Gunnery
Sergeant Albert Einstein reporting for duty, sir.
No, Einstein was never in the Marine
Corps, although I am sure he would have been a welcome recruit. As former
commandant of the Corps and current Secretary of Defense, four-star general
James Mattis notes in the, "What Makes a Marine," commentary below,
"the Marines enjoy having people who are somewhat mavericks, frankly ...."
Comment
by war correspondent
Ernie
Pyle .... killed in action
April
18, 1945, Battle of Okinawa
Ie
Shima, Ryukyu Archipelago
"Marines have a cynical approach to war. They believe in
three things; liberty, payday and that when two Marines are together in a
fight, one is being wasted."
No
better friend, no worse enemy
Definition
of arrogance: an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or
in presumptuous claims or assumptions.
Definition
of self-confidence: confidence in oneself and in one's powers and abilities.
Both
those definitions came from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Both
attitudes/behaviors are subjective in nature. That is to say, what I see as
self-confidence, you might see as arrogance. I like to believe I display
self-confidence, but I would admit there are times when self-confidence bleeds
over into arrogance. That was especially true when I was on active duty in the
Marine Corps.
There were times, both in the United States and in other
countries, when people would intentionally move off the walkway and into the
street when they saw a Marine or a few Marines approaching. It is difficult not
to allow something like that to go to your head, particularly if you are a
young Marine.
In the current Marine Corps, eight-four (84) percent of
Marine recruits are age twenty (20) or younger. I do not know with certainty, but
I would wager a significant amount of money the same was true back during my
days in the Corps. I was eighteen (18) when I first put on the uniform.
I also do not know with certainty, but I would suspect that
the motivation for giving way on a walkway and moving into the street was due to the reputation which sort of encircles
the Corps and involved fear and apprehension as much as or even more than
respect and admiration.
There is a slogan, one of many, prominent among Marines
which states: "No better friend, no worse enemy." From my experience,
I sort of agree with that one .... but, I am hesitant to speculate what anyone
else might think or believe.
Another comment made by Ernie Pyle was this: "Say what
you will, nothing can make a complete soldier except battle experience."
4 comments:
Hello Fram.Nice post from you.
Iam reacting a little bit about this
"Marines have a cynical approach to war. They believe in three things; liberty, payday and that when two Marines are together in a fight, one is being wasted."
I thought when two marines together one protected each other..
some say to become a marine.. "Muscles Are Required, Intelligence Not ESsential" I dont belive so
I belive they do an important job and willing to die for their country is that not something the best a man can do??
I have much respect for army people.Younger days I easily felt in love with their behaviour and uniform.Getting older and wiser one understands more.
However many army people are forgotten when they come home.There is alot of reaserch of the problems and I do not think they are treated well.Did see on the tele the remains of the dead from the Korean(North Korea) war brought home again.Never forget is my thoughts about it and you shall not be forgotten.Men or woman in war.
well this is my thoughts about it..
Wish you a great weekend
Anita
When I was writing about Donald Trump and Barack Obama and their narcissism and vanity, I also was thinking about their arrogance. This post is the result ....
So much in Nature moves in cycles. There are, for instance, the four seasons / there are the stages of the moon / there are the phases of life itself.
In a political sense, forms of government come and go, as do political movements. The liberal/progressive side has been in ascendency in the United States for a few decades. Now, it seems to me, the pendulum is beginning to swing in the opposite direction and the conservative element will begin its rise once again.
In terms of the military, there are times when soldiers are held in high esteem -- such as during and after World War II .... there are times when soldiers are considered the lowest form of humankind -- such as during and after the Vietnam War. Since my military time was in the Marine Corps, I tried to use the Marines as sort of an illustration of these cycles and my own personal evolution.
You are right in the sense of Marines watching out for each other .... that is what they do, watch out for each other, both for the living and for the dead. Ernie Pyle's remark was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the arrogance of many in the Marine Corps -- that each one can handle any fight, and there is no need for two to be present. It is an obvious exaggeration, but also an attitude which often can make the difference on the battlefield.
It is similar to what James Mattis was saying about "where you actually see your attitude as a weapon" .... so being a good Marine is a "combination of the mental, of the physical and the spiritual."
I liked your comment and I think you have a good attitude about the military, Anita. Thank you, for your presence .... take care, and be seeing you ....
