Disbanding the Marine Corps

[Ken Lyons]

My neice is attending college in Tennessess. Her instructor told her that there was a plan to disband the Marine Corps during WWII but due to the battle of Iwo Jima the Marine Corps was saved. I know there were a couple times in history when there was a movement to abolish the Corps but I really doubt what her history instructor told her.

Has anyone every heard of this or know of any documentation of it.
Semper Fi
Ken Lyons

[law_student]

The classic book "The US Marine Corps Story" by J. Robert Moskin addresses the issue of efforts to disband the Marine Corps. (see pages 432-436). I'll look for some more of the historical documents, but Moskin provides a great overview.

Here are a few of the relevant points from this book. All you poolees should definately read it at some point. This information is within the context of post-World War II; however, there have been at least 7 attemts to disband the Marine Corps or merge us into the army.

Semper Fi,
Dan

-After every war, there were attempts to reorganize or disband the Marine Corps. (pg. 432).

-After World War II, Army leadership wanted unification, but the Navy and Commandant Vandergrift opposed unification. (pg. 433).

-Before the Senate Naval Affairs Committee, Vandergrift noted that since 1829 the Congress had five times rejected proposals to destroy or severly damage the Corps. (pg. 433).

-When HR 2319 was introduced in February 1947, it did not mention the Marine Corps, but the Corps was vindicated by the National Security Act of 1947, which gave it legal status. (pgs. 434-435).

-Eisenhower, the Army's Chief of Staff, opposed having two land armies. Vandergrift assured him the Marine Corps had no ambition to become a second army. (pgs. 434-435).

-There were later battles after the Korean War. Public Law 415 of the 82nd Congress created at least 3 combat divisions and made the Commandant a co-equal with the other heads of services. (pg. 435.)

[law_student]

Oh yeah, her history teacher was probably referring to Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal's quote. When the flag went up on Mount Suribachi, Sec. Forrestal turned to Lt. Gen. Smith and said, "Holland, the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years."

I certainly think that the flag-raising played a powerful role in strengthening the public perception of the Marine Corps, but Vandergrift still had to put up a fight to save the Marine Corps after World War II. I'll look for documentation of any political leaders that fought for the life of the Marine Corps based on Iwo Jima alone. My best assessment is that Vandergrift convinced the Congress that the Marine Corps had a valuable role to play in amphibous warfare.

Semper Fi, Dan

[Lock-n-Load]

Post WW2 President Harry Truman did his damnable best, to just do away with the USMC...he banded in a clandestine manner with other cohorts in both halls of Congress along with the Joint Chiefs of Staff [no Marine General was allowed on the JCS then]...he made several derogatory remarks about the USMC...allow me the paraphrase here..."The USMC has a better propaganda agenda than that murdering Joseph Stalin"..."The USMC is the Navy's Police Force [billy-clubs and all]"...some Marine Amtracs that went into Wolmi-Do island and Inchon had Marine graffiti all over their sides, "Harry-Ass-Truman's Police Force"...A Reserve Marine Captain, then an Illinois Congressman, Paul Douglas, led the worthy cause and scrounged up enough votes to kill any such Congressional legislation to do away with the US Marine Corps...I can tell you, Harry-ASS-Truman was never a friend to the 1st Marine Division FMF all during the Korean War nor certainly never to the entire Corps...he made our heroic endeavors look insignificant; whereas, Gen Douglas MacArthur praised the USMC to high heaven for securing Wolmi-Do in 58 minutes and then with alacrity onto the amphibious victory at high tide for the invasion at Inchon and days later the the fierce urban battle for the liberation of Seoul...so much for Harry-ASS-Truman...check him out after WW2, you don't have to doubt me and other combat Korean War Marines...HST was a lousy President after WW2 ended...even all the southern democrat states [the Dixie-crats] boycotted Truman's re-election at the 1948 Convention...he also cut to the bone, the defense budget to less than the prewar 1941 defense budget...he had no foreign policy in the Far East to check the rapid expansion of Communism by allowing the Red Chinese to ouster our ally Nationalist China off to Taiwan and stating Japan is the extreme limit of American influence in the Far East excluding South Korea from the American security blanket in the region in 1949 and withdrew all US Army troops out of South Korea, too...he hid behind the A-Bomb [Pax America 1945 - 1950]...then it all blew up in his face when Communist Russia detonated their A-Bomb late in 1949...South Korea was ripe for a Communist/Mongol invasion later in midsummer 1950...Truman's popularity sunk to only 29% when Gen MacArthur was greeted with the biggest parades ever in San Francisco and New York City in April 1951, since Truman relieved him in Korea, after 52 years of faithful and dedicated service to the United States of America.......Semper Fi

