Bear Owen's Page

During the summer of 1967, the Vietnam War was in one of its most active years of combat.  I was attending officer candidate school (OCS) at Quantico, VA for the summer.  It proved to be the most challenging test of my determination and perseverance of my entire life (I am now 65).  The OCS staff's job was to make life as tough on us as possible.  They made sure that we candidates were emotionally and physically exhausted most of the time.  Their goal was to weed out any prospectivel Marine officer who would give up under the stress of combat when 50 or so young Marines would be dependent on him for making the right life and death decisions.  We were invited constantly to quit, to D.O.R (drop out by request).  We were locked in a mental battle with our platoon and company drill instructors and commanders which solidified my determination that no matter how bad it got, I was not going to quit.  There were times when I hated those SOBs, they were doing a very good job of making us miserable every waking moment of the day!

On the staff of the OCS headquarters was a Marine infantry captain named Cadwallader.  He had recently returned from Vietnam, a highly decorated Marine leader.  He had been severely wounded by a land mine, nearly losing his leg.  When he walked, he tried desperately not to limp.  He was "stashed" on the OCS staff while awaiting the outcome of a medical board at Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington, DC.  We often saw him working out on the obstacle course, or running through the woods, trying to build up his badly damaged leg so that he could prove to the medical board that he was physically able to resume his full duties and remain on active duty.  He was always cheerful when he instructed us on various field training exercises and I never saw him berate a candidate or utter an unkind word to anyone.  That's why I named him as the greatest inspiration in my life on my profile.  By his example, I made it through OCS!