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The U.S. Senate has shot down an amendment by a South Carolina senator to pull more than $2 million earmarked for Berkeley school lunches, ferry service and police communication equipment and transfer it to the Marine Corps. After the Berkeley City Council called the U.S. Marines "uninvited and unwelcome intruders," Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., introduced the Semper Fi Act on Feb. 6 to rescind the funds earmarked for Berkeley in the 2008 fiscal year Omnibus Appropriations bill. Last Thursday, the Senate voted 41-57 to defeat DeMint's amendment, prompting DeMint to say that he is "extremely disappointed that the U.S. Senate...

Excusing Berkeley by: Bethany Stotts The Berkeley City Council's decision to declare its local U.S. Marine Corps recruiting office “unwelcome and uninvited intruders” has sparked considerable controversy throughout the nation. With S. 2596, also known as the Semper Fi Act, now in the Senate and with 12 cosponsors, this controversy seems to have intensified, prompting news articles critical of Senator Jim DeMint’s (R-SC) proposed “retaliation.” Should the legislation pass, the city of Berkeley would lose $2.3 million in earmarks. The threatened loss of $975,000 (a subset of the total amount) for the University of California Berkeley’s Matsui Center for Politics...

WEST POINT -- World War I ended days after he enlisted, and his request for active duty in Vietnam in 1966 was denied on account of his age -- after all he was 68. But, Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller was a force to be reckoned with in every other war and armed conflict between those times. Long before he retired as a lieutenant general, he had become a Marine Corps living legend. Yesterday, a grateful hometown honored its hero, remembered that he is the only Marine ever to receive five Navy Crosses for bravery and expressed thanks that he was...

Before he left to train for a second tour of duty in Iraq, Marine Cpl. Joseph E. Stevenson III of Downers Grove wrote a letter to his family, in case he did not return. Stevenson, 20, died in his sleep on Oct. 28 at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Stevenson was buried last week with full military honors. His parents, Barbara Ann and Joseph E. Stevenson Jr., have given the media permission to reprint their son's letter over the Veterans Day weekend. Letter is kinda long, so go to the link http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=75390

The National Museum of the Marine Corps has become one of Virginia's top tourist destinations, attracting more than 600,000 visitors to the Quantico site after one year. The Marine Corps will celebrate the museum's success on its first anniversary Saturday. "Originally, we were expecting between 250,000 and 500,000 visitors," said Chris Vassil, a media relations assistant at the museum. "We expect to end this year with over 600,000 visitors, which puts it in the top visited destinations in Virginia." The museum is expected to rank as the fifth most visited attraction in Virginia for 2007, according to the Virginia Association...

VIDEO: Semper Fidelis

Looking at the calendar this morning, I noticed an entry -in my late wife's handwriting-for tomorrow's date: USMC- Semper Fi.

From the Halls of Montezuma To the Shores of Tripoli; We fight our country's battles In the air, on land and 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 unfurled to every breeze From dawn to setting sun; We have fought in ev'ry 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...

Marine Brotherhood I saw something today that taught me volumes about the brotherhood of Marines. As I stood in line to grill my sandwich, I watched a young corporal preparing two meals to-go. There was nothing really special about the meals . . . except this. It was obvious to me that this Marine was carefully selecting different things for each tray. One was for him, the other was for his buddy who stood guard at the gate. He carefully selected meat and cheese, meticulously grilled and wrapped them, then chose sides. I was moved by the obvious care with...

Oct. 26 falls on a Thursday this year. Ask the significance of the date, and you're likely to draw some puzzled looks — five more days to stock up for Halloween? It's a measure of men like Col. Mitchell Paige and Rear Adm. Willis A. "Ching Chong China" Lee that they wouldn't have had it any other way. What they did 58 years ago, they did precisely so their grandchildren could live in a land of peace and plenty. Whether we've properly safeguarded the freedoms they fought to leave us, may be a discussion best left for another day. Today...

Letters in Response to Capt. Lund and Code Pink • Editors, Daily Planet: Thank you for printing the letter by Captain Richard Lund. I work in a building on University Avenue. I am a woman, I am a mother, I am the wife of a veteran, I am a liberal, I am a democrat, I am a staunch opponent to this war, and I am an enemy of President Bush. And I am ashamed. Wars aren’t created by the military, they are created by politicians and their self- serving constituents. The Code Pink protest is an insult to the sacrifices...