[hrscowboy]

also why dont you all look what rumsfield wants to do by closing the bases he wants to make the army of america trimmer and more unified is what this dumbshlitz thinks. I cannot believe we have a commander of chief that is even allowing this ****bird rumsfield to do what he wants to do.. Gentlemen its time for the Veterans to take our country back. And prepare to protect our country with what ever it takes in Man Power and equipment and screw the damn idea on what it cost.....

[CHOPPER7199]

I BELIEVE I SAID IT ON ANOTHER TREAD, RUMSFELD IS AN IDIOT. AN OLD GRUNTS OPINION. HOW COME TEXAS AND FLORIDA WERE SAVED? OH, CHIT, FORGOT, BOTH BUSH COUNTRY.

[troop901]

Well, Eleanor Roosevelt was a very well known hater of the Marine Corps and wanted her husband to disband them, seems a Marine had his way with one of her relatives. Now when Eleanor died and went to heaven, she arrived at the pearly gates where she met St. Peter. St. Peter said, Eleanor, we have been expecting you, go right on in. Eleanor said, wait a minute, before I go in I need to ask you a question, is there any Marines in heaven, because I dont like Marines and I will not enter if they are here. St. Peter looked at her and said, well, ofcourse there are no Marines in heaven, she said, ok, but you better not be lying to me, he said, I am St. Peter, I dont lie. So she entered into heaven. A few days later St. Peter heard a blood curdling scream and saw Eleanor come running out, he asked her what was wrong, she said, you lied to me. He said, I am St. Peter, I never lie, she said, well, you lied to me, you told me there were no Marines in Heaven, St. Peter looked at her and said, I did not lie, there are no Marines here. She said, well, you lied this time cause I just saw a Marine walking down the street in full dress blues. St. Peter laughed and said, no, that wasnt a Marine, that was God, he just likes to think he is a Marine.

[ridingcrops]

I heard Harry Trunman hated the Corps because a Marine dumped his daughter and that was the way he was going to get even with the Corps.

[Ed Palmer]

You know that Rome wasnt built in a day. Well they finialy figured out why ! there Wasnt any Marines there to get the job done

[Don Faria]

On the ship going to Korea most of the Marines had "Harry's Boys" printed on their dungarees...

[Marine65]

An interesting book to read on this subject is "The First To Fight," by Lt Gen Victor H. Krulak.

[nevada kid]

if the marines dont want to be army soldiers then why do they keep getting bigger.
put them back on ships where they belong.and not too many of them

[FistFu68]

Disband My beloved Marine Corps (LMFAO) We send more Fucing RagHeads,Commies,and all the other Scum Bags straight Too HELL than all the other brances of the Military combined...Hell We even got NUKES...We are The Green Machine The Killing Machine... Semper Fidelis

[Kegler300]

The Marine Corps is the world's 911 force, and has sealed their legacy as such. There may be talk, suggestions, recommendations, etc., by those who have never served in the Marine Corps, to disband the Marine Corps, or merge with the Army, but that talk quickly turns to scuttlebutt and embarrasses those who even consider the thought.

When you're the finest, screw the humility. We are the best, period.

[Zulu 36]

Wow, this thread is a golden moldy.