Best wishes to Our Beloved Corps!
Resolved, That two Battalions of marines be raised, consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant Colonels, two Majors, and other officers as usual in other regiments; and that they consist of an equal number of privates with other battalions; that particular care be taken, that no persons be appointed to office, or enlisted into said Battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve to advantage by sea when required; that they be enlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress: that they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered as part of the number which the continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of.
Ordered, That a copy of the above be transmitted to the General.Second Continental Congress, 10 November 1775
Hopefully it’ll happier than mine own, and here’s another go, the aircraft having apparently been fixed.
236!
Happy Birthday and Semper Fi!
Still looking good after all these years. All the best to one of the finest institutions this country has produced…Semper Fi! Belated B-day wishes to you as well,Lex!
Best!
Served under Marine Command in Fallujah from 2004-2005 and hung out with my Marine Brothers and Sisters at Camp Leatherneck Afghanistan for about 5 months in 2010….
No greater friend, no worse foe…..SEMPER FI and Happy B-Day to ” Das “Teufel Hunden” , German Nickname for U.S. Marines
Happy Birthday to the Marines.
got a few in my family.
Including a G. uncle killed at Belleau wood.
(he was one of those “Tuefel Hunden”)
From a recruiting poster, 1776:
A Marine should be sworn to the patient endurance of hardships, like the ancient knights; and it is not the least of these necessary hardships to have to serve with sailors.
Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery
To the Men from Tun Tavern, HAPPY BIRTHDAY
and
THANK YOU!
To those who went before, and inspired us with deeds that will live forever.
To those who serve today, and fill us with a fierce pride.
To those who will come after, to carry on our traditions through the succeeding generations.
And to Absent Friends.
Semper Fidelis.
Happy Birthday, Brothers.
[...] Lex has his brief birthday wishes up here [...]
Happy Birthday, Marines! Hoo-rah, Dad!
Of course, the converse is equally true, although I was never on a ship with a Marine Detachment. Lex, hoever, is competent to speak on such matters, and has done son in his post about “Bones.”
Happy Birthday to our Jarhead brethren. May there be many more.
May you have a good, uneventful flight over to Nupert Niuws, Lex.
All, A Toast!
To the United States Marine Corps! 236 years of rompin’, stompin’, hell, death and destruction. The finest fighting force the world has ever known. Yes, we are cocky, self centered and overbearing, and we do not know the meaning of the word fear because we are fear itself. I was born in a bomb crater. My mother is an M16 and my father is the devil. Each moment that we live is an additional threat upon your life. We are soldiers by day, lovers by night, drunken by choice, Marines by God!
… kinda hits most of the high spots
Happy Birthday Marines!
Helluva toast for a helluva crew, SemperFi77!
Hear! Hear!
Happy Birthday to the Corps!
Thanks, Skipper! Happy Birthday Devildogs! Semper Fi!
Whenever I hear the word “Marine” two quotes come to mind:
“I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold.”
1stLt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC in Belleau Wood, 19 July 1918
“The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!”
Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, 1945
Happy Birthday Lex. Did you ever think when you were young that you’d be doing what you do today at this age? You’ll have to do a few barrel rolls to celebrate properly.
Semper Fi 77 … Would you tell once again, please, the story of why the Marine dress sword is “a mameluke sword” … or if you don’t want to do it, will some other of you gnarly old “devil dogs” do the honors? Then we can all join in a chorus of Farewell to Grog, describing another sad custom. “For tonight we’ll merry merry be, for tonight we’ll merry merry be, for tonight we’ll merry merry be, tomorrow we’ll be sober.”
Marianne
Speak for yourself–maybe tomorrow YOU’ll be sober, Marianne…
So named for the sword presented to 1st Lt. O’Bannon by the Ottoman Viceroy, Hamet, for the action of him and his men (and a band of mercenaries) in the Battle of Derne in Tripoli during the First Barbary War – our first use of our military in a land battle outside of the US.
Virginia, the home state of O’Bannon, later honored him by presenting him with a sword patterned on it, which led to its adoption by the Corps as it officers sword. Well, except for a period from about 1859 to 1875 when they were forced to use the 1850 infantry officers sword, and a very brief period during WWII.
From Marines.com:
The Sword
More than a weapon — a heritage
The swords Marines carry signify the Marine Corps’ heritage as America’s original protectors. They are the oldest weapons still in service by United States Armed Forces.
Officers carry the Mameluke sword, which was originally given to Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon in 1805 by a Mameluke chieftain in North Africa. Lt O’Bannon and his Marines marched across 600 miles of North African desert to rid the “shores of Tripoli” of pirates. By 1825, all Marine Corps Officers carried the Mameluke sword.
Staff Noncommissioned Officers (SNCO) and
Noncommissioned Officers (NCO) carry the 1858 Cavalry sword. This sword was bestowed upon them by the Commandant of the Marine Corps in recognition of their leadership in combat,
their virtue and tradition. Only the Marine Corps awards such recognition to Noncommissioned Officers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN0sFYCk_Sg
I meant to add – funny that we are still fighting the same war that Lt. O’Bannon fought.
So it’s not because Fred Mameluke’s House of Swords won the contract to supply them?
