Marines, Not Soldiers

I have a complaint about some of the news readers for the local television stations, and I am sure there are countless other Marines with the same one.

Marines are not soldiers; they are Marines and always will be. There is no such thing as an ex-Marine or a former Marine. We are all ``Marines,'' period.

Soldiers are members of the Army and sailors are members of the Navy. You wouldn't call a soldier a sailor, so why would you call a Marine a soldier?

Marines are chosen because of their ability to be more than just an average service man or woman. They deserve to be called what they are, and not soldiers. Semper Fi, Mac.<

We met as soul mates
On Parris Island
We left as inmates
From an asylum
And we were sharp
As sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho
To lay down our lives

We came in spastic
Like tameless horses
We left in plastic
As numbered corpses
And we learned fast
To travel light
Our arms were heavy
But our bellies were tight

We had no home front
We had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy
They gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep
And shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ
With all our might

We had no cameras
To shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe
And played our Doors tapes
And it was dark
So dark at night
And we held on to each other
Like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together

Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong?
And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

We held the day
In the palm
Of our hand

They ruled the night
And the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island
We held the coastline
They held the highlands
And they were sharp
As sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors
They counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive

And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together

Semper Fi Marines
God Bless you all.

ARMY? A ren't R eally M arines Y et... ARMY...and who had to leave their colors in Korea? wasn't the Marine Corps now was it...

No, it wan't the Marine Corps.

"When you hear the patter of little feet
it's the U.S. Army in full retreat."

That's a Korean War ditty.

The 4th Marines were on Corregidor in 1942. They burned their colors and surrendered to the Japanese.

Partly at least for that reason it was over 50 years before the 4th Marines colors came back stateside. Maybe someone can comnfirm that.

It was my privilege to meet the lieutenant who actually approached the Japanese about a surrender; Alvin Shoffner, later Brigadier General. He escaped from a Japanese POW camp and was a battalion commander on Okinawa. General Shoffner was also an all American football player on General Bob Neyland's great Tennessee teams of the late 1930's.

He passed away a couple of years ago.

Walt

"I did serve. You must be running a little behind on current events! The U.S. is now winding up the Afghan phase of the War on Terrorism. This campaign featured Marines assuming the role of Soldiers. Where was the Army? Why weren't Soldiers sent to do the work of Soldiers? Answer me that you Cavalry Ho!"

Running behind on my current events? Uh, you need to re-think your position. "Where was the Army?" Answer: on the ground from day one. Does Operation Anaconda ring a bell? 10th Mountain Division, 101st Airborne, 75th Ranger Regiment? In case you're scratching your head trying to figure out what I'm talking about, let me help you. These Army units were all involved in the fighting. Special Forces? You know, the guys with the funny green hats, who went in, organized the Northern Alliance, directed airstrikes before the ground campaign even started...which service are they from? Duhhhhh...Army.

"Marines functioning as soldiers..."? Tell me, in your tiny little newbie mind, what constitutes a Marine operation versus an Army operation? Hmmmm? If you say Marines conduct amphibious operations, I say yes, they do. But so have Army units. In your tiny little brain, were the 4th Infantry and 29th Infantry Divisions of the Amry functioning as Marines, not soldiers, on D-Day? Conversely, were the Marines who defended Khe Sahn (in Vietnam, brainiac) functioning as soldiers, not Marines?

"...winding up the Afghan phase of the War on Terrorism." Oh, really? So I guess the troops are going to be coming back soon? So I guess Operation Mountain Lion (since you're so "up" on current events, I'm sure you've heard of this current operation), which I read about only this morning, is over? So I guess the soldiers I heard about who are currently scouring caves near Bagram, and finding caches of weapons, don't really exist? They must not exist, since you, the current events guru, say the Afghan phase is winding down. Gee, it sure sounded to me like it's still going strong.

But again, since you're the current events expert, I'm sure you knew all this already, right?

You know, anyone on Free Republic can claim to be anything they want, with no fear of being proven to be a liar. But we veterans know posers when we hear them, or read their comments. You, my amoeba-minded newbie friend, sure sound like a poser. Are you sure you're not really a pigeon-chested college geek getting psyched up for the next College Republicans meeting? If so, do yourself a favor...go see your recruiter immediately, get your head shaved (you will have to shave your goatee and lose the nose ring, though) and spend some time learning first-hand about the military. Maybe then you wouldn't post stupid comments about something of which you know nothing, then get jumped on by crotchety old sergeants who would've just loved to have a pencil-necked geek like you in their squad.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho! (that's 19D stuff...you wouldn't understand)

""Marines functioning as soldiers..."? Tell me, in your tiny little newbie mind, what constitutes a Marine operation versus an Army operation? Hmmmm? If you say Marines conduct amphibious operations, I say yes, they do. But so have Army units. In your tiny little brain, were the 4th Infantry and 29th Infantry Divisions of the Amry functioning as Marines, not soldiers, on D-Day? Conversely, were the Marines who defended Khe Sahn (in Vietnam, brainiac) functioning as soldiers, not Marines?"

Thank you for making my previous point for me Cav ho! I'm the one that started out saying the whole "Marines, Not Soldiers" saying that it is a matter of Semantics.

