This Week in Marine Corps History (10/13 -10/19)

13 October 1944: Organized Japanese resistance formally ended on Peleliu although some Japanese fought on for years believing that the war was not over.

14 October 1926: After the brutal robbery and killing of a U. S. Mail truck driver in Elizabeth, NJ, President Calvin Coolidge turned to the Marine Corps for assistance. By Presidential Order, 2,500 Marines began guarding the mail.

15 October 1942: Marine Air Group 11 embarked for the South Pacific.

16 October 1962: The first of the CH-46A helicopters began testing. The first Marine squadrons took these aircraft into service in early 1965.

17 October 1820: LtCol Archibald Henderson was appointed Commandant of the Marine Corps. He served in this position for 38 years.

18 October 2002: It was announced that the I Marine Expeditionary Force, which could serve as a ground vanguard in any strike against Iraq, would soon move most of their headquarters to Kuwait.

19 October 1968: Operation Maui Peak, a combined regimental-sized operation which began on 6 October, ended 11 miles northwest of An Hoa, Vietnam. More than 300 enemy were killed in the 13-day operation.

This Week in Marine Corps History (10/6 - 10/12)

6 October 1916: Dog tags were first authorized by Marine Corps Order Number 32.

7 October 1950: With North Korean forces in full retreat, the Inchon-Seoul campaign of the Korean War was formally declared closed.

8 October 1899: A force of 376 Marines captured the insurgent town of Novaleta, Philippines.

9 October 1911: Joe Rosenthal, the photographer who snapped the iconic image of 5 Marines and a Corpsman raising the flag on Mount Suribachi, was born in Washington, D.C.

10 October 1942: Elements of the 2nd Bn 2nd Marine Regiment conducted a two-day raid on the villages of Koilotamaria and Garabaus, Guadalcanal.

11 October 1971: Marine legend Lt. General Chesty Puller, succumbed to pneumonia and kidney infection and died at age 73.

12 October 1979: Iwo Jima flag raiser Corporal Rene Gagnon died in Manchester, New Hampshire at the age of 54.

This Week in Marine Corps History (09/29 - 05/06)

29 September 1950: PFC Stanley R. Christianson gave his life in a one-man stand against a ferocious attack which threatened to destroy his platoon in Korea. For his heroism, Christianson was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

30 September 1942: Admiral Nimitz made an emergency landing at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal. Nimitz made the most of the opportunity, visiting the front lines, talking to a number of Marines and reaffirmed to General Vandegrift that his overriding mission was to hold the airfield.

1 October 1931: Major General Smedley Butler, twice awarded the Medal of Honor, retired upon his own application after completion of 33 years service in the Marine Corps.

2 October 1923: Birthday of CWO 4 Hershel Williams a career Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his outstanding heroism in the Battle of Iwo Jima.

3 October 1903: Maj. General George Elliot became the 10th Commandant of the Marine Corps.

4 October 1918 : SGT Matej Kocak, who earned the Army and Navy Medals of Honor for "heroism above and beyond the call of duty" in action against the enemy on 18 July 1918, was killed in action by enemy gunfire in the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, France.

5 October 1974: First Lieutenant Robert G. Robinson, who earned the Medal of Honor as a pilot in World War I, passed away at the age of 79.

This Week in Marine Corps History (09/22 - 09/28)

22 September 1855: Marines and Seamen landed in Fiji Islands.

23 September 1776: Continental Marines were ordered to reinforce General George Washington in New York.

24 September 1873: Marines and seamen from the USS Pensacola and Benicia landed at the Bay of Panama, Columbia, to protect the railroad and American lives and property during the revolution.

25 September 1944: PFC John New was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during actions against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu Island. According to the citation, PFC New “unhesitatingly flung himself upon the grenade and absorbed the full impact of the explosion.”

26 September 2003: Ground was broken on the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the centerpiece of the Marine Corps Heritage Center.

27 September 1944: The American flag was raised over Peleliu, Palau Islands, at the 1st Marine Division Command Post.

28 September 1900: Marines withdrew from Peking after the Boxer Rebellion.

This Week in Marine Corps History (09/15 - 09/21)

15 September 1950: The lst Marine Division, under the command of Major General Oliver P. Smith led the first major strike in North Korean territory, with an amphibious assault at Inchon that completely caught the enemy by surprise.

