Today ... November 10, 2012 ... is the 237th birthday of the United States Marines The Marines' Hymn
(I almost missed it!)
Congratulations, Marines! For longer than the United States has BEEN a country, you have helped keep our country strong. We salute the brave men and women who have done so much, sacrificed their numbers greatly, and for so long have held your banners high.
Even though it may be presumptuous for a mere dog-soldier to say ...
Semper Fidelis!
In a personal note: I was attending a USPSA match today and one of the people I was talking to looked up and observed that the host club had not hoisted the colors. He commented, and I agreed, that the oversight was not appropriate to the occasion. But then, the match director wasn't quite old enough, nor experienced enough, to have an appreciation for the date.
And as I looked around, I noticed that the speaker was wearing a cap which denoted he was an ex-Navy Submariner. And I remembered that someone in the sign-up line had noticed (and commented to his daughter, who was also at the match) that the belt buckle I was wearing was a replica of the Combat Infantryman's Badge.
Perhaps we don't always perform the MAJOR observations which our serving and past members of the military deserve. Still, there are enough people around who notice, and comment, and in at least this small way we recognize the contributions of our Citizen Soldiers (and Gyrenes, Dogs, Squids, etc.)
Incidentally, one of the stills in the video is the iconic image of the Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the conquest of Iwo Jima ("Garlic Island"). This was in celebration of their conquest over incredible resistant of the embedded Japanese forces. It is an important day for me; it was the day I was born.)
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