Happy Birthday Marines

[Queasy]

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Thursday is the 230th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps.

To mark the anniversary, the U.S. Postal Service will unveil its Distinguished Marines stamps honoring Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, Sgt. Maj. Daniel "Dan" Joseph Daly, Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune and Lt. Gen. Lewis "Chesty" Puller.

The first-day-of-issue ceremony for the stamps is to take place Thursday in Washing-ton, D.C., and at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

THE HONOREES

Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone

Basilone received the Medal of Honor during World War II for holding 3,000 Japanese soldiers at bay for 72 hours at Guadalcanal. He also destroyed a Japanese gun emplacement at Iwo Jima and was killed there during battle. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart.

Sgt. Maj. Daniel 'Dan' Joseph Daly

Daly received the Medal of Honor twice: in 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, and in 1915, when Marines were deployed to Haiti to protect American lives in the wake of an anti-government uprising.

Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune

The first Marine general to command an Army division in combat during World War I, Lejeune is credited with saving the Marine Corps from budget cuts and consolidations after the war and establishing Marine Corps institutions and traditions.

Lt. Gen. Lewis B. 'Chesty' Puller

Puller was a commander in World War II and Korea. He is the only Leatherneck to win the Navy Cross five times for heroism and gallantry. He received 14 personal decorations in combat, five Navy Crosses, one Army Distinguished Service Cross and several campaign medals, unit citation ribbons and other awards.

MARINES HISTORY

On Nov. 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress resolved to raise two battalions of Continental Marines, marking the formation of the U.S. Marine Corps.

In 1921, Lejeune set Nov. 10 of each year to honor the founding of the Marine Corps. Soon, some Marine commands began to celebrate it. The first "formal" Birthday Ball took place in Philadelphia in 1925.

For many years a Marine anniversary celebration was held in Tyler, but organizers of that event said it no longer takes place. The Marine recruiting office in Tyler was unaware of any Marine anniversary celebrations set in East Texas.

 

[Feldenak]

:beer:

 

[Gravity]

Semper Fidelis!!

 

[RaDragon]

 

[ThePresence]

:music:
From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our country's battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.

Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job --
The United States Marines.

Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
:music: :beer:

 

[rodneyxiii]

Semper Fi :beer: