Marine Corps History

Each month our detachment historian shares a piece of Marine Corps history during our meeting. If you were looking for more infomation about the history shared, look not further!

Marine corps Birthday Ball
November 2025

The two main sources for this History Moment are this month’s (November) issue of the Leatherneck
Magazine, and the Marine Corps history web site.

https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/Brief-Histories/

Every year Marines make such a fuss about our birthday on 10 November, that some people get tired
of hearing about it. This year marks 250 years, and for the first time in my life the Army and Navy are
also getting in on the festivities, but we are still number one. We now celebrate 250 years as the
finest all-domain fighting force the planet has ever known. At one point President Truman was
reputed to say that the "They [Marines] have a propaganda machine almost the equal of Stalin's."
They even had a definition of a Marine Corps fire team: "One lootin' one shootin" and two taking
pictures." I understand that Marines in Vietnam were issued cameras and encouraged to take lots of
photos.

That has not always been the case. After the Revolutionary War all of the Continental militaries were
disbanded, and until 1921 the Martine birthday was recognized as 11 July 1798, the date when
President John Adams signed the bill that created the US Marine Corps. This date was recognized
but got little notice.

By the end of WW 1, the Marines were celebrated throughout the country for their success, especially
at Belleau Wood. Although that was a minor part of the war, the French press so loved the Marines
that they made it seem that the Marines had won the war all by themselves. The Americans also took
the Marines to heart. The Army and Navy really hated that.

MajGen John A Lejeune became Commandant in 1920 during the severe drawdown of the US
military. He was determined to build on the reputation of the Marines and to keep them in the public
eye. He made Quantico the showplace of the Corps. He held parades, established college-level
baseball and football teams, had the Marines reenact Civil War battles, anything he could to promote
the Marines. He even founded the Marine Corps League in 1923 with the basic mission to promote
the interest in, and to preserve traditions of the Marine Corps,

Then, on 21 October 1921, Maj Edwin McClellan, OIC, Historical Section, HQMC, sent a
memorandum to Gen Lejeune, suggesting that the original birthday on 10 November 1775 be
declared a Marine Corps holiday to be celebrated throughout the Corps. Maj McClellan further
suggested that a dinner be held in Washington D.C., to commemorate the event. Guests would
include prominent men from the Marine Corps, Army, and Navy, and descendants of the Revolution.

Accordingly, on 1 November 1921, MajGen Lejeune issued Marine Corps Order No. 47, Series 1921,
which will be read later in the ceremony tonight. Over the next several years some commands
expanded the celebrations to include sham battles, balls, dances, sporting events, etc.

As 1925, the 150 th anniversary approached, Gen Lejeune wanted to have a celebration in
Philadelphia, our birthplace. However, Philadelphia was quite a dangerous place, with a serious crime
rate, rampant bootlegging, and police corruption, hardly a good place for a celebration.

So, the city mayor, W. Freeland Kendrick, petitioned President Calvin Coolidge to send his friend
BGen Smedley Butler to take charge as the city's director of public safety, and, in an unprecedented

peacetime measure, Coolidge granted his request. In December 1923, Commandant Lejeune
relieved BGen Butler of his Marine Expeditionary Forces, U.S. Fleet command. Butler was granted
one year's leave to clean up Philadelphia, starting in January 1924. He was later granted another
year. He did such a good job that other cities put up barriers to keep fleeing criminals out.

This was to be a massive celebration. Guests included the Secretaries of War and Navy,
Commandant Lejeune, famous statesmen, soldiers, and sailors. The principal event was the unveiling
of a tablet on the site of Tun Tavern. The tablet was a gift from the Thomas Roberts Reath Post,
American Legion, whose members were exclusively Marines. The celebration was held in conjunction
with the annual convention of the Marine Corps League. A parade included Marines, Regular Army,
and Navy detachments, National Guard, and other military organizations. The evening banquet was
held at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel and a ball followed at the Bellevue-Stratford.

As for the cake cutting, we don't know exactly when and where it began, but there may have been
one at Quantico, Virginia, in 1935. On record, however, was one held at Marine Barracks,
Washington, D.C., in 1937, where Major General Commandant Thomas Holcomb presided at an
open house for Marine Corps officers. Ceremonies included the cutting of a huge cake designed after
the famous Tun Tavern in Philadelphia. Who gets the first piece? Sometimes first pieces of cake were
presented to newlyweds, the Secretary of the Navy, governors, etc., but now, the first pieces of cake
go to the oldest and youngest Marines at the ball.

There are few records, but by the late 1930s, Marine Corps Birthday celebrations had begun to pop
up everywhere. They were publicized through every media. Newsreels, motion pictures, and displays
summarized the history of the Corps. In 1951, a formal Birthday Ball Pageant was held at
Headquarters Marine Corps. This included period unforms and the cake cutting.

On 28 October 1952, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., directed
that the celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday be formalized throughout the Corps, and provided
an outline for the cake ceremony, as well as other formal observances. This outline was included in
the Marine Corps Drill Manual, approved 26 January 1956.

And so it goes. Like the Corps itself, the Birthday Ball developed from simple origins to become the
polished, professional function that all Marines commemorate on 10 November around the world.

To give you some idea of the success of Gen Lejeune's efforts to preserve the Corps, in 1957
Commandant General Randolph McC. Pate, asked LtGen Victor "Brute" Krulak to comment on "Why
does the U.S. need a Marine Corps?" Parts of Krulak's reply are, " … in terms of cold mechanical
logic, the United States does not need a Marine Corps. However, for good reasons which completely
transcend cold logic, the United States wants a Marine Corps. … should the people ever lose that
conviction—as a result of our failure to meet their high—almost spiritual—standards, the Marine
Corps will then quickly disappear." This ball tonight is evidence of the honor we have inherited to
carry those Marine Corps standards into the future.

Semper Fi.

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

Let's Abolish the Marines, Part 1:
October 2025

Quick Hits

Marine Veterans Who Founded Major Corporatons – Glen Bell, Taco Bell, Frederick W. Smith, FedEx, Robert J Stevens, Lockheed Martin, Robert S. Morrison, Quaker Oats,
The historic Assault Amphibious Vehicle, the AAV, has been retired as of 26 September 2025
The first battles of WW2 were fought in Greenland between the US Army and the Germans over setting up weather stations.

Now, Let's Abolish the Marines: Something I have been promising you for the last few months.
My primary reference for this is the book, Commandants of the Marine Corps , edited by Allan R
Millet & Jack Shulimson, © 2004. Almost every Commandant has had to fight to save the Marine
Corps

Let's start with this, what is the mission of the Marine Corps? The basic mission In the National
Security Act of 1947, amended in 1952, states, in part, that the mission of the Marine Corps is " …
the seizure or defense of advanced naval bases and for the conduct of such land operations
as may be essential to the execution of naval campaigns." There are other bits and pieces
including responsibility for amphibious operations, and the catch-all, " … other such duties as the
President may direct." That last part, as the president may direct," has governed most of
what we have done in history. It's been a bumpy road, but let's trace how we got there.

In October 1903, the Marine Corps consisted of 278 officers and 7,532 enlisted Marines
stationed in 29 posts in the USA and abroad and on US Navy ships. They had begun to take
on the advanced base and expeditionary missions but there were struggles.

In November 1908 US Army MajGen Leonard Wood, you may have heard of him, convinced
President Theodore Roosevelt that the Marines should be incorporated into the Army to
expand its infantry regiments. Gen Wood later lied about his direct involvement. The Marines
prevailed with the help of a powerful Congressman, Thomas Butler, father of Smedley Butler.
The advanced base mission continued and was slightly expanded.

As an aside, Smedley Butler constantly used his father's influence to advance his career. He
was very difficult to get along with and was generally not trusted by other Marine officers.

In the build-up to WW 1, the 1918 appropriations bill expanded the Marines to more than 30,000. In
spite objections by Gen Pershing and the Army in general, the Marines were deployed to Europe. The
makeup included eight companies of veteran Marines from the Caribbean to make sure the younger
Marines learned to act like Marines.

