Birth of the U.S. Marine Corps

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passes a resolution stating that “two Battalions of Marines be raised” for service as landing forces for the recently formed Continental Navy. The resolution, drafted by future U.S. president John Adams and adopted in Philadelphia, created the Continental Marines and is now observed as the birth date of the United States Marine Corps.

Serving on land and at sea, the original U.S. Marines distinguished themselves in a number of important operations during the Revolutionary War. The first Marine landing on a hostile shore occurred when a force of Marines under Captain Samuel Nicholas captured New Province Island in the Bahamas from the British in March 1776. Nicholas was the first commissioned officer in the Continental Marines and is celebrated as the first Marine commandant. After American independence was achieved in 1783, the Continental Navy was demobilized and its Marines disbanded.

In the next decade, however, increasing conflict at sea with Revolutionary France led the U.S. Congress to establish formally the U.S. Navy in May 1798. Two months later, on July 11, President John Adams signed the bill establishing the U.S. Marine Corps as a permanent military force under the jurisdiction of the Department of Navy. U.S. Marines saw action in the so-called Quasi-War with France and then fought against the Barbary pirates of North Africa during the first years of the 19th century. Since then, Marines have participated in all the wars of the United States and in most cases were the first soldiers to fight. In all, Marines have executed more than 300 landings on foreign shores.

Today, there are more than 200,000 active-duty and reserve Marines, divided into three divisions stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Camp Pendleton, California; and Okinawa, Japan. Each division has one or more expeditionary units, ready to launch major operations anywhere in the world on two weeks’ notice. Marines expeditionary units are self-sufficient, with their own tanks, artillery, and air forces. The motto of the service is Semper Fidelis, meaning “Always Faithful” in Latin.

Battle of Tarawa

Introduction

In the Battle of Tarawa (November 20-23, 1943) during World War II (1939-45), the U.S. began its Central Pacific Campaign against Japan by seizing the heavily fortified, Japanese-held island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. The 18,000 U.S. Marines sent to tiny Betio were expected to easily secure it; however, problems quickly arose. Low tides prevented some U.S. landing crafts from clearing the coral reefs that ringed the island. Japanese coastal guns pounded the snagged vessels and desperate Marines gave up on freeing the boats and instead waded toward shore–hundreds of yards away– through chest-deep water amidst enemy fire. Despite heavy resistance from the 4,500 Japanese troops dug in on Betio, the Marines finally took the island after a bloody, 76-hour battle in which both sides suffered heavy casualties.

U.S. Pacific Strategy: 1943

After entering World War II in December 1941 following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S. began to halt Japan’s aggressive expansion in the Pacific with important battle victories at Midway Island (June 1942) and Guadalcanal (August 1942-February 1943) in the South Pacific. American commanders next set their sights on an island-hopping campaign across the central Pacific. They intended to take the Marshall Islands followed by the Mariana Islands, then advance on Japan.

In the 76-hour Battle of Tarawa, U.S. Marines suffered almost as many killed-in-action casualties as U.S. troops suffered in the six-month campaign at Guadalcanal Island.
The Gilbert Islands, a group of 16 atolls near the equator, were viewed by the U.S. as a stepping stone to the Marshalls and became the first target of the Central Pacific Campaign. In November 1943, the U.S. launched an offensive code-named Operation Galvanic, in which the prime target was the tiny island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. (As part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. would also send a smaller force to the Gilberts’ Makin Atoll, some 100 miles north of Tarawa. Compared with the taking of Tarawa, the U.S. faced far less Japanese resistance at Makin and the Americans secured the atoll by November 23, 1943.) In late December 1941, Tarawa, a coral atoll located some 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii, had been seized by the Japanese, who heavily fortified Betio, Tarawa’s largest island.

By November 19, 1943, American warships had arrived near Tarawa. Naval and air bombardments were planned for the next morning with the goal of weakening Japan’s defenses and clearing the way for 18,000 U.S. Marines to seize the island. However, the taking of Tarawa would prove to be more difficult than the Americans had anticipated.

Heavily Fortified Tarawa

Tarawa was the most fortified atoll America would invade during the Pacific Campaign. Japanese Admiral Keiji Shibasaki (1894-1943), confident in his command, reportedly bragged that the U.S. couldn’t take Tarawa with a million men in 100 years. Measuring around two miles long and a half-mile wide, the island of Betio was crisscrossed with defenses: 100 pillboxes (dug-in concrete bunkers), seawalls, an extensive trench system for defensive movements and an airstrip were supported by coastal guns, antiaircraft guns, heavy and light machine guns and light tanks. Betio’s beaches were naturally ringed with shallow reefs, which were covered with barbed wire and mines. The Japanese garrison at Betio was defended by at least 4,500 troops.

