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"The Marine Corps family is alive and well and that is a matter of pride. Let us hold tight to that pride and honor and let's comfort our brothers and sisters".  |
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Commandant:
James MacMillan
SrVice Cmdnt:
Jim McGunnigle
JrViceCmdnt:
Ken Grabowski
Judge Advocate:
John Lee
Adjutant:
Jay Pulis
Paymaster:
Dan Roarty
Sgt at Arms:
Ed VanLeuvan
Chaplain:
Ed Baulch
Junior Past Commandant:
Jerry Rogers
Members:
Ed Iraci
Member:
Ed GordilloSites Worth Looking At...
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Attention on Deck
The Title can not be inherited.
It can never be purchased.
You and no one alive can buy it for any price.
It is impossible to rent and can not be lent.
You alone have earned it with sweat, blood and hard work.
You own it forever.
The Title of...
"UNITED STATES MARINE"
I'm always updating this site so check back weekly.(Maybe monthly) (ed)
“Semper Fidelis” (“Always Faithful”) is the motto of the Corps. That Marines have lived up to this motto is proved by the fact that there has never been a mutiny, or even the thought of one, among U.S. Marines.
It may be added that the Marine Corps shares its motto with England’s Devonshire Regiment, the 11th Foot, one of the senior infantry regiments of the British Army, whose sobriquet is “the Bloody Eleventh” and whose motto is also Semper Fidelis.
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, beer in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
Author unknown.
Marine to bike across country to help Iraq war vets
By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
After leaving the Marine Corps in 2005, Tyler Boudreau wrote a book about his seven months in Iraq that's been regarded as a "true face" of the conflict.
He became a vocal advocate for veterans, even writing an article in The New York Times on whether the military should award the Purple Heart --for servicemembers wounded in combat -- to those afflicted with post traumatic stress.
But Boudreau, 38, wanted to carry the conversation about veterans further. So, the captain who spent 12 years in the Marines planned a cross-country bike ride, starting in Seattle and ending in his hometown of Northampton, Mass. The goal: To talk openly about the war in communities along the route with vets and non-vets alike, and to help society understand what vets go through. He calls it "The Other Side" tour.
On Monday, he stood with his bike atop the tallest hill in Gas Works Park, where several members of a local chapter of Veterans for Peace gathered to send him off on the 3,200-mile journey. Some biked with him during the first leg of the trip and he is inviting others to do the same along the way.
He wasn't much of a bicyclist until now, but envisioned having a challenging obstacle to motivate him.
"I felt like bringing something physical into the equation," he said Monday. "When you're in the military, you're always doing these big physical events -- you're hiking a hill or you're in a war. Once you get out, that goes away."
Boudreau, who served in the infantry and took part in the first siege of Fallujah in 2004, resigned his commission the following year over concerns about the war and "deep affection" for his fellow Marines, according to his Web site. He wrote about his time in Iraq in his memoir "Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine."
Boudreau said he needed this trip so he could continue his own self-reflecting. He chose to start in Seattle, where he spent a few days speaking and signing his book, because it is literally at the opposite end of the country.
"It all oriented around the idea of riding across the country to get home. I wanted that to be the focal point. And when I'm riding, or working my legs strenuously up hills, I wanted all that to be about getting back home in a better state than I was," he said.
He also wants to see more of the country.
"As veterans, we talk and think about defending this country. But many of us haven't seen that much of it," he said.
He plans to reach Northampton by Sept. 15 and cross a dozen states or so on the way. He planned his first stop in Monroe.
His in-laws are spending the summer with his wife and children to help take care of them while he's away, he said. Boudreau and his wife have three boys, ages 7, 5 and three months. He delivered his third son in the couple's front yard, he said.
"It wasn't intentional. We were headed to the car but the baby was coming. So we had a lawn birth," he said. "It made the local paper."
He's been fortunate to have his wife's support, he said.
"I've had a lot of support from community members and my wife has been tremendously patient with all of my outbursts and irritability," he said.
George James, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and registered nurse at the Veterans' Administration Hospital, rode with Boudreau during some of his first leg out of Seattle.
"I think this is absolutely perfect and that's why I am here. Anything that brings information and educates the public about the consequences of war is vitally needed," said James, a member of Veterans for Peace.
Marine innocent in FL shooting.
Plantation, FL -- Last week police were called to investigate an attempted armed robbery: The 71-year-old retired Marine who opened fire on two robbers at a Plantation, FL, Subway shop late Wednesday, killing one and critically wounding the other, is described as John Lovell, a former helicopter pilot for two presidents.
