[TPR] SFC Castorini - MANLOVE
Mad Dog Antenucci
teampantera at yahoo.com
Thu Dec 9 10:45:09 PST 2010
Could not of said it better!
Mad Dawg Antenucci
Team Pantera Racing
The 1st & still the only vintage race team in open road racing
www.teampanteraracing.com
________________________________
From: Brian Ward <brian at trinityarmco.com>
To: B Hower <b.hower3400 at yahoo.com>; Mad Dog Antenucci <teampantera at yahoo.com>
Cc: tpr at teampanteraracing.com
Sent: Thu, December 9, 2010 4:23:28 AM
Subject: RE: [TPR] SFC Castorini - MANLOVE
MD,
Yes this is a great story. I think that every soldier finds one mentor that is a
hard ass, but at the same time that soldier finds a means to accept. I know I
had two that I can place this theory on. Both sure is hell handed me my fair
share of punishment, but both had a glow of pride when I left their command. Not
like a good riddance glow either. More like, look what I did for this soldier,
hard or not, paid off… They will never be forgotten either. I still think of
times where they influence judgement….
Brian
From:tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com
[mailto:tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com] On Behalf Of B Hower
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 4:39 AM
To: Mad Dog Antenucci
Cc: tpr at teampanteraracing.com
Subject: Re: [TPR] SFC Castorini - MANLOVE
Well that was a great story Mad Dog -------------- but actually the R&R part
brought back the most memories for an old West Pack sailor. Bangkok, What a
Place !! !!
Bud #3400 (The 7 Banger)
--- On Wed, 12/8/10, Mad Dog Antenucci <teampantera at yahoo.com> wrote:
>From: Mad Dog Antenucci <teampantera at yahoo.com>
>Subject: [TPR] SFC Castorini - MANLOVE
>To: "Brian Ward" <brian at trinityarmco.com>, asajay at asajay.com,
>tpr at teampanteraracing.com
>Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2010, 8:30 PM
>I don't have any memorable war stories...... 41 years ago I had the privilege of
>serving with one of the best infantry airborne veterans of 3 major wars (WWII,
>Korea & Vietnam) and this is one story that is still pretty clear in my head so
>I'll share it with you guys before it becomes a distant memory and I am in a
>Veterans Home in Sacramento.
>
>When I 1st met SFC Castorini I was still wet behind the ears. I sure as hell
>didn't think I was. I had already been in the Army 2 years but SFC Castorini was
>about as close to God with a upper case G as I had been close to besides my own
>dad......He had to of been 45 years old if he was a day old and to a 20 year old
>kid like me his face had a 1,000 miles of bad road on it......
>
>He was a legend for several reasons....both for what and where he had been and
>for who he was and for what he was still doing ....which was soldiering in a
>airborne infantry company when most NCO's his age were flying a supply desk in
>the rear with the gear. He had made combat jumps in all 3 wars and was my 1st
>platoon leader in Nam when I was in the 2/173rd Airborne. I never saw Castorini
>laugh, or yell and only saw him smile one time........... and that was in
>Bangkok. Yea war is a serious business and everything about SFC Castorini was
>serious.
>
>In fact he never showed any emotion that I saw even when he busted my ass back
>to SP4 for getting drunk on duty. By his mere presence he commanded immediate
>respect. Of average height and not weighing more then 140 pounds soaking wet he
>was hard as nails and probably chewed on them before breakfast working up an
>appitite after his morning coffee to chew on young airborne fok-ups like myself
>who did not belong in HIS army. Even the company 1st Sergeant and C.O. who were
>pretty damn good soldiers themselves made it clear to anyone who was within ear
>shot that there was not a better NCO in the U.S. Army then SFC Castorini.
>
>SFC Castorini was still on jump status 23 or 24 years after he made his 1st
>combat jump in France in '44. Shortly after I arrived I was standing tall in
>front of him and the C.O. and the 1st Sergeant after getting busted . A serious
>offense in a airborne infantry unit.
>
>And while I got busted he later got promoted to master sergeant and then became
>company 1st sergeant. Shortly afterwards he got wounded during Tet '68 and
> ended up being medivaced back to the states where he ended up in a training
>company at Fort Dix New Jersey training LEGS (non-airborne soldiers) in Basic
>Training which had to be the most insulting thing that could have happened to a
>man like this.
>
>About 18 months into my 22 months in Nam SFC Castorini was BACK in Nam looking
>as mean as ever....but when I met him again he had been busted back to SFC!!!!
