In single file, troops walked up the ditch where we stood watching. All were wearing their armored vests with the ceramic plates, Kevlar helmets, and web gear bulging with ammo and a few canteens. Many had Camelback water sacks on their backs, with rubber tube dangling under the chin strap. About half were carrying small rucksacks with more ammo. Some still had on their rubber overboots; others had taken them off and shoved them in the rucksacks. All looked worn. For Ray and me both, we knew from slogging through the paddies in Vietnam how tired these Marines were this late in the fight. The gear they were carrying wasn’t that much different than what we had carried and as they trudged by us along the side of the highway they seemed to both of us to be the same Marines we had known thirty-five or forty years earlier–we both felt like we could call out a name from our past, and someone there, in that column, would answer. Ray was encouraging them, slapping them on the shoulders as they passed by, and when I looked at him I could see tears streaming down his face.
– Bing West and Ray L. Smith, The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division, 2003
|
Return to Protein Wisdom homepage
« Democrats: The anti-Liberty Party [Darleen Click] | Home | Dancing with Hasan: The Lame Media spins, dips and flings uncomfortable facts off stage [Darleen Click] »
November 10, 2009
Happy Birthday, U. S. Marine Corps, November 10th, 1775…(The Sanity Inspector)
22 Comments ::: Post a comment »RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI: http://proteinwisdom.com/wp-trackback.php?p=15506 Leave a commentIf you want to leave a feedback to this post or to some other user´s comment, simply fill out the form below. |
||
|
Comment by Pablo on 11/10 @ 12:00 pm #
Semper Fi, Leathernecks. Thank you.
Comment by Eben on 11/10 @ 12:11 pm #
I remember when I took my wife (engaged at the time) to the Ball. She was like, wtf!? She is a doctor from a liberal university background and had no clue that things like this existed, for real, in the world.
I can’t fit into my dress blues anymore…
Comment by Eben on 11/10 @ 12:12 pm #
Also, The March Up is a fantastic book, get it if you can.
Comment by JD on 11/10 @ 12:32 pm #
Happy Birthday, Jarheads ;-)
Comment by Joe on 11/10 @ 12:38 pm #
Happy Birthday. Time to drink some bourbon. Leave the rum for the squids.
Comment by Joe on 11/10 @ 12:50 pm #
What a nice birthday present to the United States Marine Corp on its birthday!
CHOSIN RESERVOIR NORTH KOREA 1950
Among our still fighting survivors,
many appear to be walking dead,
yet still combat capable.
Two thirds are wounded, yet they carry on.
All are suffering from frostbitten skin.
frozen ears, faces, toes, and fingers
are commonplace.
Some walk on frozen,
thus living on borrowed time.
Their faces are grotesque, dirty, unshaven.
gaunt with hunger from short rations.
All are bone eary from lack of sleep.
They have been under incessant attack
for three days and four nights.
Some of the wounded are so disabled,
they cannot move to generate body heat.
They freeze to death in horrible stiffness.
Equipment and vehicle wreckage
is everywhere
To add to the burden,
it is snowing again…
If low, heavy clouds persist,
There will be no air cover or support
to hold the enemy at bay…
as we move to break out!
Unlike Anita Dunn, I am not a fan of Chairman Mao. Neither are most Marines.
Comment by The Sanity Inspector on 11/10 @ 1:39 pm #
Eben: I can’t fit into my dress blues anymore…
Then you need the bumpersticker I saw once:
Not so lean
Not so mean
But still a Marine
Happy Birthday, USMC
Comment by Richard Aubrey on 11/10 @ 1:39 pm #
I recall a bit from the movie “Good Morning Viet Nam”. The directors did a masterful piece of casting.
When Robin Williams is goofing with some grunts in a stalled convoy, the producers had gotten my old company and made them look young again.
In “The Big Red One”, the troops take a cemetery including an observation post which they called “Christ on The Cross”. It turns out to be a memorial to the American dead of WW I. One of the kids runs up to Lee Marvin, nearly hysterical. “It’s for us. It’s got our names on it It’s the same ones. .”
“They always are,” says Marvin, the ancient squad leader.
Comment by slackjawedyokel on 11/10 @ 1:46 pm #
I had the privilege of serving with Ray Smith a long, long time ago. He was (IS)one hell of a Marine. He used to really get pissed at me because I snored so loudly when I went to sleep after my watch. Good times.
Almost time to head home, pour the bourbon, and toast Absent Friends.
Semper Fi.
Comment by LTC John on 11/10 @ 1:47 pm #
Sure, Happy Birthday to the junior Service.
Comment by Bob Reed on 11/10 @ 1:52 pm #
Happy birthday to all my Devil Dog brethren in arms. Although we Navy guys used to give as well as we got when it came to inter-service rivalry, it was all born of respect I’m sure.
So let’s take a moment to think of good wishes for all the leathernecks in the field today, enjoying their well earned retirement, or like Mel, God rest his soul, gone to be with the Lord.
To the spouses and parents: hug ‘em, if you got em’. And to all, be thankful for their service.
So from this flyboy swabbie, I bid all Marines a hearty Semper Fi!
Comment by Squid on 11/10 @ 1:55 pm #
Happy birthday, Marines.
Comment by LTC John on 11/10 @ 2:00 pm #
Bob – good point, maybe I’ll sneak a little toast to Mel in tonight.
Comment by ccs on 11/10 @ 3:48 pm #
Happy Birthday Marines, from an old wingnut.
I apologize for all the sand on the wall joking (well most of it anyway).
Comment by SBP on 11/10 @ 5:24 pm #
Happy Birthday, Marines!
Comment by SBP on 11/10 @ 5:45 pm #
I was just wondering why I didn’t see our young Marine officer trainees (forgive me if that’s not the right term — ROTC) performing a ceremony today, because they’re usually all about that. No disrespect intended toward the other services, but the Marines kick ass when it comes to ceremonies (as well as in other fields). Now that I think about it, though, I don’t remember seeing any of them around at all today. They may be off campus for some reason.
Fine young men and women all, as are the Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC students here.
Comment by Jim in KC on 11/10 @ 5:59 pm #
Born in a tavern. Seems appropriate. Anyway, Happy Birthday, fellow Devil Dogs.
Comment by Jim in KC on 11/10 @ 6:02 pm #
If they’re ROTC, the term would be midshipmen, SBP.
Comment by SBP on 11/10 @ 6:15 pm #
Thanks, Jim. I shall remember.
Comment by JD on 11/10 @ 6:30 pm #
Jim from the town that kicked Larry Johnson to the curb does not comment enough.
Today and tomorrow are especially good days to recall how fucking great of a guy Mel was. Not that you shouldn’t on other days too …
Comment by BillN on 11/10 @ 9:02 pm #
SBP
Marines in a lot of ways live for ceromony.
For an example.
When my brother the Marine passed very suddenly in 2007 we could not find his DD214 to prove to the funeral home director what he was entitled to, she said they would call the Marines and “see what they could do”, come Saturday morning we were greeted at the cemetary by three Marines in full bdress blues, medals not ribbons on thier chests, and a real by god bugle. They were all Iraqi freedom vets and the corpral(the # 2 man) had a bronze star with V device and a purple heart.
These men war vets all, one a decorated hero gave up thier saturday liberty to bury a guy who did nothing more amazing than serve his time honorably.
I told my sister not to try that when I die, my fellow sailors will only show up if we have an open bar.
Marines ARE special.
Comment by Silver Whistle on 11/11 @ 2:39 am #
To the father of Silver Whistle, Sgt, 3/1 Marines
Semper Fi, Dad.