Late nights on Okinawa carry a weight that goes past the humid air. Image this: a younger Lance Corporal pulling camp obligation patrols by Gate 3 of Camp Hansen, an entry lengthy since padlocked shut. The clock ticks previous midnight. Footsteps crunch on gravel. A determine emerges from the shadows, uniform tattered and bloodied from some forgotten battle. “Obtained a lightweight?” the person rasps, eyes hole. The Marine fumbles for his Zippo, strikes the flame. The stranger leans in, puffs as soon as, then vanishes like smoke. No hint. No echo. Guards swapped shifts so typically after that, the brass had no alternative however to seal the gate for good.
These tales, whispered within the racks or over chow corridor espresso, remind us that the Corps’ historical past lingers. From Pacific jungles to Carolina pines, Marines have shared bumps within the evening that blur the road between legend and lived fact. They don’t seem to be simply scares. They bind us, a nod to brothers who stood watch earlier than. Listed below are just a few that stand out, drawn from boots who swear by them.
Whispers from the Rock
Okinawa’s bases sit on floor soaked in World Struggle II blood, the place Imperial Japanese troopers and American Leathernecks clashed in brutal cave fights. It doesn’t take lengthy to comprehend these spirits nonetheless stir.
At Camp Foster’s barracks, recent privates study rapidly that there are different tenants sharing their house. Doorways slam with out wind. Laughter bubbles from empty rooms at 0200. Footsteps march overhead in rooms lengthy vacant. One squad chief, pulling midnight obligation, felt a hand clamp his shoulder. Turned to search out nothing however chilly air.
Over at Camp Kinser’s previous armory, as soon as a Vietnam morgue, the lifeless drill on. In accordance with a reddit thread, many Okinawa Marines have skilled otherworldly encounters. A satan canine on watch heard boots thumping from the again. Rounded the nook to see a platoon of WWII ghosts, rifles shouldered, marching in excellent formation. Bayonets gleamed below the fluorescents. The child bolted, publish be damned. The armory’s quiet now, however nobody volunteers for solo nights.
Echoes Throughout the Sound
Camp Lejeune’s sprawl hides horrors in its Spanish moss. The bottom earned a spot on haunted maps for good motive.
A traditional ghost story from Lejeune (and one acquainted to the writer from a long time in the past) is the “Woman in White.” She haunts the again gate, a spectral hitchhiker in a flowing robe. MPs rolling patrol spot her thumb out, thumb out towards Onslow Seashore. Pull over, and he or she slides in silently, the faint scent of jasmine lingering. Ask the place to, she murmurs a reputation lengthy lifeless. Attain the spot, and poof: empty seat, chill within the air. One cop snapped a photograph as soon as. Orbs glowed, her kind faint within the flash. She waits for a husband misplaced at sea, they are saying, or rides everlasting from a crash on Freeway 24. Both approach, she fades earlier than daybreak.
Deeper aboard the bottom, the previous Naval Hospital creaks with its personal refrain. Corpsmen on late shifts hear gurneys rattle down flooded basements, chains drag like anchors. One IT officer crashed in his workplace previous midnight, solely to wake to an ’80s radio crooning tender rock from a sealed corridor. No energy, no supply. Minimize off sharply after 5 minutes. Clowns pale on youngsters’ ward partitions, peek from cracks, a grim welcome.
Shadows on the Wire
California’s Camp Pendleton stretches over previous ranch land, the place missions crumbled and recruits now sweat. Ghosts right here play pranks with a sergeant’s edge.
A 41 Space barracks buzzes with the stressed. A Marine within the nook rack shot himself after a Pricey John (supposedly). Now, furnishings scoots throughout flooring unbidden. Chairs stack at daybreak. One boot woke to the Jeopardy theme hummed low, proper by his ear. No radio. No roommate stirring. Lockers tamper shut, telephones vanish, solely to respawn on bunks. Down the corridor, a priest in burlap robes mutters in Latin on the sentry publish, gone when challenged. Horses whinny from empty stables. “It is the oldest estancia,” vets nod. “Constructed on bones, they usually do not relaxation.”
Twentynine Palms, just a few hours’ drive from Pendleton, additionally hosts unusual and strange phenomena. The writer was as soon as informed of Marines on patrol throughout an train coming throughout one more girl in white strolling by the desert, hours strolling distance from civilization. When the Marines requested if she wanted a experience, she merely declined and walked away. The terrified Marines acknowledged instantly they’d simply encountered an otherworldly entity.
These yarns, true or tall, gasoline the hearth that forges Marines. They flip concern to fortitude, a shared shiver over MREs. Subsequent time you stand publish or rack out uneasy, pay attention carefully. Is likely to be a brother, simply passing by, reminding you: Semper Fi means eternally.
