Maybe it is just my general level of pessimism toward the media and their ability to dutifully fulfill their actual, supposedly intended purpose, but I doubt that many readers have been made aware this past week of the importance of November 10th. On this day, our nation wishes a Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corps, the most prestigious fighting force that our outstanding military has to offer. For as the Marine’s Hymn proclaims, “…if the Army and the Navy ever look on heaven’s scenes, they will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines.”
The Marine Corps was founded by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on November 10th, 1775 at Tun Tavern and since then has graced American history and myth with countless victories, some improbable or seemingly impossible. It is certainly worth taking some time to recognize the greatness of this group of men and women and their hallowed history.
In June of 1918, the Marines found themselves in a struggle that had the potential to turn the tide in the Great War. The Germans had punched a hole in the French defense and began their advance into France. The Marines came up the Paris-Metz Highway to halt the advance. The retreating French forces repeatedly urged the Marines to turn back, prompting Marine Captain Lloyd W. Williams to utter the famous words, “Retreat? Hell, we just got here.”
From June 4 to 6, 1918, the Marines repelled the continuous German assaults and successfully stopped the German advance. The tide turned when the Marines went on the attack. At Belleau Wood, just outside Paris, the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines and the 3rd Battalion 6th Marines, commanded by Majors Benjamin S. Berry and Berton W. Sibley, advanced into heavy German machine gun fire in the stark openness of the wheat fields. The first wave of Marines suffered many casualties. Out of this advance, however, came one of the most famous quotations in Marine Corps lore.
Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly, as the story goes, urged on his men of the 73rd Machine Gun company with the words, “Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?”
The Marines then turned to clearing the woods of Germans. The woods were attacked six times by Marines before the Germans were successfully expelled. Five German divisions were fought off, not only with fire, but with the use of fists and bayonets in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Nevertheless, the Marines were able to turn the tide in the First World War.
“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.”
–President Ronald Reagan, 1985
In February of 1945, Seventy-two thousand U.S. Marines assaulted the heavily fortified island of Iwo Jima. The goal was to seize the Japanese airfields and convert them to American facilities to better enable the bombing of mainland Japan.
The battle was the largest and costliest amphibious operation of World War II, yet it achieved victory and successfully accomplished all strategic goals. None of this was easy, however. The island was exceedingly well-fortified and offered little in terms of geographical advantage. There were few beaches, but there were cliffs and crags all over.
The convoluted landscape was linked together by miles of underground tunnels that offered the Japanese a distinct advantage, prompting Colonel Thomas M. Fields to remember, “At great cost, you’d take a hill to find then the same enemy suddenly on your flank or rear. The Japanese were not on Iwo Jima. They were in it!”
The victory at Iwo Jima–despite heavy casualties, the excellence of the Japanese commanders and fighting force, and the impossible geography of the island–wwas complete and crucial. B-29s and P-51 Mustangs used the airfields to take off and conduct strikes on mainland Japan. In addition, 2,251 Superforts made emergency landings on Iwo Jima, leading to an estimated 24,000 lives saved.
General Holland M. “Howlin’ Mad” Smith knew where to place the credit for victory at Iwo Jima. He announced, “you could look back through history as far as you’d like and nowhere, not even in the armies of Napoleon at his best, could you find troops any better than these Marines right here.”
To be sure, Marines play a crucial role in the success in Iraq. About five years ago in Fallujah, for example, the Marines endured nine days of intense urban fighting and succeeded in neutralizing the insurgency in the once peaceful city. The recapture of the city proved to be a major success for the Marines. The momentum of the Sunni rebellion was effectively halted due to extensive U.S. firepower.
In addition, Al Qaeda’s foothold in Iraq was very seriously hampered. To this day, Marines continue to provide our nation with security from threats abroad.
The instances of Marine bravery and success recounted above are simply isolated examples from an enormous list of Marine Corps accomplishments. I encourage students to spend some time digging further into Marine Corps history so that we, as a campus, can better appreciate and respect the role that these people play, and have played for so long, in creating American security, military prowess, and history. Although we are a few days late, now is a great time to say “Happy Birthday, Marines.”
Mike Sandler is a junior in the College of Arts & Science. He can be reached at michael.j.sandler@vanderbilt.edu
Tags: marines, veterans day