Gen Pershing attempted to sideline the Marines to various guard duties but finally incorporated them
as one brigade (4 th Bde) in the 2 nd Division of the AEF. In May of 1918, Pershing was able to assign
US Army BGen Harbord to command the brigade. This was quite a shock to the Marines, but Harbord
proved to be an able commander, who led them through the famous battle of Belleau Wood. When
Harbord was promoted to command the 2 nd Div, MajGen Lejeune, USMC, became commander of 4 th
Bde and later he 2 nd Div, which was still half Army.

Here's where things began to get really ugly. Let's look at some numbers. The US deployed more that
2 million men to Europe, of which only about 30,000 were Marines. The battle of Belleau Wood and
subsequent actions by the Marines were really a small part of the overall US effort. The Meuse-
Argonne campaign that virtually ended the war was the largest and bloodiest battle in US history, with
a total US casualties of more than 26,000 killed and almost 96,000 wounded. Many of the future
senior leaders of the US were there, George Marshall, Douglass MacArthur, George Patton, Harry
Truman, etc. Dwight Eisenhower was not deployed, but as a Lt he was mentored by George Patton.

I have mentioned before that the French loved the US Marines. They thought the Marines were in
better physical condition, had better uniforms, and after Belleau Wood, were the fiercest fighters. Gen
Pershing applied censorship and would not allow the reporters to name individual units. He wanted to
avoid competition among units. However, he did allow reporters to write about separate services, so
the Marines got most of the newspaper space. They made it sound like the Marines had won the war
all by themselves, and the Army hated them for it. They even had a song, "The Marines have won the
Crois de Guerre, The sons-of-batches were never there. Hinky-dinky, parlez-vous."

By the end of WW 1, the Marines strength was 72,963, including about 30,000 who were in France, of
which almost a third were wounded. They participated in eight major combat operations, They
received more than 1,300 individual decorations for bravery, including seven Medals of Honor.

After some serious infighting in Washington, MajGen Lejeune became Commandant in 1920. He

oversaw a period of sever drawdowns. Within a year the Marine Corps was reduced to fewer that
21,000 men. In spite of that, Lejeune managed to maintain the Corps in the public eye. He made
Quantico the show place of the Corps, with marching bands and college-level baseball and football
teams. The Marines also excelled in interservice marksmanship. Marines participated in Civil War
reenactments. He oversaw the beginnings of our strategy in WW 2. The deployment of Marines to
guard the US Mail in 1921 helped. Their instructions included, "If attacked, shoot, and shoot to kill,"
and "I expect to see either a dead bandit or a dead Marine."

However, he had to fight a miserly congress who wanted catastrophic reductions. He closed most
recruiting stations, and accepted only requests for enlistment, while raising the standards for
enlistment. The Marines retained the advanced base and expeditionary missions, but with greatly
reduced resources.

Let's stop here for now. In our next segment, we'll cover the period between the wars, WW 2, and the
time when we came the closest to losing the Marine Corps in 1947. The Marine haters from WW 1
were now in charge, and were determined to annihilate the Marine Corps.

Semper Fi.

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

We Are US Marines, Part 4: Boot camp
Semptember 2025

How many of you remember Hurricane Katrina in August 2005? We have lots of stories of wartime
heroes, but not so many during peacetime. In Gulfport, Miss. A SSgt named Murphy cobbled together
a team of six including himself, a WM SSgt named Sweeney, three other Marines and a sailor from
the SeaBees. Over several days that small group, with very little rest, using two amtracs, rescued
more than 200 people. In one case they had to swim out to sea and make an amphibious landing to
get to a senior living center to rescue more than 70 folks there.
Ultimately, Murphy retired as a CWO-4 and Sweeney retired as a MGySgt. Here's the link to the
Leatherneck Magazine article.
www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/homefront-heroes-marines-recall-lifesaving-actions-during-
hurricane-katrina/

Now, some trivia questions:

Have you ever heard of the Mobile Riverine Force in Vietnam? It was a joint force of the US Navy
and the US Army in the Mekong Delta, in existence for a few years. The Navy had what were called
"Swift Boats" of John Kerry fame The Army used recycled WW 2 landing craft to transport soldiers. I
mention this only because it seems ironic that the Army was conducting amphibious operations in the
Mekong while the Marines were conducting land operations up in I Corps.

Next, have you ever heard of the "Let George Do It" Medal? Guadalcanal was an extremely
important battle in the Pacific. Recently Chuck forwarded to all of you an article about that. There
were so many things we did wrong, and we came close to losing. At one point Gen Vandergrift was
told to surrender if it got too bad. Of course, he refused and was later awarded the MOH.

The story goes that one miserable night on that crocodile-infested island, a few officers decided the
division deserved a medal — not for heroism in the traditional sense, but simply for surviving that
dreadful place, … "

What started as a jest soon became cast in bronze. A popular idiom of the time — "Let George do it!"
— had become the division's unofficial motto. The phrase meant to leave an undesirable task for
someone else. By the end of the Guadalcanal campaign, every Marine — 1st Division or not — had
become "George." Read all about it here:
https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/military-history/2025/09/12/the-medal-created-by-
marines-when-s-hit-the-fan-on-guadalcanal/

Just one more – did you know that the Marines once had their own cavalry unit?
From 1927 to 1941, a small detachment of the 4th Marine Regiment, commonly referred to as "China
Marines," were stationed at the American Legation in Shanghai (now Beijing), China, to protect U.S.
citizens and American interests in that region. The elite members of the China Marines were the
Mounted Detachment, or Horse Marines. They were issued the Model 1913 Saber, the standard U.S.
Cavalry saber of the time, that had been designed by later LtGen George S. Patton
http://www.chinamarine.org/Peking/MountedDetachment.aspx

Next, let's see if any of this next part sounds familiar? By the way, I know most of you are
"Paradise Island Marines," but how many of you are "Hollywood Marines?" Also, any drill instructors
in here? Whichever, if you ever wondered "what happened to me?" here it is.

Boot Camp Change Process – according to a management "expert" Edgar H Schein who analyzed
Marine boot camp back in the mid-80s. He identified three phases of change which were most
dramatic for the Marines. They are unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. (In case you are wondering,
Officer Candidate School (OCS) is much the same with slightly different goals.)
The First Three Weeks – Drastic Unfreezing Process –

Physical removal from their accustomed routines, sources of information, and social relationships while hermetically sealed in a hostile environment. Daily routine is to rise early, do exhausting exercises, attend classes on strange subjects, drill for hours in the hot sun, eat meals in silence, and stand at rigid attention the rest of the time; no TV, no radio, no candy, no Coke, no beer, no telephone, but expected to write letters home at least once a week during the one hour of free time a day.
Undermining and destruction of social supports – Drill instructors use their voices and threats and extra physical training to shock the recruit out of emotional stability of home, pool hall, street corner, girlfriend/boyfriend, or school, etc.
Demeaning and humiliating experiences especially during the first two weeks so they will see themselves as unworthy and thus motivated to change – 80 terrified privates are herded around and for sixteen hours a day for two to three weeks they will do nothing right.
Consistent linking of reward with willingness to change and punishment with unwillingness to change. This includes Motivation Platoon for rebels or laggards.

Changing – By the third week there is a break. The so-called "slow, fat, dumb, or difficult" have been
dropped and the remainder have one passionate desire – to stay with their platoon at all costs. By
this time, the DIs know pretty well who will or will not make it.

Refreezing - Internalization happens as fear of the DI gives way to respect and survival evolves into
achievement. A common comment is, "I had more guts than I ever imagined." Keeping the platoon
together during the whole process reinforces the refreezing.

I may have told you about my Army veteran buddy who told me he was convinced his drill sergeants
wanted them to succeed. He was a bit shocked when I told him that our DIs did about everything they
could to make us quit. One DI told us one day, "I won't graduate anyone I don't want in my foxhole.

As I recall, my platoon started with about 80 privates and graduated about 60. Doesn't sound too bad
until you factor in that we picked up about 20 guys who had been set back for some reason and
joined to finish with us. That said, only about half of our original group graduated together.

NOW, I have a serious question for you to mull over. Did boot camp change you into a new person, or
did it force you to get in touch with who you really are? I know my answer. I will be interested in
hearing yours. Semper Fi.