The U.S. fleet of warships that arrived at the Tarawa Atoll on November 19, 1943, included battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and a huge supply fleet, all supporting 18,000 Marines. The attack would be a monumental effort of combined arms coordination in a new war tactic, dubbed “Atoll War,” which relied upon heavy pre-invasion bombardment by battleships and carrier planes. Marines were to approach the shore in new amphibious tractor vehicles dubbed amphtracs. These landing crafts, armed with machine guns and carrying 20 troops each, were able to crawl over shallow reefs and other barriers.

First Day of Battle: November 20, 1943

The highly coordinated U.S. battle plan at Betio relied on the precise timing of several key elements to succeed, but almost from the beginning there were problems. Heavy sea turbulence slowed transfer operations of the U.S. Marines to the ship-side landing crafts. A pre-invasion air raid was delayed, upsetting the timetable for other parts of the assault. Holding for the air raids, support ships ready to launch massive pre-invasion bombardments lingered in position longer than expected. They were forced to dodge increasingly accurate fire from the island where Japanese defenders were dug in.
Compounding these problems was a lower-than-anticipated tide level around the island that morning. Most amphtracs in the first assault wave were able to reach the beach as planned, but nearly all the larger, heavier landing crafts behind them jammed into coral reefs exposed by the shallow tide. Marines were forced to abandon their landing crafts and wade through chest-deep water amidst enemy fire. Precious gear, especially radios, became soaked and useless. Many Marines were hit in the open water, and those who made it to shore arrived exhausted or wounded, ill-equipped and unable to communicate with supporting forces.

Making matters worse, the assault path through the lagoon to the shore became congested with disabled landing crafts and bloodied bodies, which hindered the dispatching of reinforcements. Marines on the beach crawled forward, inch by inch, knowing that to stand or even rise slightly made them easy targets. By the end of the first day, 5,000 Marines had landed at Betio while at least another 1,500 had perished in the process.

The Battle Rages On: November 21-23, 1943

On the morning of November 21, the second day of fighting, unexpectedly low tides continued to plague the U.S. assault. Again, assault troops had to leave their crafts short of the shore and wade in through enemy fire. In addition to being fired upon from shore, Marines were also assaulted from their sides and rear by enemy snipers who had entered the lagoon under the cover of night to position themselves on crafts that had been wrecked and abandoned the day before.

By noon, however, the tide finally began to rise, and U.S. destroyers were able to maneuver closer to shore to lend accurate supporting fire. Reserve combat teams and support craft transporting tanks and weapons raced to shore, and the ground assault finally took orderly form. The Marines moved inland, blasting surviving enemy emplacements with grenades, demolition packs and flamethrowers.

On day three of the battle, November 22, the Marines fought on, destroying several Japanese pillboxes and fortifications. That night, the last Japanese defenders of Betio launched a furious but futile banzai charge, or all-out, suicidal attack. Most Japanese soldiers fought to their death rather than surrender. At morning light on November 23, the defenders lay in tangled heaps: All but 17 Japanese soldiers had died defending Betio. Seventy-six hours after the invasion began, Betio was finally declared secure.

Aftermath of Tarawa

More than 1,000 U.S. troops were killed in action and some 2,000 were wounded in only three days of fighting at Tarawa. Word of the heavy casualties soon reached the U.S. and the public was stunned by the number of American lives lost in taking the tiny island.

However, according to "The Pacific War" by John Costello, U.S. commanders learned important lessons from the Battle of Tarawa that would be applied to future atoll wars, including the need for better reconnaissance, more precise and sustained pre-landing bombardment, additional amphibious landing vehicles and improved equipment: Among other advancements, better-waterproofed radios would be developed.

JOHN PHILIP SOUSA
U.S. Marine Corps Band Master

John Phillip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C. on 6 November 1854, of a Portuguese father (Antonio Sousa, who had enlisted in the Marine Band in 1854) and a German mother (Elizabeth Trinkhouse Sousa). He began his musical education at the age of six in Washington, D.C., under Professor John Esputa and G.F. Benkert, and later studied at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the age of 11, he first appeared as violin soloist. He began his career in the United States Marine Band at the age of 13, serving as an apprentice "boy" who had enlisted to receive instruction "in the trade or mystery of a musician." At 15, he was teaching harmony. Prior to his being appointed Leader of the Marine Band, he directed various theatrical and operatic companies.

The records of Marine Corps Headquarters show the following enlistments of John Philip Sousa; 9 June 1868 to 31 December 1871; 8 July 1872 to 18 May 1875; 1 October 1880 to 30 September 1885; 2 October 1885 to 1 October 1890; and 2 October 1890 to 30 July 1892.

On 1 January 1879, John Philip Sousa married Miss Jan Van M. Bellis, a singer of Philadelphia, appearing with the company of which he was director.