16 September 1946: Birth date of Sgt. Lawrence Peters who was awarded the Medal of Honor for “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Squad Leader with Company M, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam on 4 September 1967.”

17 September 1782: Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Gale, fourth Commandant of the Marine Corps and the only one ever fired, was born in Dublin, Ireland.

18 September 1990: A new 40-acre training facility for Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) was dedicated at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, by General Alfred M. Gray, Commandant of the Marine Corps.

19 September 1927: U.S. Marines participate in the Battle of Telpaneca, Nicaragua.

20 September 1814: With the U.S. Capitol destroyed by the British, Marines protected Congress in a hotel.

21 September 1950: General Almond, the X Corps commander, took personal command of the operations ashore and ordered the U.S. Army's 32d Infantry Regiment, followed by the 17th ROK Regiment, to cross the Han.

This Week in Marine Corps History (09/08 - 09/14)

8 September 1942: On Guadalcanal, the 1st Raider Battalion and the 1st Parachute Battalion, carried out a successful raid on a Japanese supply base.

9 September 1968: The 1st Marine Division ended Operation Sussex Bay. The combination of Operation Sussex Bay and Typhoon Bess had taken the fight out of the Communist units which had originally struck Da Nang on 23 August.

10 September 1926: Birthday of 2nd Lt. George H. O’Brien, Jr. who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism against enemy forces in Korea. His MOH citation reads in part: “Struck down by the concussion of grenades on three occasions during the subsequent action, he steadfastly refused to be evacuated for medical treatment and continued to lead his platoon in the assault for a period of nearly four hours, repeatedly encouraging his men and maintaining superb direction of the unit.”

11 September 2001: During the attacks on the United States Cpl. Sean Tallon of Weapons Company 2/25 USMCR was killed during rescue operations at the World Trade Center while working as a member of the FDNY’s Ladder 10.

12 September 1917: U.S. Army General John J. Pershing selected the 7th Marine Company to guard his headquarters in France.

13 September 1951: The last Marine Corps offensive action in the Korean hills taken by 2nd Bn.1st Marines after several days of assault by 7th Marines.

14 September 1951: PFC Edward Gomez was killed when he smothered a hand grenade with his own body to prevent destruction of his Marine machine gun team in Kajon-ni, Korea. PFC Gomez was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism.

This week in Marine Corps History (09/01 - 09/07)

September 1 1934: 5th Marines was reactivated for the last time at Quantico, Virginia and were assigned to the 1st Marine Brigade.

September 2 1945: After the Marine Corps led island hopping campaign in the Pacific, representatives of the Japanese government formally surrendered aboard the U.S.S. Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay.

September 3 1942: Brigadier General Roy S. Geiger moved forward to Guadalcanal to take charge of air operations. The arrival of the veteran Marine aviators provided an instant lift to the morale of the pilots and ground crews.

4 September 1945: The U.S. flag flew over Wake Island for the first time since its capture by the Japanese on 23 December 1941.

September 5 1961: A program began to convert light carriers to amphibious assault ships (LPHs), when the USS Iwo Jima was put to sea for trials.

September 6 1776: Continental Congress prescribed first Marine uniform.

September 7 1903: Marines from the USS Brooklyn landed at Beirut to protect American lives.

Famous Marines

A
Joseph M. Acaba — first Puerto Rican astronaut
Don Adams — actor
Eddie Albert — actor. Eddie deserves an honorable mention, because he served as a lieutenant in the Navy with the Marines at Tarawa and even earned a Bronze Star with combat 'V' for rescuing 70 Marines during the battle.
Mike Anderson — NFL football player
Walter Anderson (editor) — author; PARADE Magazine editor; Parade Publications CEO; GED spokesperson
Paul Arizin — basketball player
Bea Arthur — actor