>The irony of him being busted and previously recommending my being busted back
>in rank a year earlier was not lost on me.....At the time I was a part of a MACV
>advisory Team (ARVN Rangers) and NO NCO, officer or anyone else for that matter
>made my knees shake.....I had allot of attitude and Castorini noticed it soon as
>he met me. And he made sure I was assigned to to his team shortly after our
>brief meeting! But what started out as hate turned back into respect and love as
>I learned allot about soldiering and life from that man.
>
>Now I wouldn't say we ever hugged one another for I was still a fok-up by his
>standard but I was HIS fokk up and he never let me or anyone else in his command
>forget that either....... I had by then thanks in part to him hard (sergeant)
>stripes again but just not as many as he had. ;-) I think I even saw him grin
>once..... commenting on my being "out-of-uniform" which is another excuse for a
>senior NCO who loves you to acknowledge your existence......or something like
>that! ;-)
>
>On heading to Bangkok on R&R I found out we were on the same scheduled
>flight.....just before we headed in totally opposite directions in Bangkok he
>caught me eyeballing him and he slowly turned his head around inn my direction
>and said, "Antenucci, what are you still doing in my Army?" He didn't want an
>answer...but he did grin!!!
>
>He obviously wanted a hug and that was his way of showing me the LOVE! ;-) And
>when I started to answer him he smiled again and said, "stay out of
>trouble".....and with that I proceeded to party 24 hours a day for 5 days in a
>row until we flew back to Nam. I never saw him on the flight but I knew he had
>his eyes on my sorry bloodshot eyes.
>
>But I do remember that one or two times he smiled at me. . .And the last time I
>saw him I drove him out to the helipad to catch a chopper to connect with a
>freedom bird flight back to the states. Castorni had more rows of decorations
> then I had seen on anyone except maybe a general officer. His CIB had 2 stars
>meaning he had been awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge for all 3 wars.....
>his master jump wings had 3 gold combat jump stars. You could spend a long time
>in the Army before you ever saw one man with those kind of earned decorations
>and I could not turn away. Finally as he got out of the jeep and grabbed his bag
>he slowly turned his head in my direction one last time and said, "get a
>haircut and stay out of trouble".....and with that I watched him walk to the
> Huey and fly away. No hugs, no waves, no bands, no nothing....I was just
>thinking I wish I had thanked him for helping me be a better soldier and more
>importantly a better man. But everyone was better for having known him.
>
>
>
>Mad Dawg Antenucci
>Team Pantera Racing
>The 1st & still the only vintage race team in open road racing
>www.teampanteraracing.com
>
>
>
________________________________
>From:Brian Ward <brian at trinityarmco.com>
>To: Brian Ward <brian at trinityarmco.com>; Mad Dog Antenucci
><teampantera at yahoo.com>; asajay at asajay.com; tpr at teampanteraracing.com
>Sent: Tue, December 7, 2010 7:01:20 PM
>Subject: RE: [TPR] Service Thank Yous Re: NPC NRC DOG
>
>Speaking of which, ex father-in-law refered to as the blackhat was another
>honorable soldier. Marine Recon during Nam. Joined State troopers in Maine
>then decided he hated civilian life, 2 years later went Army Special Forces.
>He retired as the First Sgt of Pathfinder School. Nick Caisse retired 2001.
>Great man and will always look up to him no matter how dam short he is :)
>Brian
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com
>[mailto:tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com] On Behalf Of Brian Ward
>Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 8:41 PM
>To: 'Mad Dog Antenucci'; asajay at asajay.com; tpr at teampanteraracing.com
>Subject: Re: [TPR] Service Thank Yous Re: NPC NRC DOG
>
>Wish I was around for that... Mine would have been the most exotic place and
>time that I had sex... Battalion CQ Airborne School on top of Command Sgt.
>Major McCoy's desk with my blackhat's(Airborne instructor) daughter which I
>later married. She is my ex now but Boy those were some good times...
