Today is the 243rd birthday of the United States Marine Corps. The photograph here of a Marine
and his rifle in a combat situation pretty much portrays the stereotypical
image of what the Marine Corps is all about .... does it not? Most
individuals enter the Marine Corps because they have something to prove, most
often to themselves. Beyond that, in my opinion, there is no such thing as a
stereotypical Marine and the "Toys for Tots" program and the commentary by
retired Sergeant Major Angela Maness are illustrations of
that. Marine Major Bill Hendricks, USMCR, founded Toys for Tots in Los Angeles,
California, in 1947. The first toy was a handmade doll. About 5,000 toys were collected during the campaign that year. The annual event has grown exponentially
since then.
The first video below shows the usual image of the Marine Corps; the second video illustrates the purpose and the significance of the Toys for Tots program. It is an old video, but the message it delivers remains the same. The program, run by the Marine Corps Reserve, distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. It is very active here in the Twin Cities and there is a ton of information about it on the internet. Check it out and participate in it if you want to feel good about yourself the day after Christmas. In the third video, Sgt. Maj. Maness describes how the role of women in the Corps has evolved since she enlisted in 1987 and what it takes to be a successful Marine. Her message essentially is as old as time itself: Be the best you can be. The final video is the traditional birthday greeting from the commandant to the troopers .... Semper Fidelis, now and always ....
The first video below shows the usual image of the Marine Corps; the second video illustrates the purpose and the significance of the Toys for Tots program. It is an old video, but the message it delivers remains the same. The program, run by the Marine Corps Reserve, distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. It is very active here in the Twin Cities and there is a ton of information about it on the internet. Check it out and participate in it if you want to feel good about yourself the day after Christmas. In the third video, Sgt. Maj. Maness describes how the role of women in the Corps has evolved since she enlisted in 1987 and what it takes to be a successful Marine. Her message essentially is as old as time itself: Be the best you can be. The final video is the traditional birthday greeting from the commandant to the troopers .... Semper Fidelis, now and always ....
11 comments:
Nice Post Fram!
I think the marines do a great job..they are one of the best in the world..And iam glad we have war forces..When you think of all the big wars that syarted in the world..they came suddenly..and many countries didnt expect a war..they were not prepared..justtake alook at norway in 1940 they had nothing..when the second war war started they was an easy match..Many people are saying we should not pay so much money to the war machines..I think it is always of importance..specially now..
so every soldier does a good job..marines or not..
I wondered yesterday you said and have a photo of you with a marine boat..Was it vietnam you was in?Are you a veteran?
I have just read the book Norwegian heavy water sabotagefrom Jens Poulsen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage
He says in the end of the book..we must always be prepared!BTw it is a good book!
See
Ok Fram..See you later and thanx for a nice post today:)
Wow! The Marine Corps turns 243 years old! Happy Birthday Marines!
Anyone who worn the Marine's uniform for a few years or longer should be very proud of himself.
This is your day, Fram and you should be proud of yourself.
It's interesting what you wrote about people who entered the Marine Corps. You said that they had something to prove, most often to themselves. May I ask you a question? What did you try to prove for yourself when you made a decision to join Marine Corps?
You always write nice tributes to the Marine Corps, Fram. That is loyalty. Loyalty to Marines and your country.
Wish you a nice weekend, peaceful and relaxing.
I agree with you, Anita. I think strength and preparedness are the best forms of deterrence for any nation in the world as it is today. I think that is true for individuals, too. Individual strength, from my point of view, means being in good physical condition, proficient in hand-to-hand combat, proficiency with firearms, having a degree of knowledge in many fields and training one's senses to always be on alert for signs of trouble. Random chance may strike down an individual at any given moment, otherwise try to be strong and ready.
Anita writes: "I wondered yesterday you said and have a photo of you with a marine boat.. Was it Vietnam you was in? Are you a veteran?"
Fram responds: How do you define "veteran," Anita? I was in one "military scrap" before the Marine Corps a couple of months after my eighteenth birthday as a "civilian volunteer;" went to a few while in the Corps; have been to a few after the Corps in a freelance sense as what today is called a "private contractor."
It was an "ex-Marine" during the first occasion who sort of talked me into signing on the dotted line with the Marines. Up to that point, I had been planning on joining the Air Force and becoming a "pararescue" guy. In fact, I already had been accepted into the Air Force for pararescue training and had it not been for a three-day Memorial Day weekend that year, I would have already been in the Air Force. Fortunately, in a way, I had not actually signed on the dotted line with the Air Force and was not legally bound. I sometimes wonder where I would be today had fate not intervened and had it not been a three-day weekend back then.
