thedrifter
01-13-06, 02:50 PM
Marines march on after 155 years at the academy
By EARL KELLY and ELIZABETH LEIS, Staff Writers
The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
A 155-year tradition will come to an end at 0530 Sunday, when Lance Cpls. Edward Voumard and Kyle Boeser turn over their guard post at Gate 8 of the Naval Academy to sailors.
They will be the last Marines to guard the academy.
The storied company is being abolished and the Marines reassigned to bases in California and North Carolina. It marks the end of an era at a school that embraces its history and traditions - the unit is one of the few that has battle streamers from the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the Cuban Pacification from 1906 to 1909.
Marines have stood sentry at the crypt of John Paul Jones, patrolled the Yard and the naval station across the Severn River and guarded the academy gates from behind sandbags after the Sept. 11 attacks.
"These changes always bring some nostalgia," said retired Maj. Gen. Tom Wilkerson, CEO of the Naval Institute on the academy's grounds. "I love going through the gate every day and saying, 'Good morning, Marine.' "
At a ceremony at Memorial Hall this morning, the 48 members of the company faced a crowd of Marines, civilians, and Navy personnel. Vice Admiral Rodney. P. Rempt, the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, congratulated the company on its professionalism, toughness, and ready smile.
But he said he understood they were needed elsewhere.
"In the global war on terrorism, it is these young men we put our trust in," he said in a speech followed by a standing ovation for the Marines.
While none of the Marines has been ordered to Iraq or Afghanistan, Col. T. M. Lockard, the commanding officer of the Washington Marine Barracks, said they were "in the queue."
"It is an end of an era, but because this nation is at war and Marines and sailors play a prominent role .... (it was) decided the marines were more needed elsewhere," he said.
The move is part of a Marine Corps initiative aimed at increasing the Corps' fighting strength.
The Marine guards stationed at the academy are infantry, but the sailors who will take over are military police, said 2nd Lt. Elle Helmer, a Marine spokesman in Washington. The Corps still will have a presence at the academy, as Marines will continue to serve as trainers and instructors.
The academy unit is the second oldest in the Corps, surpassed only by the guard posted at the Navy Yard in Washington. Marines have been assigned there for security since 1851, three years after the academy's founding.
During some eras they provided general security for the school and the naval station across the Severn River; at other times they have guarded the gates to the academy.
Marines at the academy constituted a detachment until the end of World War I, when the unit was redesignated Marine Barracks, Annapolis, according to the academy. In 1994, they were redesignated again, as the U.S. Naval Academy Company, Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.
Two former commanding officers of the barracks went on to become commandants of the Marine Corps: Major Gens. John H. Russell and Ben H. Fuller.
Marines historically provided a number of services at the academy, including maintaining weapons and running the armory and physical fitness courses.
Over the years, they lived in various barracks and aboard at least seven ships on the Severn River, said James W. Cheevers, Naval Academy Museum senior curator.
As part of their ceremonial duties, the Marines guarded the Naval Academy Museum and the crypt of John Paul Jones until the early 1990s, when they were needed for war in Iraq, Mr. Cheevers said.
The Marines also have been a colorful part of local history, and one of their more memorable leaders was Lt. Col. McLane Tilton, who grew up in Annapolis and served in the Civil War and in the 1871 invasion of Korea.
Col. Tilton was known for keeping a coffin in his house on Maryland Avenue.
"The story is that he would hop into it sometimes, to make sure it still fit," said longtime Annapolis resident Elaine Spencer Underwood, who owns the house now.
When Col. Tilton died, his children declined to bury him in the homemade affair, painted battleship gray, opting for something presumably nicer.
Ellie
By EARL KELLY and ELIZABETH LEIS, Staff Writers
The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
A 155-year tradition will come to an end at 0530 Sunday, when Lance Cpls. Edward Voumard and Kyle Boeser turn over their guard post at Gate 8 of the Naval Academy to sailors.
They will be the last Marines to guard the academy.
The storied company is being abolished and the Marines reassigned to bases in California and North Carolina. It marks the end of an era at a school that embraces its history and traditions - the unit is one of the few that has battle streamers from the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the Cuban Pacification from 1906 to 1909.
Marines have stood sentry at the crypt of John Paul Jones, patrolled the Yard and the naval station across the Severn River and guarded the academy gates from behind sandbags after the Sept. 11 attacks.
"These changes always bring some nostalgia," said retired Maj. Gen. Tom Wilkerson, CEO of the Naval Institute on the academy's grounds. "I love going through the gate every day and saying, 'Good morning, Marine.' "
At a ceremony at Memorial Hall this morning, the 48 members of the company faced a crowd of Marines, civilians, and Navy personnel. Vice Admiral Rodney. P. Rempt, the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, congratulated the company on its professionalism, toughness, and ready smile.
But he said he understood they were needed elsewhere.
"In the global war on terrorism, it is these young men we put our trust in," he said in a speech followed by a standing ovation for the Marines.
While none of the Marines has been ordered to Iraq or Afghanistan, Col. T. M. Lockard, the commanding officer of the Washington Marine Barracks, said they were "in the queue."
"It is an end of an era, but because this nation is at war and Marines and sailors play a prominent role .... (it was) decided the marines were more needed elsewhere," he said.
The move is part of a Marine Corps initiative aimed at increasing the Corps' fighting strength.
The Marine guards stationed at the academy are infantry, but the sailors who will take over are military police, said 2nd Lt. Elle Helmer, a Marine spokesman in Washington. The Corps still will have a presence at the academy, as Marines will continue to serve as trainers and instructors.
The academy unit is the second oldest in the Corps, surpassed only by the guard posted at the Navy Yard in Washington. Marines have been assigned there for security since 1851, three years after the academy's founding.
During some eras they provided general security for the school and the naval station across the Severn River; at other times they have guarded the gates to the academy.
Marines at the academy constituted a detachment until the end of World War I, when the unit was redesignated Marine Barracks, Annapolis, according to the academy. In 1994, they were redesignated again, as the U.S. Naval Academy Company, Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.
Two former commanding officers of the barracks went on to become commandants of the Marine Corps: Major Gens. John H. Russell and Ben H. Fuller.
Marines historically provided a number of services at the academy, including maintaining weapons and running the armory and physical fitness courses.
Over the years, they lived in various barracks and aboard at least seven ships on the Severn River, said James W. Cheevers, Naval Academy Museum senior curator.
As part of their ceremonial duties, the Marines guarded the Naval Academy Museum and the crypt of John Paul Jones until the early 1990s, when they were needed for war in Iraq, Mr. Cheevers said.
The Marines also have been a colorful part of local history, and one of their more memorable leaders was Lt. Col. McLane Tilton, who grew up in Annapolis and served in the Civil War and in the 1871 invasion of Korea.
Col. Tilton was known for keeping a coffin in his house on Maryland Avenue.
"The story is that he would hop into it sometimes, to make sure it still fit," said longtime Annapolis resident Elaine Spencer Underwood, who owns the house now.
When Col. Tilton died, his children declined to bury him in the homemade affair, painted battleship gray, opting for something presumably nicer.
Ellie