First the Marine Corps made Chuck Norris an honorary Marine. Now the Corps wants all Marines to follow in his footsteps. All Marines must now qualify for their tan belt in the Corps' version of martial arts by the end of 2007, Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said in a recent Corps-wide message. The move mostly affects those who joined before 2001, when the service made the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program part of basic training and the Basic School, said 1st Lt. Brian P. Donnelly, a spokesman for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. The Corps originally hoped to have all...

The night started like many for John Lovell, a 71-year-old ex-Marine and helicopter pilot who served two presidents. Late dinner alone at a Plantation Subway shop -- veggie sub, soda, oatmeal cookie. Wednesday night, though, Lovell's meal was interrupted by an armed robbery. Two gunmen stormed into the sandwich shop at about 11 p.m., robbed the cashier and tried to shove Lovell -- the lone customer -- into the bathroom. Two bullets later, one gunman was dead, another was wounded and Lovell was being hailed as a hero. ''There's no such thing as an ex-Marine, and he typifies this,'' said...

Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP) -- Bill Barnes says he was scratching off a losing $2 lottery ticket inside a gas station when he felt a hand slip into his front-left pants pocket, where he had $300 in cash. He immediately grabbed the person's wrist with his left hand and started throwing punches with his right, landing six or seven blows before a store manager intervened. "I guess he thought I was an easy mark," Barnes, 72, told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Tuesday. He's anything but an easy mark: Barnes served in the Marines, was an accomplished Golden...

I'll never forget the day I heard my younger brother, Wieland, was killed in Vietnam. It was a day like no other. No family should have to feel what my mother, other brother, Aaron and I did that day. And yet so many do, every day, every year. "I'm going to miss you, be careful" At the height of the Vietnam War, both of my brothers, Wieland and Aaron, enlisted in the U.S. Army. As a veteran myself, I understood their desire to serve, and I concurred with their decision to enlist. After all, the U.S. Air Force turned my...

Maj. Douglas Zembiec, a Marine Corps officer profiled in the Los Angeles Times magazine in 2004, was killed while leading a raid on insurgents in Baghdad, officials reported Friday. Details of his death on Thursday were sketchy. In an age when many prefer military personnel to be diffident and reluctant to engage in violence, Zembiec was proudly a throwback. "One of the most noble things you can do is kill the enemy," he once said. Zembiec, 34, received a Bronze Star with a V for valor for leading an infantry company in repeated assaults against insurgents in the Sunni Triangle...

Dear American Soldier in Iraq: There are a few things you should know about how tens of millions of us back home feel about you and the fight you are waging. These things need to be said, especially now, given the fact that the head of one of America's two major political parties has announced that the war in Iraq is lost. This war has not been lost. What has happened is that many Americans, for all sorts of reasons -- some out of simple fatigue, some because they do not believe that war solves anything, some out of deep...

The top U.S. military officer, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, doesn't plan to apologize for telling a newspaper that homosexuality is immoral. Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune on Monday that he supports the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay people from serving in the U.S. armed forces. The general also compared homosexuality to adultery -- behavior that is prosecuted in the military, he said. "My upbringing is such that I believe that there are certain things, certain types of conduct that are immoral," Pace told the Tribune. "I believe that military members...

Bumper of my SUV By Michelle Malkin   ·   March 12, 2007 03:01 PM Kudos to country singer Chely Wright, who performed in Iraq last week: Since World War II, American celebrities have been raising the morale of service members overseas with different forms of entertainment ranging from concerts to stand-up shows. In an effort to keep that tradition alive, country singer Chely Wright, visited Al Asad, Iraq, to entertain and lift the spirits of service members, March 3. “I’m thankful and really appreciative that (the band members) and I get to fly around the world on airplanes, ride in tour...

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday he considers homosexuality to be immoral and the military should not condone it by allowing gay personnel to serve openly, the Chicago Tribune reported. Marine Gen. Peter Pace likened homosexuality to adultery, which he said was also immoral, the newspaper reported on its Web site. "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way," Pace told the newspaper in a wide-ranging interview. Pace, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and a 1967 graduate of...

