They’re the loudest and proudest branch of the United States military-and rightfully so. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the most difficult branch of the Armed Services to join, as is evidenced by its size. It boasts a twelve-week basic training program, the most technologically demanding jobs of all services, and is the only branch that does not struggle to meet its annual recruiting quotas. At two hundred thirty-four thousand members (including active duty, reservists, and civilian employees), the Corps is the smallest branch of the military (MSN, 2003). A study of the Corps includes its history and battles.

            The USMC is a division of the United States Navy. They fight in air, on land, and sea. As of 2003, there were one hundred seventy-four thousand active-duty Marines, forty-two thousand reservists, and eighteen thousand civilian employees. (MSN, 2003) The Marines differ from every other branch of the US military in that every Marine is trained first and foremost as a rifleman. The job he or she wants to do does not matter. The Corps has a creed stating “every Marine, a rifleman.” They are also the only branch which trains men and women separately. Since the Corps’ inception over two hundred years ago, it has been known chiefly for its prowess in combat. (Wikipedia, 2003) The Marines are trained for quick responses where emergency intervention is needed and serve as an all-purpose task force. They take great pride in their “gung ho” mindset and believe strongly in esprit de corps (spirit of the Corps). Their motto is Semper Fidelis, Latin for “always faithful.” It is often shortened to Semper Fi (Wikipedia, 2003).

            The Corps was begun in November 1775 when the Continental Congress authorized the formation of two United States Marines battalions. These battalions were designed to aid the Americans in the Revolutionary War. (MSN, 2003) During this war, the Marines served on both land and sea. When the war ended, the Corps was deactivated, along with the Continental Navy. On November 28th of that year, John Hancock authorized captain’s commission for Samuel Nicholas. Tradition holds that Nicholas was the first commandant of the Marine Corps (MARINE, 2003).                                  

            In 1798, the Marine Corps was reactivated. At this time they served in an undeclared war with France resulting from French vessels capturing American cargo ships. The Corps disbanded once more after the Treaty of Paris was signed. However, it was formally reactivated on July 11, 1798 (MARINE, 2003).

Seven years later, in 1805, the Marines fought North African pirates who were trying to seize American cargo ships. During this battle Naval Agent William Eaton led Marines in a march along Darnah, Tripoli (now Libya). (MSN, 2003) This march inspired the line in the Marine Corps’ anthem “to the shores of Tripoli.” (MSN, 2003) By the war of 1812, the Corps had a grand total of ten officers and 483 enlisted men.

During the Civil War, a resolution to disband the Corps yet again was considered due to the high number of Marines who resigned their commission to fight in the Confederate States Marine Corps. (MARINE, 2003) However, this resolution was tabled and the Corps was never disbanded. Shortly after the Civil War, the Marines’ Hymn was played for the first time. There is no author credited (MARINE, 2003)

In 1883, the Marines’ motto Semper Fidelis was adopted. It replaced former mottos such as “Fortitudine” and “By Sea and By Land.” (MARINE, 2003) Today, many automobiles of former and current Marines display the Semper Fi bumper sticker.

The Marine Corps gained national name recognition in 1898 when Sgt. John H. Quick signaled the USS Dolphin to direct ship’s fire in Cuzco Well, Cuba. Quick was awarded a medal of honor for this action and the National Press covered the story. Soon “Marines” was a household word (MARINE, 2003). 

Beginning in 1918, a significant change started in the Corps. Opha Mae Johnson became the first female enlisted Marine. In November of that year, 305 female reservists joined as clerks to “free a Marine to fight.” These women reservists were called “Marinettes” or “skirt Marines.” (MARINE, 2003). All women were ordered out of the reserve corps in 1919.

In 1943, the Women’s Reserve was instituted. On its third anniversary, then-Commandant Alexander A. Vandegrift wrote a letter to all Women’s Reservists:

Throughout the past half century, women Marines have significantly contributed to the success of the Corps. Whether in the sands of Saudi Arabia or on the homefront, women marines have displayed the undaunting courage, spirit, and honor of the Corps…Semper Fidelis, Marines.

In this letter, Vandegrift also asserted that the Marine Corps Women’s

Reserve would be deactivated within the next year. This feeling was shared by Col.

Katherine A. Towle, director of the women’s reserve. (Soderbergh & Wilson, xix)

Many woman Marines Believed that their jobs would soon be obsolete. World War II was over; it was time to go back to tradition. The feminist movement had not yet started, and the phrase “a woman’s place is in the home” was still considered the norm. Neither male nor female Marines were enthusiastic about women’s presence in the Marines (Soderbergh & Wilson, xix).

            Despite all this, the Reserve was never deactivated. By 1948, there were one hundred sixty-seven women in Marine Corps uniforms. In 1954, this number had risen to over two thousand. In 1994, eight thousand female Marines were on active duty (Soderbergh & Wilson, xix).

            Iwo Jima, a battle which took place in World War II, is one of the Marine Corps’ proudest moments (Mccahill & Wise, 337). Many have seen the memorial depicting the Marines raising the American flag at the summit of Mt. Suribachi. Behind this memorial is one of the greatest battles in the history of the United States Marine Corps.

            On February 19, 1945, seventy thousand US Marines landed on Iwo Jima at approximately 9:00 AM. These Marines were fighting against twenty-seven thousand Japanese (IWO, 2003). What the Japanese lacked in numbers, they made up for in defense. They had built eight hundred pillboxes[1] and thirty miles of tunnels. Iwo Jima is only eight square miles in size.

