Happy Birthday USMC!! You're 232 today!

[bhsup]

The Marine Corps Hymn
From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles in the air, on land, and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marines.

Our flag's unfurl'd to every breeze from the dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far-off northern lands and in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job the United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life and have never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines.

Commandant LeJeune's birthday message, 1921
On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name "Marine". In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.

The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and is the long eras of tranquility at home,
generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.

JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General Commandant


The USMC: 232 years of romping, stomping, hell, death and destruction. The finest fighting machine the world has ever seen. I was born in a bomb crater, my mother was an M-16 and my father was the Devil. Each moment that I live is an additional threat upon your life.

I am a roughish looking, roving soldier of the sea. I am cocky, self-centered, overbearing, and I do not know the meaning of fear, for I am fear itself. I am a green amphibious monster made of blood and guts who arose from the sea whose sole purpose in life is to perpetuate death and destruction among the festerings on anti-Americans throughout the globe, wherever it may arise. When my time comes I’ll die a glorious death on the battlefield giving my life to Mom, apple pie, and the American Flag.

We stole the eagle from the Air Force, the anchor from the Navy, the rope from the Army, and on the seventh day while God rested, we overran his perimeter, stole the globe, and have been running the show ever since. We live like soldiers, talk like sailors and slap the hell out of both of them. Soldier by day, Lover by night, drunkard by choice, United States Marine by the grace of God!

 

[Dubai Vol]

Much as we soldiers like to make fun of Marines, we know the deal: you guys are for real. Happy birthday jarheads!

 

[bigdog5994]

heres to the worlds most badass organization of fighting men, im considering joining them

 

[Dubai Vol]

From here:
http://http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/10849526.html

On Guadalcanal, the Marines struggled to complete an airfield that could threaten the Japanese route to Australia. Admiral Yamamoto knew how dangerous that was. Before long, relentless Japanese counterattacks had driven the supporting U.S. Navy from inshore waters. The Marines were on their own.

As Platoon Sgt. Mitchell Paige and his 33 riflemen set about carefully emplacing their four water-cooled .30-caliber Brownings on that hillside, 65 years ago this week -- manning their section of the thin khaki line that was expected to defend Henderson Field against the assault of the night of Oct. 25, 1942 -- it's unlikely anyone thought they were about to provide the definitive answer to that most desperate of questions: How many able-bodied U.S. Marines does it take to hold a hill against 2,000 armed and motivated attackers?

But by the time the night was over, "The 29th (Japanese) Infantry Regiment has lost 553 killed or missing and 479 wounded among its 2,554 men," historian Lippman reports. "The 16th (Japanese) Regiment's losses are uncounted, but the 164th's burial parties handled 975 Japanese bodies. ... The American estimate of 2,200 Japanese dead is probably too low."

You've already figured out where the Japanese focused their attack, haven't you? Among the 90 American dead and seriously wounded that night were all the men in Mitchell Paige's platoon. Every one. As the night of endless attacks wore on, Paige moved up and down his line, pulling his dead and wounded comrades back into their foxholes and firing a few bursts from each of the four Brownings in turn, convincing the Japanese forces down the hill that the positions were still manned.

The citation for Paige's Medal of Honor picks up the tale: "When the enemy broke through the line directly in front of his position, P/Sgt. Paige, commanding a machine gun section with fearless determination, continued to direct the fire of his gunners until all his men were either killed or wounded. Alone, against the deadly hail of Japanese shells, he fought with his gun and when it was destroyed, took over another, moving from gun to gun, never ceasing his withering fire."

In the end, Sgt. Paige picked up the last of the 40-pound, belt-fed Brownings and did something for which the weapon was never designed. Sgt. Paige walked down the hill toward the place where he could hear the last Japanese survivors rallying to move around his flank, the belt-fed gun cradled under his arm, firing as he went.

Coming up at dawn, battalion executive officer Major Odell M. Conoley was the first to discover how many able-bodied United States Marines it takes to hold a hill against two regiments of motivated, combat-hardened infantrymen who have never known defeat.

On a hill where the bodies were piled like cordwood, Mitchell Paige alone sat upright behind his 30-caliber Browning, waiting to see what the dawn would bring.

The hill had held, because on the hill remained the minimum number of able-bodied United States Marines necessary to hold the position.

And that's where the unstoppable wave of Japanese conquest finally crested, broke, and began to recede. On an unnamed jungle ridge on an insignificant island no one ever heard of, called Guadalcanal.

 

[Trafalgar]

Happy birthday - and a question.

How come the Marines don't have a football team?

 

[Commodore]

Happy birthday - and a question.

How come the Marines don't have a football team?

Because technically, they are a part of the Navy. That's why there is no Marine Academy or football team.

 

[LightFang]

So you're saying they stole the anchor from the Navy, which is really the organization that they're a part of, so they stole from themselves?

That's pretty badass.

 

[Merkinball]

Bah...just a bunch of baby killers...

 

[amadeus]

Happy birthday, Marine Corps!

 

[CurtSibling]

The Marines are the only arm of the US military that comes close to being true elite in the British understanding of the word.

...A fine body of men.

...

 

[Nobody]

Theres this cool emblem thing by the port in wellington. It is a big marine circle thing and it says something like "United states marines, left wellington #/#/1945 If you ever need a friend, you got one."

i think its cool, and made me think that although New Zealand and the US are not officially ally, america would still get our back, just like when 9/11 happened although we aren't allies, new Zealand promised there military just as fast as Australia or anyone else.

 

[White Elk]

Thank You Devil Dogs!

Good night Chesty Puller, wherever you are
.

 

[The Yankee]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iOjn9_iAN-c

Although it turned out for the better for me personally, I do regret that certain events beyond my control severely hampered my ability to try to join the Marine Corps.

I give them all my respect and whatever honor I may have remaining.

 

[Trajan12]

Happy Birthday Navy Jr.!

 

[JollyRoger]

Happy Birthday. You are old enough to know better about that Latin Semper Fi nonsense. English only please.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I was at the gates at Quantico this morning (my roommate had gone there for a temp job, only since his drivers license was expired they wouldn't let him in and confiscated his keys and I had to go down and drive him back) and apparently there are quite a few Marines still hung over from last night's celebrations.

 

[Swiss_Mercenari]

Though I'm a pacifist, I still wish them a happy birthday

 

[Tee Kay]

Happy Birthday from a Pacifist.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Happy Birthday USMC! No matter how many times I heard "we're the Men's Department of the Navy" and hated it, we still all knew it was true. Ooo-rah!

 

[Japanrocks12]

Happy Birthday USMC!! May you continue to be badass, now and forever