Every United States Marine stands on the shoulders of those Marines who came before us. It is our proud legacy. In this episode you will learn of the "giants" known as the Montford Point Marines. Ambassador Theodore Rosevelt Britton. Jr. Is one of those Marines. He, along with a little over 14,000 Black Marines integrated the United States Marine Corps in 1942. Listen as Ambassador Britton shares his story, his life, and his experiences as one of the first Black Marines. You will be mesmerized by the brilliance of the 100 year old Marine who helped make the Marine Corps the elite fighting force that continues today.

This episode is one of seven episodes that can be listened to individually or all at once. Grunts to Tankers (3 parts), John Heffernan, Pete Ritch, Hank Fuller, and Bob Skeels are a matched set. Together, they are a group of grunt platoon commanders who made their mark on Mutters Ridge. These men fought on Mutters Ridge at the same time as Karl Marlantes and Ollie North, and though less known were as good if not better than Marlantes or North. Just listen to their stories and you will agree.

The music is used under a license purchased by the USMCVTA from the copyright holders.

Episode 60 is a study in one tanker. A Canadian by birth, an American by choice, and a Marine by character, Burt was one of a kind. Burt was the choice of tankers "up north" to go into the field with. Hard as nails but the tank commander many of us trained under. He certainly taught your moderator how to survive in Vietnam. Listen as Lt. Jim Coan, Roger "Blues" Unland, and yours truly, Tree, speak to the character, stamina, and steely outlook of Sgt. Bert Trevail.

As usual, all music is purchased and licensed under contracts with the appropriate license authority.

This was originally a video designed to encourage members of the United States Marine Corps Vietnam Tankers Association to participate in any number of ways to share their unique stories with the rest of the world. It originally debuted at the VTA Reunion in St. Louis. If you are a member of the VTA and have not contributed to your own legacy, please do so as quickly as you can. If you have contributed, consider the other possibilities.

If you are a member of the listening audience, a subscriber or a follower of the podcasts, you are in for a treat. Almost every picture and certainly all the stories save one, are from Vietnam. Some of the Marines pictured in the video are now guarding Heaven's gates. If you should see one of these Marines, or any Marine, or any veteran, you will be appreciated if you say "Thank you". PLEASE NOTE: as indicated at the end of the video, all copyrighted material was licensed by the USMCVTA legally by our organization. Contact the Podcast mentor for further details on the licensing process.

Joe Sanders entered the Marine Corps in 1954. An accomplished author, Joe was one of the first Marines to hit the beach in DaNang. This is a fascinating story of the early years of Marine Tankers in Vietnam.

This is the episode that will explain all the others. 1st Sgt. Rick Lewis (retired) shares his intimate knowledge of the tank that was the backbone of every story on this podcast. Rick takes us from turret to track and from amor plate to drive sprocket as you find out why every Marine Corps tanker was so proficient a warrior in Vietnam. Once you listen to this podcast, you will want to go back and re-listen to all the others.

The story of the most valuable Marines in the Corps. These are the unheralded Marines that toil in the base camps to keep those of us in the bush supplied/resupplied. Without ammunition, food, parts, clothes, boots, etc. we could not do our work.

We have some very exciting news about where the podcast Tracking Our History is headed. Listen to this "short commercial" and find out.

In Episode 57 Tracking Our History explores the differences between the Vietnam War tankers and the more modern Marine Corps. A fascinating interview with Eirik Gohl leads into a discussion of tactics, the new MEU and the modern Marine that carries on with the legacy of the Vietnam Marine. All music is licensed by and for the Vietnam Tankers Association by way of continuing contracts.

This episode has 4 of the most tested Marine Tankers of 1967-68. It covers the 4 tankers overlapping tours of duty including their time in country during the first Tet Offensive. The listener will be informed, shocked, and entertained all at the same time. As all episodes this one is marked explicit as well.

In the background you will hear music from the Byrds, Arlo Guthrie, Dire Straits and John Fogherty (all of which are officially licensd to the USMCVTA from BMI, SEASAC, ASCAP, and authors and writers themselves such as Joe MacDonald and Sailor Jeri.