[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

the Navy is the official overlord of the Marines

Bulls***. The Commandant of the Marine Corps reports to the Secretary of the Navy, not the Chief of Naval Operations.

In a way, it wouldn't matter if Williams was a squid, a jar, a grunt, or a gull.

Bulls***. It mattered to Ted Williams and it should matter to all Americans. Anyone who doesn't understand that is just plain simple.

"It's a funny thing, but, as years go by, I think you appreciate more and more what a great thing it was to be a United States Marine... I am a U.S. Marine and I'll be one till I die."
- Ted Williams, Baseball Hall of Famer

[BluesDuke]

I could (and do) say of my own service in the Air Force (it was during the Reagan Administration) what Ted Williams said of his as a Marine. As being a Marine meant that to him, so did being an airman mean that to me. The quintessential point is that he served his country period. That is what should matter to all Americans. The specific branch of service is in a sense irrelevant. And from what I know and have read of Ted Williams, he'd have felt likewise had he been a member of the Army Air Force.