Sunday, November 10, 2013

Marine Corps Birthday

The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November, 1921, and hereafter on the 10th of November of every year. Should the order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it will be read upon receipt.
(1) On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name "Marine". In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.
(2) The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and is the long eras of tranquility at home, generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.
(3) In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.
(4) This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.
John A. Lejeune,
Major General Commandant



UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY MESSAGE 2013
Date Signed: 10/29/2013
ALMARS Active Number: 037/13
R 291451Z OCT 13
UNCLASSIFIED/
ALMAR 037/13
MSGID/GENADMIN,USMTF,2007/CMC WASHINGTON DC DMCS(UC)/F002//
SUBJ/UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY MESSAGE 2013//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  FOR 238 YEARS, THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS HAS PROUDLY SERVED OUR GREAT NATION WITH UNFAILING VALOR - BOLSTERED BY THE ENDURING FORTITUDE OF OUR FELLOW MARINES, OUR FAMILIES, AND OUR FRIENDS.  THIS IS WHY EACH YEAR ON NOVEMBER 10TH, MARINES FROM ALL GENERATIONS GATHER TOGETHER, IN GROUPS LARGE AND SMALL, TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTHDAY OF OUR CORPS AND TO REFLECT ON THE PROUD LEGACY AND WARRIOR ETHOS WE SHARE.  THIS IS WHAT UNITES US AS MARINES.  FROM OUR FIRST BATTLE AT NEW PROVIDENCE TO TODAY IN AFGHANISTAN, MARINES HAVE ALWAYS SHOWN THAT THEY WERE MADE OF TOUGHER STUFF - THAT WHEN THE ENEMY'S FIRE POURED IN FROM ALL ANGLES, AND THE SITUATION WAS GRIM, MARINES UNEQUIVOCALLY KNEW THAT THEIR FELLOW MARINES WOULD STAY BEHIND THEIR GUNS, FIGHT COURAGEOUSLY, AND DRIVE THE ENEMY FROM THE BATTLEFIELD.  WE HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN HARDSHIP, FATIGUE, AND PAIN ... BUT WE HAVE NEVER KNOWN WHAT IT IS TO LOSE A BATTLE!
2.  MARINES OF GENERATIONS PAST BUILT OUR REPUTATION AS THE MOST DISCIPLINED AND HONORABLE WARRIORS TO EVER SET FOOT ON A BATTLEFIELD, AND WE HAVE TRIUMPHED IN EVERY BATTLE BECAUSE OUR CORPS HAS ALWAYS FOCUSED ON IRON DISCIPLINE AND COMBAT EXCELLENCE.  THIS IS WHO WE ARE...THIS IS WHAT WE DO!  IT MATTERS NOT WHETHER YOU CARRIED AN M-1, AN M-14, OR M-16.  IT MATTERS NOT WHETHER YOU FOUGHT ON A LONELY ISLAND IN THE PACIFIC, ASSAULTED A CITADEL IN THE JUNGLE, OR MARCHED UP TO BAGHDAD.  IT MATTERS NOT WHETHER YOU ARE A GRUNT, A PILOT OR A LOGGIE.  WHAT MATTERS IS THAT, WHEN THE CHIPS WERE DOWN AND THINGS GOT TOUGH, YOUR FELLOW MARINES COULD COUNT ON YOU TO STAND AND FIGHT ... AND FIGHT YOU DID!
3.  THIS YEAR, WE CELEBRATE THE ANNIVERSARY OF SEVERAL EPIC BATTLES IN OUR CELEBRATED HISTORY: THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 2D MARINE DIVISION LANDING ON TARAWA, THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF HUE CITY, AND THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE "MARCH UP" TO BAGHDAD.  MARINES WHO FOUGHT IN THESE LEGENDARY BATTLES EACH MADE THEIR MARK UPON THE HISTORY OF OUR CORPS.  THEY HAVE PASSED A RICH AND ILLUSTRIOUS LEGACY ON TO US - A MUCH HERALDED REPUTATION.  IT IS OURS TO JEALOUSLY GUARD, AND IT IS UP TO US TO MAKE OUR OWN MARKS AND THUS PROUDLY PASS IT ON TO THE GENERATIONS OF MARINES WHO WILL FOLLOW.
4.  SERGEANT MAJOR MICHEAL BARRETT JOINS ME IN CONGRATULATING EACH OF YOU.  BECAUSE OF YOU, YOUR SELFLESS SERVICE, AND YOUR MANY SACRIFICES, OUR CORPS REMAINS STRONG AND READY TO RESPOND TO ANY CRISIS.  THROUGHOUT HISTORY, MARINES HAVE FACED TOUGH TIMES AND THERE WILL BE TOUGH TIMES AHEAD, BUT THERE IS NO CHALLENGE WE CANNOT OVERCOME IF WE REMAIN HONORABLE AND ALWAYS FAITHFUL TO OUR NATION, OUR CONSTITUTION AND EACH OTHER.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARINES!
5.  SEMPER FIDELIS.  JAMES F. AMOS, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.//
Thank you and Happy Birthday
Toad

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If I hadn't read this post earlier today, I'd not have been able to add it to the toasts spoken around our full-clan-lunch table here today. One glass to the absent great grandfather Marine buried up at Arlington, another to his widow seated beside me, and another to the birthday of the Corps itself. Thank you for all you bring to our attention!

-Flo