Posted on 11/10/2011 2:59:54 PM PST by Michael Barnes
For ten years now, our Corps has been engaged in continuous combat operations against those who threaten the security of America and our allies. We turned the tide in the Anbar province of Iraq and continue to see success today in southwest Afghanistan. While it has come at a cost … we have much to be proud of.
This past year in operations around the world including humanitarian disaster relief, counter-piracy, theater security cooperation, special operations, counter-insurgency and many more, you continued to solidify our place as America’s expeditionary force in readiness. Since the Continental Congress created two battalions of Marines 236 years ago, our legacy as an ever-ready, ever-capable, victory-producing organization remains intact.
Our rich heritage of selfless service and fidelity to Nation and to one another lives on in all who currently wear the eagle, globe and anchor—those who have answered the clarion call to duty with remarkable courage, dedication and unshakable resolve that Marines are so well known for. To all Marines—past and present—and especially to our families … I extend my deep gratitude for all you have done and all you continue to do.
As we celebrate our 236th Birthday, let us look forward to future challenges—whatever they may be—and reaffirm our pledge to be America’s premier crisis response force; to be the first to fight ... always ready for the toughest and most challenging assignments. Happy Birthday, Marines, and Semper Fidelis!
James F. Amos General, U.S. Marine Corps
God bless the USMC (and the Army and the Navy and the Air Force and the Coast Guard).
Semper Fi and Happy Birthday all you Marines!!!!!!!!!!
-Hale
Best quote from a Marine during the very beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom when asked by a news reporter what his mission was. "Beat the Army to Baghdad!"
Happy birthday Marines. Thank you for everything you have done and everything you will do!
Much love to the free and the proud! Saying you guys are the best is beside the point. Go MARINES!
Happy Birthday to The United States Marine Corp. Congrats and kudos to my late father-in-law, Gunnery Sergent John “Jack’’ Scharffenberger,4th. Marine Division, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. Thanks Dad. And congrats and kudos to my big brothet Chris, 1st. LT. 5th. Marine Division, 3rd. Battalion(ret.) 1976-1980. Thanks bro’. ‘’Marines. No better friend, no worse enemy’’.
Thank you Marines and the war dogs too...amazing all of you!
You’re welcome but I regret to say I never served. I’m just a humble American who respects and admires those who do.
My favorite branch. I was honored to be a “sea-going bellhop” for them on LPH-11 (helo carrier). Countless flight operations with them into the wee hours of the morning.
Happy Birthday Marines!
God protect those of you far from home, and on foreign soil.
Semper Fi.
Unites State Marine Corps for President!!!!
SEMPER FI.
JUST got up on a Piano at Mojos Dueling Piano and as they played our song, did some one armed pushups while holding the Flag in the other.
God Bless the Devil Dogs.
Best wishes for a Happy Birthday to the Corps from an old treadhead!
CPT ARMOR
MACV 1971
Somehow I’ve lived long enough to call the Commandant a “boot.”
Happy Birthday!
To all of my brothers and sisters; past, present, and future in the glorious and exclusive “BIRD ON THE BALL” club.
GOD—CORPS—COUNTRY
SEMPER FIDELIS
I am what was once called Old Corps, there is no such thing.
There are only ..... MARINES.....
Semper Fi, brothers-in-arms.
Thank you Marines for all you have done and do to make our country great. Semper Fi.
Happy Veterans Day and a belated Happy Birthday to all of my fellow Devil Dogs!
Thank you all for your service and sacrifice! And be sure to thank you family, as they too have sacrificed during your service!
God Bless the Marine Corps and all those in our military!
My Dear Fellow Patriots;
It was a brew house built in 1693 at the intersection of Water Street and Tun Alley near the docks, and so the wooden structure built by Samuel Carpenter and his brother Joshua was ultimately known simply as Tun Tavern.
Over the decades, while fires of independence were being stoked that would eventually enflame all thirteen colonies, it became a favorite gathering place in that part of colonial Philadelphia known as Carpenter’s Wharf, attracting the likes of Jefferson, Washington and Franklin. So it was that when Captain Samuel Nicholas was commissioned by the Second Continental Congress on November 10th, 1775 to raise two battalions of Marines, he appointed Robert Mullen, the proprietor of the establishment, to the position of Chief Marine Recruiter.
It must have been a raucous scene in that watering hole, night after night, as Mullen set out to attract able-bodied volunteers, though he was instructed 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…”
The newly-established Continental Marines were to provide on-board security for the ship’s Captain and crew, and during naval engagements Marine sharpshooters were dispatched to the top of the fighting masts. From there, they targeted enemy officers, gunners and helmsmen.
They wore green coats with white lapels and a distinctive high collar made of leather, designed to protect against sword and cutlass slashes. Even today, the Marine Corps dress uniform features a high collar in commemoration of those first two battalions - and they are still known as “Leathernecks.”
I could not let this date go by without asking you to think of them. I am, as you are, intensely and rightly proud of ALL branches of our military, but I must admit that I experience a little surge of adrenalin when I read the words, “The Marines have landed!”
They have defended our flag in God-forsaken, pestilent jungles across the globe. They have defended our liberty and independence with glory and honor, engaging and defeating enemies who may have had the advantage in numbers and guns, but could never surpass them in heart and courage.
They have been fighting and dying for our freedom since the days when the fate of our Republic may have depended upon the outcome of the next battle. They are symbolized by men like Sergeant Dan Daly, exhorting his Marines up and over the top against overwhelming odds in bloody Belleau Wood with the words “C’mon you sons-of-bitches, do you want to live forever?”
They are the stuff of legends.
Happy 236th Birthday, Marines. We couldn’t have made it without you. May God bless you and keep you, and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.
Yours in Liberty,
Frank Santarpia
Staten Island, NY
www.teapartysi.com
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“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they’ve made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem.”
- President Ronald Reagan
Happy Birthday to the Corps.
From another branch’s Vet (Army 68-71)
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