He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, and he works out every day. Mr.. Lovell was a man of action Wednesday night. According to Plantation police, two masked gunmen came into the Subway at 1949 N. Pine Rd. Just after 11 p.m. There was a lone diner, Mr. Lovell, who was finishing his meal. After robbing the cashier, the two men attempted to shove Mr. Lovell into a bathroom and rob him as well.
They got his money, but then Mr. Lovell pulled his handgun and opened fire. He shot one of the thieves in the head and chest and the other in the head. When police arrived, they found one of the men in the shop, K-9 units found the other in the bushes of a nearby business.. They also found cash strewn around the front of the sandwich shop according to Detective Robert Rettig of the Plantation Police Department. Both men were taken to the Broward General Medical Center , where one, Donicio Arrindell, 22, of North Lauderdale died. The other, 21-year-old Frederick Gadson of Fort Lauderdale is in critical but stable condition.
A longtime friend of Lovell was not surprised to hear what happened. The friend said, ''He'd give you the shirt off his back, but he'd be mad as hell if someone tried to take the shirt off your back.'' Mr. Lovell was a pilot in the Marine Corps, flying former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He later worked as a pilot for Pan Am and Delta.
He is not expected to be charged authorities said. ''He was in fear for his life,'' Detective Rettig said, "These criminals ought to realize that most men in their 70's have military backgrounds and aren't intimidated by idiots."
Something tells me this old Marine wasn't 'in fear for his life', even though his life was definitely at risk. The only thing he could be charged with is participating in an unfair fight. One 71 - year young Marine against two punks. Two head shots and one center body mass shot - outstanding shooting! That'll teach them not to get between a Marine and his meal.
Don't you just love a story with a happy ending? Florida law allows eligible citizens to carry a concealed weapon. I believe every state should.
Marines' Hymn
Following the war with the Barbary Pirates in 1805, when Lieutenant Presely N. O'Bannon and his small force of Marines participated in the capture of Derne and hoisted the American flag for the first time over a fortress of the Old World, the Colors of the Corps was inscribed with the words: "To the Shores of Tripoli." After the Marines participated in the capture and occupation of Mexico City and the Castle of Chapultepec, otherwise known as the "Halls of Montezuma," the words on the Colors were changed to read: "From the Shores of Tripoli to the Halls of Montezuma." Following the close of the Mexican War came the first verse of the Marines' Hymn, written, according to tradition, by a Marine on duty in Mexico. For the sake of euphony, the unknown author transposed the phrases in the motto on the Colors so that the first two lines of the Hymn would read: "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli."
A serious attempt to trace the tune of the Marines' Hymn to its source is revealed in correspondence between Colonel A.S. McLemore, USMC, and Walter F. Smith, second leader of the Marine Band. Colonel McLemore wrote: "Major Richard Wallach, USMC, says that in 1878, when he was in Paris, France, the aria to which the Marines' Hymn is now sung was a very popular one." The name of the opera and a part of the chorus was secured from Major Wallach and forwarded to Mr. Smith, who replied: "Major Wallach is to be congratulated upon a wonderfully accurate musical memory, for the aria of the Marine Hymn is certainly to be found in the opera, 'Genevieve de Brabant'. . .The melody is not in the exact form of the Marine Hymn, but is undoubtedly the aria from which it was taken. I am informed, however, by one of the members of the band, who has a Spanish wife, that the aria was one familiar to her childhood and it may, therefore, be a Spanish folk song."
In a letter to Major Harold F. Wirgman, USMC, John Philip Sousa says: "The melody of the 'Halls of Montezuma' is taken from Offenbach's comic opera, 'Genevieve de Brabant' and is sung by two gendarmes." Most people believe that the aria of the Marines' Hymn was, in fact, taken from "Genevieve de Brabant," an opera-bouffe (a farcical form of opera, generally termed musical comedy) composed by Jacques Offenbach, and presented at the Theatre de Bouffes Parisians, Paris, on 19 November 1859.
Offenbach was born in Cologne, Germany, 21 June 1819 and died 5 October 1880. He studied music from an early age and in 1838 entered the Paris Conservatoire as a student. In 1834, he was admitted as a violoncellist to the "Opera Comique" and soon attained much popularity with Parisian audiences. He became conductor of the Theatre Francais in 1847 and subsequently leased the Theatre Comte, which he reopened as the Bouffes-Parisians. Most of his operas are classified as comic (light and fanciful) and include numerous popular productions, many of which still hold a high place in European and American countries.
Every campaign the Marines have taken part in gives birth to an unofficial verse. For example, the following from Iceland:
"Again in nineteen forty-one
We sailed a north'ard course
And found beneath the midnight sun,
The Viking and the Norse.
