Remember Gen. Lejeune's message

[thedrifter]

Remember Gen. Lejeune's message
BY IRWIN KRAUS
Thursday, November 8, 2007 1:40 AM EST

Saturday, Nov. 10, will be the 232nd anniversary of the founding of the United States Marine Corps. In 1921, the Marine Corps Commandant, Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune, wrote a tribute and commemoration to the Marines that came before him and ordered that it be read henceforth each Nov. 10.

On posts large and small, domestic or far-flung, in combat zones or shipboard, or any place where a few Marines may gather, their common birthday is memorialized.

Many ceremonies are formal, with Marines in dress blue uniforms and guests in black ties and gowns. An honor guard will present the colors accompanied by the stirring strains of the Marine Corps Hymn, and a traditional birthday cake is slowly wheeled up to the senior officer to be cut. The first piece of cake is given to the oldest Marine present and the second to the youngest - 40 years may separate them, but they share a common commitment. Often a guest speaker, famous, successful in business or politics, will give a personal account of what it means to be a Marine, drawing on experiences from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or contemporary times.

At the other end of the spectrum, two Marines in a dirty, dangerous, combat-zone listening post will shake hands and share cookies or a muffin from their MRE ration (Meals, Ready to Eat). Or a few former Marines will gather over a hamburger and beer to swap sea stories and honor those who currently serve. In all cases, though, Gen. Lejeune's message is remembered, that the high name and honor of Marines today was earned by and passed on from those who served before.

The Marine Corps Birthday is overshadowed by Veterans Day, which by all rights is proper. Veterans of all services have made selfless sacrifices for our country. But this year, please join me in honoring the service and memory of Marines who serve and have served to our benefit. Make a phone call, jot off an e-mail, write a letter, or just say a prayer, but thank a Marine on Nov. 10, the Corps' 232nd birthday and anniversary of distinguished service to our country.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Happy Birthday, Marines!
by Ericka Andersen
Human Events Online
Posted 11/09/2007 ET

Tomorrow, November 10, is the 232nd birthday of the US Marine Corps. The Marines can be a mystery to those of us who weren't raised in the military culture. We know from our history books that they are an elite group, something different from other soldiers. But what really makes them different?

In celebration of the Marines, HUMAN EVENTS asked a few Marines to describe the difference in their own words.

I felt proud just speaking with Colonel H.C. "Barney" Barnum, Jr., a retired Marine, now Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Col. Barnum received the Congressional Medal of Honor for valor in combat in Vietnam. He sounded just as I suspected an older Marine would -- direct, convinced and matter of fact.

"Once a Marine always a Marine," he said. "You earn the title…you join the Army you join the Air Force, you join the Navy -- but you earn the title of a United States Marine."

Barnum has been deployed around the world. He likens the Marines to a "band of brothers" that take care of each other no matter the circumstance.

Of the Marines I've met, most were drawn to the Corps as children by the influence of a parent or in response to the awe-inspiring Marine that crossed their path. None doubted they would select the Marines over another branch of service.

For Brigadier General Thomas V. Draude, the calling came at about the age of three when he spotted a uniformed man. Draude's father, a German immigrant he describes as "very patriotic," told him, "This man is a Marine and that is the best there is." Draude carried the endorsement in his mind for years and said as he learned more about the Marines, it enforced his belief that he would not be happy until he became a Marine.

"The proudest day of my life was the day I was sworn in as a Marine," he said. It seems much the same for many.

Col. Barnum was hooked on career day his senior year of high school. As each of the military services presented their case, students made a racket, but the only service recruiter who demanded respect was the Marine.

"The Navy got up, the Air Force got up and Army guys got up -- and the students hooted and hollered…and then this Marine gunny got up and said, 'there's no one in this room that I want to be in my Marine corps…your unmotivated and undisciplined,'" said Barnum. "Then he began to chew out the faculty for not takin' control of the students…well I figured that's the type of guy I wanted to be."

That was 1958. And the Marine Corps prides itself on values unchanged over the years. Honor, courage and commitment are the fundamental principles of the Corps and today's Marines serve with the same valor as those from two centuries ago.

Twenty-five-year old Sergeant Nicholas D. Morrison served in Fallujah, Iraq in 2005-06. Morrison said he chose the Marines for "the challenge and honor of serving with the best."

He called the Marines the "United States' '911 force'" because they have been, throughout our history, the force that goes into action first in almost every crisis. They are first in on the front lines and often suffer the most casualties.

Morrison said the situation in Iraq is often not as the media portrays it.

"I can't tell you how many Iraqis came to me to thank us for ridding the country of Saddam Hussein…probably 90%," he said, adding that the media fails to produce stories of the progress being made such as the schools, bridges and medical facility his unit built in Fallujah.

Col. Barnum dislikes the media's "deplorable" coverage of the war, saying reporters will "look until they find something that's going to be detrimental and mention it."

