Posted on 11/10/2008 8:05:21 AM PST by history_48
by Gina L. Diorio
It’s impossible not to notice them. The stance of their shoulders…the poise of their head…their unflinching gaze. Somehow you know when you’re in the presence of a United States Marine.
Today, the Marine Corps celebrates its 233rd birthday. On this day in 1775, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, passed the Resolution Establishing the Continental Marines. That document “Resolved, That two Battalions of [M]arines be raised … to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies.” And serve they did, carrying out their first amphibious raid in 1776.
When the Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, however, so too did the existence of the Marines – but not for long. And on July 11, 1798, the Corps was formally re-established.
Since then, the United States Marine Corps has served with honor on land, air, and sea around the world. From the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and the Boxer Rebellion to World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, Lebanon, the Persian Gulf, and the Global War on Terrorism, United States Marines have been there – leading, fighting, protecting, sacrificing, and many times, dying for their nation.
Today, the Corps motto – Semper Fidelis – is recognized worldwide. But beyond that, it is demonstrated each and every day by the U.S. Marines at home and abroad who remain unwaveringly, uncompromisingly, and unquestionably “always faithful.”
In honor of its birthday, the Corps asked Retired Lt. General Ron Christmas to describe what it means to become a Marine. In a video posted on the Marine Corps website, Lt. Gen. Christmas explains, “What really happens, you know, when you get called ‘Marine’ for the first time, two invisible hands reach up and rip your chest cavity open. Another invisible hands with a singe and iron singes a globe and anchor in your heart. The same invisible hands close up your chest cavity, and you’re simply never the same again.”
To those few who have earned the title United States Marine, America thanks you. And to the United States Marine Corps, Happy Birthday.
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Gina L. Diorio is a full-time freelance writer. Please visit her website at www.LibertyWritingSolutions.com.
excellent
E-1 to O-6, the hard way. He received a battlefield commission on Guadalcanal.
He was a fine man and a Marine's Marine.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
how bout this one from Ronald Regan
“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering
if they’ve made a difference. The Marines don’t
have that problem.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES & THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MY FREEDOM!!!!
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