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

We Are US Marines, Part 3
July 2025

Quick Hits

11 July 1798, The Marine Corps Band, "The President’s Own, was established.
7 July 1941, 1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed in Iceland.
15 July 1958, 2nd Marines landed near Beirut and seized airport at Lebanese

government's request

Now, like with everything else, our recruiting slogans are also ‘in your face. Unlike other
services that told potential recruits about awesome job opportunities, GI Bill money, or
adventure, the Corps promised only pain, extreme challenges, and sacrifice. The messaging
attracted a certain kind of recruit: One who was only interested in earning the title of Marine.
We will discuss Marine Corps boot camp in the future. What are your favorites?

My top two are "We Don’t Promise You a Rose Garden," and "The Marine Corps Builds
Men, Body, Mind, and Spirit." A high school girl I knew asked me when I joined whether the
Marines would build her a man. Hmmm, maybe I should have gone back to see her.

Here are some others:

"We are looking for a few good men" comes from an advertisement in 1799, "The
Continental ship Providence, now lying at Boston, is bound on a short cruise, immediately; a
few good men are wanted to make up her complement."

Of course there is the infamous "Teufel Hunden – Devil Dogs Recruiting Station" of WW 1.
That is terrible German grammar but still lingers today.

"First to Fight" comes from our hymn.

The phrase "Tell That to the Marines." was originally an insulting way for sailors to chide
British Royal Marines for believing any crazy story that they heard, But with James
Montgomery Flagg’s 1917 recruiting poster of an enraged man throwing a newspaper to the
ground, the insult was recast as a challenge: if there is evil happening in the world, tell it to
the Marines, because they will take care of it." Take that, sailors.

"If everybody could get in the Marines, it wouldn’t be the Marines." Again, the Corps was
sending the message that it was an exclusive club that only a select few could make it into. Of
course, as a smaller service, the Corps has to be more exclusive, but this slogan also has the
added bonus of throwing shade at the Army.

"The Few. The Proud. The Marines." has been used by the Marine Corps since 1977. It
won a place on Madison Avenue's Advertising Walk of Fame during Advertising Week 2007.
https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/the-8-most-iconic-marine-corps-recruiting-slogans/
https://marineparents.com/marinecorps/motto-and-slogans.asp

The Marine Corps also has a flair for taking an insult and turning it into something of a badge
of honor. Sailors used to call them "gyrenes" as an insult, and then they adopted it. Then they
started calling them "jarheads," and that insult was flipped into a term of endearment. Perhaps
the most recent has been "Crayon Eaters," which we have talked about previously.

The term "gyrene" is a jocular reference to Marines which was first used in England as early
as 1894. It did appear to have a derogatory meaning in its early usage. It may have been a
reference to pollywog, a naval slang term for a person who has not yet "crossed" (the
equator), hence, a landlubber.

In 1776, it was mandated that a leather stock be worn by officers and enlisted men alike. This
leather collar served to protect the neck against cutlass slashes and to hold the head erect in
proper military bearing. Sailors serving aboard ship with Marines came to call them
"leathernecks." (The source of the above text is The National Museum of the Marine Corps
and Heritage Center. To visit their web site, Click here...)

"Jarhead" is a a different form of leatherneck. Some of the collars worn by Marines reached
up to the ears and resembled what we call "cervical collars" today. The slang term used by
sailors as early as World War II drew the term from the resemblance of the Marine dress
blues uniform, with its high collar, to a Mason jar, hence "jarhead."

I’m sure all of you have been to Camp Pendleton. Perhaps you are also familiar with the
"Flying T" or "Hanging O" logo that looks like a circle with a "T" handle. Where did it come
from? In 1841, two brothers, Pio Pico and Andrés Pico, became the first private owners of
Rancho Santa Margarita. More land was later added to the grant, giving it the name of
Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores, which stayed with the ranch until the Marine Corps
acquired it in 1942. The design of the ranch's cattle brand is seen in the base's logo today.
There is also a recent version that converts the "T" into the tops of the numbers 7 and 5 in
honor of the 75th anniversary of Camp Pendleton.

In the 8 th episode of the series "Pacific" a supposed shot of the main gate, has the logo upside
down.

A quick note. I find it quite amusing that all the senior military officers now must answer to two
Marines, JD Vance, a corporal, and Pete Hegseth, a major.

Finally, I challenge all of you to email or text me on "Why I am Proud to be a Marine." I have
asked several of you this question and I would like to add some of your comments to these
History Moments.

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

We Are US Marines, Part 2

June 2025

Quick hits:

1 June 1918 – Battle of Belleau Wood began. Lots more about that in the near future
1 June 1942 – First black Marines ~19,000 during WW 2

4-7 June 1944 – Battle of Midway. Of 317 total US casualties, 59 KIA were Marines mostly from 2nd MAW (esp MAG 22) stationed on Midway Island, Most were never recovered. One was Major Henderson – namesake for Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. There were >2500 Japanese casualties.
6 June 1944 – D-Day including ~700 Marines even though Gen Eisenhower later claimed that there were no Marines involved. More on that later as well.
15 June 1944 – Battle of Saipan began lasting until 9 July
17 June 1898 – Creation of the US Navy Hospital Corps
22 June 1945 Battle of Okinawa ended – the last major battle of WW 2
25 June 1971 – Marines departed South Vietnam except for the embassy guards
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history/2024/june/marine-airs-dark-day-midway
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Midway

Nineteen men have been awarded two Medals of Honor (MOH). Trivia question, how many of them were Marines? Who wants to help me out? The answer is seven. During WW 1 five men were awarded both a Marine MOH and an Army MOH but for the same action. The difference? Smedley Butler and Dan Daly were each awarded two Marine MOH for separate actions.
https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/lists/double-recipients

Back to customs and traditions. Who can tell me where our OohRah cheer comes from? The best answer I have found is that Recon Marines in WW 2 were trying to imitate the sound of a submarine dive klaxon – “AruuGah, Aruugah. Dive, Dive!” In the 1970’s we joked that we sounded like a bunch of trained seals.

Next, how many of you at some time or other, perhaps more than once attained the lofty rank of lance corporal? (I read somewhere that Steve McQueen made PFC seven times.) LCpl is the most commonly held rank in the Marines and is unique to the Marines in the US although it has been used sometimes by the US Army and other nations. The ranks of LCpl and Lance Sgt were used from early years as temporary ranks but with no extra pay. There were also times when those ranks lasted for only one month. They were not used during WW 2, at which time a Cpl was an E-3 and a Sgt was an E-4. LCpl became an official permanent rank in 1958.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_corporal

The title Honorary Marine has been awarded to fewer than 100 people since it became official in 1992. The list includes Bob Hope and Gary Sinise. However, in 1943 Bugs Bunny sang the Marines Hymn in a cartoon called Super Rabbit. The Marines adopted him, issued him dog tags and registration papers and promoted him several times, finally to the rank of MSgt, and discharged him after the war.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1177280009762911

When the Marines began gearing up for WW 1, all basic training, both officer and enlisted was at Quantico. The rifle range was where the base chapel is now. When the Marines got to France the French people immediately fell in love with them. They thought the Marines had better uniforms and were in better physical condition than others. They also learned that they were better fighters. This is all background for more to come.

The Marine boot camp and officer basic concentrated on four areas. Can anyone tell us what those were? How about discipline, close order drill, physical fitness, and rifle marksmanship. Sound familiar? Marines engaged the Germans out to 600 meters and were so fast and so accurate the Germans thought they were using machine guns. Some of the Marines would work the rifle bolt with their thumb and first finger and pull the trigger with their little finger. The other armies, including ours, were still using volley fire; just shoot lots of rounds and hope for the best.

As I continue this series on who we are and how we got here all of this will fit together. We are very proud of our “warrior ethos,” our “first to fight” reputation. That has had some interesting results that almost caused the death of the Marine Corps. Stay tuned for more to come.

