I have celebrated the birthday of the Marine Corps standing ankle deep in freezing mud ten miles from the Korean DMZ; with a bar full of bewildered strangers between flights at Heathrow Airport; in immaculate ballrooms with candlelight flickering off chests full of medals; and at my kitchen table with my wife.
We are retired Marines. Her dad was a Marine. My dad was a Marine. Most of our friends are Marines. This is something we do every November 10th. This is not Memorial Day. It’s not just about remembering those who died, but to honor those who, as Major General John A Lejeune wrote, “…have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security” – as we have.
We Marines cultivate our history, sometimes to the exasperation of our sister services, but it matters. It starts at boot camp and never really stops. Whether facing death at the Chosin Reservoir, Guadalcanal, or Fallujah, Marines are always conscious of how high the bar has been set by those who have gone before them.
Part of our lore lies in France at a place called Belleau Wood. Newly arrived Marines of the 5th and 6th Marine regiments formed a brigade and were thrown into the fight to stop the German’s march to Paris. With rifle fire whose accuracy stunned other Allied troops, and close quarter fighting with bayonets and fists whose ferocity and violence shocked the Germans, the Marines stemmed the advance and earned a place in history.
A hundred years later we still repeat stories of that fight, and two stand out.
- When advised by a French Colonel to fall back, Major Lloyd Williams replied, “Retreat, hell! We just got here!”
- And 1st Sergeant Dan Daly, who exhorted Marines crossing a wheat field beaten by German machine gun fire with, “Come on, you sons-a-bitches, do you want to live forever?”
In a way, they have lived forever, not least in the memories of the French. To this day it is impossible for a Marine to pay for a drink anywhere near the place they renamed Bois de la Brigade de Marine.
President Trump has picked a fight with men and women such as these. The revelation, exhaustively documented by Atlantic writer Jeffrey Goldberg, that the president questioned the point of attending a memorial service at Belleau Woods, calling those who died there “suckers,” is appalling. It also is not surprising.
But with his control of the government, the country, and even his own party slipping away as we approach Election Day, President Trump should bear in mind the words of General Jim Mattis, another famous Marine he’s insulted. General Mattis famously warned:
There are no better friends and no worse enemies than Marines.
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Mike Broihier is a farmer from Lincoln County and former Democratic US Senate candidate. Originally posted on Forward Kentucky, the progressive voice for Kentucky politics.