B
F. Lee Bailey — lawyer
James Baker — former U.S. Secretary of State, elder statesman, advisor and friend of the Bush family
Leslie M. "Bud" Baker, Jr. — Chairman of the Board of Wachovia Bank.
Nick Barone — boxer (1950s)
Monte Barrett — heavyweight boxer
Carmen Basilio — world champion boxer, Boxing Hall of Famer
John Basilone — Medal of Honor recipient
Hank Bauer — baseball player
Bob Bell — Bozo the Clown (TV)
Patty Berg — LPGA golfer
John Wayne Bobbitt — Famous for his dismembered member.
Charles F. Bolden, Jr. — space shuttle commander
Carol Bongiovi — model, mother of Jon Bon Jovi
John Bongiovi — hairdresser, father of Jon Bon Jovi
Robert Bork — retired federal judge, law professor, and Supreme court nominee.
Blackbear Bosin — artist
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington — WWII pilot ace
Hugh Brannum — "Mr. Green Jeans" on Captain Kangaroo
Daniel B. Brewster — U.S. Senator from Maryland
Art Buchwald — humor columnist
Dale Bumpers — U.S. Senator from Arkansas
Conrad Burns — U.S. Senator from Montana
Smedley Butler — two-time Medal of Honor recipient

C
Enrique Camarena — murdered Mexican-American DEA agent
Vincent Capodanno — Medal of Honor recipient, Chaplain to USMC in Vietnam
Philip Caputo — author, journalist
Rod Carew — baseball Hall of Famer
Drew Carey — comedian
James Carville — political strategist and manager
Roberto Clemente — baseball Hall of Famer
Jerry Coleman — baseball player, announcer
Eddie Collins — baseball Hall of Famer
Charles Colson — White House special counsel, convicted Watergate felon, evangelist
Mike Connors — actor
Donald Conroy — author Pat Conroy's father, the model for "The Great Santini".
John Corzine — Governor of New Jersey.
Bill Cowan — hostage rescue expert, television news commentator
Louis Cukela — recipient of both Navy and Army Medal of Honor
Alfred Cunningham — First Marine Aviator.
Walter Cunningham — Apollo 7 astronaut

D
Daniel "Dan" Daly — only Marine to be awarded two different versions of the Navy Medal of Honor
Sarah Deal — first female Marine Corps helo aviator
Brian Dennehy — actor
Lou Diamond — "Mr. Leatherneck," namesake of actor Lou Diamond Phillips
David Dinkins — Mayor of New York City
Art Donovan — football Hall of Famer
Terry Downes — world boxing champion
Buster Drayton — world boxing champion
Barbara Dulinsky — first female Marine deployed to a combat zone
William L. Durkin — earned fame for rescuing billionaire Howard Hughes from an aircraft accident
Dale Dye — actor, Hollywood military advisor.

E
David Eigenberg — actor, Sex and the City
R. Lee Ermey — actor, TV show host
Don Everly — musician member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Phil Everly — musician member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
John A. Eastman - NFL football player, actor, writer, motivational speaker

F
Hussein Mohamed Farrah — son and successor of Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Mike Farrell — American actor
Jesse Ferguson — American heavyweight boxer
Bill Fitch — basketball coach
Glenn Ford — actor
Joe Foss — Former Governor of South Dakota, first Commissioner of the American Football league and former NRA President
James Franciscus — actor
Rose Franco — first Hispanic female Marine officer
Mark Fuhrman — LAPD detective who became famous during the O. J. trial
Bob Ferguson — song writer, record producer, and historian

G
Nathan Gale — murderer of guitarist Dimebag Darrell and several others
Bill Gallo — cartoonist, journalist
Christopher George — actor
Wayne Gilchrest — Republican U.S. Representative from Maryland
John Glenn — astronaut, first American to orbit Earth, oldest man in space, U.S. Senator
Scott Glenn — actor
Josh Gracin — singer
Clu Gulager — actor

H
Gene Hackman — actor
Fred Haise — NASA astronaut (Apollo 13 & Space Shuttle Enterprise)
Nathaniel Dawayne Hale — rapper
Hugh W. Hardy — pioneer of the 3D seismic method
Gustav Hasford — author of The Short-Timers, the Vietnam novel on which the movie Full Metal Jacket (1987) was based.
Carlos Hathcock — Marine Sniper
Sterling Hayden — actor
Ira Hayes — in the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photo
Archibald Henderson — Grand old man of the Marine Corps. The longest-serving Commandant of the Marine Corps (1820-1859).
George Roy Hill — Cargo pilot during WWII and jet night fighter pilot during Korean War. Oscar-nominated director for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as well as winning an Oscar for directing The Sting.
Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch — football Hall of Famer
Gil Hodges — baseball player