            Iwo Jima is covered in volcanic ash. The Marines found it nearly impossible to climb through this ash carrying their one-hundred-pound packs. (IWO, 2003) At 9:15 AM, barely fifteen minutes after the Marines had landed, the Japanese began a mortar barrage.[2] Already the enemy was making this as difficult as possible for the Marines (IWO, 2003).

            The Marines’ first goal was to capture Mt. Suribachi on the southern end of Iwo Jima. If this point was not taken, the Japanese could fire on any point established by the Marines (IWO, 2003)  At the end of their first day, however, the exhausted Marines had not even reached half of their goal. The odds were against them.

            On February 20, the Marines began advancing south on Mr. Suribachi and north on the airfields. This battle was one of the most intense of the entire war (IWO, 2003). There were many Japanese soldiers hidden in the mountain who had to be taken out with flamethrowers (guns that shoot fire) and satchel charges (bags filled with explosives). In some situations, the Japanese were driven out with gasoline fire set by the Marines (IWO, 2003).

            Throughout the third day, the tiring battle continued. Kamikaze (suicide bomber) attacks destroyed the US carrier Bismarck Sea and badly damaged the Saratoga. The fight for each objective was long and bitter (IWO, 2003).

            By February 22, Mt. Suribachi was fully surrounded. The Marines began to climb the face of the mountain. The next day, after much fighting, the first units reached the top (IWO, 2003). Later on, a flag was brought in from a Landing Ship Tank. The Marines raising this flag was photographed by Joe Rosenthal and later inspired the Iwo Jima memorial (IWO, 2003). Advancements to the north had now reached the second airfield, located in the center of the island (IWO, 2003).

During the attack on February 24, tanks led the battle for both Marine divisions. However, the Japanese stopped them with guns and mines (IWO. 2003) Due to heavy casualties, the Marines were severely delayed in their objectives. The 5th division only gained 500 yards of their goal (IWO, 2003).

            The next day, the Marines began attacking the Japanese line at 9:30 AM. They burned Japanese soldiers out of the pillboxes with flame throwing tanks in a desperate attempt to accomplish their goal (IWO, 2003). Due to the high casualties, the movement by the Marines was extremely slow.

            On February 28, the Marines accomplished their second objective: they occupied the high ground overlooking airfield #3. Three days later they began to attack hills 382 and 362A (IWO, 2003). Both these hills had been hollowed out to house pillboxes. On the first day of March, the Marines captured 382 and moved on to 362A. For this mission, they opted for a night attack. The Japanese were surprised by this tactic but fought fiercely and delayed capture one week (IWO, 2003).

            The fighting continued until March 25, when the Marines secured the final pocket of Japanese resistance. The next morning 250 Japanese lay dead around Marine lines (IWO, 2003). That day the island was declared secure. The Marines had lost over twenty-three thousand men in this battle. They underestimated Japanese resistance by nearly seventy percent. The change in Japanese tactics was not anticipated because the tactics had never changed throughout the entire war (IWO, 2003). Despite the many casualties and setbacks, the Marines fought bravely and won this battle.

            A battle the Marines did not win is the Chosin Reservoir. During the Korean War, the North Koreans along with Soviet troops attacked the ill-prepared US troops on June 25, 1950 (Rust, 1). After the Army’s retreat, the 1st Marine division was trapped at the Chosin Reservoir, a manmade lake in North Korea. They were “outnumbered and outgunned 12-1.” (Rust, 1) These Marines were subjected to “Human wave attacks” (Rust, 1) from the Chinese and got almost no sleep. The temperature at the Chosin Reservoir dropped to thirty degrees below freezing. Blood from wounds would freeze before it could clot and men had to urinate on their weapons to keep them from jamming (Rust, 1). These frigid temperatures earned the Marines at this battle the nickname “the Frozen Chosin.” Don Williams, a veteran of this battle, said he would “take my boots off, and my socks would be frozen to the bottom of my boot.”

            General Oliver Smith, leader of the 1st, was asked if his Marines were going to retreat. “Retreat?!” He railed. “Hell, we’re just attacking in another direction!” (Rust, 1) To his troops, he said, “We’re going to come out of here as Marines, not as stragglers. We’re going to bring out our wounded and our equipment. We’re coming out of here as Marines, or not at all.”

            The Marines ultimately fought their way down a winding mountain road to safety in a fighting retreat. This took nearly an entire day. As Smith commanded them, these Marines brought out their dead and injured (Rust, 1). They also maintained battle lines the entire way down. Veterans of this battle are called “The Chosin Few.” (Rust, 1) While the Marines technically lost this battle, they were by no means defeated.

            From 1775 to today, the Marines have maintained their proud traditions of fidelity and courage. They are the most highly trained branch of the military, and they’re proud of it, too. Their pride is evidenced in the final line of the Marine Corps Anthem: “If the Army and the Navy ever gaze on heaven’s scenes, they will find the streets there guarded by the United States Marines.”

WORKS CITED

Iwo Jima: The Full Story. 23 November 2003

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Peter A. Soderbergh and Eleanor M. Wilson. Women Marines in the Korean War

            Era. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 1994.

Mccahill, William P., and Wise, W.H. Hit the Beach! Your Marine Corps in Action.

            New York: WM.H WISE and CO., INC., 1948

Marine Corps History. 21 November 2003    

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Rust, Michael “A No-Win War?” Insight on the News, Volume 16, June 19, 2000

           

United States Marine Corps, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2003

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United States Marine Corps, Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia

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[1] A pillbox is a reinforced concrete machine gun nest. A sniper can put the barrel of his weapon in the gun slit of a pillbox and shoot his enemy with hardly any fear of being shot himself.

[2] A mortar barrage is an assault done with projectiles launched from a small, light tube. The main attraction of this type of assault is that it only takes one or two people to operate.