Semper Fi

On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that "two battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces with the American fleet. This established the Continental Marines and marked the birth of the United States Marine Corps.

Their first amphibious raid on foreign soil in the Bahamas was in March 1776, under the command of the Corps' first commandant, Capt. Samuel Nicholas.

With the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, the last of the Navy's ships were sold, and the Continental Navy and Marines were disbanded.  It did not last long.

The formal re-establishment of the Marine Corps was on July 11, 1798.  Following which, the Marines fought in conflicts with France, landed in Santo Domingo and conducted operations against the Barbary pirates along the "Shores of Tripoli," Lebanon.

Marines continue to serve prominently and valiantly in both the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan.

By order of Major Gen. Lajeune, General Commandant of the USMC, the following is read every year since 1921 to commemorate the Corps' birthday.

MARINE CORPS ORDER No. 47 (Series 1921)
HEADQUARTERS
U.S. MARINE CORPS Washington, November 1, 1921

The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November, 1921, and hereafter on the 10th of November of every year. Should the order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it will be read upon receipt.

On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name "Marine". In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.

The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and in the long eras of tranquility at home, generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.

JOHN A. LEJEUNE,
Major General
Commandant

Of the Marines, President Ronald Reagan said, "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But the Marines don't have that problem."  We should honor them and the Corps for 233 years of continued service.

For my friends and family in other branches of the armed service, I note these dates.  The Continental Army, which was formed on June 14, 1775, before the establishment of the United States, became the United States Army on June 14, 1784, after the war.  The Navy was established without authority by George Washington on 13 October, 1775, disbanded in 1783, and did not get its first warships until 1797.  The Revenue-Marine was established by Congress on August 4, 1790, at the urging of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, later renamed United States Revenue Cutter Service, and finally merged with the United States Life-Saving Service in 1915 to form the United States Coast Guard. The Army Air Forces separated from the Army to become the United States Air Force on September 18, 1947, after decades of attempting to separate.

I could add the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (1889) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps (1917) as the other federal uniformed services that commission officers as defined by Title 10, but that would get ridiculous.