Being as how my current rank is PFC (Private F****n' Civilian) I no longer have anything to fear from "crotchety old sergeants." I must admit I'm surprised to learn that you work for a living. I had you pegged for a p***k Captain running his company by e-mail.!

You've got me on one thing. You're right I'm not there. I only know what I read in the news. News sources are saying that the 101st is holding the air strip, while the Marines, and a very damn few Spec. Forces units are doing the fighting. Are we being lied to on such a massive scale?

FYI: I'm not a pencil necked college geek. I don't have a goatee, or a nose ring. As for seeing the recruiter and getting my head shaved- been there, done that!

Oh newbie, newbie, newbie. You're almost making it too easy.

Since you are a newbie, and may not know how to navigate around the site, may I recomend checking out my profile? If you'd done this, you'd see that I am a former sergeant, not one currently on active duty. All you have to do is click on someone's screen name at the end of their post, and you can find out more about them. I read yours...that's how I pegged you for a college punk with dyed blonde hair, a goatee, nose ring, and a hemp bracelet. But what the heck, I'm a charitable guy...I'm willing to accept that you were infantry in a prior life.

"Thank you for making my previous point for me Cav ho! I'm the one that started out saying the whole "Marines, Not Soldiers" saying that it is a matter of Semantics."

No, you're still wrong about semantics. Marines and soldiers perform similar duties, but are different animals altogether. By your tiny-brained thought process, there's no difference between Navy and Air Force pilots, right? After all, they both fly jets. Of course, one group takes off from carriers and the other from fixed installations. Frankly, I've never known an infantryman, as you claim to be, who would want to be confused with a Marine, and vice versa. As a 19D Cavalry Scout, I didn't want to be confused with either, or any other MOS, for that manner. Is the difference between scouts and tankers a matter of semantics? Both kill enemy tanks, after all. What about scouts and infantrymen? Both go on dismounted patrols and conduct ambushes. What about between scouts and FIST teams (oh, I'm sorry...that may be a little advanced for you...that's FIre Support Team)? Both call for and adjust artillery fire. No, it's not semantics. Scouts are scouts, infantrymen are infantrymen, tankers are tankers, and Marines are Marines...and damn proud of it, too, from what I understand.

"I only know what I read in the news. News sources are saying that the 101st is holding the air strip, while the Marines, and a very damn few Spec. Forces units are doing the fighting. Are we being lied to on such a massive scale?"

No, you're just apparently getting your news from MTV and Jay Leno. A friendly bit of advice, new guy. IF you truly want to be informed, don't watch any TV news except Fox News Channel (not your local Fox broadcast channel, but the cable network FNC). CNN/ABC/NBC/CBS/MSNBC, ad nauseum, are Commie scumbag liberal BS factories. That's why Fox is creaming them all in the ratings. As far as newspapers are concerned, they're worthless for breaking news unless it's an online paper like Newsmax or World Net Daily. Also, your major rags like the NY and LA Slimes, USA Today, etc. lean so far to the left, they affect cellphone reception. Yes, the 101st is holding an airstrip...they took over control of the strip from the Marines about two or three months ago. But they're also fighting in the mountains alongside 10th Mountain, the Rangers, and yes, the Marines. You don't remember the video clips of Marine LAV-25s (those are Marine Light Armored Vehicles) on patrol outside the Khandahar air field, and outside the former Camp Rhino? No, but I bet you can tell me who was on the Carson Daly show or the 5th Wheel last night. Wow...you need to seriously get up to speed with what's happening over there if you want to hang on Free Republic, my man.

One last thought...other than Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs, who were the first US troops to set foot in Afghanistan? Hmmmmm? The Rangers...oh yeah, another Army unit! They airdropped a battalion into a bunker complex into the southern part of the country shortly after the bombing began back in October.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho! (and what is that infantry types say...do you know it? Without looking it up in Soldier of Fortune?)

You still don't get it do you Cav hoe? That distinction between a Marine, and a Soldier is becoming blurred. I don't see how you can argue the point that the Marines were used in functions of the Afghan campaign that clearly should have been performed by the U.S. Army. Unless you are a poser yourself! As a uniformed member of the Military (if you are in fact what you claim to be) you're too caught up in that bullshit rivalry that the Military instills in all Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, and whatever else you want to call them. Time out of service gives you a different perspective on things. Perhaps one day you'll find that out.

I don't watch MTV, and I'm not a pencil-necked college geek. I don't have a goatee, and I don't have anything pierced either. I consider that shit to be the mark of a p***y that's desperately trying to look tough.

It might surprise you to learn that Soldier of Fortune magazine is a good alternate source of news relating to wars around the world. Soldier of Fortune reported on the Russian invasion of Afghanistan a full year and a half, before the mainstream Media picked it up. SOF reported on the rebellion in Ethiopia a full year, before the main stream press picked that one up too. There have been more recent examples that I won't go into now. The thing with Soldier of Fortune is that you have to know how to separate fact from fiction. Any REAL soldier would know how to do that, so I can see how it might be a problem for you Cav hoe!

Point is Cav hoe, if you were really as smart as you seem to think you are- then you wouldn't be so quick to throw the baby out with the bath water! I wish you the best of luck there Cav hoe. With any luck at all you won't get fragged by your own men!

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