Devil Dogs' Defining Battle Still Resonates
Modern Marines Learn the Heritage of Belleau Wood
BELLEAU WOOD, France -The morning sun grew hot and sounds of cows were heard across the field Saturday as the group of Marines listened to the details of the famous battle that occurred here in 1918. On these wooded hills and rolling fields, more Marines would lose their lives in any single day of battle than on any other to date. Still, many believe the battle at Belleau Wood was the turning point for the Allies during World War. For the U.S. Marine Corps, however, this was the battle that proved their mettle to themselves and the world, and in the process garnered them the nickname "Devil Dogs." Their mascot, the bulldog, came from a town fountain.
"Every Marine should come here," said Maj. James Bell, the force protection officer for U.S. Marine Forces Europe. "This is what it's all about."
Devil Dog Fountain
Bell was one of about 60 Marines and their families from Europe who toured the battle site -about 50 miles east of Paris - on Saturday. A contingent of six Marines from the 6th Regiment at Camp Lejeune, N.C., which fought in 1918, also attended and will be part of the Memorial Day ceremony Sunday at nearby Aisne-Marne Cemetery. William Anderson, a retired Marine colonel who now works for SHAPE in Brussels, guided the daylong expedition through the hills, dirt roads, fields and ravines.
French First Day Cover with Commemorative Stamp Honoring The Marine Corps
"There was no lack of heroism," said Anderson, who has been leading the annual Memorial Day weekend tour since 1996. "There was lack of communication, confusion, but the Marines didn't give up." The battle began June 1 and ended June 26 when the Marines gained control of roughly 20 acres of woods and field. At the time, the Germans were trying to force the British and French west to the Atlantic Coast and capture France. Until that point, the Marines had been sparingly used by Allied and U.S. leaders because they were unsure what the unit could do. When the Marines entered the area they had little food, and water was scarce. They wore heavy woolen uniforms and communications between units was poor and confusing. Still, during a series of attacks and counterattacks in the wood and nearby villages, the Americans prevailed. Expert marksmen surprised German foes, hitting their targets from hundreds of yards away. Individual Marines charged German machine gun nests. When officers fell, sergeants took the lead. When sergeants fell, corporals led the way. On June 6, when the Marines took a crucial hill, they also suffered the greatest number of casuallies in Marine history when 1,087 men were either killed or wounded. By the end of the fighting 700 Americans had died.
The Marine Monument at Belleau Wood
Staff Sgt. Thomas Devine, assigned to Marine Forces Europe in Stuttgart, brought his wife, Pamela, a former Marine, and their 3-year-old son.
"You always hear about it and you want to see it," said Devine.
He had seen the battlefields in Okinawa, Japan, which were mostly jungle, but said the fields and lack of cover of the Belleau Wood battle surprised him. "Everything is so open. There were few places to hide," he said. Marine Sgt. Andrea Austin from Stuttgart said she joined the tour because she wanted to witness firsthand the place where the Marines began to build their reputation.
Frank Schoonover, Belleau Wood (1918)
"I know I'm hot and I can only imagine what they went through with their heavy uniforms, ammo and weapons," said Austin, who has been a Marine for seven years. She first heard of the fighting at Belleau Wood in boot camp when it was used to explain how the Marines got the nickname "Devil Dogs," which was coined by the German soldiers on the losing end of the battle.
"I know the forces have changed through the time, but I think if I were there now," Austin said, "I know I'd be there hooking and jabbing just like the rest."
