Sure here is one: TM4750-15/1
I gotta locate the other numbeR
I think they both have the origin of the markings decree in them
Mike:
"H&S Co BLT 1/8
Beirut Lebanon
24 Marine Amphibious Unit
1983"
What this means is-
Head Quarters Service Company 1st Battalion 8th Marines
24th Marine Amphibious Unit
which is of the Second Marine Division.
At that time the commander actually assigned the vehicle numbers
So not knowing your Fathers platoon or other unit info a good example would be:
markings should be a 7x7 square on doors or side panels with 102 in the middle of it, on drivers side rear the number 102.
in Beirut the vehicles where a "dirty tan"
so marking will be in black
the numbers 102 above mean: H&S CO 1st Battalion, Battalion CP, Bravo Command
Hope this helps Let me know if you need any more info.
I have a good friend that survived that incident although severely and permanently injured physically
I may be able to get more info from him
Incase you dont know here is what an H&S CO is this was Copied from USMC article in 1999:
A
Headquarters and Service Company is a
company sized
military unit, found at the
battalion level and higher in the
United States Marine Corps. In identifying a specific headquarters unit, it is usually referred to by its abbreviation as
H&S. While a regular line company is formed of three or four
platoons, H&S is made up of the headquarters staff and headquarters support personnel of a
battalion,
regiment,
division, or
corps. As these personnel do not fall inside one of the regular line companies of the battalion, brigade, or division, the H&S Unit is the unit to which they are administratively assigned. The typical personnel strength of an average H&S Company for a Marine infantry battalion is 270 personnel.
Inside a battalion H&S, the headquarters staff will usually include the following key officers and primary staff officers:
- a battalion commander, usually a lieutenant colonel
- a battalion executive officer, usually a major
- an administration and personnel officer (S1), usually a Marine captain
- an intelligence and counterintelligence officer (S2), usually a captain
- an operations and training officer (S3), usually a major
- a logistics officer (S4), usually a captain
- a plans officer (S5), usually a captain
- a communications and information officer (S6), usually a captain
Depending on the unit, extra support officers will round out the staff, including one or two
Navy Medical Corps officer(s), a
United States Marine Corps Judge Advocate Division officer, and a
Navy Chaplain Corps officer (often collectively referred to as the "special staff"), as well as essential
non-commissioned officers and
enlisted support personnel in the occupational specialities of the staff sections (S1 through S4 and the S6), and a battalion
sergeant major, who is principal advisor to the battalion commander on matters regarding enlisted personnel. Additionally, H&S will contain further personnel assigned to support and sustain the mission of the battalion headquarters, including maintenance and motor transport, field mess, and supply.
H&S itself will be commanded by a
company commander (usually a captain) who is supported by a company executive officer (usually a
first lieutenant) and a company
first sergeant. All personnel in H&S fall under the administrative command of the H&S company commander, but in practice, the primary and special staff officers report directly to the battalion commander, and while the battalion commander is administratively assigned to H&S, he or she is the H&S company commander's higher commander and thus the H&S company commander operationally answers directly to the battalion commander. The mission of the H&S company commander is to run the administrative and Marine training aspects of H&S, and to support the battalion primary staff by facilitating the environment in which they operate and in turn support the battalion commander in commanding the battalion.
At the regimental and
division level, H&S is similarly constituted of the regimental or division commander, his or her staff, and the support elements, but the ranks of the staff and support personnel are typically greater to reflect the greater level of responsibility at higher echelon units. However, the company commander of a regimental H&S is usually still a captain. A division H&S is usually a battalion in itself and is commanded by a lieutenant colonel.
In keeping with the long standing practice of referring to company sized
artillery units as "
batteries" the headquarters company element of an artillery battalion or higher is referred as a Headquarters and Service Battery. Additionally, some high level headquarters elements for special units are not company sized and are referred to as "detachments;" as a result, these units are formally referred to as Headquarters and Service Detachments