Sean Barrett has seen a lot in his four years at Harvard. He’s consistently been among the top Crimson finishers at various regional meets since his freshman year. He’s seen coaches come and go. He’s competed with and against formidable tracksters across New England and beyond. Now he’s getting ready to embark on a journey that will show him more about himself and his world than he could ever imagine. Barrett has joined the U.S. Marine Corps and has committed, initially, to serving four years. It’s a decision that seems almost incongruous for a bright athlete from the Ivy League....

This was a press release issued by the individual below but the source paper has copyright issues. So am posting as a vanity: United States Marine Corps Sgt. Craig M. Breiner, 30, of Howell plans to carry the U.S. flag from the Belmar boardwalk to the state capital in Trenton to rally support for American military personnel serving in war zones. "We need to bring the morale of our troops up," said Breiner, a seven-year Marine veteran who spent seven months in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. . . . Breiner's walk will commence Jan. 20, rain or shine, at...

In this image released by the U.S. Marine Corps, soldiers assist their platoon commander, 2nd Lt. Samuel Joiner, a 23-year-old from Knoxville, Tenn., to safety after he was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Anah, in the volatile Anbar province, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006. The Marines and sailors, part of the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based Company A, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, have spent nearly three months conducting security operations to Rawah and Anah, two cities along the Euphrates River about 200 kilometers (150 miles) northwest of Baghdad. (AP Photo/Lance Cpl. Nathaniel F. Sapp, U.S. Marines) WASHINGTON --...

As any battlefield commander will tell you, getting troops to the fight can be as difficult as winning it. And for modern-day soldiers, the sites of conflict are so far-flung, and the political considerations of even flying over another country so complicated, that rapid entry has become nearly impossible. If a group of Marine Corps visionaries have their way, however, 30 years from now, Marines could touch down anywhere on the globe in less than two hours, without needing to negotiate passage through foreign airspace. The breathtaking efficiency of such a delivery system could change forever the way the U.S....

Remembering the fallen By Michelle Malkin   ·   December 14, 2006 11:00 AM Maj. Megan McClung was an American Girl. She was the highest-ranking female officer killed in Iraq last week. Watch this video. You will not forget her. (More about Maj. McClung in the OC Register.) Thanks to Ken Noland for pointing us to the memorial video and to the terrific website, Digital Imagery and Video Distribution System , which serves as the public affairs arm for the Third Army and Central Command. Army Capt. Travis Patriquin was killed alongside Maj. McClung. Mike Fumento's memorial is here. Matt at Blackfive...

Fallujah Today, and on Route Mobile Patroling one of the two main arteries through the Fallujah region The city of Fallujah and its surrounding environs has both a symbolic and strategic importance to the security of Iraq. Fallujah is the city where al-Qaeda fought the U.S. forces toe-to-toe and lost. Fallujah is a rallying call to al-Qaeda. The city also serves as the gateway to Baghdad, the end of the line of al-Qaeda's Syrian ratlines which are used to run foreign fighters, money and weapons into the capital. Fallujah was where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi set up his first infamous Islamic...

WHAT A STORY OF GUTS AND COURAGE, AND A LOVELY WIFE AND FAMILY

Greetings from Ramadi By Michelle Malkin   ·   November 18, 2006 08:39 AM Mike Fumento has photos from his latest trip to Ramadi. Here's one he snapped at Camp Ramadi. Mike writes: "Something tells me Cindy Sheehan wouldn't feel comfortable here." Speaking of Ramadi, Patterico is looking to talk to soldiers fighting there. Give him a shout at patterico-at-gmail.com.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2006 -- Two years ago, much of the Iraqi city of Fallujah had suffered severe damage after some of the hardest fighting seen since the country was liberated by U.S. and coalition forces in the spring of 2003. Today, construction across Fallujah is booming, and the city’s 400,000-resident population is growing, Marine Col. Larry D. Nicholson, commander of Regimental Combat Team 5, told Pentagon reporters today from Fallujah during a satellite-televised news conference. Nicholson has commanded RCT-5’s nearly 5,000 U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors since February. The unit’s primary mission, he said, is to train and...

A Letter from the Front Lines Hello, My name is Capt. Mike Southworth. I am a pilot in the Marine Corps. I recently flew Mr. Norris during his USO tour ... His visit here means a lot to all the Marines, sailors, and soldiers out here. I know many of my Marines said that it helped boost their morale and helped them forget that they were away from their family and friends ... So, thanks for the support and God bless! Very respectfully, Capt. Mike Southworth, USMC Capt. Southworth's letter was one of hundreds of letters from service members, their...

