Show r Years tl U. S. S Marines Have Been Fighting 1 Their 1 Their Country's 4 Battles Baffles on Land and on the Sea Anniversary j t i Finds Corps in in Forefront I fat I Of War Against J Japs a aps s sR R The United St States tes marine I corpS celebrates its ani an- an S. S i this November a without clout pause and with no f fan fan- an- an tare fare For the relatively small marine marine corps this has been a ae t I year e ear of herculean tasks tanks never I t store before b bA equalled in the long and A heroic hero history of the corps i rOver Over thousands of miles of pacific ocean Leathernecks to within leap l have ve b bt range bomber of Japan itself t B Behind d them lay t the e heaviest 1 marine marine casualties in In history history- but small when weighed beide beI bedside be be- of the greatest mili- mili mili- mili military I Side ide one i tary sagas ever written within with- with in a period of twelve months Since November last marines have advanced the thep thea p at least a front on Japan by i f three thousand miles all the most difficult kind of amphibious tous ous operations against an enemy ene- ene finy my who did not know how to surrender except in death on bhe the point of a marine bayonet ty Since the year 1775 when Capt Robert Mullin recruited the first in the Tun Tavern at Phila Phila- Idelphia d Leathernecks have ex ex- petted peeled as their share the hardest type of fighting The first two battalions bat bat- of marines were promised flou nothing ing more than six dollars a month a liberal daily ration of rum nan and plenty of action For the thelast thelast thelast last years Leathernecks have em een action in virtually every ner of the world In lri n the War of Independence the new born marines served creditably on on n land and sea Their first recorded action c on was a raid on New Providence Providence Provi Provi- provi-I provi dence In the Bahamas A detachment detachment detach detach- ment fought with Washington In the I Battle of Princeton and in the second sec sec- and ond nd Battle of Trenton Marines were also present for the historic crossIng crossIng crossIng cross- cross Ing of the Delaware and were part of f the force that tha t surprised the Hessian Hessian Hessian Hes Hes- sian garrison on Christmas Eve 1776 Among their earlier admirers was was John Paul Jones who saw them J in action and openly spoke his adr adI ad ad- r I r Reorganized in 1798 I With the coming of peace the marines were disbanded not to be formed again until 1798 It was seven years years later that they set out on their first fust overseas venture venture an an operation operation opera- opera tion that was later to be recorded In the Marine Corps hymn This action shores of Tripoli was made notable by Lieutenant OBannon OBannon OBannon OBan non who led seven marines and a handful of natives in one of the most daring raids in military history t rl Always busy the year 1812 found i marines in action again They fought f in many engagements from Lake Lakei Lakel l i Erie de with Commodore Perry to New I Orleans with Andrew Jackson Itt It t vas remarked even in those days that such a small force numbering force numbering scarcely more than a thousand could fight so effectively on so many J fronts The marines were still a very small force when they went into action in 1845 in the War with co But despite their numbers they took a major role in the attack on the Fortress of Chapultepec and joining coining with a small force under Ulysses S S. S Grant marched to the gates of Mexico City For the next 50 years the marines j were sere ere relatively idle They played an occasional part in restoring order in Central America but they didn't get Into action on a serious scale again until mid the Spanish-American Spanish war In InIs Inthis Inthis this Is contest they struck the first blows Wows for American arms they won the first victories they electrified the nation with skill and dar dar- ing lag Rarely has such a small group of fighting men received so many decorations for valor At Front in World War I. I World orld War I also demonstrated the dle he high percentage of individual marine heroism One thousand six Hundred bundred and sixty sixty eight eight marines received re- re received awards despite the fact the marine corPs cops was still a relatively small organization The first American Ameri Ameri- can tn to o win the Congressional Medal M of Honor onor was a marine marine Gunnery Gunnery tf gt Charles F. F Hoffman who silenced five enemy machine guns In Belleau Belleau Wood Typical of marine spirit was this report a. a m. m m.