I
Mike Ilitch — founder of Little Caesars Pizza.
John Donald "Don" Imus — talk radio host

J
Keith Jackson — broadcaster
Bill Janklow — Governor of South Dakota
Opha Mae Johnson — first female Marine
George Jones — country music star

K
Bob Keeshan — "Captain Kangaroo"
Harvey Keitel — actor
Brian Keith — actor
Raymond W. Kelly — police commissioner of the City of New York
Skip Kenney — Men's Olympic Swim Coach, Head Swim Coach at Stanford University
Ted Kulongoski Governor, State of Oregon
Brian Gerard James TNA/WWE Superstar The Road Dog Jesse James

L
Mills Lane — boxing referee and TV's People's Court judge
Jim Lehrer — journalist, host of the PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
John A. Lejeune — 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps
Alfred Lerner — financier, Chairman of MBNA Corporation
Joe Lisi — actor
Clayton J. Lonetree — spied for Russia in the mid-1980s
Tommy Loughran — world boxing champion
Jack Robert Lousma — NASA Astronaut
Jack H. Lucas — Medal of Honor recipient, Iwo Jima
Robert A. Lutz — Chairman of the Board of Chrysler

M
John F. Mackie — First Marine Medal of Honor recipient.
William Manchester — author and historian
Mike Mansfield — U.S. Representative and Senator, Senate Majority Leader, U.S. Ambassador to Japan; co-author of the Douglas-Mansfield Bill (1951) supporting the Marine Corps
Lee Marvin — actor
Charles B. Mawhinney — sniper, 103 confirmed enemy kills
Ed McMahon — television personality
Sid McMath — Governor of Arkansas
Steve McQueen — actor
Ray Mercer — world boxing champion
Zell Miller — Governor of Georgia, U.S. Senator
Billy Mills — Olympic gold medalist (1964), 10,000m
Tom Monaghan — founder of Domino's Pizza
Jim Mora — NFL head football coach
Robert S. Mueller III — director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Jimmy Murray — former GM of Philadelphia Eagles and co-founder of Ronald McDonald House charities.
John Murtha — U.S. Representative
Mike Montler — professional NFL football player, Buffalo Bills
Marco Martinez First Hispanic to recive the Navy Cross since Vietnam [Operation Iraqi freedom 2003]

N
Samuel Nicholas — First Commandant of the Marine Corps
Carlos I. Noriega — NASA astronaut
Oliver North — officer who became famous in the Iran-Contra affair
Ken Norton — world champion boxer, Boxing Hall of Famer

O
Presley Neville O'Bannon — (1776 – 12 September 1850) famous for his exploits in the First Barbary War.
Kenneth O'Keefe — anti-war activist
Lee Harvey Oswald — assassin of John F. Kennedy
Randy Orton — professional wrestler

P
Peter Pace — first Marine to hold the billet of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2005- )
Sam Peckinpah — director
George Peppard — actor
Frank E. Petersen — first African-American General in the U.S. Marine Corps
Bum Phillips — NFL Head coach
Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller — most-decorated Marine in history
Lewis Burwell Puller Jr. — author, Pulitzer Prize winner
Tyrone Power — actor

R
Lawrence G. Rawl — CEO of Exxon (1988-1993)
Ben Reed — writer
Donald Regan — U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Chief of Staff (Reagan administration)
Robert Remus — "Sgt. Slaughter" in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)
Buddy Rich — musician
John Ripley — Navy Cross recipient.
Scott Ritter — former United Nations arms inspector, intelligence officer, outspoken opponent of the Bush administration's foreign policy.
Manuel Rivera — first Puerto Rican and U.S. servicemen to die in Operation Desert Shield
Charles S. "Chuck" Robb — Governor of Virginia, U.S. Senator, married to Linda Bird Johnson (daughter of President Lyndon Johnson)
Pat Robertson — evangelist
Rick Romley — attorney general
James Roosevelt — son of FDR, former Marine Raider
Barney Ross — world champion boxer, Boxing Hall of Famer
Josh Rushing — news reporter for Al Jazeera network
Ken Ryker — gay pornographic movie star

