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Semper Fidelis
November 10, 1775 - November 10, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWDdC-D ... e=youtu.be
Happy Birthday Marines
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Tedlark
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Casino Knight
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“All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us…they can’t get away this time”
– Lewis B. Chesty Puller, USMC
– Lewis B. Chesty Puller, USMC
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billryan
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My Dad was in the Fourth Marine division in WW2. Got his first Purple Heart at Iwo. After the war, he couldn't find work and the Marines wouldn't let him re-enlist as he had dropped out of HS to join them.
He was going to enlist in the Navy but the Army told him he could keep his Marine rank.
Twenty nine years later he retired.
He was going to enlist in the Navy but the Army told him he could keep his Marine rank.
Twenty nine years later he retired.
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DaBurglar
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How many Marines have been elected President of the USA?
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Casino Knight
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"SOMETIMES THE BEST SOLDIER FOR THE JOB IS A MARINE".billryan wrote: ↑Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:16 pmMy Dad was in the Fourth Marine division in WW2. Got his first Purple Heart at Iwo. After the war, he couldn't find work and the Marines wouldn't let him re-enlist as he had dropped out of HS to join them.
He was going to enlist in the Navy but the Army told him he could keep his Marine rank.
Twenty nine years later he retired.
A year or to two ago, the Army, Reserves and National Guard had a recruiting blitz appealing for Marines to join up using the aforementioned quote. Seemed to work quite well.
Met a fellow at the VA hospital a couple of days ago who like your Dad did the same thing.
My DIL a Commander of a National Guard Medical Unit had both a Marine and a Green Side Sailor (Corpsman) who really excelled in her unit. Not only did they keep their rank, they were promoted 30 days after later and were paid an enlistment bonus to boot. Go figure.
Semper Fi to your Dad.
CK
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billryan
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After WW2, there were many men in my Fathers situation. The Marines expanded their rosters greatly during the war and afterward discharged hundreds of thousands of men. Businesses tried to hire back their former employees who had gone to war and there simply were no jobs for twenty year old high school dropouts, war heroes or not.
Here is the kicker.
Go forward to 1950. My Dad is an army NCO, assigned to HQ in Tokyo. He is told to report to
an office where he is informed he is being recalled to the Marines and twenty-four hours later is part of a newly formed battalion, all men in his same circumstance and they are thrown into what is quickly becoming a disaster in the fighting in Korea. The S.Korean army had all but disappeared and the outnumbered Americans slowly but steadily retreated until their backs were literally up against the sea.
With many voices calling for a Dunkirk type rescue operation, MacArthur shocked the world by launching an amphibious attack hundreds of miles behind the enemies lines. It's still the most audacious move any American Military Commander has ever done and was wildly successful.
The North Koreans suddenly had a steel wall in front of them and a spear at their back and were forced to painfully withdraw. My father's newly found unit was broken up and he thought he would be let go, but the Marines kept him another 18 months. I know he got his second Purple Heart that winter and I know his unit fought near the Frozen Chosin in the Freezin Season but know nothing of his personal involvement.
Here is the kicker.
Go forward to 1950. My Dad is an army NCO, assigned to HQ in Tokyo. He is told to report to
an office where he is informed he is being recalled to the Marines and twenty-four hours later is part of a newly formed battalion, all men in his same circumstance and they are thrown into what is quickly becoming a disaster in the fighting in Korea. The S.Korean army had all but disappeared and the outnumbered Americans slowly but steadily retreated until their backs were literally up against the sea.
With many voices calling for a Dunkirk type rescue operation, MacArthur shocked the world by launching an amphibious attack hundreds of miles behind the enemies lines. It's still the most audacious move any American Military Commander has ever done and was wildly successful.
The North Koreans suddenly had a steel wall in front of them and a spear at their back and were forced to painfully withdraw. My father's newly found unit was broken up and he thought he would be let go, but the Marines kept him another 18 months. I know he got his second Purple Heart that winter and I know his unit fought near the Frozen Chosin in the Freezin Season but know nothing of his personal involvement.
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Tedlark
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Great stories BR. CK, I knew YOU'D recognize the face.....
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DaBurglar
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Douglas MacArthur, American Caesar. One of the most perplexing military personalities in history....yes indeed, he came up with the Inchon Landing which was truly spectacular, but was also a HUGE HUGE gamble that he pulled off (or more specifically the soldiers who did the actual work). Calculated Risk is an essential part of military strategy, and like all things in life, if it works you are a genius, if it fails you are a turkey. MacArthur also is credited with the whole "Island Hopping" concept, taking the important bastions while leaving the other strongly fortified bastions to with on the vine....he was largely able to implement this strategy due to the overwhelming superiority of American Naval and Air forces, and it was indeed the MARINES who wound up doing a lot of the work in terms of the actual ground fighting and the amphibious landings.