Last item for today. Who remembers the phrase, “Feed the mules first,” and can tell me where it came from? Try Chesty Puller who said: “One more thing. Wherever we are at chow time, the privates will be fed first. Then the noncoms, and the officers last of all.” To those who grumbled afterward an old gunnery sergeant said: “You’re lucky. When I was with the Old Man down in Nicaragua, the order was mules even before privates, and brother, them mules could eat! You’ll find out there’s method in the Old Man’s madness.” (Davis, Burke. Marine!: The Life of Chesty Puller)

In the banana wars in the 1920s, pack mules were required to carry heavy loads of munitions, food, etc. The idea is that you always feed the hardest working members first to make sure they are able to do their work.

Now, how is that tradition reflected in the Marine Corps today? When Marines are in a field mess hall we eat in reverse rank order; privates eat first and so on up the line with the CO being the last in line. Again, feed the hardest workers first. If the CO misses a meal or two so what. If the troops do not get fed the whole unit may fail. I always enjoyed seeing other service officers forced to the back of the line when they tried to pull rank.

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

We Are US Marines, Part 2

June 2025

Quick hits:

1 June 1918 – Battle of Belleau Wood began. Lots more about that in the near future
1 June 1942 – First black Marines ~19,000 during WW 2

4-7 June 1944 – Battle of Midway. Of 317 total US casualties, 59 KIA were Marines mostly from 2nd MAW (esp MAG 22) stationed on Midway Island, Most were never recovered. One was Major Henderson – namesake for Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. There were >2500 Japanese casualties.
6 June 1944 – D-Day including ~700 Marines even though Gen Eisenhower later claimed that there were no Marines involved. More on that later as well.
15 June 1944 – Battle of Saipan began lasting until 9 July
17 June 1898 – Creation of the US Navy Hospital Corps
22 June 1945 Battle of Okinawa ended – the last major battle of WW 2
25 June 1971 – Marines departed South Vietnam except for the embassy guards
https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history/2024/june/marine-airs-dark-day-midway
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Midway

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

We Are US Marines, Part 1
May 2025

A quick reminder and review. Monday is Memorial Day, a day to remember all of our fallen military men and women. Armed Forces Day last Saturday recognizes all who are still in uniform, and Veterans Day is for all who have served. Also, Military Spouse Appreciation Day is the Friday before Mother’s Day.

We often talk about our proud heritage and our traditions. And as you know, everything about us has a bit of “in your face” attitude; some might even say obnoxious or arrogant. Well, what is our legacy and where does it come from? This month’s history moment begins a series on just those topics; the backstories on our motto, our hymn, our flag, and our cheer, and even our fight for survival as a military service.

First, a couple of quick hits.

On May 11, 1978, Margaret A. Brewer became the first female general officer in the Marine Corps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_United_States_Marine_Corps
In May 1942, the first 29 Navajo recruits attended boot camp to become code talkers.
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/code-talkers.html
The date of May 22, 1912, is recognized as the birthday of Marine Corps aviation. On that day, 1st Lt Cunningham reported to the Naval Academy in Annapolis to learn to fly.

Now, our legacy. Let’s start with Semper Fidelis (Semper Fi), the Marine motto. The Marines have used a number of mottos over the years. Here’s a quote from the web site included below.

“The earliest known motto, dating back to before the War of 1812, was "Fortitudine" -- Latin for "With Fortitude." Later, the Marines adopted "By Sea and by Land," which was a direct translation of the British Royal Marines' motto, "Per Mare, Per Terram."

“Then, in 1805, after Lt. Presley O'Bannon led Marines in capturing the city of Derna during the First Barbary War, the motto changed to "To the Shores of Tripoli" to honor that victory. In 1848, following the Marine Corps' role in capturing Mexico City, the phrase was expanded to "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli." That line, of course, later became the opening lyrics of The Marines' Hymn.

“The phrase "Semper Fidelis" isn't unique to the Marine Corps. Variations have been found in old Latin manuscripts and religious writings, often referring to faithfulness to God.

“Col. Charles G. McCawley, who was the commandant of the Marine Corps in 1883, may have been the one who chose "Semper Fidelis" as the service's new motto, but this isn't verified as McCawley kept little documentation, according to the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

“Beyond its meaning of "Always Faithful," "Semper Fi" can be a deeply personal and emotional bond that ties Marines together for life.”

In my opinion, the only other service motto that comes close to ours is the USCG “Semper Paratus,” (Always Prepared).

https://www.military.com/military-life/semper-fi-marine-corps-motto?ESRC=marine_250304.nl&utm_medium=email&utm_source=marine&utm_campaign=20250304

That leads us naturally to our hymn, seeing as how the first line comes from two of our famous early battles. Around the world the Marines Hymn is one of the most widely recognized tunes, perhaps second only to our national anthem. (Come to think of it, our national anthem has an “in your face” attitude about it as well.)How many of you can recite all three verses to the hymn?

The music apparently comes from a French comic opera written in 1859. The author of the words is unknown. The first official version was authorized by the Commandant in 1929. It was slightly revised in 1942 to include “in the air,” to go with “on land, and sea.” I have suggested it needs further revision to the third verse, “If the Army and the Navy,” because now we have the Air Force and the Space Cadets as well. The phrase “If all the other services” would fit well.

https://www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Marines-Hymn/

I don’t mean to make fun of the other services – well, maybe a little. I challenge you, however, to listen to the other service hymns and see whether any of them touch you or inspire you like ours does. Ours always chokes me up.

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

Evacuation of Saigon, Iraqi Freedom

April 2025

On 18 April, Ernie Pyle, the famous war correspondent, was killed in Okinawa

April 1961, the entire Marine Corps was put on alert in support of the Bay of Pigs
invasion of Cuba. Elements of 1 st and 2d Mar Divs were sent to reinforce Guantanamo.
The failed invasion was from 17-20 April. Cmdt Gen Shoup opposed the invasion.

Late April saw the final assault by the North Vietnamese and the evacuation of Saigon
and South Vietnam. As you can imagine, it was a very complicated affair. However, it
was not the total chaos usually depicted in news reports. The primary Marine units
involved were 9 th MAB commanded by BGen Richard Carey, and RLT 4 commanded by
then Col Alfed Gray. See U.S. Marines in Vietnam, the Bitter End, 1973-1975.

A personal note, I was in Taiwan with a small Radio Bn unit attached to an Air Force
Sqdn. One of the Marines was Cpl Beck. He was so tall he needed a waiver to enlist.
The Air Force guys called him “Tree”. I remember standing in the comm center late one
evening. Here is this giant of a Marine with tears running down his face asking me, “Lt,
aren’t we going to do anything?”

Now, let’s talk about Operation Iraqi Freedom – OIF. At least one of you was involved. I
remember watching the Marines, with the help of local Iraqis, pull down the statue of
Sadam Hussien in Baghdad.

OIF began on 23 March and ended on 1 April 2003. I MEF attacked on the right with
objectives to capture the Euphrates River bridges. The US Army was in the center and
the British were on the left. There was also an air assault farther north in Tikrit.

The Marine combat element was 1 st MarDiv, reinforced, commanded by MajGen Mattis.
It included its own three regiments, 1 st , 5 th , and 7 th Marines from Pendleton, and 2b MEB
with elements 2d and 8 th Marines from Lejeune. Movement was generally restricted to
roadways because of the soft, sometimes wet, sand so the convoys were huge, some
as long as 30 miles, and units were often intermingled. They developed tactics based
on the situation. They would move down the road until they took fire from a village or
town. The lead unit would turn off the road and the Marines would dismount and assault
the enemy while the rest of the convoy moved on. Most of the enemy were fedayeen
guerrillas. The Iraqi army had mostly dispersed. Once the firefight was over, the assault
unit would rejoin the convoy in the rear until their turn came up again. OIF proved the
concept of maneuver warfare that Cmdt Gen Al Gray had insisted on.

Marines always seem to fight in severe weather. In Iraq it was the sand and dust
storms, sometimes mixed with rain and mud, making visibility almost impossible
sometimes. The dust particles are like talcum powder and cause severe respiratory
problems. Many Marines were quite sick for the first 10 days or so until their bodies
began to adapt, but they would still cough up globs of yellow phlegm. The Marines

learned that the dust was not that big a problem. With GPS and Infrared and regular
goggles, they could usually continue to move when the Iraqis could not

The major battle for the Marines was at An Nasiriyah, an area that became known as
“Ambush Alley”. An Nasiriyah was on a key supply route. The lead element, 2d MEB,
took the name “Task Force Tarawa” in honor of 2d Marines in that fight. The battle
began with the ambush of a US Army maintenance column that had taken wrong turn.
The Marines arrived shortly after and rescued the soldiers, but not before 17 were killed
or captured. TF Tarawa captured Nasiriyah on 3 April. While that was going on the rest
of I MEF continued north toward Baghdad. Iraqi officers later admitted to being shocked
at the aggressiveness of the Marines.

The CG of CentCom was US Army Gen Tommy Franks. During the march up to
Baghdad, He addressed a group of Marines, telling them that, if he had a son, he would
want him to be a Marine. Since he wrote that in his autobiography, I have to believe it.

Several years ago, I read a book by a navy SEAL who wrote that he was so impressed
by the young Marines in Iraq. When things go well for the SEALs, he said, they would
get in and out without getting shot at. However, the young Marines went into battle
knowing they would get shot at and they went anyway. Total Marine casualties were
853 KIA including ~ 9 by friendly from A-10 aircraft, and 8,624 WIA.

 Reynolds USMCR, Colonel Nicholas E., U.S. Marines In Iraq, 2003: Basrah,
Baghdad And Beyond.
 West, Bing; Ray L. Smith. The March Up, Random House Publishing Group.

Finally for today, I’m sure all of you remember who Eugene Sledge was. Also, you have
heard of the Gideons, the guys who hand out Bibles all over the world. In 1941
President Roosevelt signed an order allowing the Gideons to distribute Scriptures to the
armed forces. At Pearl Harbor the first Testaments were given out on Dec. 2d, 1941,
just days before the attack.

Anyway, Sledge carried a small Gideon Testament in a waterproof rubber pouch. He
made illegal notes in the margins. About 40 years later he used those notes to write his
book, “With the Old Breed.”

Now the Gideons print military Testaments in four camouflage patterns, one for each
service. The Marine corps version is this tan digital one.

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

Tet 1968, Part 3, Gene Hackman, Iraq, SSgt Reckless
March 2025

I’m sure you all are aware that Marine veteran Gene Hackman, one of the greatest
movie stars, was found dead with his wife and a dog in his home in Santa Fe NM. It is
still under investigation. Linked below is an article about hackman’s time in the Marines.
He served from 1947-51, mostly in China. He joined to impress his girlfriend and show
respect for her brother who had been killed in Guam. It also mentions a Chinese house
of ill repute he might have visited.

The Hilarious Reason Gene Hackman gave for Joining the Marine Corps

Just a couple of dates. “Top” Newport reminded me that on 8 March 1965 he landed
with the first ground forces deployed to Vietnam - 9 th MEB consisting of BLTs 1/9 and
3/9. Ten years later in March of 1975, the communists launched their final assault to
take Saigon. One of Top’s favorite books is Semper Fi-Vietnam: From Da Nang to the
DMZ: Marine Corps Campaigns, 1965-1975, available on Amazon.

A few final remarks about Tet 1968 and Khe Sanh. I have mentioned the obsession of
senior leaders with Khe Sanh. President Johnson even had a large sand table of Khe
Sanh built is the White House so he could follow the battle from there. The enemy was
happy to feed that obsession.

During late 1967 there was a large buildup of enemy forces and the first major attack
on Khe Sanh was 20 January. The main Tet offensive began 30-31 January. Then, on 7
February the NVA took the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei, south of Khe Sanh, using
tanks for the first time since Korea. Westmoreland was even more convinced.

The battle raged on from there with savage fights in the hills above Khe Sanh, names
you may be familiar with – hills 881N & S and hills 861 A & B. The NVA surrounded
Khe Sanh and cut Route 9, so all supplies had to be flown in. The siege of Khe Sanh
lasted 77 days with almost daily artillery and rocket attacks, until 8 April with a linkup of
the Khe Sanh Marines with US Army 2 nd Bn, 7 th Cavalry. Route 9 was declared open on
9 April. The last battle was on Hill 881N on 15 April. Then between 19 June and 11 July
the base was abandoned. Enemy losses are estimated at 14,600 and 28,900. Overall
allied losses were 730 dead, 2,642 wounded, and seven missing.

While the NVA would have been happy to take Khe Sanh, there is ample evidence that
they were not totally serious. For instance, the single source of water for the base was
outside the perimeter and could have easily been shut down. They never even tried.
Our own John Blair was in and around Khe Sanh during Tet 1968.

Tet 1968 had three objectives: 1) a massive show of force and distraction from Hue
City, 2) a spontaneous national uprising 3) all leading to total victory for them. There
was no uprising and the whole thing collapsed in a few weeks with the VC almost
annihilated. It was a massive victory for the US military in the short term. In the long
term, however, the communists won. Tet 1968 destroyed US political and emotional
support for the war. Like many wars that are won or lost long before they are over, we
lost Vietnam with Tet 1968. For more details see also, US Marines in Vietnam, 1968,
the Defining Year, available from Amazon.

Don’t think I have missed the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Operation Iraqi Freedom
began on 19 March 2003, called a “decapitation attack” against Saddam Hussein. As
part of US forces, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) invaded southern Iraq from
Kuwait. Marines began an assault on the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. A massive ambush in
Nasiriya inflicted heavy casualties. Fighting in Nasiriya continued until 2 April.

Next, there is a recent move titled “War Horse,” mostly fiction, about a horse in WW1.
But let’s talk about the real “War Horse.” She was a small red Korean mare, named
“Flame of the Morning,” who served with the 5 th Marines in Korea. A Marine officer
bought her from a man who needed money for a prosthetic leg for his sister. Since the
Marines were a recoilless rifle (RR) unit, the “Reckless Rifles” they renamed her
“Reckless.” She became a National hero in 1954 when an article ran in the Saturday
Evening Post and in 1997 Life Magazine named her as one of America’s greatest
heroes.

Reckless loved her Marines and would do anything they asked of her. She ate anything
the Marines ate, scrambled eggs, pancakes, etc. They taught her to get cover under
fire, to shelter in the bunker, and to get through wire. They made her a harness so she
could carry 75mm RR rounds. Check out her web site below including a short video,
There are also several books and over 20 YouTube videos about Reckless.

During one of the heaviest days of battle for outpost Vegas in March 1953, Reckless
made 51 round trips taking ammo up, and wounded Marines back down, some 35
miles, 386 artillery rounds and nearly 9,000 pounds. She moved so fast that she was
left on her own. She was slightly wounded twice but didn’t stop.

SgtReckliss.com

After the war, SSgt Reckless lived out her life in Camp Pendleton. Part of the orders for
her care were that she was never to be ridden and that she would never again be
required to carry anything heavier than her blanket. SSgt Reckless, THE war horse.

