SOLDIERS OF THE SEA

[Music] the Marine Corps Base at San Diego California is a 20th century milestone in the evolution of Uncle Sam's most most colorful and heroic military unit officially formed by the Continental Congress in 1775 the Marines have been in the thick of things ever since their history is a stirring drama over a span of more than 160 years preparing the modern Marine for the widen scope of his duties demands up-to-date housing recreational and educational facilities or he must be Trooper technician and tar combined to follow his profession as a soldier of the sea on street corners throughout the United States colorful posters beckon young men to the adventure romance and opportunity of the Marine Corp each applicant is subjected to close preliminary scrutiny by members of the recruiting details because only those of good mental and physical equipment are selected the core today has a high percentage of high school graduates and a sprinkling of college men in its ranks the recruit starts his career as a marine by taking the oath of Allegiance as a defender of his country then he gets his haircut military style and receives the Diversified paraphernalia that marks the [Music] first at the training Depot the recruit learns the muzzle velocity of a bugle loaded to the flare with a triple charge of [Music] Ry the Recruit Depot like this one at San Diego provides the newly enlisted man with classroom Aid in adjusting him to his new profession he learns to be part infantrymen part seamen and part artillery men his military training has a seagoing background so he becomes acquainted with the parts of the battleship which is likely to be his new home [Music] military etiquette essential to tradition morale and discipline is taught with a gentle touch of subtle inference besides adapting himself to a Barrack room bunk and a field tent cut the Marine must Master the precarious art of swinging into the casemate hammock of a pitching battle [Music] wagon leaving the classroom the recruit takes a laboratory course with the awkward Squad here a case harden drill sergeant helps him differentiate his hayot from his straw foot and determining the exact Compass direction of an about face after mastering the military mysteries of squad formations the recruit learns to handle the fundamental weapon of warfare the fixed bayonet this drill teaches him a science which combines the elements of fencing boxing jiujitsu and about with a medieval Quarter Staff but the nautical part of his education is not neglected for the newly minted Marine soon takes to the waves in a whaleboat this combines a keenage sport with a physical exercise that loosens up the muscles left untouched by the manual of arms or it takes a broad back and a strong pull to handle 12 ft of oil it's a popular belief that a marine can shoot the lashes off the eye of a needle before it has a chance to Blink but disregarding Legend the C deeply Prides itself on its ability to coax 30 caliber Clips out of a Springfield rifle and do high-scoring damage to a contour Target [Music] the trained leatherneck can deal out Bull's eyes with one of these heavy Browning machine guns as well as with a rifle regular service cartridges are fired from these weapons which are of simple construction so as to facilitate Transportation but they're by no means easy to operate for there's more to it than just pointing the muzzle and pressing the trigger [Music] here's a demonstration where Mutual confidence and a hatful of chatter gun slugs are both well placed a forward moving Target like this closely approximates actual combat [Music] condition after a century and a half of Duty on land and sea the devil dogs have spread their wings to join the fighting Legions of the sky and today Marine Corps Aviation has its place in the front ranks of the world's crack combat units the operating Personnel consists of approximately 175 off officers 50 flying Cadets and about 1100 enlisted men who are trained Aviation mechanics ground Crews and Gunners this group is rapidly being expanded as the entire core is being brought up to full peacetime [Music] strength Pilots are commissioned officers of the Marine Corps many of them from anapol with several who have risen from the ranks the Marine pilot is trained in both military and Naval aerial tactics and when he climbs into the cockpit he's a match for anything in or under the sky the present authorized strength of the Marine Corps Aviation is nine squadrons seven of which are maintained for tactical purposes and two for General utility [Music] with these Snappy little fighting planes the Marine Corps Aviation has come a long way since its Beginnings in the world war in 1918 the Marines came out of their overseas experience equipped with a few flying crates single engine sea planes Curtis trainers and rickety old Jenny's but it also had officers and enlisted men with considerable backgrounds of combat and training for a few years the aerial units operated out of Naval Aviation stations but so rapid were the the strides made in training and equipping the Sky Fighting squadrons of the Marine Corps that in 1921 more than a thousand officers and men were assigned exclusively to Aviation duty today the flying Marines are known as one of the best trained Sky Fighting organizations in the [Music] world each capital ship of the Navy carries a Detachment of Marines for the principal mission of the core in Wartime is to supply land forces necessary to successful Naval operations it lends a small but highly trained body of auxiliaries to each ship infantry light and heavy artillery land signal core engineers and machine Gunners in fact the Marines equi the Navy with a body of specialists in every branch of fighting tactics on land on sea and in the air aboard the larger vessels of the Navy it is an added duty of the Marines to man parts of the second secondary battery since the more recent extensive development and use