MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT/EASTERN RECRUITING REGION PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- -- The more things change, the more they stay the same, as a group of World War II drill instructors found out when they returned to Parris Island Oct. 23-25.
As it is today, teaching men to survive in combat was the challenge presented to the drill instructors of that era.
Much of the training was the same back then as it is now. While World War II drill instructors had no rappelling tower, staples such as the gas chamber, the obstacle course and swim training were as much a part of boot camp then as they are today. They even had martial arts training, that taught a blend of judo and jujitsu, and, of course, there was drill - in sand.
"It was all sand, no blacktop," said Albert "Tiny" Renaker, visit coordinator and former drill instructor. "[And] we didn't have any [training condition] flags."
There was also bayonet and knife fighting training with bare blades, no sheaths, which resulted in a few close calls.
The training Marines receive now will even better prepare them for what may come, said one returning drill instructor.
"They're getting far better training now than what we were able to give," said Charles Lowe, another visiting World War II drill instructor. It was partially due to the fact that training was only eight weeks long, as opposed to 13 weeks today.
"We didn't have the time," he said.
Furthermore, back then, men who didn't necessarily want to be Marines were being drafted into its ranks. Leadership was the answer to this problem.
"You had to let them know they had a love for the Corps," said Renaker. "Once you had that, all that was left was the finishing touches."
"You had to get their respect," said Lowe. Setting the example was his way, he said.
Ultimately, one of the most rewarding things for the old hats were the letters that would come back from Marines who had served in the Pacific.
"I have many, many letters from recruits [saying] 'What you did for me saved my life on Okinawa,'" said Renaker. "'You taught me to duck!'"
They were able to utilize those skills themselves. In 1945, Gen. Alexander Vandegrift, Commandant of the Marine Corps, gave any drill instructor who wished to deploy overseas a week to pack. Lowe and Renaker were among 103 drill instructors who took their chance to go to war.
Lowe lost the use of his left eye on Okinawa, when he was hit by shrapnel while taking cover on a ridge. Not remembering if he lost consciousness or not, his reaction after he felt the blood on his face was understandable.
"It made me mad," said Lowe. "So I stood up and started to spray!"
Lowe never found out if he hit those responsible for his injury.
Whether on the drill field or the battlefield, the old drill instructors still left behind a legacy for Marines of today to live up to. They trained the greatest generation to fight in the bloodiest battles of the Pacific, and they trained them to win. After teaching them how to do it, they went and did it themselves too.
"I have never asked a man to do something I wouldn't do myself first," said Lowe.