thedrifter
11-10-05, 06:01 AM
Marines mark 230 proud, strong years
BY MICHAEL R. SHEA, The Beaufort Gazette
Published Thursday, November 10, 2005
BEAUFORT -- Wherever America has been involved in a war, from the Revolution to the Middle East and Iraq, Marines have been there -- and that history, coupled with good shooting, makes a Marine.
Today marks the 230th birthday of the Marine Corps, and though Nov. 10 hasn't always been the official celebration date, the history is never forgotten.
The Devil Dogs trace their roots to Nov. 10, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress, at the start of the American Revolution, raised two battalions of Continental Marines.
The group was disbanded until 1778, when President John Adams approved a bill creating the Marine Corps. In 1921, "the ten of November" was recognized as the official birthday, and to this day it's honored with respect and ceremony.
Every recruit, and especially officers-in-training, are drilled in history and tradition, which many Marines have said instills the seed of leadership and action above self.
"In officer school, there's an emphasis on how important the history is," said Maj. Guillermo Canedo, stationed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. "A large part of learning about (war and being a general) is looking at the historical battles."
During the Mexican War, Marines marched on the halls of Montezuma. In the 1800s, they fought pirates on the shores of Tripoli. In World War I, the 4th Marine Brigade earned the title "Devil Dogs" after trouncing German forces in France -- since then, the name has been adopted by the entire Corps. More than 30,000 Marines served in the first world war and more than 485,000 in World War II.
Every officer has a reading list of historical and cultural works to study. The point, Canedo said, is to instill that leadership and drive at every level -- demonstrated by the record of past fighters -- that translates into quick thinking in tight situations.
Indeed, everywhere in the Marine Corps, leadership is on display.
"From those targets back to the road, this is the United States of Fred Kenney. Anything that happens on this range comes back to me," said Warrant Officer Fred Kenney, commander at Chosin Field, standing on his rifle range on Parris Island.
Over the 13-week basic training, recruits receive 30 days of intensive weapons training -- three hours a day, with half the time in live-fire exercises.
Kenney said he wasn't concerned that training is being exported to foreign countries as the military now teaches indigenous people throughout the world, from South America to Iraq, techniques of war.
"They don't have the command and control over there," Kenney said. "I'll put one of them against any one of these 18-year-old kids."
"These kids are taught to take initiative at every level," he said while standing near The Tower, where dozens of recruits take their rifle instruction.
In Vietnam, during the infamous summer of 1968, Marine numbers rose to 85,000. The Vietnam War, the longest in Marine history, took the lives of 13,000 members of the Corps, but it heightened militarywide amphibious and helicopter insertion strategies used to this day.
The 1980s saw Marines in skirmishes in South America and the Middle East. Thousands of Marines are in the desert and most notably led the assault on Fallujah, Iraq -- a widely heralded success in the first war of the 21st century.
Pulled off the firing line and ordered to "speak clearly and intelligently" by a hawk-eyed drill instructor, Joshua Ray from Charleston said he wants to be an officer.
The 18-year-old reservist is in his first year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., and last week was in the middle of basic Marine Corps training.
"I want to see both sides of the spectrum," he said.
His father and grandfather were Marines.
Asked about the Corps' 230-year history, Ray smiled and said, "That's why I joined, sir. The 10 of November is a big day in my house."
Contact Michael R. Shea at 298-1057 or mshea@beaufortgazette.com. To comment on this story, please go to beaufortgazette.com.
Ellie
BY MICHAEL R. SHEA, The Beaufort Gazette
Published Thursday, November 10, 2005
BEAUFORT -- Wherever America has been involved in a war, from the Revolution to the Middle East and Iraq, Marines have been there -- and that history, coupled with good shooting, makes a Marine.
Today marks the 230th birthday of the Marine Corps, and though Nov. 10 hasn't always been the official celebration date, the history is never forgotten.
The Devil Dogs trace their roots to Nov. 10, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress, at the start of the American Revolution, raised two battalions of Continental Marines.
The group was disbanded until 1778, when President John Adams approved a bill creating the Marine Corps. In 1921, "the ten of November" was recognized as the official birthday, and to this day it's honored with respect and ceremony.
Every recruit, and especially officers-in-training, are drilled in history and tradition, which many Marines have said instills the seed of leadership and action above self.
"In officer school, there's an emphasis on how important the history is," said Maj. Guillermo Canedo, stationed at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. "A large part of learning about (war and being a general) is looking at the historical battles."
During the Mexican War, Marines marched on the halls of Montezuma. In the 1800s, they fought pirates on the shores of Tripoli. In World War I, the 4th Marine Brigade earned the title "Devil Dogs" after trouncing German forces in France -- since then, the name has been adopted by the entire Corps. More than 30,000 Marines served in the first world war and more than 485,000 in World War II.
Every officer has a reading list of historical and cultural works to study. The point, Canedo said, is to instill that leadership and drive at every level -- demonstrated by the record of past fighters -- that translates into quick thinking in tight situations.
Indeed, everywhere in the Marine Corps, leadership is on display.
"From those targets back to the road, this is the United States of Fred Kenney. Anything that happens on this range comes back to me," said Warrant Officer Fred Kenney, commander at Chosin Field, standing on his rifle range on Parris Island.
Over the 13-week basic training, recruits receive 30 days of intensive weapons training -- three hours a day, with half the time in live-fire exercises.
Kenney said he wasn't concerned that training is being exported to foreign countries as the military now teaches indigenous people throughout the world, from South America to Iraq, techniques of war.
"They don't have the command and control over there," Kenney said. "I'll put one of them against any one of these 18-year-old kids."
"These kids are taught to take initiative at every level," he said while standing near The Tower, where dozens of recruits take their rifle instruction.
In Vietnam, during the infamous summer of 1968, Marine numbers rose to 85,000. The Vietnam War, the longest in Marine history, took the lives of 13,000 members of the Corps, but it heightened militarywide amphibious and helicopter insertion strategies used to this day.
The 1980s saw Marines in skirmishes in South America and the Middle East. Thousands of Marines are in the desert and most notably led the assault on Fallujah, Iraq -- a widely heralded success in the first war of the 21st century.
Pulled off the firing line and ordered to "speak clearly and intelligently" by a hawk-eyed drill instructor, Joshua Ray from Charleston said he wants to be an officer.
The 18-year-old reservist is in his first year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., and last week was in the middle of basic Marine Corps training.
"I want to see both sides of the spectrum," he said.
His father and grandfather were Marines.
Asked about the Corps' 230-year history, Ray smiled and said, "That's why I joined, sir. The 10 of November is a big day in my house."
Contact Michael R. Shea at 298-1057 or mshea@beaufortgazette.com. To comment on this story, please go to beaufortgazette.com.
Ellie