CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE MARINES HYME
UNITED STATES MARINE CORP MARCH
UNITED STATES MARINE CADENCE - IF I DIE IN THE COMBAT ZONE

From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our country's battles
On the land as on the sea.
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marines.

Our flag's unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every 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 to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.

Click On Picture To Enlarge

It's not the stars or bars you have, not what you wear on your sleeve or shoulder, that determines what you are.  it's what you wear on your collar - the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor - that puts you in the brotherhood of Marines.  Brigadier General Carl Mundy, USMC Marines Corps Birthday 1984

"Leathernecks"
The Marines' oldest and most colorful nickname came from the characteristic black leather stock worn around the necks of all enlisted Marines (an many officers) for the first hundred years of the Corps.  The neck stock served two purposes:  improved posture on parade, and protection of the throat from a slashing cutlass during boarding party melees.  The troops hated the uncomfortable accessory.  To them, the best defense against a curlass was the fourteen-inch steel bayonet on the end of their five-foot musket.  But they did like the name, and it has stuck.  (Leathernecks is also the name for the Marines magazines.)

The Mameluke Sword:
Legend has it that Lieutenant O'Bannon returned from the Barbary Wars with a jeweled Mameluke scimitar, a gift form a grateful desert chieftain.  The Mamelukes were fierce and renowned desert warriors of North Africa; their unique scimitars held a special attraction for Marine officers, who soon began to wear their own imported versions.  By 1825, Marine Corps regulations mandated Mameluke swards for all officers.  With the exception of a brief period during the Civil War, all subsequent Marine officers to this day have worn the distinctive Mameluke sward, recognizable by its ivory grips, straight brass guard, curved blade, ad silver scabbard.