By David Josar
From Stars and Stripes
May 27, 2001
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on July 05:
1709 Etienne de Silhouette )French minister of finance who gave his name to outline portraits)
1781 Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore
1794 Sylvester Graham developed graham cracker
1801 David G Farragut Knoxville Tenn, naval hero
1853 Cecil John Rhodes South Africa, politician, diamond merchant
1867 Dr Andrew Ellicott Douglass Dendrochronologer (study of tree rings)
1879 Dwight Filley Davis donated tennis' Davis Cup
1879 Wanda A Landowska Warsaw Poland, harpsichordist (Musique Ancienne)
1891 John Northrop US, biochemist, crystallized enzymes (Nobel 1946)
1902 Henry Cabot Lodge (R) politician/ambassador (VP candidate 1960)
1904 Milburn Stone Bruton Ks, actor (Doc-Gunsmoke)
1909 Andrei Gromyko USSR, diplomat/USSR President (1985-89) [7/18 NS]
1913 Smiley Lewis Louisiana, vocalist (I Hear You Knockin')
1928 Warren Oates Depoy Ky, actor (East of Eden, The Wild Bunch, Stoney Burke)
1929 Katherine Helmond Galveston Tx, actress (Soap, Mona-Who's the Boss)
1944 Robbie Robertson guitarist/vocalist/songwriter (The Band)
1948 Julie Nixon Eisenhower Wash DC, daughter of Richard Milhaus
1951 Huey Lewis rocker (& the News-Need a New Drug)
1951 Richard "Goose" Gossage relief pitcher (Yankees, Padres)
1952 Terence T "Tom" Henricks Bryan Oh, Lt Col USAF/astronaut (STS 44)
1956 James Lofton NFL wide reciever (Bills, Packers, Raiders)
Deaths which occurred on July 05:
1948 Carole Landis actress, dies at 29
1950 Pvt Kenneth Shadrick of WV becomes 1st US fatality in Korean War
1969 Tom Mboya economics minister, assassinated in Narobi Kenya
1969 Walter Gropius architect (found Bauhaus school of design), dies at 86
1983 Harry James swing-era bandleader/trumpet player, dies in Las Vegas
1990 Mitch Snyder homeless advocate, commits suicide at 46 by hanging
1993 Harrison E Salisbury, US journalist (NY Times), dies at 84
Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1965 EISENBRAUN WILLIAM F. SANTA ANA CA.
[08/07/65 ON PRG DIC LIST]
1966 JACKSON JAMES E. NEW YORK NY.
[11/11/67 RELEASED IN CAMBODIA]
1967 DODGE WARD KENT DIGHTON KS. [03/13/74 REMAINS RETURNED]
1967 FREDERICK WILLIAM V. DEERFIELD OH.
[REMAINS RETURNED 1/03/90]
1967 WADDELL DEWEY W. BREMEN GA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 1998]
1968 BURNS MICHAEL T. FORT WAYNE IN.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1968 CRUMPLER CARL B. JACKSONVILLE FL.
[03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1968 DEWBERRY JERRY D. ARDMORE OK.
1968 LAWRENCE BRUCE E. PHILLIPSBURG NJ.
1968 SILVER EDWARD D. JUNCTION CITY OR.
["EGRESS-SEEN IN PROPAGANDA FILM, WORE FLIGHT" "SUIT, BODY TURNED OVER AS CAMERA ZOOMED IN"]
1972 ELANDER WILLIAM J. JR. CHARLOTTE NC.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1972 LOGAN DONALD K. GRANADA HILLS CA.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1972 SPENCER WILLIAM A. SAN JUAN TX.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1972 SEEK BRIAN J. ENCINO CA.
[03/29/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.
On this day...
0649 St Martin I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0767 [Constantine] begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1643 1st recorded tornado in US (Essex County, Massachusetts)
1687 Isaac Newton's PRINCIPIA published by Royal Society in England
1808 Battle of Buenos Aires
1811 Venezuela, 1st South American country to gain independence from Spain
1814 Americans defeat British & Canadians at Chippewa, Ontario
1830 France invades Algeria, begins a 40 year conquest
1841 Thomas Cook opens 1st travel agency
1843 Committee of 9 appointed to establish civil govt in Oregon Country
1859 Capt NC Brooks discovers Midway Islands
1861 Battle of Carthage, MO - US Gen Sigel attacks pro-secessionist
1863 Battle of Jackson, MS and Battle of Birdsong Ferry, MS
1864 Battle of Smith's Expedition, MS (Tupelo, Harrisburg)
1884 US Congress accept 2nd Chinese Exclusion Act
1896 Bill Doolin escapes from jail
1891 Hail kills 6 horses in Rapid City, SD
1914 Boston Braves are 15 games back in NL, & win the World Series
1919 Red Sox Babe Ruth hits 2 HRs in a game for his 1st of 72 times
1921 The "Black Sox" ( The Chicago White Sox players, including stars Shoeless Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, and Eddie Cicotte) are accused of throwing the World Series
1929 A Deutsch discovers asteroid #1148 Rarahu
1932 Oliveira Salazar becomes dictator of fascist Portugal
1935 Chicago Cubs are 10 games back in NL, & go on to win the pennant (Not that it does anygood)
1935 Pres Franklin Roosevelt signs the National Labor Relations Act
1936 120ø F (49ø C), Gannvalley, South Dakota (state record)
1937 117ø F (47ø C), Medicine Lake, Montana (state record)
1937 Joe DiMaggio's 1st grand slammer
1940 Diplomatic relations broken between Britain & Vichy govt in France
1944 Harry Crosby takes 1st rocket airplane, MX-324, for maiden flight
1945 U.S. General Douglas MacArthur announced that the liberation of the Philippines from its Japanese occupiers was complete.