S
Angela Salinas — first Hispanic female General in the Marine Corps
George Schultz — economist, U.S. Secretary of State, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury
George C. Scott — actor
Tom Seaver — baseball Hall of Famer
Gerald L. Shaffer — created Leatherneck.com
Shaggy — musician (rapper)
Bernard Shaw — CNN news anchor
Mark Shields — journalist
John L. Simon — US swimming coach
Oliver Sipple — Saved President Gerald Ford's life during an assassination attempt.
Frederick W. Smith — businessman, founder of Fed Ex
W. Thomas Smith, Jr. — author, journalist
John Philip Sousa — composer, conductor/orchestra leader
Johnny Micheal Spann — CIA officer, first American killed in combat in the war on terror
Leon Spinks — world boxing champion
Richard Steele — boxing referee
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger — publisher of The New York Times
Charles R. (Chuck) Swindoll — evangelical Christian pastor, radio preacher
Anthony Swofford — author of the book Jarhead

T
Steven W. Taylor, Oklahoma Supreme Court justice
Jerald terHorst — press secretary (1974) for President Gerald Ford
Craig Thomas — U.S. Senator from Wyoming
Bernard Trainor — retired 3-star general, currently a foreign policy analyst and author.
Lee Trevino — PGA golfer and member of the Hall of Fame
Gene Tunney — world boxing champion, Boxing Hall of Famer

V
Pedro del Valle — first Hispanic 3-star general, played key role in the seizure of Guadalcanal during World War ll.
Bill Veeck — baseball team owner, baseball Hall of Famer

W
Robert Wagner — actor
John Warner — U.S. Senator from Virginia
Mike Weaver — world boxing champion
James Webb — former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, author.
Chuck Wepner — boxer; often pointed as the inspiration for the Rocky movie series
Bing West — author and former Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration.
Jo Jo White — basketball Hall of Famer
Charles Whitman — University of Texas at Austin Tower sniper (1966)
Montel Williams — television show host
Ted Williams — baseball Hall of Famer
Jonathan Winters — actor, comedian
Pete Wilson — former Governor of California
Ed Wood, Jr. — film director

Z
Anthony Zinni — Former 4-Star General, CINC US CENTCOM, and Foreign Policy Analyst.

Former Marines

Marines and those familiar with Marine Corps tradition will often object to the use of the term "ex-Marine," Marines are inculcated with the Marine ethos "Once a Marine, always a Marine." Former Marine refers to an individual that completed their service and has received an honorable or general discharge from the service. Marines who have retired are commonly called "retired Marines", "Sir/Ma'am" - out of respect, "Marine" - which they still are, or according to the "Commandant's White letters" from Commandant General Gray until present - by their earned rank.

Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps

Wilbur Bestwick 1957-05-23 – 1959-08-31
Francis D. Rauber 1959-09-01 – 1962-06-28
Thomas J. McHugh 1962-06-29 – 1965-07-16
Herbert J. Sweet 1965-07-17 – 1969-07-31
Joseph W. Dailey 1969-08-01 – 1973-01-31
Clinton A. Puckett 1973-02-01 – 1975-05-31
Henry H. Black 1975-06-01 – 1977-03-31
John R. Massaro 1977-04-01 – 1979-08-15
Leland D. Crawford 1979-08-16 – 1983-06-27
Robert E. Cleary 1983-06-28 – 1987-06-26
David W. Sommers 1987-06-27 – 1991-06-27
Harold G. Overstreet 1991-06-28 – 1995-06-29
Lewis G. Lee 1995-06-30 – 1999-06-28
Alford L. McMichael 1999-06-29 – 2003-06-26
John L. Estrada 2003-06-27 – present

