Local vet shares experiences of serving in the Marine Corps

By: 
Elizabeth Dunham, Contributing Writer

Photo by Elizabeth Dunham

Local veteran Chuck Gunning enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1960 at the age of 17. While the experience offered its ups and downs, Gunning said, “I’ve basically thrown out everything but the fun stuff because I don’t want to remember the bad stuff.”

KALKASKA – When Chuck Gunning talks about his time in the service, he makes it sound as if it wasn’t anything extraordinary. He talks about clearing enemy landmines as if it were the most natural thing in the world, even though he had to do it on his hands and knees in enemy territory.

The Vietnam veteran and his fellow marines would poke under the ground horizontally to find and remove the active landmines without setting them off.

“I did what I could do and hoped it could help somebody else out,” said the local veteran, from his seat at the Kalkaska VFW Post No. 8684.

Gunning was born in Battle Creek and enlisted in the military in 1960.

“I joined at the ripe old age of 17,” he said with a smile.

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