1946 Louis Reard's bikini swimsuit design debuts at Paris fashion show (thankyouthankyouthankyou)
1950 Law of Return passes, guarantees all Jews right to live in Israel
1951 Dr William Shockley invents junction transistor (Murray Hill NJ)
1954 B-52A bomber made its maiden flight(BUFF)
1959 Ben-Gurion's Israeli govt resigns
1962 Algeria gains independence after 132 years of French rule
1963 1st Beatle tune to hit US charts, Del Shannon "From Me to You" at #87
1966 National Guard mobilizes in Omaha after 3rd night of rioting
1966 Saturn I rocket launched at Cape Kennedy
1971 26th amendment certified (reduces voting age to 18)
1973 Isle of Man begins issuing their own postage stamps
1975 Cape Verde Is gain independence after 500 years of Portuguese rule
1977 Pakistan's army, led by Gen Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, seizes power
1978 Soyuz 30 spacecraft touches down in Soviet Kazakhstan
1981 Rajan Mahadevan recites 31,811 digits of ã from memory
1982 Challenger flies to Kennedy Space Center via Ellington AFB, Texas
1983 Baby girl born in Roanoke, Va., to a mother brain dead for 84 days
1984 Supreme Court weakens 70-year-old "exclusionary rule"-evidence seized with defective court warrants can now be used in criminal trials
1985 Nicholas Mark Sanders (England) begins circumnavigation of the globe, covering 13,035 road miles in 78 days, 3 hr, 30 min
1986 Nancy Reagan cuts red, white & blue ribbon; reopens Statue of Liberty
1989 Mark McGwire's gets 100th HR, 2nd fastest (1400 at bats) (to Kiner)
1993 Kurd guerrilla's murder 32 villager in East Turkey
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Algeria : Independence Day (1962)
Isle of Man : Tynwald Day (1266)
Laos : Boun Festival
Rwanda : Peace & National Unity Day
Venezuela : Independence Day (1811)
Caribbean Common Market : Caribbean Day (1973)(Monday)
Lesotho : Family Day (Monday)
Zambia : Heroes Day (Monday)
Zambia : Unity Day (Tuesday)
National Canned Luncheon Meat Week (Day 2)
Be Nice to New Jersey Week (Day 2)
Bikini Day
Workaholics Day
Freedom Week (Day 2)
Baked Beans Month
Religious Observances
Muslim-Brunei : Mohammed's Ascension
RC : Memorial of St Anthony-Mary Zaccaria, confessor (opt)
Feast of St. Athanasius, deacon and martyr.
Religious History
1439 At the Council of Florence, the Decree of Union ('Laententur Coeli') was signed,creating an official theological union between the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic)churches. Unfortunately, the Eastern Church at large never accepted the document and a fullworking unity between these two major
1768 English founder of Methodism John Wesley wrote in a letter: 'We are reasonablecreatures, and undoubtedly reason is the candle of the Lord. By enlightening our reason tosee the meaning of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit makes our way plain before us.'
1903 Death of English theologian William Burt Pope, 81. His 'Compendium of ChristianTheology' (1875-76) set forth the most powerful systematic arguments of his day for theholiness doctrine in Methodism.
1962 Death of Helmut Richard Niebuhr, 67. Christian Ethics professor at Yale for 30years, Niebuhr is better remembered for his popular and oft-reprinted 1951 classic, 'Christand Culture' -- a work that explores available options of relating one's personal faith tothe world's highest and noblest principles.
1963 In an instruction given by the Holy Office, disposal of the dead by cremation wasofficially granted sanction by the Catholic Church. (Belief in the resurrection of the deadhad previously made cremation repugnant to many Christians.)
Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Thought for the day :
"Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold - but so does a hard-boiled egg."
Things To Do If You Ever Became An Evil Overlord...
Maintain a healthy amount of skepticism when you capture the beautiful rebel and she claims she is attracted to your power and good looks and will gladly betray her companions if you just let her in on your plans.
The World's Shortest Books...
French Hospitality
Dumb Laws...
Ocean City New Jersey:
People may not slurp their soup.
Top Ten Things That sound Dirty In Golf..But Aren't...
8. You really whacked the hell out of that sucker.