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

Tet 1968, Part 2 (Hue), Iwo Jima, Joe Foss, Desert Storm
February 2025

First a couple of quick notes. Our own MS Carrie was the first woman Marine to earn gold jump wings. The MCO had to be changed from allowing only “male” Marines February is the 80th Anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima. The Marines are the only US service to pass federal audit, and we’ve done it twice. In honor of the Superbowl, perhaps you recall Joe Foss, the USMC aviator ace who was awarded the MOH, 1n 1963 as commissioner of the upstart American Football League, he sent a letter to his NFL counterpart, Pete Rozelle, proposing a world series of American football. That led to the first Superbowl in 1967 and the merger into the NFL This is also the 34th anniversary of the final chapter of Operation Desert Storm. During the “100-hour war,” 24-28 February 1991, I MEF with 1st and 2nd Mar Divs, as part of the coalition forces, destroyed the Iraqi defenses. I MEF had a strength of more than 92,000 making Operation Desert Storm the largest Marine Corps operation in history. A total of 24 Marines were killed in action during the Gulf War. How many of you were there? Now back to Tet 1968 and the battle of Hue City. Last month I mentioned the movie “Full Metal Jacket?” The first half of that movie is late ‘60s boot camp. The second half of that movie is Hue City. The Marines have fought in three major urban battles, Seoul, Korea in 1950, Hue City in 1968, and Falujah, Iraq in 2004. The Marines had mostly been trained as jungle fighters so when the battle for Hue began, they were not prepared. Hue City was the ancient Imperial capital, including the Imperial Palace, the cathedral, and was the intellectual and emotional center of the country with a population of 140,000. The elites of Hue had equal disregard for both sides and kept aloof. Hue had rarely been touched by the war. The city is divided by the Perfume River which runs northeast to the coast. On the northern side is the Citadel, a 3-square mile fortress, 2,500 yards on each side, with double 28-foot stone walls 20-30 feet apart and filled with dirt. There were small structures and gardens on top. Inside was one regiment of ARVN infantry, including the elite “Black Panther Company” in a mini fortress. Across the river to the south in the new city were a few hundred US military personnel at the MACV compound. Hue City was the responsibility of Task Force X-ray of three Marine Battalions located farther south at Phu Bai. Approximately 20,000 enemy forces in some 14-18 battalions swept through Hue during the night of 30-31 January 1968. Only the two allied military areas held out. They immediately began rounding up thousands of people they considered to be tyrants and traitors and executing them. The total would be about 6.000 by the end of the battle. On a tall flagpole at the southern gate of the citadel they raised a huge VC flag that stayed there until near the end of the battle. With the obsessive fixation on Khe Sanh and all of the other attacks during Tet, Westmoreland and the other senior military leaders ignored Hue for several days. A few small company size units were sent and chewed up. By the time they realized what was going on a Hue, the enemy was well entrenched. Finally, 2nd Bn 5th Marines was sent in under the command of LtCol Earnest Cheatham, called “Big Ernie,” a former NFL linebacker. He immediately realized that the Marines were unprepared jungle fighters. Fortunately, there was a 36-hour lull that allowed him to search out a footlocker of doctrinal publications with 5th Marines. LtCol Cheatham found two publications about what today is called MOUT (Military Operations in Urbanized Terrain). What he learned was to blow your way through walls and, basically, just level everything in sight using massive amounts of explosives, grenades and satchel charges, and direct fire weapons, rocket launchers, tanks, recoilless rifles, and mortars to punch through roofs, and that’s what 2/5, and 1st Bn 1st Marines did. He had a strange weapon called an Ontos. That is a lightly armored vehicle with six 106 recoilless rifles mounted on the outside. The limitations are the thin armor and having to get out to reload. However, they could run out from cover, blow up the next target and pull back. By 10 February they had recaptured the provincial HQ and the heavy fighting in the new city was over. The Marines took down a VC flag and raised a solo US Flag over the HQ in violation of MACV policy. The capture of the citadel is another story and took until 27 February. Breeching the massive walls and digging out the entrenched enemy was a brutal battle. The allied forces were trying to abide by the Geneva conventions not to destroy cultural icons being used by the enemy. Once the mayor of Hue was freed from having been surrounded, he told them to do whatever they needed, so much of the Imperial City was also destroyed. The final assault was left to the ARVN forces for political reasons, heavily supported by allied forces. Most of the Imperial Palace survived. The battle was over on 3 March – five weeks to recapture Hue City. The battle of Hue City was perhaps the most intense and bloody battle of Vietnam. In many of the histories it has been passed over in favor of Khe Sanh. One history by a Retired Army BGen sums it up with “There was also heavy fighting around Hue City.” However, historians today are convinced that Hue was the real objective of the Tet Offensive, and the rest was a massive show of force and diversion hoping to lead to a national uprising. It failed. Allied casualties at Hue were more than 600 dead and 3,800 wounded and missing. These include 143 Marines killed and 1,100 wounded. Enemy estimated dead may have been as high as 5,000, plus 6,000 civilians executed. The best books I know of are: Hue 1968, by Mark Bowden, and US Marines in Vietnam, 1968, the Defining Year, both available from Amazon. We will finish up Tet 1968 next month. I encourage all of you to join the Marine Corps Association. Fred Parker Detachment Historian

Tet 1968, Part 1
January 2025

Before you ask, I have not forgotten that Desert Storm began on 17 January 1991. For the next few months, I plan to talk about the events surrounding the Tet Offensive in 1968. We will start and finish with Khe Sanh, which bookends that entire period. Along the way we will look at Da Nang, Hue City, and Dong Ha. I will try not to get involved in political or military leadership issues as much as I can. For details behind what I say here see “U.S. Marines in Vietnam, the Defining Year, 1968”, available on Amazon Some of you know that John Blair was in and around Khe Sanh and Da Nang during this time. For those of you who don’t know, John was awarded a Silver Star and was later inducted into the GA Military Hall of Fame. He has posted a number of photos on the wall over here. He is more than willing to talk about hi experiences, if you are interested. Were any of the rest of you in I Corps Vietnam in 1968? OK, What about Khe Sanh? During 1966, Marines conducted several operations in the Khe Sanh area. One of those Marine units was 1st Bn / 9th Marines, who came to be known as “The Walking Dead.” Does anyone know how they got that nickname? The story is that 1/9 had sustained heavy casualties during 1966, and in May 1966, NVA General Giap promised that he would wipe them out as a birthday gift to Ho Chi Minh. Giap called them “Di Bo Chet,” meaning “Walking Dead” in Vietnamese. He said they were already dead, just not buried yet. 1/9 has proudly kept that nickname ever since. In February 1967, Bravo Company 1/9 was sent to Khe Sanh to protect a detachment of Seabees sent to improve the airfield. They encountered heavy fighting in April and May, so 2nd and 3rd Bns of 3rd Marines were sent to help in what became known as the first battle of Khe Sanh, a savage battle with heavy casualties on both sides. The Marines held the hills above Khe Sanh, denying the Communists observation and fire on the airstrip. In June 1967, Marine LtGen Cushman relieved LtGen Walt as CG of III MAF. All of this activity around Khe Sanh convinced many of the Generals, especially Gen Westmoreland, that they could draw the NVA into a decisive battle at Khe Sanh, similar to Dien Bien Phu in 1954 when the NVA defeated the French. Only this time, we would win and crush the communists. The enemy attack on Khe Sanh on 21 January, just before Tet, helped reinforce this idea. That focus caused them to miss some of the communist build up to Tet and had them more or less unprepared, especially farther South. On the communist side, they had convinced themselves that the Tet Offensive would cause a general uprising of the populace in the South leading them to total victory. The Tet Offensive was the major turning point of the war, but in ways neither side could imagine at the time. General Westmoreland had announced a 36-hour cease fire for the Tet holiday beginning at 1800 on 29 January. However, he canceled the truce in the entire I Corps sector at 1700 29 January because of anticipated enemy activity. The Tet Offensive had three phases: phase 1, January through March, phase 2 in May and June, and phase 3 in August and September. For our purposes, I will only cover phase 1. Tet was initially scheduled to start around 0100 on 30 January. However, it was postponed 24 hours. Apparently, the enemy forces around Da Nang didn’t get the word, so the first major Tet attack against the Marines was there in the early hours of 30 January. Five provincial capitals farther south were also attacked. By the way, Wikipedia doesn’t talk about the NVA, North Vietnamese Army, anymore. The politically correct term now is PAVN, Peoples’ Army of Vietnam. By the time of the attack, 1st Marine Division at Da Nang was on 100% alert. During the first phase of the battle, from 0100 on 30 January to 1 February, the Marines were reinforced by ARVN and Korean Marines. The enemy included elements of the 2d NVA Division, the 368B NVA Rocket Artillery Regiment, the 402d Sapper Battalion, the V-25th VC Battalion, and other VC local forces. The attacks were mostly piecemeal and uncoordinated and considered very inept. At one point a crowd of 400 Vietnamese civilians, mostly of women and children carrying NVA and VC flags approached the Combined Action compound. The Marines and Popular Force troops fired at armed members of the crowd who appeared to be directing the march. The crowd dispersed. The enemy was known for such tactics. After 1 February there was a lull, other than mortar and rocket attacks, and small unit probes, until the night of 5-6 February when the enemy began their second phase of the Da Nang offensive. The major fighting in Da Nang offensive lasted until 10 February. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. Total for the Americans was 681 dead and wounded, almost all Marines, and approximately 1,400 enemy killed. The enemy ineptness at Da Nang may have been a diversion to keep allied forces away from Hue City. We will talk about the battle of Hue City in detail next month. General Westmoreland was not happy with the generalship of the Marines, especially LtGen Cushman, whom he considered to be incompetent. A large part of this seems to be their disagreement over the importance of Khe Sanh. On 6 February North Vietnamese troops overran the Special Forces Camp at Lang Vei, south of Khe Sanh. This reinforced Westmoreland’s obsession with Khe Sanh. He thought that Cushman should have been more concerned about Khe Sanh, while Cushman planned to reinforce Da Nang. Westmoreland seriously disagreed. At this time neither of them was very concerned about Hue City. How many of you have seen the movie “Full Metal Jacket?” The first half of that movie is exactly the boot camp I went through in 1969. Most people don’t believe me. “C’mon, they would never treat you that way.” Well, we didn’t have anyone shoot himself, but we did have one guy start hacking on himself with his bayonet. The second half of that movie is Hue City. Just a little teaser for next month. Fred Parker Detachment Historian

