Posted on 09/17/2002 5:53:38 PM PDT by Patriot_carcass
Our Motto is "Semper Fidelis." It is latin for "Always Faithful." To those who threaten our freedom or our resolve, hear our creed:
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life.
My rifle without me is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I WILL...
My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. WE WILL HIT...
My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weakness, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. WE WILL...
Before God, I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. WE ARE THE SAVIORS OF MY LIFE.
So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but peace!
This "Creed" was written by MAJ GEN W. H. RUPERTUS USMC following the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is a creed every Marine learns, and lives by. Remember this when some reporter, or elected official says, "What about the loss of life of our servicemen and women on foreign shores." As I have said before, if you have seen my comments, " I have served God, Country, and Corps for ten years, I still serve." I have no degree, so I sure as hell did not join for college money. "First to Fight!" "By Land, By Sea." "Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue." These are accolades we are proud of.
Let us prove it again.
The young Marine was weary
And he sought a little rest
With his helmet for a pillow
And his rifle on his chest.
He had seen the gunships fire.
He had heard the cannons roar.
He had seen the Navy’s power
As he made his way ashore.
Then he thought about his rifle
And he found it rather small,
With the gunships and the cannons
It was nothing much at all.
The efforts of a rifleman
Meant little, it would seem.
Then, as he slipped to slumber,
He dreamed himself a dream.
The man who stood beside him
Held a musket in his hand
And close around his neck he wore
A heavy leather band.
"When I was on Old Ironsides,"
The apparition said
"There were cannonballs and cutlasses
Wherever danger led.
There were pistols too, and daggers
At every fighter’s side
When the ships would come together
On the rolling, heaving, tide.
But when it came to boarding,
With the battle fury hot
It was rifles, always rifles
That made the telling shot."
The apparition faded
And standing in its place
Beneath a shallow helmet
He saw another face.
"When we were in the trenches
In the Wood they call Marine
There were mortars, tanks, and cannons,
More than I had ever seen.
But when the final charge was made
To push the Germans back
It was rifles, always rifles
At the point of the attack."
The face changed only slightly
And the helmet stayed the same
But the island that he spoke of
Had a more familiar name.
"They hit us very early
On the day the war begun.
On the wings of all their bombers
We could see the Rising Sun.
Our pilots and our gunners
Who fought and fell at Wake
Wrote a story full of glory
That time can never shake.
But when the enemy drew near
To make his final reach
It was rifles, always rifles
That met him on the beach."
There next appeared a shadow
In a swirl of stinging snow
And it breathed a fierce defiance
And its eyes were all aglow.
"In ‘Fifty at the Chosin
When the big guns couldn’t talk
And the First Marine Division
Took a fighting, freezing walk,
When all the world, except the Corps
Had counted us as gone
It was rifles, always rifles
That let us carry on."
The scene was changed to summer
And the face was hard and lean
And the tired eyes were fired
With the light that says Marine.
"At Khe Sahn when they shelled us
We were wrapped in rolling smoke
And the thought of our survival
Was a grim and ghastly joke.
But when the waves came swarming in
To finish the assault
It was rifles, always rifles
That called the final halt."
There next appeared a general
As solid as a tank
With three stars on his collar
To signify his rank.
His stature and demeanor
Were the military type
And in his hand he carried
A stubby little pipe.
His jaw was squarely chiseled
His eyes were clear and keen
And his bearing left no question.
He was all Marine’s Marine.
"The message they’re conveying
The burly General said
Is that through our troubled history
The rifles always led.
We’ve had cannons, tanks, and mortars
We’ve had weapons by the score,
We’ve had battleships and fighter planes
To complement the Corps.
We’ve a most impressive arsenal.
That’s obviously true,
But the final thrust for victory
Has always been with you.
It was rifles, always rifles
When the Corps was sorely pressed
And the rifle that you carry
Must meet the final test.
So sling that rifle proudly,
For everything we do
With mortars, tanks, and cannons
Is just an aid to you."
The young Marine awakened
And put the dream aside,
Though now he clutched his rifle
With a certain touch of pride.
And then he chanced to notice
That lying near his hand
Was a stubby little pipe
And a heavy leather band.
0311 PRIDE BUMP!
L
True. A great rifle in untrained hands is merely a very awkward club.
Keep in practice, you never know when they will need us again.
Boy I had smile as big as Roseanne Barr's ass crack after that.
Just the thought of him doing airplane pushups at MCRD San Diego was fantastic! The only thing that could have been better was if they had sent him to Parris Island so the mosquitos could eat his dumb ass alive.LOL
His attention span and cognitive reaction times were measured by the stars. Boy did he have a sharp learning curve when he showed up to boot camp!HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!
The best part was he had/has no idea why the recruiters started cold calling him!
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