Acredito ser bem verdade a frase que finalizou o texto. A experiência da guerra é que deve contar para um soldado se sentir realizado e completo. Penso que quando os soldados estão numa guerra, todos estão pelo mesmo objetivo. Lutar e sair vencedor... Soldados precisa ter sangue frio para participar de uma guerra. Ver tantas pessoas sendo morta e também correr o risco de morrer é preciso muita coragem. Ser um grande guerreiro. Você deve saber muito a respeito de guerra, você já fez parte do Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais, e com certeza tem uma boa bagagem de experiência nessa área. Sua experiência deve ter te trazido muito orgulho.
Fiquei curiosa a respeito de Ernest Taylor e fui pesquisar alguns dados sobre ele. Pelo que li, ele foi um grande jornalista norte-americano e correspondente de guerra. Tornou-se conhecido nos Estados Unidos nos anos 30 por seus artigos publicados em mais de duzentos jornais sobre as pessoas e os lugares que visitava pelo país e uma celebridade mundial por seu trabalho como correspondente na frente de batalha da Segunda Guerra Mundial.Tornou-se adorado pelo soldados do exército norte-americano que acompanhava nos combates, ao urgir os congressistas de seu país, através de suas colunas direto da frente de batalha, a instituir um abono financeiro aos soldados que lutavam nas frentes de combate, nos mesmos moldes do abono concedido aos aviadores que participavam das missões aéreas aliadas. Em 18 de abril de 1945, quando acompanhava um grupo de soldados numa estrada da ilhota de Iejima, em Okinawa, foi morto por tiros disparados de um ninho de metralhadora japonês. Foi enterrado no local, ao lado da estrada, com seu capacete e uniforme, junto a outros dois soldados. Mais tarde, seu corpo foi transportando para o local definitivo, num cemitério em Honolulu. Seu legado jornalístico encontra-se preservado na Universidade de Indiana, estado onde nasceu - numa fazenda no campo - e começou seu aprendizado como jornalista num jornal estudantil. A escola de jornalismo da universidade é batizada com seu nome.
Ele teve um grande legado, ficou na história do país. Deve ter sido exemplo para muitos soldados.
Bom começo de semana Fram!
Sorrisos!
Até mais!
To begin with the second part of your comment, Smareis, yes, your research about Ernie Pyle was very thorough and excellent. I think you had learned and, therefore knew, more about him than I did before I read your comment. Among all the war correspondents before, during and since World War II, I would dare to speculate that he was the most beloved by the Marines and the soldiers he accompanied into battle.
There is a film entitled, "The Story of G.I. Joe," which tells the story of American army infantry fighting in Italy. Pyle evidently approved of the film and an actor portraying him is one of the central characters in it. In a sense the movie, which was not released until two months after Pyle's death, is as much about him as it is about the soldiers fighting the war.
And, yes, Pyle is absolutely correct about "battle experience," just as his observation can be applied to many things. Until a person actually experiences sex, for instance, all one has to go on is the imagination of it -- which is light years from the reality of it.
I am a curious guy, and I like to periodically measure myself in comparison with other individuals and to examine myself in terms of my own beliefs and actions as I have walked through various stages of my life. So, for me to think about myself when I was in the Marine Corps and to compare myself as I was then to myself as I am now, is a natural measurement to undertake. In essence, Smareis, that is what I was doing in this post = thinking of Fram the Marine back then and comparing him to Fram the present-day civilian.
I have written in past posts and will mention again here now that I had been involved in combat confrontation even before I signed on with the Marine Corps. In fact, it was a former Marine who was among the participants of that episode who sort of talked me into joining the Corps. There were both good times and bad times when I was a Marine, but the bottom line is that I am glad I was there and it has turned out to have been a beneficial experience in the overall scheme of my life.
I would argue against your choice of the words "cold-blooded," though. There are many adjectives which apply to me, but I never have thought of myself in that sense and I know others who have experienced the absolute worst of war who are many things, but not cold-blooded. On the other side of the coin, I have known a few both inside and outside of the Corps who fit that description perfectly.
So, Smareis, thank you, as always, for coming here and for writing here. I am sending you every smile I am able to muster and a wish for good fortune to be your constant companion ....
Post a Comment