OORAH! It's the 229th birthday of the United States Marine Corp.

HALIFAX (CP) -- A Canadian who was serving with the U.S. army in Iraq was killed by insurgents this week, just days before his return home. Cpl. Michael Seeley, formerly of Fredericton, was on patrol with Bravo Co. of the 28th Infantry when he died Monday. A Mi'kmaq, Seeley joined the Canadian Forces in 1998 before enlisting in the U.S. Marines the next year. He served with the Marines in Japan, South America, Africa and Iraq before getting an honourable discharge after four years. He then joined the U.S. army and was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, when he was...

CAMP HABBANIYAH, Iraq – It was 9 a.m. and the start of another day of Lt. Col. Todd Desgrosseilliers’ approach to counterinsurgency. Most go well, at least by the perilous standards for Marines operating in Anbar province, the heart of Iraq’s Sunni Muslim insurgency. Wednesday, however, would not. By the end of the day, one Marine would lie badly injured from a sniper’s bullet and another would be startled from a close call that hit the goggles perched atop his helmet. Attention has been focused in recent weeks on U.S. patrols in Baghdad, where American and Iraqi soldiers are trying...

I want to thank reaganite for posting this entry at GCP. Great article, great website, and great deeds from the “greatest generation.” Semper Fi, gentlemen. Back home in Jackson, where I was the first Negro Marine admitted to the Corps from Mississippi, I had to wait out the period until a sufficient amount of the camp had been completed. There was one special requirement the Marine Generals insisted on. “If we must admit them, and train them, we reserve the right to demand that every Negro who wants to become a Marine, must have an education either in college, or...

(Beverly Hills, Calif.-AP, Aug. 31, 2006 6:02 AM) _ Actor Glenn Ford, who played strong, thoughtful protagonists in films such as "The Blackboard Jungle," "Gilda" and "The Big Heat," died Wednesday, police said. He was 90. Paramedics called to Ford's home just before 4 p.m. found Ford dead, police Sgt. Terry Nutall said, reading a prepared statement. "They do not suspect foul play," he said. Ford suffered a series of strokes in the 1990s. "It comes to mind instantly what a remarkable actor he was," actor Sidney Poitier, who also starred in "The Blackboard Jungle," said Wednesday evening. "He had...

Marine to return ancient signature seals to Iraq PHILADELPHIA A U-S Marine who brought home seemingly cheap souvenirs from Iraq has turned them over to authorities after learning they are ancient stone seals used as signature stamps.The Marine paid a vendor a few hundred dollars for the eight seals, and had them examined by a university archaeologist upon his return. The seals were looted from an archaeological site near Babylon. They are about five-thousand years old and valued at two-thousand to five-thousand dollars each. U-S soldiers are allowed to bring back souvenirs and trinkets, but Assistant U-S Attorney Bob Goldman...

You can now pre-order your copy of Minefields to Microphones, the Gunny's latest and greatest book. The cost is $16.95 plus shipping. Your book will arrive in the second week of September, signed by the Gunny. It is 262 pages long and even has photos. Signed Copies AvailableSend NO MONEY now. To get on the list, just send Gunny an email at gunnybob@850koa.com with the words "Book Order" in the subject line. Get 'em while they are hot! Here is what the book is all about: From one of America's both favorite and loathed political pundits comes the book long...

Hugh, Our son, Boots Dunlap, is a Capt. in the 1-32 Inf Battalion (nicknamed Chosin Bn.). We just got this letter to soldiers' families from the Battalion Commander. These men and women are doing a great job and spilling their blood for us at home. I hope American appreciate their sacrifice. Charlie Dunlap Dear Chosin Family, As you all make your way back from summer vacations and travels, I thought I would welcome you back with some great information about your loved ones' exploits over here in Operation Enduring Freedom. It has been a long, hot summer here in AOR...

Earlier this year, Erik Duane was living in California with his wife and daughter and working in Cerritos College’s information technology department. Now, he is Gunnery Sgt. Erik Duane, a Civil Affairs Group Marine in Al Asad, Iraq. Duane’s list of his team’s projects is a microcosm of what the U.S. is doing throughout Iraq: “We have water and sewage treatment projects planned, as well as numerous repairs to the local schools and residences. We are also working closely with the local leaders to establish a strong governance in this aea.” His troops call him “Gunny,” and Shu’aib Barzan Hamreen...

