Anyone else here take part in the Devil Pups program, where teenaged boys spent 10 days at a Marine Corps base (in my case Camp Pendleton)?

 

I have been cleaning out the garage and discovered I had a souvenir of my stay at the 2nd Infantry Training Regiment area during the summer of 1965. I've always thought I was 15 or 16 when I went to Devil Pups, but in looking at the certificate I now realize I was just 14 years old.

 

Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise to find I had something from that unusual summer camp - and even more surprised to see that I was in an "honor platoon."

 

Marine Corps reservists ran the program and, this being the 60's, weren't too concerned with the fact we were very young civilians: they worked us hard and one night an NCO who'd apparently spent too much time at the NCO club, woke us at 0200 to climb Old Smokey. We also got to go into the tear gas hut, where they gassed us and made us sing the Marine Corps hymn with our masks off. Can you iamgine military lawyers letting them gas civilians today? One afternoon we got to ride on a tank: not in a tank, ON a tank. We sat on the hull, holding on to whatever was there and held tighter and tighter as the tank bounced along at a speed faster than I, for one, would have liked.

 

I've always regretted I never hung on to the t-shirt and ball cap we were issued, but at the time there was no sentiment attached to it.

 

But it was nice to find this:

 

This newspaper article from another part of southern California (I lived far south, just a few miles from Mexico) explains the program:

 

 

The CO of Devil Pups was a Marine officer who'd been training in Samoa during WWII when he was plunked from the ranks and sent back to Los Angeles to go to school and get a commission.

 

 

 

From the Marine Mustangs Assoc. directory:

 

That sounds like a great program. I never heard about it back in those days but would have liked to taken part.

Someone once asked what was the purpose of the Devil Pups program? I said it was to convince young men to join the Air Force or Navy. I went there with a fellow member of the Civil Air Patrol, who also later went into the Air Force. We both decided later that Devil Pups was indeed tougher than Air Force boot camp (and more fun too).

That sounds like a great program. I never heard about it back in those days but would have liked to taken part.

 

It's still around. Here's their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Devil-Pups-225643937468120/

 

and website http://devilpups.com/

 

Since 1998 the program has been open to girls.

Hi Bob

In 1976 0r 1977 (don't remember off the top of my head which yr) some friends and I went thru the Devil Pup program as well.It was a Blast,had so much fun,just wish I was young again so I could go thru the experience again.I think all kids should do this,would make a good learning experience for them.

I was also a Devil Pup in ...1963 I remember getting my head shaved, bivouacking overnight in shelter halves on Old Smoky, and firing a .22 rifle at a small range. My platoon was also the Honor Platoon but we were surprised because we were unruly and kept getting our Sgt in trouble.

 

 

 

Here is a picture of me in my Devil Pup T-shirt. I was 14 years old.

 

 

 

 

 

When I worked the range on PI, we use to get all sorts of military youth groups on the base. ROTC...Devil Pups...whole bunch of others. They use to bring them out on the range to observe...as the Range Safety Officer, it was a nightmare, bunch of civilians on a live fire training range, with a bunch of stressed out 18 year olds handling a weapon for the first time in their lives...that's about the extent of my experience with the Devil Pups