Barnum visited with Marines in Iraq earlier this year. "I went to thank them first of all as a grateful American, and second of all as a fellow Marine combat warrior -- and let them know we're proud of what they're doing," he said. Barnum added that the morale of the troops he spoke with was very high.

Though all three men are no longer on active duty, each conveyed that being a Marine will forever remain a part of their identity. Morrison maintained that "A Marine that is out of service is called a 'former Marine' -- never an 'ex-Marine'."

"Marine will be part of your biography, your resume, your obituary…" said Draude, who noted that the War on Terror "has a place for all of us" and a Marine's "ability to react, deploy quickly, be in a constant state of readiness…to adapt and adjust" sets them apart.

"Marines never give up on the mission nor do they give up on their people," said Draude. "One of our hallmarks is, you never leave a dead or wounded Marine behind…it truly is that band of brothers that is so special."

Barnum said much the same thing: "Marines can always count on the Marine on their left and on their right and the one in front of them and the one behind them so they train that way and when they have to execute a mission, they can rely on that Marine team."

These men gave voice to the fierce pride and undying loyalty to the Corps -- qualities that have remained cornerstones in defining a Marine for more than two centuries. On the 232nd anniversary of this extraordinary service, American Marines around the globe continue to live by their creed of honor, courage and commitment, in the War on Terror and in their daily lives.

"We pride ourselves on the battles we have both won and lost and remember those who fought before us," said Morrison. "I feel that many of the skills and morals I have learned in the Marines carry over into civilian life and my service is still needed."

Happy Birthday, Marines.

Ellie

[mynameispawpaw]

Happy Birthday Marines and Thank You!!

[thedrifter]

A salute on the Marine Corps' 232nd birthday
San Francisco shares a rich history with the Corps

Pete McCloskey

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Nov. 10 is a special day for San Francisco. To our three great national holidays memorializing the wars of our national history, Independence Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day, should be added a fourth, the birthday of the United States Marine Corps, Nov. 10, 1775.

It was nearly eight months before the Declaration of Independence that the Continental Congress, in a small tavern in Philadelphia in 1775, authorized the creation of two battalions of Marines to defend the shores of colonial America from the marauding and powerful British Navy. Marine sharpshooters from the foretop of the rebuilt merchant ship Bon Homme Richard aided in John Paul Jones' famous defeat of the heavier-gunned Serapis in 1779. Lt. Presley O'Bannon's incredible desert march in Tripoli in 1805 set the standard for the cocky young men advancing to their deaths at the battles of Chateau-Thiery, Belleau Wood and Soissons in 1918, their sons at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa in the 1940s, their grandsons at the battles of Hue City, Khe Sanh and Con Thien in Vietnam in the 1960s, and now their great-grandsons in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legends continue to pass on and be embellished by the bravest of our time.

The Marine Corps is unique among our military forces. Every Marine general recognizes the supremacy of his 18-year-old enlisted men. The general's highest accolade is not "he took Baghdad" or "he took Kuwait City," but "he looked after his troops."

Marines can be diplomats as well as warriors. Former Marines such as Medal of Honor winners Smedley Butler and David Shoup, upon retirement, spoke out strongly against our aggressions in the Caribbean and Vietnam. Retired generals such as Tony Zinni, Joe Hoar and Jim Jones have spoken of the virtues of diplomacy as opposed to our current wars so espoused by men who have never served in the military. Double-amputees such as former lieutenants Bobby Muller and Chesty Puller Jr. have led in efforts for peace, and thousands of youthful warriors have progressed to be leaders in that search.

Perhaps the best definition of the Corps' philosophy was spoken over 120 years ago by a thrice-wounded veteran of the Civil War:

"It is not well for soldiers to think much about wounds. Sooner or later we shall fall; but meantime it is for us to fix our eyes on the point to be stormed and get there if we can."

"As life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time at peril of being judged not to have lived."

These words are those of Associate Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., and they have guided thousands of men, not the least of whom were the 18-year-olds who enlisted in the Corps following the attack on the twin towers in New York, and who have since distinguished themselves in the streets of Ramadi and Fallujah, and in the mountain fortresses of Afghanistan.

Before them, those principles motivated thousands of men from San Francisco and the Bay Area. Following World War II, there was scarcely a major company or law firm in the San Francisco that wasn't led by former combat Marines - like Bill Swinerton, Peter Folger, Ferd Stent and Chrissy de Guigne. Among the bravest of them were black men such as the late Supervisor Terry Francois, who enlisted after Pearl Harbor in a Marine Corps whose non-commissioned officers were largely from Southern states still harboring the bitterness toward blacks. It is no accident that one of the Marine Corps' greatest monuments, the Marine Corps Memorial Club, second only to the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C., is located on Sutter Street in San Francisco.

It is indeed a special day to set aside for a few minutes of respect for these young Marines and the institution which they serve at a time when the rest of us are enjoying such unparalleled peace, security and the pursuit of happiness.

Pete McCloskey of Rumsey (Yolo County) served with the Marines during the Korean War. He represented the San Francisco Peninsula area in Congress from 1967 to 1983.

Ellie