>Brian
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com
>[mailto:tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com] On Behalf Of Mad Dog Antenucci
>Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 7:39 PM
>To: asajay at asajay.com; tpr at teampanteraracing.com
>Subject: Re: [TPR] Service Thank Yous Re: NPC NRC DOG
>
>Funny.....Larry in Ohio not to be confused with Larry Finch in California
>asked
>me, Mike Drew, Chuck "Guns" Atkinson and maybe a couple of you others to
>give
>him a little military bio for a USO SHOW he was doing where Larry (another
>great
>guy) is in a USO band that travels around...in any case Chuck and I
>contributed
>our boring no doubt embellished this is the best we can remember
>stories.....then Mikey wrote about the time he was stuck in Paris on
>expenses or
>the time he was some other exotic place in the world sipping pina colada's
>or
>whatever the hell it is Mike drinks but it cracked me up.
>
>Mad Dawg Antenucci
>Team Pantera Racing
>The 1st & still the only vintage race team in open road racing
>www.teampanteraracing.com
>
>
>
>
>________________________________
>From: "asajay at asajay.com" <asajay at asajay.com>
>To: tpr at teampanteraracing.com
>Sent: Tue, December 7, 2010 5:25:20 PM
>Subject: Re: [TPR] Service Thank Yous Re: NPC NRC DOG
>
>Not to mention some short tours I did in Spain, Germany and Japan.
>
>General: "Is the radio workin' sarge?"
>
>Me: "Yes Sir."
>
>General: "See you next week."
>
>Me: "Yes Sir."
>
>Ahhhh, nude beaches and foreign women. <sigh> I miss those days.
>
>Asa Jay
>
>Quoting Brian Ward <brian at trinityarmco.com>:
>
>> OHHH YOU ARE BAD...YOU ARE SO BADDDD...BAD DOGGY....
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com
>> [mailto:tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com] On Behalf Of Mad Dog Antenucci
>> Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 7:08 PM
>> To: Asa Jay Laughton; tpr at teampanteraracing.com
>> Subject: Re: [TPR] Servie Thank Yous Re: NPC NRC DOG
>>
>> Hey Mr. U.S. Air Force Reserve, Retired! ;-)>
>>
>> I bet Brians 3 years of active duty in the U.S. Army was longer then you
>> ever
>> spent in those 4-start USAF Reserve billets you called air bases....okay
>> inter-service fighting can now begin! ;-)
>>
>> Mad Dawg Antenucci
>> Team Pantera Racing
>> The 1st & still the only vintage race team in open road racing
>> www.teampanteraracing.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Asa Jay Laughton <asajay at asajay.com>
>> To: tpr at teampanteraracing.com
>> Sent: Tue, December 7, 2010 4:53:05 PM
>> Subject: [TPR] Servie Thank Yous Re: NPC NRC DOG
>>
>> Brian,
>>
>> Although your service was short, thank you for making the sacrifice
>> over the time you did. And pass on a thanks to your father and
>> step-father as well. It's because of their willingness to protect
>> everyone else, we still have a great country to live in.
>>
>> Asa Jay
>>
>> --
>> Asa Jay Laughton - sent from somewhere other than home
>> ******************************************************
>> http://www.racingagainstautism.com
>> http://www.teampanteraracing.com
>>
>>
>>
>> Quoting Brian Ward <brian at trinityarmco.com>:
>>
>>> When we were in Hawaii we soon realized that purebred dogs were rare for
>> two
>>> reasons. 1)Due to any animal or plant imported had to be quarantined for
>> six
>>> months before you could take them home. 2) Not native Hawaiians but other
>>> cultures that populate Oahu will steal a dog in a heartbeat for their
>fine
>>> dining. We can all joke whether we like it or not, If you need to
>survive,
>>> you eat whatever you have to.
>>>
>>> On another note... I guess I didn't realize how many vets were actually
>on
>>> here. Please to make your acquaintances and on behalf of myself and my
>>> family, thank you for your service.
>>>
>>> Brian
>>> US Army 1992-1995
>>> Father
>>> US Navy 1966-1974 & 1985-2005
>>> Step-Father
>>> US Army 1970-1990
>>>
>>> No flower power here...
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com
>>> [mailto:tpr-bounces at teampanteraracing.com] On Behalf Of Bob Radefeld
>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2010 6:06 PM
>>> To: tpr at teampanteraracing.com
>>> Subject: [TPR] NPC NRC DOG
>>>
>>> Boy 'o boy, Patrick, your joke about eating dogs sure brought back some
>>> unpleasant memories of Nam! I never ever wanted to ask them what was in
>> that
>>> pot they were cooking in but I know they liked dog meat a lot. :o((
>>>
>>> Bob
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> TPR mailing list
>>> TPR at teampanteraracing.com
>>> http://lists.teampanteraracing.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tpr
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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