Neal Warner, age 12, of Phoenix, Ariz., for his question:
WHEN WAS THE U.S. MARINE CORPS STARTED?
Especially trained and organized for amphibious assault operations is the Marine Corps, a very important branch of the United States armed services. The Continental Congress established a marine corps on Nov. 10, 1775, to fight in the Revolutionary War.
After the_ Revolutionary War, no marine corps as such existed. Congress recreated the corps as a military service in 1798.
In 1834, Congress placed the Marine Corps directly under the Secretary of the Navy. An aviation section was established in 1913.
Marines have been the first to fight in almost every major war of the United States. A well known military saying is "The marines have landed, and the situation is well in hand."
Since 1775, the Marine Corps has grown from two battalions of sharpshooters into a combat organization of highly mobile ground divisions and air wings. Marines have made more than 300 landings on foreign shores and have served from the polar regions to the tropics.
Marines are often called leathernecks. This name has come about because in the early days they wore leather bands around their throats.
The motto of the corps was adopted in 1868. It is "Semper Fidelis," which means "Always Faithful." The Marine emblem was also adopted in that same year. The official colors of the corps are scarlet and gold.
"From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli," is the opening line for the very famous Marines' Hymn. It was written in 1800. The official Marine Corps march is called "Semper Fidelis," and it was written by John Philip Sousa while he was serving as the leader of the corps' band.
The band is called "The President's Own," because it plays for state affairs in the White House.
During the Mexican War from 1846 to 1848, marines made many landings on both coasts of Mexico. Marines were the first to enter the city gates of Mexico City. They raised the American flag over the National Palace, which later became known as the "Halls of Montezuma."
In 1805, marines led the storming of the Barbary pirates' stronghold at Derna, Tripoli. Their action helped end the pirate menace in the Mediterranean Sea.
In the Civil War, marines fought in many land and naval battles.
Marines arrived in France in June, 1917, with the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force. They dismayed the Germans during World War I with their accurate, long range rifle fire and their fierce assaults during many battles.
The Marines invaded Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and launched the first American offensive of World War II. Then the Marines led the amphibious landings of the island hopping drive westward through the Central Pacific.
The conquest of Iwo Jima during February and March of 1945 was the largest all marine battle in history. Strength of the corps during World War II reached nearly 500,000.
The marines served is Korea during the Korean War and in Vietnam from 1965 until 1973, when a cease fire was declared. More recently they have served in the Middle East and other parts of the world.