Sgt Grit is a place where Marines can come and meet other Marines, share tattoos and stories, keep up with Marine Corps news, or shop for USMC gear.
The GySgt John Basilone Award for Courage and Commitment was first presented on Basilone Day 19 February 2004, at the Freedom Museum in Manassas, Virginia to Sergeant Major C.A. “Mack” McKinney [USMC ret]. Brooks Corely, at the time National Executive Director for the Marine Corps League was asked to choose to whom the award would be presented. The award was presented by the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sergeant Major Estrada.
Stainless steel, thought by many to be invulnerable to corrosion, is not blemish proof. With stainless steel, one must be more cautious because of the evidence of corrosion does not show itself as quickly as it does on carbon spring steel. If the blade is touched with a finger and merely wiped off with a soft rag, that finger print will be permanently etched into the steel forever! In time, the print will become more and more visible and pronounced.
Cap’t Wm. Jones was quoted in the Province Gazette on March 20, 1779. “The Continental ship Providence, lay-up at Boston, is bound on a short cruise, immediately, a few good men are wanted to make up her compliment.
Capt. Lloyd Williams, during WWI at Belleu Wood said this as French officers encouraged their retreat in June 1918. Others took credit for it also.
For many of us, General Shoup was Commandant of the Marine Corps when we enlisted. For those of us that had the pleasure to serve under his command, his picture is in our platoon books. I for one, never really looked at the picture until today when it hit me. “Is that the Congressional Medal of Honor on his chest?” A little research showed that General David M. Shoup, Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1960-1963 is indeed a Medal of Honor recipient and his citation reads as follows.
Notably one of the most worldwide recognized emblems is the U.S.M.C. Eagle, Globe, and Anchor or EGA. Note: Eagle, Globe and Anchor as used herein are abbreviated as EGA for article space only. This is not meant as a demeaning abbreviation.
The subsequent ‘history’ was something I stumbled across (although I had heard this years ago) and it caused a bit of amusement…however, it explains a lot. You might want to ‘share’ this in the ‘trivia’ section of your newsletter…then, standby.
To Marine Aviation the Ace of Spades symbolizes some of the greatest exploits and some of the most outstanding names in the Corps. It is the insignia of VMA-231 whose history virtually epitomizes the story of Marine Aviation.
From the remnants of the Northern Bombing Group which served in France in 1918 and transferred to old Curtis Flying Field, at Miami, Florida in 1919, emerged, on 8 February of that year, 1st Division, Squadron D. Before the month was over the newly activated squadron arrived in Santo Domingo for duty with the Second Brigade where, under various redesignations, it served until July 1924.