Has anyone ever met or known someone who actually had R. Lee Ermey as a drill instructor? Just curious what their take on him would be and if they had more stories to share. My guess is "what you see is what you get." But it would be interesting to hear some of the untold stories about him.

They probably wouldn’t remember, due to being skull fucked.

...and the fact that unorganized grabastic pieces of amphibian shit, have less short term memory than goldfish.

Did your parents have any children that lived?

They are probably too traumatized by thoughts of this

I read once that he wasn't originally cast as Gunny Hartman, but rather was hired as a technical advisor. When the director saw/heard him, he got the job instead. My guess is he was pretty close to the same as a real DI.

Does 150 pounds of chewed bubblegum pass muster these days?

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I read once that he wasn't originally cast as Gunny Hartman, but rather was hired as a technical advisor. When the director saw/heard him, he got the job instead. My guess is he was pretty close to the same as a real DI.

I read that the door gunner in the Huey was originally cast for the role. You know " easy,ya just don't lead em so much"

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I read once that he wasn't originally cast as Gunny Hartman, but rather was hired as a technical advisor. When the director saw/heard him, he got the job instead. My guess is he was pretty close to the same as a real DI.

Not quite.

He wanted the part, so he prepped and "did the bit" to get the part.

He earned it.

(yes, he was first recruited as an advisor)

quote:

Originally posted by ss9961:
They probably wouldn’t remember, due to being skull fucked.

For the win. lol

If you meet him, make sure your shit is locked up and you don’t have a fucking jelly doughnut in there. Because if either, you are fucked.

I'd like to think he was hard-core motivated and pushed and pulled young men into becoming Marines, while still being fair and honest.

In case we forgot, he played a DI in "The Boys of Company C"; he's in this clip as an Sergeant (E-5).

This movie was in my local double theater with 'Sugarland Express'. My aunt and cousins went to the movies. My cousin and I (9th grade) were the only two males. Our moms (and aunts) decided Sugarland looked too racy for us boys and sent us to the 'war movie' instead.

My cousin and I maintained silence about this till we were 18.

IRL, even at the time the events of FMJ took place, I don't think DIs were allowed to punch recruits. And had he survived the shooting incident with Pyle, he'd have lost his stripes for letting Pyle obtain the weapon and ammunition. But it's a movie, so ...

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
If you meet him, make sure your shit is locked up and you don’t have a fucking jelly doughnut in there. Because if either, you are fucked.

I met him during CES one year.

After letting him know I was retired Navy and trading a few friendly jabs at each other, we walked of to the beer stand and traded a few short stories.

He mentioned he like his time on screen cause "none of those pansies told me how to do my job."

I met him a few years before he passed at an event at Proforce in Brea put on by Glock. I was buying a G35. He signed the case, a Glock hat and posed for a photo. It wasn’t that busy and we talked for about 5 min and he told me how much he enjoyed shooting his .40’s and that I’d enjoy the G35. He asked me about my job, etc. A real genuine guy but he definitely had command presence. I recall thinking that I’m glad I didn’t have him as a Tac Officer in the academy.

I don’t have the G35 anymore but I still have the hat and photo.

quote:

Originally posted by Rigby470:
Has anyone ever met or known someone who actually had R. Lee Ermey as a drill instructor?

Was he actually a D.I. in the USMC? I thought I remember reading he was an in an aviation unit and was medically discharged. I could be completely wrong about that.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:

Was he actually a D.I. in the USMC?

Oh, Great! I checked Wikipedia for this (yes, he was a Drill Instructor for a couple years between aviation assignments) and found he shares the same birthday with:

Steve McQueen
Clyde Barrow
Peyton Manning
Robert Carradine

...and me! March 24

I saw him at National Gun Day in Louisville around 15 years ago. He was at a table under a cammo net and was signing bobble heads. As he was interacting with the people at the table, he was in full blown "Gunny" mode, doing the Hoo-rah schtick. Later, I saw him in the rear of the hall near the restrooms. He was speaking with an elderly WWII veteran and was completely different. He was subdued and very respectful. My son (14 or 15 at the time) and I stood back from them and waited, because I was hoping my son could meet him. As I observed the deference he was showing the other gentleman and the mutual respect that was evident, we moved on so as not to intrude in that private moment. I was hoping to catch him later but never did.

It was apparent that the people buying the bobble heads and having them signed wanted to meet the "Gunny", but that was a character he played. Although he created the character and had many of those attributes, R. Lee was a different person.

He died in 2018 so if you meet him today better call an exorcist.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
If you meet him, make sure your shit is locked up and you don’t have a fucking jelly doughnut in there. Because if either, you are fucked.