Sousa became leader of the Marine Band on 1 October 1880. The Marine Band made its first concert tour of the United States, visiting the eastern and middle states in 1891, and the Pacific coast in 1892. These tours gave the people of the United States an excellent opportunity to know John Philip Sousa, and to hear the United States Marine Band.

Sousa's personality, his musical and executive ability were instrumental in making the Marine Band a familiar and popular musical organization to residents and visitors of the Nation's Capitol. During the twelve years Sousa served as Leader, the Marine Band played at open air concerts at the White House Grounds, at the Capitol Plaza, state dinners, receptions at the White House, diplomatic and other public affairs.

In November 1889, the Marine Band, under Sousa, furnished the music on the occasion of the "Centennial Celebration of the Ratification of the Constitution of the United States by North Carolina" at Fayetteville, North Carolina. In their second appearance in North Carolina, dedicating the "Mechlenburg Declaration of Independence," the Marine Band, under Sousa, opened the ceremonies with the "Star Spangled Banner" and as an encore to each number on the program, the Band played "Dixie" which was "received with wild acclaim."

During his service with the U.S. Marine Band, Sousa received the praise of five Presidents: Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison. On 30 July 1892, he resigned from the Marine Band in order to organize a band of his own.

In his book, Marching Along, Sousa gives accounts of the activities of the Marine Band as well as those of the newly organized band of his own. Sousa, the "March King," received decorations from several countries in honor of his genius as a composer and as a band leader, among them were the Victorian Order (British), the Grand Diploma of Honor of the Academy of Heinhault (Belguim), the French decoration of Palms of the French Academy of Music, which offered an officership of public instruction in France. He contributed over 100 marches, about 10 light operas, several waltzes and overtures. Among the most famous of his marches are: "The Stars and Stripes Forever," "Semper Fidelis," "Washington Post," "Liberty Bell," "High School Cadets," "Invincible Eagle," "El Capitan," "The Thunderer," "Presidential Polonaise," "Manhattan Beach," "Yorktown Centennial," "Hands Across the Sea," "Man Behind the Gun," "King Cotton," "Bullets and Bayonets," "Boy Scouts of America," "Liberty Loan March," "Naval Reserve March," "Sabre and Spurs March," and "On the Campus March."

In 1917, Sousa was assigned to the Naval Training Station at Great Lakes, Illinois, in the capacity of musical director, and received the rank of Lieutenant Commander, USNR. He gave a great many concerts during World War I in behalf of the Liberty Loan Drives.

Upon the request of the officers of the United States Marine Corps who had served during the Boxer Rebellion in North China in 1900, Sousa composed a march, "The Royal Welch Fusiliers," to commemorate their association with the British regiment. In June 1930, Sousa attended the ceremony at Tidworth, England, where a "beautifully bound score of the march" was formally presented to the Royal Welch Fusiliers (the oldest regiment in Wales) to perpetuate the friendship of the regiment with the United States Marine Corps.

He also composed the march "The George Washington BiCentennial March" in 1930 (published by the Sam Fox Publishing Company in 1932) in honor of the 200th birthday anniversary of George Washington.

His last appearance before the Marine Band was on the occasion of the Carabao Wallow of 1932 at Washington, D.C. The Marine Band furnished the music for the big event. Sousa, as a distinguished guest, arose from the speaker's table, took Captain Taylor Branson's place on the podium, and conducted the Marine Band in the stirring strains of "The Stars and Stripes Forever." It is said that no band ever played with so much spirit, and that tears trickled down the cheeks of various members of the band as well as those of the audience.

John Philip Sousa died on 6 March 1932 at Reading, Pennsylvania, in his 78th year. His body was brought to Washington, D.C., the city of his birth and triumphs and lay in state in the band hall of the Marine Barracks. On Thursday, 10 March, two companies of Marines and Sailors, the Marine Band, and honorary pallbearers from the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps headed the funeral cortege from the Marine Barracks to Congressional Cemetery in Southeast Washington. In Washington, D.C., on 9 December 1939, the new Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge across the Eastern Branch of the Potomac River, was dedicated as a memorial to the great Washington composer and bandmaster, John Philip Sousa, and named Sousa Bridge. The Marine Band rendered his famous marches at this dedication.

Peleliu <> 72 years ago
Noah H. Belew Was There

The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the United States, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September to November 1944 on the island of Peleliu (in present-day Palau). U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager, which ran from June to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

Major General William Rupertus, (USMC commander of 1st Marine Division) predicted the island would be secured within four days. However, because of Japan's well-crafted fortifications and stiff resistance, the battle lasted more than two months. In the United States, this was a controversial battle because of the island's questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate, which exceeded that of all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".