of anti-aircraft guns on many ships they have been assigned to the added task of helping man the antiplane weapons the number of Marines assigned to warships has increased since the world war until now some 3,000 men and officers are detailed to se goinging Duty with a rapid enlargement of the Navy additional Marine detachments are scheduled to be added until the expansion is complete the planes take to the air for a tactical problem in landing operations their Duty first is reconnaissance flight to clear the way for the landing party which is banked deep around the thwarts of the motor launchers theoretically this portion of the beach has been subjected to Shell fire from the fleet while machine gun nests and Troop traps are being cleared out by aerial bombardment it is the traditional duty of the Marines to land a fighting force to consolidate the ground gained by the big guns so running their boats ashore in the wash and Tow of the comers it's leather necks ashore with a Bandelier of blank cartridges and a pocket full of Pacific Ocean as the Infantry unit comes ashore it deploys and pushes forward over the ground cleared by the fleet guns and the planes [Music] protected by the advanced skirmishers the artillery is brought ashore 75 mm howitz is broken down so that they can be carried through the surf by hand the entire operation is a Cooperative movement of the aviation infantry and artillery units of the fleet Marine Force as the Infantry pushes its attack forward in this mocked battle the accompanying field guns take up new positions to cover the advance a hard bitten devil dog Army in miniature it drives on with lightning thrusts the most experienced body of fighting regulars in the world the signal core sets up posts to relay information from Shore to ship to send fire data to the artillery command coordinate the activity of the various arms here's the nerve center of the efficient attack with all the accouterments and Equipment of Modern Warfare the commander scanning the terrain in advance of his troops sees the screen of gas and smoke laid down by the retreating forces but the in continues its Relentless Advance it catchphrase the St statement that the Marines have landed and have the situation well in hand since 1918 the Marines have seen active service in several countries they operated against Bandit bans and revolutionists in the Dominican Republic until as late as 1924 they maintained order and trained the local troops and police in Haiti for more than 20 years until 1930 the Marines brought order out of chaos and kept the local peace in Nicaragua there they performed acts of Mercy during Quakes and famine they have maintained order and peace in all sections of the Caribbean and Central America theirs has been the task of preserving the ideals and fundamentals of the Monroe Doctrine in 1922 the Marines of the Asiatic Fleet were sent as a Battalion to China and down to this day have performed grim and heroic service in the protection of American lives and property the Marine Corps has seen more fighting in more places than the Army and Navy combined and wherever they have gone they have done their Duty well bringing honor and Prestige to their country [Music] officer by practical experienced fighting men the Marines are capable of handling themselves under any conditions for they'll fight in any climb and place that they can take a gun [Music] [Applause] [Music] the military unit of the Marine Corps is the squad made up of seven men and a Corporal as in the Army for training purposes particularly for the recruit the squad offers the best school of close order drill each Squad learns its functions as a unit and its duties as part of the platoon the platoon is commanded by a commissioned officer and is organized for utmost efficiency in combat as well as drill the high point of the Marine's life in Barracks is regimental inspection each uniform is neatly pressed each shoe glistens with a shine the sun glint on polished rifling and there's the slap of leather slings against rifle stocks as the men come to inspection arms pride in the condition of his equipment and his appearance makes the Marine the best turned out soldier in the American Service as smart as any foreign Regiment of guards or drons with an espr deor surpassed by none Americans look on with pardonable pride when the band swings into a marshal air counter Mar ing across the parade field the Marines pass in review a ship or a Shore the United States Marines are hemisphere hopping Devil Dogs of the leatherneck Legion they were the staunchest fighters with John Paul Jones in the revolution when his bonam Richard engaged the carapus in one of the bloodiest Naval jewels in history with Steven decer they brought the bloody barbery Pirates to terms and backed up the immortal statement that Thrills every American to the core Millions for defense but not one sent for tribute in the face of withering fire they stormed the heights of chipul Tek in the most spectacular Battle of the Mexican war the Marines took the leading role in faragate capture of New Orleans in the Civil War first ashore in Cuba in the Spanish War they stormed and captured the enemy fortifications at Guantanamo Bay which is still a naval base in our possession their advance in the appalling Holocaust of bellow Woods was one of the outstanding achievements of the World War the Marines are prepared for Duty on a moment's notice with every kit Cas and cartridge in the core ready for action they've marched with the Army and sailed with the Navy and every major war they've borne the brunt of countless unsung battles to protect the lives and rights of their countrymen in peace and in war the Marines are a fighting core with an honor record stretching from the halls of monuma to the shores of Tripoli from vlasto to verac Cruz from the Caribbean to the China Coast first to fight on ship on Shore or in the sky these are America's soldiers of the sea