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07 Nov 25. Marine Corps Celebrates 250 Years of ‘First to Fight.’ As America’s expeditionary force in readiness since Nov. 10, 1775, Marines have been proud to be the “first to fight” in the “air, on land and sea,” as mentioned in the Marines’ Hymn.
The Marine Corps began at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, where two battalions were recruited to serve aboard ships as sharpshooters and participate in amphibious assaults.
The first amphibious landing took place March 3, 1776, when the Marines gained control of Fort Montagu and Fort Nassau from the British in the Bahamas. The raid was led by Capt. Samuel Nicholas, who was also the first Marine commandant and the first commissioned Marine.
Besides serving aboard ships during the Revolutionary War, Marines also fought alongside soldiers and participated in some of the land battles, including the Battle of Princeton on Jan. 3, 1777.
The Continental Marine Corps was disbanded in April 1783, near the end of the Revolutionary War and reactivated as the U.S. Marine Corps in August 1797.
Its first combat action was the First Barbary War, 1801 to 1805, against Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean Sea and in North Africa. Marines overtook the fort at Derna, forcing the surrender of the city and the capitulation of the Bey of Tripoli. This decisive victory is why “To the shores of Tripoli” became part of the Marines’ Hymn.
During the War of 1812, Marines served on land and sea, including the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814 and the Battle of New Orleans the following year.
Until 1834, the Marines were an independent service. President Andrew Jackson wanted to make the Corps part of the Army. However, the Marine Corps commandant at the time, Archibald Henderson, had proven that Marines were important in landing party operations, not just ship-to-ship battles, so Congress decided to put the Navy and Marine Corps into one department, forever linking these two “sister services.”
In 1835, Marines participated in the Seminole Wars in Florida, and from 1846 to 1848, in the Mexican-American War, including the assault on Mexico City. The Marines raised the American flag in the Halls of Montezuma in Mexico City — “and the Halls of Montezuma” became part of the Marines’ Hymn.
During the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, Marines played a relatively minor role. Notably, Marines in the seceding states formed the Confederate Marine Corps.
During the Spanish–American War in 1898, Marines fought in the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Marines seized Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where they are still stationed today.
From 1899 to 1916, the Marine Corps participated in many expeditions, including the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, Panama, Morocco, Mexico, Santo Domingo, Haiti and Nicaragua.
During World War I, 1917 to 1918, Marines served as a part of the American Expeditionary Force. At the Battle of Belleau Wood in France, Marines stopped the German advance on Paris, making it their most famous battle of the war.
In World War II, the Marines served in the Pacific Theater, making amphibious landings on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Guam, Tinian, Cape Gloucester, Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
The flag raising on Iwo Jima became the most iconic photo and film of the war, and possibly of the century, and served to inspire the design of the statue at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Before TV stations broadcast 24/7, the film clip was used when they signed off the air at night.
The Korean War, 1950 to 1953, found the Marines making an amphibious landing in Inchon, South Korea, in 1950 and later in Seoul and the mountains of North Korea.
In 1958, Marines landed in Lebanon and returned there from 1982 to 1984.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Marines were back in East Asia, this time in South Vietnam. On March 8, 1965, Marines conducted an amphibious landing in Da Nang. Later battles included Hue and Khe Sanh.
Also in 1965, Marines made an amphibious landing in the Dominican Republic.
Marines also participated in the evacuation of embassy personnel and others from Saigon in April 1975.
In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, Marines provided a large expeditionary force that contributed to the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi invaders.
From 2001 to 2021, Marines operated in Afghanistan, and from 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, performing duties similar to soldiers.
The Marine Corps is currently focused on a great power competition with peer adversaries, including China and Russia, pivoting back to its amphibious roots.
Besides preparing for military operations, Marines participate in humanitarian missions, particularly in the natural disaster-prone Indo-Pacific region. Marines also guard U.S. embassies worldwide.
Semper Fidelis, Latin for “Always Faithful,” is the Marine Corps’ motto. The unofficial motto is: “No Better Friend. No Worse Enemy.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
13 Oct 25. Navy Celebrates 250th Birthday. The U.S. Navy celebrates 250 years of service today; it was founded on Oct. 13, 1775, as the Continental Navy.
In 1783, at the end of the Revolutionary War, the service was disbanded. In 1794, Congress passed the Naval Act, creating the Navy and funding six heavy frigates.
The Navy and Navy Reserve, along with the Marine Corps, fall under the Department of the Navy.
Today, the Navy maintains security and deterrence through sustained forward presence and owns the most survivable arm of the nuclear triad, with its fleet of nuclear-armed submarines. The Navy also provides sealift for the other services.
Interesting Facts About the Navy
* President John F. Kennedy, a former Navy patrol torpedo officer, is the only president to have been awarded the Purple Heart. He sustained injuries in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush also served in the Navy before becoming president.
* Launched in 1797, the heavy frigate USS Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,” is the world’s oldest commissioned naval warship still sailing. The three-masted sailing ship, crewed by 75 active-duty sailors, participates in special events year-round. The vessel participated in the War of 1812, capturing numerous British merchantmen and warships.
* During the Civil War, the U.S. Navy fought the smaller Confederate States Navy. The U.S. Navy’s role in the war was to blockade the southern coast and support the U.S. Army with gunboats on the Mississippi River and rivers in northern Virginia.
* In the early 1880s, the Navy began replacing sailing ships with steel-hulled, steam-powered warships that ran on coal. The first four, known as the “ABCD” ships, are the USS Atlanta, USS Boston, USS Chicago and USS Dolphin. The ABCD cruisers retained their masts and could thus also operate under sail.
* The battleship USS Maine, commissioned in 1895, exploded and sank in Havana Harbor, Cuba, Feb. 15, 1898. The sinking, thought to be the work of the Spanish, was a contributing factor in the outbreak of the Spanish-American War that year. The USS Maine Mast Memorial, located in Arlington National Cemetery, features the main mast of the USS Maine, honoring the 261 sailors and Marines killed in the explosion or shortly thereafter.
* The Navy’s first modern submarine was the USS Holland, commissioned in 1900 and used as a training vessel for future submariners. It had a crew of six and could dive to 75 feet. The Holland never saw combat and was scrapped in 1932.
* For the first time in history, at the June 1942 Battle of Midway, a naval battle was fought by aircraft from carriers and not cruisers or battleships. All four Japanese carriers were sunk by planes from three American carriers, one of which was lost. The battle is considered the turning point of the war in the Pacific, with the U.S. and its Allies clawing back islands and land that Japan had seized.
* Navy Adm. Hyman Rickover is known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” because he directed the development of naval nuclear propulsion for ships and submarines. In 1952, Jimmy Carter was interviewed for two hours by Rickover before being accepted into the new nuclear submarine program as an officer. Carter later became president.
* The caramel-coated popcorn and peanut snack, Cracker Jack, has featured mascots Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo on its packaging since around World War I.
* Yeomen in the Navy perform administrative work. Historically, they managed storerooms for the ship’s gunners, carpenters and boatswains. With the transition from sail to steam, yeomen were assigned as engineers. The term “yeoman’s work” is sometimes used by both military personnel and civilians to refer to someone who works hard, efficiently and is productive.
Popeye the Sailor Man, a fictional character from comics, TV and film that debuted in 1929, was inspired by a sailor and became a pop culture icon. (Source: U.S. DoD)
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