Marianne,
The history of the mameluke sword is not as colorful as some other Marine Corps traditions, but here goes: Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon led the Marines’ first battle on foreign soil. He and his Marines relentlessly marched across 600 miles of the Libyan Desert to storm the fortified Tripolitan city of Derna and rescue the kidnapped crew of the USS Philadelphia [note Marines again rescuing sailors! --but in fairness I've had the pleasure of the reverse]. The victory helped Prince Hamet Bey reclaim his rightful throne as ruler of Tripoli. In gratitude, Bey presented his Mameluke sword to Lt O’Bannon. This famous sword became part of the officer uniform in 1825 and remains the oldest ceremonial weapon in use by United States armed forces today. The Battle of Derna is notably recalled in the opening verse of the Marines’ Hymn: “From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, we fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.” Perhaps due to the Marines’ distinguished record during this campaign, including the capture of the Tripolitan city of Derna after a long and dangerous desert march, Marine Corps Commandant Archibald Henderson adopted the Mameluke sword in 1825 for wear by Marine officers. After initial distribution in 1826, Mameluke swords have been worn except for the years 1859-75 (when Marine officers were required to wear the U.S. Model 1850 Army foot officers’ sword), and a brief period when swords were suspended during World War II [note: a common sense move since we strive not to bring swords to gunfights] . Since that time, Mameluke swords have been worn by Marine officers in a continuing tradition to the present day.
Oops! Sorry to step on your line, sir. I think I was composing as you were posting – got carried away listening to sea chanties.
Oh, I believe that Cold Steel will sell you a sword of that pattern, or of the NCO pattern, which is a real right wieldy one made of good steel, with a shaving edge on it, and not one of your silly ceremonial-only ones. I never understood the idea about pretend-weapons.
I mean, if one is standing at parade and Major Hassan runs up with a pistol screaming “Allahu Akbar” (remember, remember, the fifth of November) I’d want my sword to be a real one, and a deadly one.
You don’t want a razor edge on a sword like that. It would pretty much insure that the blade would stick in a bone if you chopped with it. Axe sharp would do.
Dang, Joe, just dang! You are probably correct, of course.
I realise that the Maleluke sword was a gift of the cultural weapon of the Bey’s people. But I also aklnowlege that OUR cultural weapon is the Colt Govenment Model of 1911.
Yes, indeed! The Colt SAA will do, as well, if necessary.
Daryle,
A few of my favorite quotes:
The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle.
Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing, U.S. Army Commander of American Forces in World War I
Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army.
Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War; shortly afterward, the Marines were ordered to not wear their khaki leggings.
A Ship without Marines is like a coat without buttons.
Adm. Farragut
You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it is that they are.
Father Kevin Keaney 1st Marine Division Chaplain Korean War
Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985 Marines
They told (us) to open up the Embassy, or “we’ll blow you away.” And then they looked up and saw the Marines on the roof with these really big guns, and they said in Somali, “Igaralli ahow,” which means “Excuse me, I didn’t mean it, my mistake”.
Karen Aquilar, in the U.S. Embassy; Mogadishu, Somalia, 1991
Gone to Florida to fight the Indians. Will be back when the war is over.
Colonel Commandant Archibald Henderson, USMC in a note pinned to his office door, 1836
And .. one of the best:
The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps.
General Alexander A. Vandergrift, USMC to the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, 5 May 1946
Second deadliest thing in the world? A sailor and a rifle, for completely different reasons.
But he is up-to-date on his mandatory GMT on NKO.
SemperFi77 – how do you shoot from kneeling without bending a knee?
And it’s Joe FTW!
I just had to check in on this day, to add my congratulations and encouragement.
As I wrote in a comment at Tam’s blog:
A Marine General, of all people, once said that the United States might not _need_ a Marine Corps, but definitely _wants_ a Marine Corps.
Yes. Yes we do. Keep it up, guys!
I think of Linda Lyon, who was defending her husband from an Alabama Pig. She took a knee, and a good sight picture, and shot that pig right dead. She was later murdered by the state of Alabama, along with her husband.Oh God I hate cops!
As a birthday present apparently it’s soon to be announced the USMC will start rotating through Australia, wonder how much blood will be spilled when people start fighting between Okinawa, Guam and OZ. It’s Darwin, but it’s better than the other two.
Hunh? This is the first I’ve heard about it.
Stephen Colbert: Let’s Invade Australia [Video]
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/11/stephen-colbert-lets-invade-australia-video/#more-493338
“So US President Obama lands in Canberra on Wednesday, and though PM Gillard won’t yet confirm it, the Wall Street Journal suggests “a new and permanent US military presence in Australia” will be announced. Stephen Colbert’s take: We’re “Australian for f****d.”
The WSJ actually says no new US bases are planned, with the new agreement likely focused on granting American naval ships ongoing access to local facilities and expanded joint exercises.
Still, as Colbert says, “Australia is the gateway to New Zealand, and we know those hobbits have a weapon of mass destruction.”
Sim. are you actually serious? I mean, real things which are crashing down about our ears are pretty serious these days without making up silly stuff for people who don’t care about it anyway!
http://www.theage.com.au/national/obama-to-announce-us-marine-base-in-darwin-20111110-1n9rf.html#ixzz1dM5DO598
Guests on a Aussie base rather than their own as nobody likes the idea of giving another country Aussie soil as their own little fiefdom.
Thank you all, dear friends and good historians. You know your Marine history all right. They’re a tough bunch, they are, and we love having them. Whether it’s the shores of Tripoli or somewhere else they’ve been keeping us safe for more than 200 years.
Marianne
This week, I read Marines Under Armor: The USMC, and the development of armored fighting vehicles: 1925-2000, You have to admire a military force that can be put ashore at Roi Atoll at 1305 hours, and have the island secure by 1800. And that was after the first Marine tank company ashore was half way across the island by 1345, when they were recalled by their commanders, so a coordinated attack could do a thorough job of clearing. Gadzooks, what troops!
Scott, I have this very excellent book here. It is “Strong Men Armed. The United States Marines vs. Japan” by Robert Leckie. As we know, the Marines won that fight, with some help from my Dad and other guys in the Twentieth Air Force.
Lex,
Happy Birthday to you also.
Semper Fi!