Spare Parts: From Campus to Combat: A Marine Reservist's Journey from Campus to Combat in 38 Days

A powerful and harrowing look into the world of reservists—more than just the “spare parts” of our nation’s military—as seen through one man’s transformation from weekend warrior to combat Marine.
In 1990 Buzz Williams walked into a Marine recruiting office to follow in the footsteps of the deceased older brother he grew up idolizing, and signed up to join the reserves. Buzz had thought that he would only need to sacrifice one weekend a month and two weeks a year for training to earn the money that would help pay for his college tuition. He had no idea that even the newest reservists could find themselves on the battlefield in a matter of weeks.
Spare Parts recounts Williams’s harrowing deployment to the Persian Gulf after only four weeks of combat training. Enduring both the condescension of full-time Marines and the danger of his limited preparation, he manages to form a core group that struggles to gain respect from a military machine that views them as mere “spare parts.” In gripping, you-are-there detail, Spare Parts articulates the grueling physical and emotional trials that Williams and his comrades must face on the killing fields of Kuwait—where some of the woefully underprepared men are able to rise to the challenge and others are broken by the horrors of battle.
A compelling portrait of the more than 1.2 million reservists who stand ready to leave civilian life to defend our nation at a moment’s notice, Spare Parts adds a moving new perspective to the literature of war.

Long the stuff of historical, literary, and cinematic legend, the United States Marine Corps maintains arguably the most fervent cult of devotion of any branch of the Armed Services. Yet despite the colorful Corps traditions and cliches that have long since become a part of American culture, the crucial human dimensions of what drives a man to become a Marine have remained largely unexplored. Buzz Williams bravely stakes out his turf in this insightful memoir of his years as a Marine reservist and tour of duty in the first Gulf War of 1991.
Inspired by the USMC service of an older brother who died a tragic, early death, Williams' initial attraction to the Corps is almost cult-like in its intensity (his adopted nickname stems from the close-cropped military haircut he'd worn since childhood). As a way to balance his drive for service with the desire for a college education, Williams joined the USMC Reserves, and quickly found himself a second-class citizen in his cherished institution--when the Marines' "Green Machine" breaks down, they call for "Spare Parts," the Corps' derogatory term for reservists. But, when Iraq invaded Kuwait on the eve of his graduation from armor training at Camp Pendleton, new warrior Williams quickly found himself headed inexorably towards desert warfare in which American forces were often their own worst enemy.
What is striking about Williams' tale is its attentive, persistent psychoanalyses of both his fellow warriors and himself--an examination that finds many a conflicted hero with feet of clay. His unflinching observations about a venerable institution hobbled by bureaucracy, recruitment compromises, woefully inadequate training, and a chronic shortage of supplies seem especially timely in light of the contemporary military quagmire in Iraq. Yet through all his doubts and travails, Williams' dedication to the Corps emerges stubbornly Semper Fi. --Jerry McCulley

A powerful and harrowing look into the world of reservists—more than just the “spare parts” of our nation’s military—as seen through one man’s transformation from weekend warrior to combat Marine.
In 1990 Buzz Williams walked into a Marine recruiting office to follow in the footsteps of the deceased older brother he grew up idolizing, and signed up to join the reserves. Buzz had thought that he would only need to sacrifice one weekend a month and two weeks a year for training to earn the money that would help pay for his college tuition. He had no idea that even the newest reservists could find themselves on the battlefield in a matter of weeks.
Spare Parts recounts Williams’s harrowing deployment to the Persian Gulf after only four weeks of combat training. Enduring both the condescension of full-time Marines and the danger of his limited preparation, he manages to form a core group that struggles to gain respect from a military machine that views them as mere “spare parts.” In gripping, you-are-there detail, Spare Parts articulates the grueling physical and emotional trials that Williams and his comrades must face on the killing fields of Kuwait—where some of the woefully underprepared men are able to rise to the challenge and others are broken by the horrors of battle.
A compelling portrait of the more than 1.2 million reservists who stand ready to leave civilian life to defend our nation at a moment’s notice, Spare Parts adds a moving new perspective to the literature of war.

"Mister DeMille, I have no idea what I'm ready for."

Yes, in honor of Day 100, I am giving you a Gratuitous Kitten Shot. Three, in fact. These were all right in a row, on the camera. That was my final test of becoming a Master of Hardcore Kitten Photography.

Now I'm off to do some actual photography.

(OK, side note: I had a grumpy, fussy day. And at the end of it I got sad, amongst other things. Why is not important, but what is important is that when I'm sad, few things cheer me up as much as kitty tummies. So really, this represents the best of today. Because earlier this evening, I had Manny sitting on a cushion above my left shoulder, and this little boy sitting above my right, with his front paws resting on my shoulder and his loud purr rumbling in my ear. I know some of you are cat haters, but come on. That's pretty sweet. Yeah, I said sweet.)

These are Selftimer modules which where found in a cardboard box full of camera spare parts.
They belong to the focal plane shutters from Icarex 35 SLR's.

I know that the first owner, which passed away, was a serviceman for Rollei, Voigtlander, Zeiss Ikon, Canon and Yashica cameras.

I had a look at the Camerapedia pages of named manufactors but was unable to find a camera with a Selftimer Lever which had the same look as this one (see green arrow).

Does somebody identify the camera where this selftimer belongs to ? The most probable timeperiod is from about 1960 till about 1974.