The Iceland girls were slim and fair,
And fair the Iceland scenes,
And the Army found in landing there,
The United States Marines."
Copyright ownership of the Marines' Hymn was vested in the United States Marine Corps per certificate of registration dated 19 August 1891, but it is now in the public domain. In 1929, the Commandant of the Marine Corps authorized the following verses of the Marines' Hymn as the official version:
"From the Halls of Montezuma
to the Shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles
On the land as on the sea.
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title
of United States Marine.
"Our flag's unfurl'd to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines.
"Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines."
On 21 November 1942, the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved a change in the words of the fourth line, first verse, to read, "In the air, on land, and sea." Ex-Gunnery Sergeant H.L. Tallman, veteran observer in Marine Corps Aviation who participated in many combat missions with Marine Corps Aviation over the Western Front in World War I, first proposed the change at a meeting of the First Marine Aviation Force Veterans Association in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Many interesting stories have been associated with the Marines' Hymn. One of the best was published in the Stars and Stripes, the official newspaper of the American Expeditionary Force, under date of 16 August 1918.
"A wounded officer from among the gallant French lancers had just been carried into a Yankee field hospital to have his dressing changed. He was full of compliments and curiosity about the dashing contingent that fought at his regiment's left.
"A lot of them are mounted troops by this time, he explained, for when our men would be shot from their horses, these youngsters would give one running jump and gallop ahead as cavalry. I believe they are soldiers from Montezuma. At least, when they advanced this morning, they were all singing "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli."
The Marines' Hymn has been sung and played wherever U.S. Marines have landed, and today is recognized as one of the foremost military service songs.
Reference Branch History Division
Mike Geary asked me to post this: he is our Veterans Service Officer. He handles claims for medical service connected disabilities. If you think you may have a claim, no matter how long ago, see Mike ASAP. He gave me theses phone numbers to post here if you want to talk to him about this. 516-997-5879 and 516-851-5879.
Ed Aulman, another member you probably already know if you attend meetings, works for the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency. Always ready to answer your questions.
Lou Gerig disease (ALS) is now a covered medical expense for veterans with at least 90 days of active service. To obtain benefits, see Ed or Mike (above) to get help with the application process.
The annual Octoberfest was cancelled for lack of interest.
Now Hear This: Every Saturday, at 1000 hours, there will be a work detail at the clubhouse. So, if you want to get away from the house for a while….
Heads up Pollywogs, Sailors and Marines. This is no scuttlebutt. I found the GEEDUNK!
- To most sailors the word geedunk means ice cream, candy, potato chips and other assorted snacks, or even the place where they can be purchased. No one, however, knows for certain where the term originated, but there are several plausible theories:
1.) In the 1920's a comic strip character named Harold Teen and his friends spent a great amount of time at Pop's candy store. The store's owner called it The Geedunk for reasons never explained.
2.) The Chinese word meaning a place of idleness sounds something like gee dung.
3.) Geedunk is the sound made by a vending machine when it dispenses a soft drink in a cup.
4.) It may be derived from the German word tunk meaning to dip or sop either in gravy or coffee. Dunking was a common practice in days when bread, not always obtained fresh, needed a bit of tunking to soften it. The ge is a German unaccented prefix denoting repetition. In time it may have changed from getunk to geedunk. Whatever theory we use to explain geedunk's origin, it doesn't alter the fact that Navy people are glad it all got started.
Pollywog – one who has never crossed the equator.
The 12 Diseases
Nope, it’s not the name of a movie or a new reality show. Ed Aulman tells us that there are 12 diseases that the VA will cover if you are lucky enough to have one of them. You also had to be in Vietnam at some time in your military travels.
New G.I. Bill
The new and improved G.I. Bill will give a vet 15 years to complete their education instead of the old 10 years. The clock starts ticking the minute you are discharged.
NYS Education $$
Available for vets who were in harms way (combat vet). I think the number is $4300 per YEAR (NOT semester). I’m confused. I found the following on the NYS web site or the VA site:
New York Education Benefits Veterans Tuition Award
Provides up to $1,000 per semester for full-time study or $500 per semester for part-time study to eligible New York State residents discharged under other than dishonorable conditions from the U.S. Armed forces and are:
• Vietnam Veterans who served in Indochina between Dec. 22, 1961 and May 7, 1975.
• Persian Gulf Veterans who served in the Persian Gulf on or after Aug. 2, 1990.
• Afghanistan Veterans who served in Afghanistan during hostilities on or after Sept. 11, 2001.
Ed Iraci