Wake Island, Chosin, and Crayons
December 2024

This month I will talk a bit about two major items of Marine Corps history and along the way have a little fun. Last Saturday was Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941. On the other side of the date line it was December 8, the day the Japanese attacked Wake Island. Wake was a stopover point for civilian air traffic across the Pacific. There were about 1,200 civilian contractors and 450 Marine officers and men. The contractors were upgrading the hotel and building defense positions. The US Navy was unable to help them. They held out for two weeks. One of their final messages included: “Send us more Japs,” a phrase padded in to make the message a certain length. The Japanese lost about two dozen aircraft, four surface vessels, two submarines, and between 600 and 6,000 men. All but 98 civilians were taken as POWs. Most of them survived the war. The 98 held back were used for slave labor and then executed in October 1943. The Japanese commander was later hanged as a war criminal. Here’s a link to a song by Oscar Brand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvkdKinM4-0. Sometime over a cold drink we might talk about how the US had pretty well won the war in the Pacific in the first nine months. The Japanese knew it but couldn’t quit. Now a quick review of Chosin Reservoir. You have heard lots of stories, so just a few salient points. Between 27 November and 15 December First Marine Division, about 15.000 men had to fight their way out of Korea against approximately 10 Chinese divisions, about 100,000 men. By the time it was over they had completely destroyed six divisions and mauled the others so badly they were never rebuilt. In contrast, during that same time, the entire US Eighth Army in Korea was in total panic mode. They ran 120 miles in the first 10 days, and more than 200 miles before they stopped. The US seriously considered abandoning all of Korea, but the success of the Marines convinced them to stay. You might say the First Marine Division saved the entire Korean War. You will sometimes hear that the Marines did not have adequate cold weather clothing. That is not true. General Smith made sure his troops had the best clothing available. The Army didn’t buy cold weather clothing because they expected to win the war before winter. In photos of the Marines, you can see the heavy parkas and snow paks they wore. Even at that, more than half the casualties were from the cold. One of the very first female war correspondents, Marguerite Higgins, asked one Marine what his biggest challenge was. You guys are Marines, you can handle this. His answer, “Getting a 3-inch dick out through 6 inches of cold weather clothing without pissing myself.” The best documentary I have seen is “The Battle of Chosin,” available on Amazon. Here is a link to the YouTube preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcq5Ko6uizY. The best book I know of is “Breakout,” by Russ Martin, available on Amazon. Now for some more fun stuff. You are all aware of various nicknames we Marines have, some of which started out as insults, for instance, “Leatherneck,” for the leather stock Marines wore as protection. There is also “Jarhead” from our high and tight haircuts. We poke back. When someone says that the Marines are part of the department of the Navy, we respond, “Yeah, the men’s department.” All of the services poke fun at the others, mostly in good fun. The most recent nickname for Marines is “crayon eaters.” That popped up about 15 years ago and spread everywhere. Marines may be so dumb that they eat crayons and drink glue. A few years ago, some companies began selling edible / drinkable products that look like crayons and glue as part of the fun. Here is an anecdote by Alex Hollings, who served as a Marine and is the editor of the Sandboxx blog. He lives here in Georgia. “ … while I was attending a press event in Las Vegas a few years ago at SHOT Show, someone paid a waiter to carry out a fancy tray full of large crayons for the two of us Marines attending the event as guests. “The joke played well in a room full of veterans, service members, and defense media types — and as the tray made its way up to us, I made a command decision. “I stood up and waved to our audience, politely picked up a red crayon from the tray, and I ate the damn thing. “The decision prompted cheers from the crowd and the nod of approval from the other guys I spotted in the audience with the tell-tale high and tight haircut. Sometimes the best way to take a joke is to lean in, and to remember that we’re all really on the same team here. “Besides, red crayons taste the best.” https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/what%E2%80%99s-crayons-why-us-marines-take-lot- heat-181828 A bit of a look ahead. The first months of 1968 saw the Marines involved in some major events in Vietnam. I plan to get into those over the next few months. Fred Parker Detachment Historian

Women Marines and David Shoup

November 2024

There are several notable events in November and I have time for just a few. Of course, the birthday of the Mrine Corps on 10 November 1775. We have made sure the whole world knows about that one. There’s more. How may of you have heard about Molly Marine and the Women Marines Association (WMA)? In 1943, in the middle of World War II, Marine Technical Sgt. Charles Gresham, a recruiter, needed a way to promote the enlistment of females into the Marine Corps. He decided on a statue of a woman in uniform. The original statue was dedicated Nov. 10, 1943, the year the women’s reserve was activated and also the day of the Marine Corps’ 168th birthday. Statues now stand as well at Quantico, Parris Island and now the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The MOLLY MARINE AWARDS were approved by the Board on February 24, 1969. This program was developed by a special committee established to recognize noteworthy achievement by active-duty Women Marines. A ceramic statuette in the likeness of “Molly Marine” is presented to one recruit, chosen by her peers, in each graduating platoon that has demonstrated qualities of an exemplary Marine. This is the only award given by WMA in the name of Molly Marine. Here is the web site for more information: https://www.womenmarines.org/meet-the-wma-molly-marines/ While we are talking about Women Marines, how many of you have heard of Opha May Johnson? She became the first known woman to enlist in the Marine Corps on August 13, 1918. We will talk more about her another time. For now, however, perhaps you are aware that the official mascot of Parris Island is a female bulldog. Opha May ! completed her recruit training and assumed her official duties on 17 November 2017. She has since retired with her handler to Chicago IL. Pvt. Opha Mae II completed her recruit training and assumed her duties on May 6, 2022. She was meritoriously promoted to the rank of Corporal on May 8th, 2023. Just a couple of brief notes, The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, in Korea, began on 27 Nov 1950. The second Battle of Falujah, Operation Phantom Fury, began on 7 Nov 2004. Also, on 5 Nov 2005, Operation Steel Curtain, part of Operation Hunter, began as an effort to increase control and security along the Iraqi-Syrian border. Also, Were any of you involved? The Battle of Tarawa in November 1943 gives me the opportunity to talk a bit about Commandant General David Shoup. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Tarawa. On January, 1 1960, he became the 22nd Commandant of the Marine Corps under President Eisenhower. He served under both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He became quite a vocal critic of the Vietnam War. The job of the Marines, he said, was not to be anti-Communist, it was to wait until the President said “Saddle up and go,” and then to saddle up and go. He had also opposed the invasion of Cuba. General Shoup did a remarkable display with maps. First, he took an overlay of Cuba and placed it over the map of the United States. To everybody’s surprise, Cuba was not a small island along the lines of, say, Long Island at best. It was about 800 miles long and seemed to stretch from New York to Chicago. Then he took another overlay, with a red dot, and placed it over the map of Cuba. “What’s that?” someone asked him. “That, gentlemen, represents the size of the island of Tarawa,” said Shoup, … “and it took us three days and eighteen thousand Marines to take it.” He eventually became Kennedy’s favorite general. Our own Russ Shoup is fourth cousin to General Shoup.

