History of the United States Marine Corps

 (Copied from Marines.com)
  

The Marine Corps started as the Continental Marines during the American  Revolutionary War, formed by a resolution of the Continental Congress on  November 10, 1775, and first recruited at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. They served as landing troops  for the recently created Continental Navy. The Continental Marines were  disbanded at the end of the war in April 1783 but re-formed on July 11  1798. Despite the gap, Marines celebrate November 10 as the Marine Corps  Birthday.

Historically, the United States Marine Corps has achieved fame in  several campaigns, as referenced in the first line of the Marine Corps  Hymn: "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli". In the  early 19th century, First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon  led a group of seven Marines and several hundred Egyptian Mameluke  soldiers in deposing the dictator of Tripoli. Separately, the Marines  took part in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and assaulted the  Castillo de Chapultepec, or the Castle of Chapultepec,  which overlooked Mexico City. The Marines were placed on guard duty at  the Mexican Presidential Palace, "The Halls of Montezuma."
 

After these early 19th-century engagements, the Marine Corps occupied a  small role in American military history. They saw little significant  action in the American Civil War, but later become prominent due to  their deployment in small wars around the world.  During the latter half of the 19th century, the Marines saw action in  Korea, Cuba, the Philippines, and China. During the years before and  after World War I, the Marines saw action throughout the Caribbean in  places such as Haiti and Nicaragua. These actions  became known as "The Banana Wars," and the experiences gained in  counter-insurgency and guerrilla operations during this period was  consolidated into the Small Wars Manual.

In World War I, the battle-tested, veteran Marines served a central role  in the U.S. entry into the conflict, and at the Battle of Belleau Wood,  Marine units were in the front, winning the Marines a reputation as the  "First to Fight". This battle cemented the  reputation of the Marines in modern history. Rallying under the battle  cries of "Retreat hell! We just got here!" and "Come on, you sons of  bitches, do you want to live forever?", the Marines violently expelled  German forces from the area. The Germans referred  to the Marines in the battle as "Teufelhunde", literally, "Devil Dogs",  a nickname Marines proudly hold to this day.

U.S. Marines raised the American Flag on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945.  In World War II, the Marines played a central role in the Pacific War.  The battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa saw fierce  fighting between U.S. Marines and the Japanese  Imperial Marines. The war saw the expansion of the Corps from two  brigades to two corps with six divisions and five air wings with 132  squadrons. The secrecy afforded by the Navajo code talkers contributed  to their success.

During the Battle of Iwo  Jima, the famous photograph of five Marines and one Navy medical  corpsman raising the flag was taken. The acts of the Marines during the  war secured their reputation, and in honor of them  and all Marines who have died in war, the USMC War Memorial was  dedicated in 1954. 

The Korean War saw the  Marines land at Inchon and assault north into North Korea along with the  Army. As U.S. forces approached the Yalu River, the People's Republic  of China, fearing an incursion by American forces,  sent armies over the river to engage American forces within Korea.

At the Battle of Chosin  Reservoir, the First Marine Division fought Chinese forces, vastly  outnumbered but vastly better equipped and trained. Recovering equipment  left by Army forces who had scattered in disordered  retreat, the Marines regrouped, assaulted the Chinese, and inflicted  heavy casualties during their fighting withdrawal to the coast.
   

The Marines also played an important role in the Vietnam War at battles  such as Da Nang, Hue City, and Khe San. Marines were among the first  troops deployed to Vietnam, as well as the last to leave during the  evacuation of the American embassy in Saigon.

After Vietnam, Marines served in a number of important events and  places. In 1983, a Marine barracks in Lebanon was bombed, causing the  highest peacetime losses to the Corps and leading to the American  withdrawal from Lebanon. Marines were also responsible  for liberating Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, as the Army made an  attack to the west directly into Iraq. In 1996, Marines performed a  successful mission in Bosnia, rescuing Captain Scott O'Grady, a downed  Air Force fighter pilot, in what is called a TRAP  (Tactical Rescue of Aircraft and Personnel).

Post 9/11, the Marines have served prominently in both Iraq and  Afghanistan. The Marines played a key role in the invasion of Iraq on  March 20, 2003 through the fall of Baghdad on April 9th, but that proved  to be just the beginning of a more than eight-year  Marine presence in that country. Marines served bravely in many battles  in those years, such as the first and second battles of Fallujah, and  the battle of An Nasiriyah. In Afghanistan, Marines have been  instrumental in battling Taliban and other terrorist  forces for over a decade and will continue to do so through at least  

The Marines’ Hymn is one of  the most recognized songs in the world today and is the oldest of the  service songs of the United States.  The history of the hymn has been  clouded by the passing of time and confused by oral tradition, however  there is no confusion  on the part of the hearer when The Marines’ Hymn is heard. It is as  easily identified with the Marine Corps as “The Star-Spangled Banner” is  with our great nation. To all Marines it has become a sacred symbol of  the pride and professionalism of a Marine and  you will find them standing straight and tall at the position of  attention when it is performed.

The music to the hymn is believed to have originated in the comic opera Geneviéve de Brabant composed by the French composer Jacques  Offenbach. Originally written as a two-act opera in 1859, Offenbach  revised the work, expanding it to three acts in 1867. This revised  version included the song “Couplets des Deux Hommes  d’Armes” and is the musical source of The Marines’ Hymn.

The author of the hymm's  words is unknown.  It was originally thought that an unknown Marine  wrote the words in 1847, but this is not likely as this would have been  20 years before the music  was written. The first two lines of the first verse were taken from  words inscribed on the Colors of the Corps.  After the war with the  Barbary pirates in 1805 the Colors were inscribed with the words “To the  Shores of Tripoli.”  After Marines helped capture  Mexico City and the Castle of Chapultepec (also known as the Halls of  Montezuma) in 1847, the words were changed to read “From the shores of  Tripoli to the Halls of Montezuma.” The unknown author of the first  verse of the hymn reversed this order to read “From  the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.”

In 1929 the Commandant of the Marine Corps authorized the following verses of The Marines’ Hymn as the official version:

         “From the Halls of Montezuma
        To the shores of Tripoli;
        We fight our country’s battles
        On the land as on the 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 ev’ry 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.”

On Nov. 21, 1942, the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved a change  in the words of the fourth line of the first verse to read, “In the air,  on land, and sea.”

“We have only one mission to perform—that is to fight and win. And we  must do it better than anyone else in the world.” - LtGen Leslie E.  Brown
 

"I love the Marines for the intangible possessions that cannot be issued:  pride, honor, integrity" - Cpl Jeff Sorni 

"It represents "those intangible possessions that cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the traditions for generations of warriors past. The emblem of the Corps is the common thread that binds all Marines together, officer and enlisted, past and present ... The eagle, globe and anchor tells the world who we are, what we stand for, and what we are capable of, in a single glance." - Sergeant Major David W. Sommers 

"Some people spend their life wondering if they made a difference. Marines don't have that problem" - Ronald Reagan 

"Old breed?  New breed?  There’s not a … bit of difference so long as it’s the Marine breed" - LtGen Chesty Puller 

"We go do the things that others think can't be done".  - Jake Harriman
 
"For Maines, we go above and beyond.  No matter what situations come up, you have to get it done."  - Juan Vasquez
 
"Innovation helps us win battles because it helps us anticipate what the enemy is going to do." - Jon Gillis
 
"It is the traditions, the history, that makes Marines stand out"  - Aulton Kohn