Vignette 20: Ribbon Creek
On the night of April 8th 1956, at Parris Island South Carolina, Marine Staff Sergeant Matthew McKeon took his platoon of recruits out for an unscheduled night march. McKeon's intent was to induce a bit of misery in his troops due to poor discipline in the platoon. Night marches were a fairly common practice at the time.
Directing his platoon along the dirt roads behind the rifle range, McKeon marched his men toward Ribbon Creek, a tidal estuary. Jumping into the shallow water, McKeon ordered the recruits to follow him. McKeon pushed along into progressively deeper water until he was stopped by the screams of men behind him. Some of the recruits had stumbled on the uneven bottom and been carried into deeper water by tidal currents. Not all of the recruits could swim. McKeon ordered the platoon ashore, and then searched for the missing recruits in the water, finally coming ashore when he was unable to locate six who had been swept away.
Returning his platoon to the barracks, McKeon reported the loss of six recruits to the Officer of the Day. He was immediately relieved from duty and placed in confinement. The next day, April 9th, saw a court of inquiry formed to conduct a preliminary investigation. Marine Commandant Randolph Pate flew to Parris Island from Washington to observe the proceedings, and the board remanded McKeon for trial by court martial for manslaughter, oppression of his troops, dereliction of duty, negligent homocide, and drinking on duty. Among other things, the board found that McKeon had been drinking in the barracks prior to the night march.
At McKeon's court martial, his immediate superior, SSgt E. H. Huff, testified that in his opinion McKeon had done nothing wrong. He said that he himself would have taken the platoon on the night march if he'd had time. Marine legend Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller also testified on McKeon's behalf, explaining that the training methods of Parris Island were what produced the Marines who had fought so well in the Pacific island campaigns of WW II.
In the end McKeon was acquitted of the more serious charges, but was convicted of negligence and drinking on duty. The court sentenced him to be reduced to private, confined at hard labor for nine months, forfeit all pay for that time, and then be dismissed from the service with a bad conduct discharge. The sentence was later reduced to demotion to private, three months hard labor, no fine, and no discharge by the Secretary of the Navy.
Aside from SSgt McKeon's own failure of judgment, the Ribbon Creek incident illuminated a number of questionable practices that had worked their way into the Marine Corps' recruit training program. (The problems were not just with the USMC, the Army had a very similar incident just a year earlier.) Commandant Pate appointed Brigadier Generals to lead newly created Recruit Training Commands at both Parris Island and the west coast recruit training facility at San Diego. These Brigadier Generals reported directly to the Commandant and were tasked with overhauling the recruit training system. As a result the recruit training program became considerably less brutal and more effective. Fewer recruits "washed out" of training, though they were still required to pass the same physical and mental tests to graduate from recruit training.
Directing his platoon along the dirt roads behind the rifle range, McKeon marched his men toward Ribbon Creek, a tidal estuary. Jumping into the shallow water, McKeon ordered the recruits to follow him. McKeon pushed along into progressively deeper water until he was stopped by the screams of men behind him. Some of the recruits had stumbled on the uneven bottom and been carried into deeper water by tidal currents. Not all of the recruits could swim. McKeon ordered the platoon ashore, and then searched for the missing recruits in the water, finally coming ashore when he was unable to locate six who had been swept away.
Returning his platoon to the barracks, McKeon reported the loss of six recruits to the Officer of the Day. He was immediately relieved from duty and placed in confinement. The next day, April 9th, saw a court of inquiry formed to conduct a preliminary investigation. Marine Commandant Randolph Pate flew to Parris Island from Washington to observe the proceedings, and the board remanded McKeon for trial by court martial for manslaughter, oppression of his troops, dereliction of duty, negligent homocide, and drinking on duty. Among other things, the board found that McKeon had been drinking in the barracks prior to the night march.
At McKeon's court martial, his immediate superior, SSgt E. H. Huff, testified that in his opinion McKeon had done nothing wrong. He said that he himself would have taken the platoon on the night march if he'd had time. Marine legend Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller also testified on McKeon's behalf, explaining that the training methods of Parris Island were what produced the Marines who had fought so well in the Pacific island campaigns of WW II.
In the end McKeon was acquitted of the more serious charges, but was convicted of negligence and drinking on duty. The court sentenced him to be reduced to private, confined at hard labor for nine months, forfeit all pay for that time, and then be dismissed from the service with a bad conduct discharge. The sentence was later reduced to demotion to private, three months hard labor, no fine, and no discharge by the Secretary of the Navy.
Aside from SSgt McKeon's own failure of judgment, the Ribbon Creek incident illuminated a number of questionable practices that had worked their way into the Marine Corps' recruit training program. (The problems were not just with the USMC, the Army had a very similar incident just a year earlier.) Commandant Pate appointed Brigadier Generals to lead newly created Recruit Training Commands at both Parris Island and the west coast recruit training facility at San Diego. These Brigadier Generals reported directly to the Commandant and were tasked with overhauling the recruit training system. As a result the recruit training program became considerably less brutal and more effective. Fewer recruits "washed out" of training, though they were still required to pass the same physical and mental tests to graduate from recruit training.