Beirut Barracks Bombing

October 2024

In August we talked about the First Provisional Marine Brigade at Pusan. September does not have many spectacular events for Marines other than the continuing Korean War. Those Marines fought at Pusan, Wolmi Island, Inchon, Seoul, Chosin, and ended up back at Pusan by Christmas. They fought in 110-degree heat at Pusan and minus 25-degree cold at Chosin all in five months and never faltered. Also, Russ Shoup is fourth cousin to Commandant Gen David Shoup of Tarawa fame. I will have more to say about Gen Shoup in coming months. Now for October On 28 October 1962, Marines were put on alert for the Cuban Missile Crisis but were not called on to fight. On 23 October 1983, two truck bombs were detonated at buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War. The attack killed 307 people: 241 U.S. and 58 French military personnel, six civilians, and two attackers. At 0622 an explosive-laden truck slammed into the BLT headquarters building in Beirut, Lebanon, where more than 300 men were billeted. The massive explosion collapsed the building in seconds and took the lives of 241 Americans--including 220 Marines. This was the highest loss of life in a single day for Marines since D-Day on Iwo Jima in 1945. On that day, there were ten guidelines issued for each U.S. Marine member of the MNF: The first two were: 1. When on post, mobile or foot patrol, keep loaded magazine in weapon, bolt closed, weapon on safe, no round in the chamber. 2. Do not chamber a round unless instructed to do so by a commissioned officer unless you must act in immediate self-defense where deadly force is authorized. The sentries at the gate were operating under those rules of engagement which made it very difficult to respond quickly to the truck. On the day of the bombing, only one sentry, LCpl Eddie DiFranco, was able to chamber a round. However, by that time the truck was already crashing into the building's entryway. Shortly after the barracks bombing, President Ronald Reagan appointed a military fact-finding committee headed by retired Admiral Robert L. J. Long to investigate the bombing. The commission's report found senior military officials responsible for security lapses and blamed the military chain of command for the disaster. Among other things, it suggested that there might have been many fewer deaths if the barracks guards had carried loaded weapons. One outcome was in 1986. When he became Commandant, Gen Al Gray directed that in future all sentries would carry fully loaded weapons, including a round in the chamber, and the weapon on safe. I was in Okinawa at the time. There was a lot of outcries from even senior officers that we would have lots of accidental discharges and get Marines killed. Gen Gray’s response, then you need to do better training. We had two incidents in my battalion. An idiot Lt, playing around with his pistol, put a round through the duty desk one night. I suspect that was the end of his career. The other was a GySgt who was following the instructions for unloading. He thought he had unloaded the pistol, pointed it into the unloading barrel and pulled the trigger. He said later that when the pistol went off, “I almost [soiled] my pants.” I recall very few such incidents throughout the Marine Corps. Fred Parker Detachment Historian

Forgotten Warriors – Salvation of Today’s Marine Corps
August 2024

I know all of us carry our Marine identity with pride. Not only do we believe we are the
best, we know we are the best.

How many of you are aware that we almost lost the Marine Corps after World War 2?

How many of you know about or have even heard about the First Provisional Marine
Brigade?

The short version is that they were deployed to Korea and saved the Army from being
driven out of the Pusan Perimeter, three times in just a few weeks. The Brigade was in
existence for less than two months.

The legend is that they were an existing unit, fully trained and organized, led by combat-
experienced officers and NCOs, just waiting to get into the fight. That legend was even
perpetuated by a friend and mentor of mine. The problem, as with most legends, is that
it is just not true</b>.

However, unlike most legends, the true< story is even more amazing.

Excerpt from Book Review

“When the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Marine Corps was ordered to deploy an
air-ground brigade in less than ten days, even though no such brigade existed at the
time. Assembled from the woefully understrength 1st Marine Division and 1st Marine Air
Wing units, the Brigade shipped out only six days after activation, sailed directly to
Korea, was in combat within ninety-six hours of landing and, despite these enormous
handicaps and numerically superior enemy forces, won every one of its engagements
and helped secure the Pusan Perimeter.

Despite its remarkable achievements, the Brigade's history has largely been lost amid
accounts of the sweeping operations that followed. Its real history has been replaced by
myths that attribute its success to tough training, great conditioning, unit cohesion, and
combat-experienced officers. None of which were true. [Forgotten Warriors] now
reveals the real story of the Brigade's success, prominently citing the Corps' crucial
ability to maintain its ethos, culture, and combat effectiveness during the period
between World War II and Korea, when its very existence was being challenged.

By studying the Corps from 1945 to 1950, [Forgotten Warriors] shows that it was indeed
the culture of the Corps – a culture based on remembering its storied history and
learning to face modern challenges – that was responsible for the Brigade's success.
The Corps remembered the human factors that made it so successful in past wars,
notably the ethos of never leaving another marine behind.

At the same time, the Corps demonstrated commendable flexibility in adapting its
doctrine and operations to evolutions in modern warfare. In particular, the Corps
overcame the air-ground schism that marked the end of World War II to excel at close
air support.

Despite massive budget and manpower cuts, the Corps continued to experiment and
learn even as it clung to its historical lodestones. This approach was validated during
the Brigade's trial by fire. More than a mere battle history, Forgotten Warriors gets to the
heart of marine culture to show fighting forces have to both remember and learn. As
today's armed forces face similar challenges, this book confirms that culture as much
as technology prepares America's fighting men and women to answer their country's
call.” ---

These same Marines rejoined 5 th Marine Regiment, landed at Inchon, helped capture
Seoul, and held off the Chinese army during the battle of Chosin. On the other side, the
US Army, by the end of 1950, had almost been driven out of Korea.

Historians usually credit Army LtGen Matthew Ridgway with “saving” the Korean War.
However, without Marine BGen Edward Craig at Pusan, and Marine MajGen OP Smith
at Inchon, Seoul, and Chosin, there would not have been any war left to save.

Things like this and often just shake my head and wonder, “How did they do that/”

The “Why” is not so difficult, as given here in the Conclusion From Forgotten
Warriors:

“In existence for only two months, the brigade proved the validity of the Corp’s post-
World War II theories on air power, organization, discipline, and leadership. Even more
important, the brigade once again validated the Corp’s cultural emphasis on esprit de
corps, readiness, and even paranoia. …
“Understanding the true nature of the brigade’s challenges highlights the remarkable
courage and cultural heritage that allowed these ordinary men to accomplish
legendary feats. T. R. Fehrenbach, in his book, This Kind of War, captured the essence
of the impact Marine culture had on the young men of the brigade who were thrown
into battle with little preparation. He wrote, ‘These men walked with a certain confidence
and swagger. They were only young men like those about them in Korea, but they were
conscious of a standard to live up to, because they had had good training, and it had
been impressed upon them that they were United States Marines.’”

Fred Parker
Detachment Historian

Marine Corps History

Marine corps Birthday Ball November 2025

Let's Abolish the Marines, Part 1: October 2025

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We Are US Marines, Part 4: Boot camp Semptember 2025

We Are US Marines, Part 3 July 2025

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We Are US Marines, Part 2

June 2025

We Are US Marines, Part 2

June 2025

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We Are US Marines, Part 1 May 2025

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Evacuation of Saigon, Iraqi Freedom

April 2025

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Tet 1968, Part 3, Gene Hackman, Iraq, SSgt Reckless March 2025

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Tet 1968, Part 2 (Hue), Iwo Jima, Joe Foss, Desert Storm February 2025

Tet 1968, Part 1 January 2025

Wake Island, Chosin, and Crayons December 2024

Women Marines and David Shoup

November 2024

Beirut Barracks Bombing

October 2024

Forgotten Warriors – Salvation of Today’s Marine Corps August 2024

Marine corps Birthday Ball
November 2025

Let's Abolish the Marines, Part 1:
October 2025

We Are US Marines, Part 4: Boot camp
Semptember 2025

We Are US Marines, Part 3
July 2025

We Are US Marines, Part 1
May 2025

Tet 1968, Part 3, Gene Hackman, Iraq, SSgt Reckless
March 2025

Tet 1968, Part 2 (Hue), Iwo Jima, Joe Foss, Desert Storm
February 2025

Tet 1968, Part 1
January 2025

Wake Island, Chosin, and Crayons
December 2024

Forgotten Warriors – Salvation of Today’s Marine Corps
August 2024