Marines accompanying U.S. Army forces in Mexico in 1847 were given the job to assault Chapultepec castle in Mexico City. This battle is memorialized as well in the Marine Hymn in its first line, “From the Halls of Montezuma…’ The bloody struggle, and the iron determination of the Marines which won the day, is represented by the blood stripe worn down the outside leg seams of trouser on the Marine Corps dress uniform.
- Did you Know: The width of the blood stripe varies by rank. The red stripe is two inches for general officers, one and a half inches for lower-rank officers, and one and one eighth inches for enlisted staff NCOs. Members of the Marine Band wear the traditional red stripe with an accompanying white stripe in the center.
The Corps adopted the Marine Corps emblem in its modern form on November 19, 1868. It was also during this time that the “Marines’ Hymn” was first heard. Around 1883, the Marines adopted their current motto “Semper Fidelis”, Latin for “Always Faithful” and often shortened by Marines to “Semper Fi”.
- Did you Know: The high collar of the blue uniforms, originally of leather to protect against garrotes from civilian insurgents in Central America and the Philippines, earned the Marines the nickname “Leathernecks,” which is still used today.
During World War I, Commandant John A. Lejeune overcame resistance from the Army to send the 5th and 6th Marine regiments to World War I. In June 1918, the Marine Corps played a large role in halting the German “Spring Offensive” on Paris at Belleau Wood. Legend has it that when advised by a French officer to retreat before the advancing Germans, Capt Lloyd Williams of the 5th Marine Regiment replied, “Retreat, Hell! We just got here!” The bravery and fighting prowess of the Marines, advancing into the woods despite withering machine-gun fire, and their fierceness in bayonet fighting within the wood itself captured the imagination of the world and earned the respect of the Germans, who reputedly termed them “Teufel Hunden,” or “Devil Dogs,” a nickname still applied to Marines today.
- Memorable Quote: When pinned down in a wheat field by German machine gun fire during their assault of the wood itself, two-time Medal of Honor winner GySgt Dan Daly famously exhorted his Marines to charge by crying, “Come on you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?”