- m. Four our ur officers and 78 73 prisoners arrived arrived ar ar- rived at brigade headquarters Brought rought In itt by Marine Private Leonard to whom they surrendered ta UI the Bois Bols de Belleau Marines entered World War II on one the e firing line Send us more Ja Japs P s st if wired MOO t the he beleaguered marines on an t r. Ia I yr b r R a a r Y e v uC ik H 5 T A weary machine gunner carries his gun on his shoulder and his rifle I in his hand as he trudges along a soggy trail trall on New Britain island I Another Marine slogs along ong behind him with a can cau of lubricating oil oU oilIn oilin In each hand while a jeep bounces past Marine units made their first landing on New Britain on Christmas 1913 It took many bitter weeks to cle clean lD out the Japs Wake Island On Bataan they fought i with equal courage At Midway they helped stem a major enemy in in- Then on August 7 1942 they were again chosen by their country to spearhead an offensive Guadalcanal Guadalcanal Guadal Guadal- canal was the first offensive blow struck by the Allies against Japan First Division marines fought ashore carrying with them the hopes and prayers of the entire civilized civilized civilized civil civil- world Leathernecks recently returned from overseas often debate the relative relative rela rela- tive fierceness of the battles in which they have engaged the enemy All admit that Guadalcanal rates with the toughest For weeks the marines fought on short rations and with the enemy fleet and air force in almost almost al al- al most constant attendance When the marines finally moved out for a rest they had secured the first toehold on the Japanese perimeter of defense Bougainville Mak Makin n New Georgia followed Then came Tarawa Here the marine corps fought its costliest battle Moving in on the shattered island the morning of November 20 1943 marines found the prelL preliminary inary shelling had failed to dislodge the Japanese The first 24 hours saw the marines clinging to a beachhead yards long and 10 yards deep Surmounting Surmounting Surmounting Sur Sur- mounting almost certain catastrophe catastrophe catastrophe catas catas- the marines rallied the second day to drive Inland By the third day they had completely secured secured secured se se- se- se cured the island Leap to Marshalls MarshaUs Moving northward the marines next invaded the Marshall Islands meeting with less resistance because because because be be- cause they had learned at Tarawa to land on flanking islands before assaulting the enemy's main Marines In this period also were fighting on New Britain Island Cape Gloucester standing as their chief campaign But they soon withdrew withdrew with with- drew from this theater Weeks passed before the marines struck again This time they leaped forward 1700 miles from the Marshalls to the Marianas This the world realized was a blow to the Japanese stomach for would bring U. U S. S bombers within range of Japan proper The ensuing battle was waged onland on an onland land sea and air The Japanese Japanese Japanese Japa Japa- nese fleet drawn out to meet this threat was turned back by long long- range carrier based bombers Ashore the Second and Fourth marines aided by an army division ran into even harder fighting than they had met at Tarawa a large island with mountains posed an entirely new k kind nd of tactical problem problem lem to marines But versatile as ever they soon had secured their beachhead and were moving across the island The enemy fought to a suicidal end at Even the native native native na na- na- na tive population joined in the battle and when they saw their cause was lost leaped into the sea Tinian and Guam followed soon soon- after In taking re-taking Guam the Leathernecks even evened cd the score for forthe forthe forthe the marine garrison which was overwhelmed on that island at the outbreak of war This series of successes successes Tinian Timan Guam Guam caused caused an upset inthe in inthe inthe the Japan Japanese se government and led to toa a bad fright for Tokio The Japs were not given much pause to swallow swallow swallow low the implications of these vic vic- tories The marines struck next at in the Palau group The Japs quickly saw that this was a ablow ablow ablow blow aimed at the Philippines I Thus the Japanese tide of conquest conquest conquest con con- quest ebbed The past year has taught the Jap to dread the marine In one important operation the fact that marines were involved was withheld as information of value to the enemy The enemy who learned his lesson from the Leathernecks on Guadalcanal now may agree with Allied observers that the United States marine is the most superb fighting man in the world |