Toward the bottom of the blog page on the right hand side, there is a small photograph of me under the caption, "have gun, will travel," aboard a Navy ship. I ran a larger photograph of me aboard the same ship with my face blacked out in the early days of this blog. Most other details will be left hovering in the void known as mystery and I would prefer it remains that way.
I have read about and watched documentaries about the circumstances surrounding the Norwegian heavy water situation. I will keep my eyes open for the book by Jens Poulsen.
I am glad you liked the post, Anita. Thank you, for coming and for reading and for leaving a comment. I hope you watched a video or two or three or four, too. They are worth the time, I think .... semper fi, Anita ....
Kaya writes: "It's interesting what you wrote about people who entered the Marine Corps. You said that they had something to prove, most often to themselves. May I ask you a question? What did you try to prove for yourself when you made a decision to join Marine Corps?"
Fram responds: Your question is answered in the opening minute of the fourth video, Kaya. "At some point, you (I) saw or met a Marine and you (I) thought, do I have what it takes to be one of them?"
For me, I met an ex-Marine who became a mentor to me and pretty much recruited me into the Corps. I was about three months past my eighteenth birthday and only a couple of weeks out of high school and very impressionable in those days and thinking about a military career. Rather than rewrite what I mentioned in my response to Anita's comment, I think if you read those words you will understand me as I was back then and your question will be more fully answered.
As for the answer to my own question, I thought I had what it takes to be a Marine, but a person can never know something like that with absolute certainty unless he tries it and makes it ....
Beyond those things, I grew up in a small, rural community and next door to an American Legion hall; my family's military tradition in the United States began with a number of ancestors fighting in the Civil War and literally in every war since that time .... sort of born into it by chance, I guess, and environment certainly played a major role ....
I think of myself as Fram Actual the Fortunate. The last word describes my life so far in almost every aspect, beginning with where I was born and raised.
Thank you, Kaya, for coming here for reading and for writing your thoughts. I echo your voice when I say I "wish you a nice weekend, peaceful and relaxing."
Semper fi, Kaya ....
Now I have seen all your videos and the most cute is the Toys for Tots.Second I do like the music in Devil Dogs and of course the video.
To me it seems like you enjoyed your time in the Marines..that you now are as you say..went to a few while in the Corps; have been to a few after the Corps in a freelance sense as what today is called a "private contractor." I understand your privacy.As now, today with all the sharings around the world with the internet..It is no longer any privacy if you really really want to now the identy of someone..You can just tell by the carplates.A car someone uploads.and forgets/do not think about it ...Or signature from the computer visiting you.But I really do respect peoples choice to be anonym.And I do no search .I have enough with my self..and I do like the things to be as they are..private..but friends..
I hope everything is fine with you and family.Here we have beautiful weather.I have been looking at old movies like The Road to Cavary by Aleksey Nikolayevich TOLSTOJ,Best serie movie i have seen in a long time..the plot.. tracing the fate of the Russian intelligentsia on the eve, during and after the revolutionary events of 1917. It consists of the novels "Sisters" (1921-1922), "The Eighteenth Year" (1927-1928) and "Gloomy Morning" (1940-1941).St. Petersburg is shown in the beginning of 1914. Sisters Dasha and Katya Bulaviny, originally from Samara, are carried away by the poet-decadent Bessonoff. Katya has an illicit affair behind her husband's back, lawyer Smokovnikov.
Over time, Ekaterina Dmitrievna falls in love with officer Vadim Roshchin, and Dasha - with Telegin, an engineer at the Baltic plant. Vortices of the World War, two revolutions and civil war carry the four main characters to different corners of the country. Their paths intersect more than once and again diverge. Roshchin joins the Volunteer Army, and Telegin joins the Red Army. At the end of the war, all four meet in the capital of Soviet Russia, where in the presence of Lenin and Stalin are enthusiastically listening to Krzhizhanovsky's historic report on the GOELRO plan.
Yes there is much romance but also cruelty..I can not explainn..But yesterdays scene with the Bolsjeviks killings of the little Schoolchilds made deep impression on me..Also the downgoing of the russian aristocrats..i dont know what i think is best..it s all very awful..Sorry about long note..But i hope it is ok dicusssing it with you.Have a sunny sunday Fram.
I have thought about writing two replies to your comment, Anita, but I cannot decide if two are too many or if one would be too long .... I guess I simply will begin writing and decide as I go along ....
Few people have any realization of the scope of nonmilitary, overseas operations sponsored by private corporations from the United States and any number of other nations. You see a list of how many American troops are in Iraq and Afghanistan, for instance, but that number often is dwarfed by the number of "private contractors" also present. Most troops are support troops as opposed to combat troops, so when there is a troop reduction, who do you think are the ones sent home? Mostly, they are the non-combat types like cooks and mechanics and clerical workers. Who do you suppose replaces them? Civilians being paid literally huge wages compared to the military types they are replacing.
