Cutting a cake with a sword…’cause that’s how we roll…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINES!

November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress approved the resolution to establish two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. This date marks the official formation of the Continental Marines.”

That’s right…239 years old. The United States itself is only 238. We are 8 months older than the country we serve. Let’s see…

  •    3 months of Basic Training
  •    1 month  of Combat Training
  •    2 months of Advanced Infantry Training
  •    1 month to assemble the two battalions
  •  +1 month training to make the battalions cohesive fighting units
  •    8 months total

Looks like the country was waiting for the Marines to be ready before they pulled the trigger on the unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America…seems legit…lol

Marines are an arrogant bunch. But the Corps has earned that arrogance. Not but five months after being born, in March of 1776, the Marines made their first amphibious landing. The objective was to capture the 200 barrels of powder and other stores the British had at Nassau in the Bahamas. When the element of surprise was lost, the Marines, improvised, overcame and adapted. The British managed to remove 162 barrels of powder but the Marines captured the remaining powder and most of the other material there.

They loaded the material and powder, along with the regional governor and other officials as prisoners and sailed back home without taking casualties. The operation, though not a total success, was acceptable. I mean, it was their first one and they took no casualties, right?

They duked it out with HMS Hawk and HMS Glasgow on the way back and capturing the HMS Bolton loaded with more powder and material.

The legend of the United States Marines started there and just got better.

  • Marines led by Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon stormed a fort in Tripoli to rescue the crew of the USS Philadelphia in 1805.
  • The Marines stormed and captured the enemy fortress during the Battle of Chapultepec during the Mexican-American War in 1847. Hence, “From the Halls of Montezuma” in the Marines Hymn.
  • The legendary John Philip Sousa took the reigns of the President’s Own Drum and Bugle Corps under five presidents. Established on July 11, 1798 by an Act of Congress, the United States Marine Band is our nation’s oldest, continuously active professional music organization.
  • Marines joined international forces to quell the Boxer Rebellion in 1901.
  • In 1918, after the Battle of Belleau Wood, the French renamed the wood “Bois de la Brigade de Marine” translated “Wood of the Marine Brigade” in honor of the Marines’ tenacity.
  • Marines took island after island in the campaign across the Pacific during World War II 1941-1945.
  • 1950 found the 1st Marine Division, surrounded and outnumbered 8-1 by 10 Chinese infantry divisions, at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, fighting their way back down south to rejoin friendly forces.
  • 6,000 Marines held Khe Sanh for 77 days against 17,200 North Vietnamese.
  • When President Reagan decided that Dictator General Manuel Noriega was to be tolerated no longer, Marines took care of the light work for him in 1989.
  • The 1990s saw Marines taking care of business in places like Kuwait, Somalia and Bosnia.
  • Iraq and Afghanistan was the clime and place where Marines were utilized in the 2000s.

With a history like this, it is no small wonder that Marines strut around like they are the cat’s meow…lol. I mean, even First Ladies notice!

The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

Marines continue to be one of the greatest fighting forces this planet has ever seen. I am very proud to claim the title of ‘Marine’…but that pride is derived from the Marines that have gone before me as well as those that are actively wearing the EGA on my behalf around the world.

So, when we cut a cake with a sword, know that it is because that sword is a symbol of what Marines are to this country.

You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth – and the amusing thing about it is that they are.”
– Father Kevin Keaney, 1st MarDiv Chaplain, Korean War

So, raise a glass of Tun Tavern Rum Punch to the Marines that have gone before, to the Marines that are standing in the gap now and to the Marines that will come…

OOOHRAAAH GIMME ONE OOOHRAAH!