals we had
there, I don't think I'll ever beat anywhere in the world. I've had things that you
were lucky to heat up the certain meal you had in your MRE. Most of the MREs were
cold and you added your little Tabasco packet to everything just to give it a little
flavor.
How did you and other soldiers entertain yourselves?
Goodness. I guess that matters where you are. I guess the number one thing we did
was drinking whether that's smart or not. In Guam, when we were off, we were
drinking. In Japan when we were off, we were drinking. IN the US when we were off
we were drinking. I remember getting up in Guam to watch the Super Bowl at 6 in
the morning. We had about 20 Marines at my house in Guam. We were in these
little, old houses with cots, but being the logistics chief, I got two couches and a TV.
We split and stole the cable from a box out front. I had a couple sergeants in my
house that were good electricians that were living with me. Everybody ended up at
our house to watch the Super Bowl. It's like 6 in the morning and I remember the
CO walking in and we all pop up to attention with beer in our hands at 6am. He just
looks around and starts smiling and laughing because he had given us the day off to
watch the game. It was early in the morning and we started drinking as soon as we
got up. But we also got to see the world. When I was in Hawaii we went to Pearl
Harbor. When I was in Iowa Jima I got to go down into the caves that the Japanese
lived in. There's certain things in certain places that you get to go to. You get to see
the coolest stuff. We jumped off the bridge at Wake Island. Some of those things we
did to entertain ourselves was going to see stuff like golden temples and ruins in
Thailand that I'll never be able to see again.
What personal artifacts and photographs do you keep?
Probably my favorite artifact from the military is this old glass bottle I found on the
beach in Iwo Jima. I filled it halfway up with sand from "A" beach and the other half
with sand from "B" beach. That's what they called the beaches on either side of
Mount Suribachi. Finding that bottle is probably my favorite thing I have from the
military. I still have it in my room; I've given some sand to my father, some to my
grandfather. It's not as full as it was when I left, but I think that's one of the great
things about doing the things that I did. I don't need things to know what the things
that I see or do. Going to Iwo Jima was one of the coolest and most historic things
that I'll do. I got to go during the 55th anniversary ceremony. I got to see these
veterans walk with medals of honors around their necks. They would tell stories
about the exact place they were when their best friends died at Mount Suribachi.
They could point to that spot and they could tell you where they went up the
�Daniel Hartsell
Oral History Project
U.S. Military History, MW 11-12:15
mountain. It was a neat to hear them tell that story and see it while I was actually
on the island.
Why did you decide to reenlist in 2000?
That's a good question. I was in Japan when I reenlisted. I was living there and I
knew I wasn't ready to go to school yet. I promised myself when I went in during
1996 that I would use my GI bill to go to school. Four years passed and I still had no
idea what I was going to do with my life. I didn't know where I wanted to go, if I
could get into school, what I wanted to do. I thought the best thing for me was to
reenlist for four more years. I think it was the best decision I ever made because at
that point I hadn't done as much traveling. I had been to Europe a couple times. I
had been to Haiti and Japan, but I hadn't done as much. I was pretty much gone my
last four years. I got to see the world a lot more my last four years. It was cool
getting to where I was from when I came in. I had more control over my job and
what we did as I got older and was there longer. It was a lot of fun being the boss.
Do you recall the day your service ended?
Yeah. It was July 8, 2004. I remember pulling off base and they scraped the sticker
off the front of my car. It used to just be that sticker; they had gotten stricter after
9/11. I remember pulling up to that gate my last day and they scraped it off. That's
where it hit me that I was out and I was done. I remember signing my DU214 forms
and having those. I did my eight years. They couldn't even call me back. I did my
four years active and during my four years of inactive, I did active. I had already
done my 8 years that I had originally signed up for, so I was out. They couldn't even
draft me really.
So you knew you didn't want to be a "lifer"?
It's funny because I talked to the guys that I went in with and that I had been in with.
Some of them are still in and are more senior than I was. I remember them coming
in. One of the PFCs that worked for me is now a gunnery sergeant. It's a cool thing
talking to him. He's one of the few people that says how much he's learned from
working for me and how to do it a little differently. I wasn't as hard ass as most
Marines when it came to my Marines. My Marines always came first, and that's one
thing he liked to learn and still talks to me about.
Did you have any immediate plans or goals coming out of the service?
My immediate plan was to go home and live with my brother. My brother lived in
Boone, NC, so I decided to move to Boone with him. He wanted me to come live with
him to cut his rent down. I knew the school was right here, so I decided to see if I
could get in. I did; it took me a year after moving up here to get into ASU. It's been
the greatest thing. I'll graduate in May. I've really enjoyed my time here after
getting out...knowing what I know, having the experience that I've had, and being
able to enjoy it a little bit more I think knowing that I've earned everything that I've
got.
�Daniel Hartsell
Oral History Project
U.S. Military History, MW 11-12:15
something out of it. 1 got school and traveling the world but I also got to do
something for my country. It's not something everybody gets to say. Getting to tell
someone that you were a part of the military is the part that is the best.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Appalachian State University American Military History Course Veterans Oral History Project
Description
An account of the resource
Each semester, the students of the American Military History Course at Appalachian State University conduct interviews with military veterans and record their military experiences in order to create an archive of oral history interviews that are publicly accessible to researchers. The oral histories are permanently available in the Appalachian State University Special Collections. The project is supervised by Dr. Judkin Browning, Associate Professor of History at Appalachian State University and all interviews are transcribed by the student interviewers.
Copyright Notice:
Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project’s audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used (e.g. Veterans Oral History Project, University Archives and Records, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC).
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Bailey, Nicholas D.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview.
Hartsell, Daniel
Interview Date
3/8/10
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
0:29:57
File name
2013_063_Bailey_NicholasD_interview
2013_063_Bailey_NicholasD_transcript
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Nicholas D. Bailey, 8 March 2012
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hartsell, Daniel
Bailey, Nicholas D.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a title="UA.5018. American Military History Course Records" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/167" target="_blank">UA.5018. American Military History Course Records</a>
Rights
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Copyright for the Veterans Oral History Project's audio and transcripts is held by Appalachian State University. These materials are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used.
Extent
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6 pages
Language
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English
English
Type
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Sound
Subject
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Bailey, Nicholas D.
Veterans
United States
Interviews
Description
An account of the resource
Nick Bailey enlisted in the Marine Corps directly after high school and went to basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. He worked as a logician for 8 years and was able to travel to every continent save Antarctica. The closest thing he saw to combat was in Haiti, where they had to walk around armed because many Haitians did not want them there. He came back to the States and enrolled at ASU after his service and says the military was a very good choice for him because it gave him direction in his life.
GI Bill
Haiti
logistics
Marine Corps
MRE
Nick Bailey
Parris Island