Commandants of the Marine Corps

1. Samuel Nicholas (28 Nov., 1775 – 27 Aug., 1783)
2. William W. Burrows (12 July 1798 – 6 Mar., 1804)
3. Franklin Wharton (7 Mar., 1804 – 1 Sept., 1818)
3. Archibald Henderson (acting) (16 Sept., 1818 – 2 Mar., 1819)
4. Anthony Gale (3 Mar., 1819 – 8 Oct., 1820)
5. Archibald Henderson (17 Oct., 1820 – 6 Jan., 1859)
6. John Harris (7 Jan., 1859 – 1 May 1864)
7. Jacob Zeilin (10 June 1864 – 31 Oct., 1876)
8. Charles G. McCawley (1 Nov., 1876 – 29 Jan., 1891)
9. Charles Heywood (30 June 1891 – 2 Oct., 1903)
10. George F. Elliott (3 Oct., 1903 – 30 Nov., 1910)
11. William P. Biddle (3 Feb., 1911 – 24 Feb., 1914)
12. George Barnett (25 Feb., 1914 – 30 June 1920)
13. John A. Lejeune (1 July 1920 – 4 Mar., 1929)
14. Wendall C. Neville (5 Mar., 1929 – 8 July 1930)
15. Ben H. Fuller (9 July 1930 – 28 Feb., 1934)
16. John H. Russell, Jr. (1 Mar., 1934 – 30 Nov., 1936)
17. Thomas Holcomb ( 1 Dec., 1936 – 31 Dec., 1943)
18. Alexander A. Vandegrift ( 1 Jan., 1944 – 31 Dec., 1947)
19. Clifton B. Cates ( 1 Jan., 1948 – 31 Dec., 1951)
20. Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr. ( 1 Jan., 1952 – 31 Dec., 1955)
21. Randolph M. Pate ( 1 Jan., 1956 – 31 Dec., 1959)
22. David M. Shoup ( 1 Jan., 1960 – 31 Dec., 1963)
23. Wallace M. Greene, Jr. ( 1 Jan., 1964 – 31 Dec., 1967)
24. Leonard F. Chapman, Jr. ( 1 Jan., 1968 – 31 Dec., 1971)
25. Robert Everton Cushman, Jr. (1 Jan., 1972 – 30 June 1975)
26. Louis H. Wilson, Jr. (1 July 1975 – 30 June 1979)
27. Robert H. Barrow (1 July 1979 – 30 June 1983)
28. Paul X. Kelley (1 July 1983 – 30 June 1987)
29. Alfred M. Gray, Jr. (1 July 1987 – 30 June 1991)
30. Carl E. Mundy, Jr. (1 July 1991 – 30 June 1995)
31. Charles C. Krulak (1 July 1995 – 30 June 1999)
32. James L. Jones (1 July 1999 – 12 Jan., 2003)
33. Michael W. Hagee (13 Jan., 2003 – present)
34. James T. Conway (Pending Confirmation)

What is the Marine Corps?

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military, responsible for providing power projection from the sea, utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces to crises around the globe. Along with the U.S. Navy, it falls under the United States Department of the Navy.
Originally organized as the Continental Marines in 1775 as naval infantry, the Marine Corps would evolve its mission with changing military doctrine and American foreign policy. Owing to the availability of Marine forces at sea, the Marine Corps has served in every conflict in U.S. history. It attained prominence when its theories and practice of amphibious warfare proved prescient, and ultimately formed a cornerstone of the Pacific campaign of WWII. By the early 20th century, the Marine Corps would become the dominant theorist and practitioner of amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond to regional crises has made and continues to make it an important tool for American foreign policy.
The Marine Corps, with 180,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2005, is smaller than the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force. Only the U.S. Coast Guard is a smaller military service than the Marines.

This week in Marine Corps history

25 August 1940: Birth date of Captain James A. Graham who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Vietnam War.

26 August 1942: Ira Hayes enlisted in the Marine Corps. Corporal Hayes would go on to help raise the flag on Mount Suribachi during the battlefor Iwo Jima.

27 August 1790: Major Samuel Nicholas, the first officer commissioned in the Continental Marines died in Philadelphia, PA.

28 August 1893: Birth date of Lt. General Pedro Augusto del Valle who served in World War I, Haiti Nicaragua, the Banana Wars of the 1920s,and Guadalcanal.

29 August 1916: The Marine Corps Reserve was founded.

30 August 1945: 1st Battalion 4the Marines landed at Yososuka, Japan and occupied the airfield at the naval base there.

31 August 1934: Marines end 19 year occupation of Haiti