Armed "executive protection" types can easily earn many thousands of dollars for each month of employment. Benghazi, Libya. Remember that place from 2012? Former Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods and former Marine Glenn Dougherty were both killed in action. Former Army Ranger Kris Paronto and one-time Marines, Mark Geist and John Tiegen, also were there and were wounded, along with others. Notice the word "former." These guys were present as private security contractors and some of them paid the ultimate price.
There is much secrecy involved with this sort of business, and accurate numbers are difficult -- at times impossible -- to obtain. Most of these people are working in security, transportation, construction, communication support, training, management and administrative roles. Nearly 70 percent of the contractors in Iraq are American citizens, 20 percent are third-country nationals and the remaining are local Iraqis. The number of contractors, who are closer to the battlefield than the military advisors, is classified.
The Brits, the Germans, the Russians, the French, the South Africans -- even the Peruvians -- all have civilian operatives on the ground in places like Afghanistan and Syria and Somalia working as "private contractors.” Some are killed, although those deaths usually go unreported.
So, I will end this first note with those words and the thought that it is not a nice world we live in, Anita. The only thing anyone can do is look / listen / learn and let their conscience be their guide, while hoping for a better future for their descendants.
Now, I will move along to part two and see you in a while ....
Anita .... part two ....
There were moments in the Marine Corps I was happy, Anita, and times I did enjoy. There also were moments when I wondered what I had gotten myself into and why I had been such a fool to join. All-in-all, I believe it was a place where I learned many useful things and more than a little about myself = a beneficial experience. I am proud of my Marine Corps time and I am glad I did it.
I start to "tear up" when I watch the Toys for Tots video. Christmas was very important to me as a child and I have difficulty when thinking about children who do not associate Christmas with good times and happy times.
The video about Sergeant-Major Angela Maness also impacts me. I only knew one WM (Woman Marine) in a somewhat personal way. She was a gunnery sergeant in her forties and everyone called her "Mom" or "Mother" or "Ma." Being the serious type, I usually addressed her as "Mother." I noted what Maness said about Marines not liking to be told "no" and doing something about it. One time I was told "no" and planned to do something sort of drastic about it. "Mother" calmed me down and saved me from getting myself into trouble over my head with the meanest "top sergeant" (master sergeant) I ever crossed paths with .... I will never forget her for helping me like that when she had no real reason to do it.
I like old music, old books, old movies and can talk about them on and on, so never worry about getting windy with me, Anita. I like to know what you are reading and what you are watching = I like you, so I like to know about you. I have read a few Russian authors, but nothing by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, so I am not familiar with the film or the books you referenced. The other Tolstoy, Leo, I am a bit more familiar with and another distant relative, Ivan Turgenev, is among my favorites.
My weather is less than pleasant. Light snow, on and off, cold temperatures and a sharp wind. The sky is completely overcast. November and December are the two months during which the presence of the sun is least known in Minnesota.
So, here are my thoughts this afternoon, Anita. Thank you, for being here to keep me company today and for being you ....
Quanto tempo Fram tem os fizileiros navais. 243º é muito tempo. Parabéns pelos fuzileiros navais. E parabéns para você também Fram. Essa imagem mostra muito bem a responsabilidade e a coragem de um fuzileiro naval. Não importa o momento, eles sempre tem que está pronto para o combate. O militar tem o compromisso de defender o seu país com a própria vida se preciso. Embora os militares perdem a vida social para viver para a marinha. Eles são bem reconhecidos pelo que faz. Eles fazem parte da história do seu País.
Boa semana, e um bom dia Fram. Risos pra você
I am proud of you Fram.
Anita
The United States Marine Corps was established on November 10, 1775, to augment naval forces in the Revolutionary War. The recruiting headquarters was set up by Captain Samuel Nicholas in the Tun Tavern on Water Street in Philadelphia, which is considered to be the birthplace of the Marines. In a sentence, that is (was) the beginning of the Corps, Smareis .... everything since then, including me, is relegated to history ....
The photograph is from a training exercise in which Marines are taught to respond to any situation or condition they might encounter on a battlefield, which includes deep water and mud and people shooting at you -- all at the same time. "Si vis pacem, pare bellum" is Latin, which in English translates to "if you wish for peace, prepare for war."
Thank you, Smareis, and a good week and a good day to you, as well ....
Thank you, very/very/very much, Anita. It means a great deal to me to "hear" you saying those words.
Semper fi, sweet one ....
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