However, MacArthur was responsible for a number of truly horrible, ridiculous military disasters and mistakes....start with December 8, 1941, less than 20 hours after Pearl Harbor was clobbered MacArthur allows his entire Phillipine-Based Air Force to be clobbered in almost the same manner thus ensuring a Japanese victory and conquest of the Phillipines...."Dugout Doug" as he was called during the retreat to the BAtaan Peninsula and the Isle of Corregidor was also responsible for the lackluster, ineffective defensive campaign against the Japanese landings on the Phillipines.
Fast Forward to Late October, 1950, over a month after the Inchon Victory, where Communist North Korean forces under Kim Il Sung (the Grandpa of Rocket Man and Trump's best friend, the current despot ruling North Korea) are in headlong retreat all the way to the northeastern corner of the country to the Chinese/Russian border....MacArthur order the United NATIONS (UN ) troops under his overall command to cross the 38th parallel and "UNITE" the country! Many people at many levels of military and civilian leadership point out that Chairman Mao in China has vowed to attack if UN/US troops approach the Yalu river that is the border between China and North Korea. MacArthur ignores, this, discounts this and proceeds anyway. He states that he wants to bomb the Yalu bridges to prevent this just in case, which of course would have FORMALLY brought about war with China anyway. In Mid November, Communist Chinese Forces numbering over 300,000 pour into Korea, decimate the UN Troops who were surprised and ill prepared, and push them all the way BACK past the 38th Parallel by Spring of 1951. Subsequently, MacArthur fought in the press with his critics and HIS commander, President Harry S. Truman, refusing to give Truman the respect and obedience he deserved, and mouthing off about Nuclear Weapons being justified against the communists in a very cavalier manner. He was sacked soon after.
it is worth noting here though, that MacArthurs bungling of the North Korean advance did cause, or bring about what is actually, probably the single greatest chapter in US Marine Corps History, the single greatest exploit the Marines ever did amongst their many exploits.....The Chosin Reservoir Retreat and Escape in late November, 1950 ("The Chosin Few")! Certainly the weather conditions alone (-35 degrees F) made this epic encounter one of the USMC's greatest tales of bravery and success against the odds.
However, MacArthur was responsible for a number of truly horrible, ridiculous military disasters and mistakes....start with December 8, 1941, less than 20 hours after Pearl Harbor was clobbered MacArthur allows his entire Phillipine-Based Air Force to be clobbered in almost the same manner thus ensuring a Japanese victory and conquest of the Phillipines...."Dugout Doug" as he was called during the retreat to the BAtaan Peninsula and the Isle of Corregidor was also responsible for the lackluster, ineffective defensive campaign against the Japanese landings on the Phillipines.
Fast Forward to Late October, 1950, over a month after the Inchon Victory, where Communist North Korean forces under Kim Il Sung (the Grandpa of Rocket Man and Trump's best friend, the current despot ruling North Korea) are in headlong retreat all the way to the northeastern corner of the country to the Chinese/Russian border....MacArthur order the United NATIONS (UN ) troops under his overall command to cross the 38th parallel and "UNITE" the country! Many people at many levels of military and civilian leadership point out that Chairman Mao in China has vowed to attack if UN/US troops approach the Yalu river that is the border between China and North Korea. MacArthur ignores, this, discounts this and proceeds anyway. He states that he wants to bomb the Yalu bridges to prevent this just in case, which of course would have FORMALLY brought about war with China anyway. In Mid November, Communist Chinese Forces numbering over 300,000 pour into Korea, decimate the UN Troops who were surprised and ill prepared, and push them all the way BACK past the 38th Parallel by Spring of 1951. Subsequently, MacArthur fought in the press with his critics and HIS commander, President Harry S. Truman, refusing to give Truman the respect and obedience he deserved, and mouthing off about Nuclear Weapons being justified against the communists in a very cavalier manner. He was sacked soon after.
it is worth noting here though, that MacArthurs bungling of the North Korean advance did cause, or bring about what is actually, probably the single greatest chapter in US Marine Corps History, the single greatest exploit the Marines ever did amongst their many exploits.....The Chosin Reservoir Retreat and Escape in late November, 1950 ("The Chosin Few")! Certainly the weather conditions alone (-35 degrees F) made this epic encounter one of the USMC's greatest tales of bravery and success against the odds.
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DaBurglar
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** Note ** "Island Hopping" as a strategic / tactical concept arguably can be credited to a number of other people and institutions BESIDES General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, one of whom happens to be the US Navy (of which the Marines, obviously are a part)