Today: August 21, 2006 at 3:20:29 PDT Pulitzer Prize Winner Joe Rosenthal Dies By JUSTIN M. NORTON ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Photographer Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his immortal image of six World War II servicemen raising an American flag over battle-scarred Iwo Jima, died Sunday. He was 94.

He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of 9/11. Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq — and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher five-and-a-half football fields away. Wilson is the designated marksman in a company of Marines based in downtown Ramadi, watching over what Marines call the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city in the...

A former Marine sergeant credited with saving five fellow Marines in Iraq was presented the Navy Cross for heroism in combat Friday. Robert J. Mitchell of Iowa was awarded the medal for his actions as a squad leader for Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, during an assault in the city of Fallujah in November 2004. While engaged in an intense gunfight in what then was an insurgent stronghold, five Marines were wounded and became pinned down in a house. Mitchell, 26, charged through enemy AK-47 fire and hand grenade explosions to reach the building. As he approached the house,...

Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman charged in the April killing of an Iraqi man are refusing to testify against one another, attorneys for one of the men said Monday. Jane Siegel, who represents Pfc. John Jodka III, said the military was increasingly frustrated that none would agree to testify for the prosecution."The government is doing its damned best to try and provoke one of these Marines to testify against the others in accordance with its theory of the case," Siegel said. "None of these men are going to do that." Siegel's comments were made after the Marine Corps sent...

The elite liberal media, being yapping lap dogs for the American political left, have been screaming about the evil Jews using disproportionate force as Israel finally responds to the carnage Muslim terrorists have been heaping upon it of late. The proverbial last straw was the Iranian- and Syrian-controlled terrorist group Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers in northern Israel. Hezbollah, in case you have forgotten, carried out the 1983 attacks on the United States Embassy and Marine compound in Beirut, the 1984 attack on the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut, and the 1996 destruction of the Khobar Towers U.S. military barracks...

Gretchen Wilson and Josh Gracin were among the performers appearing Monday night (June 19) in Washington at a fundraiser that generated $27 million to be used by Republican candidates in the November elections. President Bush provided a speech for more than 5,000 supporters attending the President's Dinner at the Washington Convention Center. The event raised money for the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

The Witherill family's property is like a billboard for the Marines, with license plates, bumper stickers and decals covering cars and windows everywhere. And the odds are good Joe Witherill will put a Marine sticker on the car of anyone who visits their property, too. This proud Marine veteran never insisted his children follow in his footsteps. But that's what happened. Not once. Not twice. Not three times. But four times. First his oldest son Albert joined and earned a place on the family's Marine Corps wall in the basement of their home. That inspired oldest daughter Andrea. "When I...

When a shabbily dressed man ran out of a Westfield Annapolis jewelry store followed by an employee screaming for help, Erik McInnis didn't think twice. "Anybody sprinting out of a store like that is guilty until proven innocent," the 39-year-old Marine major said. He immediately left his two children, ages 9 and 2, in the mall's play area and chased Timothy A. Laboard, 40, of Baltimore, through the back corridors of the mall. Jonathan Neff, another father in the play area, said Maj. McInnis "hurdled the row of seats and hit the ground at an all out sprint behind the...

I began studying Iran in 1979 as a 21-year-old Marine sergeant and Recon (Recon is the Corps’ version of Navy SEALs and Army Rangers and Green Berets) team leader with "A" Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion. My studies began because terrorists in Iran had just overthrown Shah Reza Mohammed Pahlavi, sacked the United States Embassy in Tehran and taken dozens of Americans hostage. A few months later, my unit, the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, was in Thailand when our mission was changed and we headed up through the tanker- and cargo-ship-packed Straits of Malacca (I...

The Rocky Mountain News was honored Monday with Pulitzer Prizes in writing and photography for its unflinching look at the way U.S. Marines honor comrades who have paid the ultimate price. In a newsroom celebration marked by emotion and tears, reporter Jim Sheeler was recognized for winning in feature writing and photographer Todd Heisler in feature photography for their collaboration, "Final Salute." The special report followed a Marine major who has the difficult task of making death notifications and of helping families begin to face life after loss. And while there was tremendous satisfaction in the awards, there was also...