Happy 250th Birthday to the Few, the Proud, the Marines

I revere the United States Marines, the fearless force whose 250th birthday was on November 10. I know, I’m late, but writing between the actual date, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving works, too. We Americans owe our freedoms to many factors — including tradition, heritage, our own vigilance as citizens, and even our lawyers and teachers — but think of the battles in which the Marines fought bravely and decisively. It’s more than from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli. Think about Washington crossing the Delaware, the Battle of Princeton, the Battle of New Orleans, and Belleau Wood in 1918, where Germans called them “Teufel Hunden,” or Devil Dogs, for their fearlessness and terrifyingly good aim.

Marines were the backbone of the American assault on dozens of islands in the Pacific in World II and were there to raise the flag on Iwo Jima, leading to one of photography’s most rousing and perfectly composed scenes of war; plus Inchon; horrible, heroic fighting in Vietnam; Afghanistan; and Iraq — twice. Each put thousands of Marine boots on the ground. “Semper fi,” short for “Semper fidelis,” or “Always faithful,” is the Marines’ famous motto. It means loyalty to God, country, the corps and one another — everyone knows this, since the Marines are among the anchors of American history and icons in the story of what makes us American.

About the Author

Brian T. Allen

Brian T. Allen is National Review’s art critic.

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I revere the United States Marines, the fearless force whose 250th birthday was on November 10. I know, I’m late, but writing between the actual date, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving works, too. We Americans owe our freedoms to many factors — including tradition, heritage, our own vigilance as citizens, and even our lawyers and teachers — but think of the battles in which the Marines fought bravely and decisively. It’s more than from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli. Think about Washington crossing the Delaware, the Battle of Princeton, the Battle of New Orleans, and Belleau Wood in 1918, where Germans called them “Teufel Hunden,” or Devil Dogs, for their fearlessness and terrifyingly good aim.

Marines were the backbone of the American assault on dozens of islands in the Pacific in World II and were there to raise the flag on Iwo Jima, leading to one of photography’s most rousing and perfectly composed scenes of war; plus Inchon; horrible, heroic fighting in Vietnam; Afghanistan; and Iraq — twice. Each put thousands of Marine boots on the ground. “Semper fi,” short for “Semper fidelis,” or “Always faithful,” is the Marines’ famous motto. It means loyalty to God, country, the corps and one another — everyone knows this, since the Marines are among the anchors of American history and icons in the story of what makes us American.