In 1943, the USS O’Bannon was on patrol near the Solomon Islands when it came in contact with a Japanese submarine. This encounter would end with one of the greatest sea stories in U.S. naval history, but like all sea stories, no one knows how true it actually is. The O’Bannon was a legendary destroyer, … Continued
On December 9, 1941, Al Schmid was in Philadelphia working as an apprentice steel burner. He was listening to the radio on Monday, December 8 when he learned about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He enlisted in the Marine Corps the very next day. Schmid trained to be a machine gunner in the 1st … Continued
They say the most dangerous weapon is a pissed-off Marine. Imagine how angry a Marine would have to be after an enemy regiment annihilates the rest of his machine gun unit and threatens to break down the entire line. Mitchell Paige was so pissed off that he killed them all and then led a bayonet … Continued
During the seven months of the Guadalcanal campaign, 60,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers killed about 20,000 of the 31,000 Japanese troops on the island.
The main objective of the fighting was a tiny airstrip that the Japanese were building at…
In the 109 years of Marine Corps aviation, there have been significant accomplishments, happenings and many global conflicts. However, there’s one moment that’s considered the defining moment in Marine Corps aviation history. Marine 1st Lt. Alfred Cunningham was the first Marine on record to report for flight instruction all the way back in 1912. Over … Continued
The general narrative of World War II credits the Marines and Navy for the victory in the Pacific and the Army and U.S. Army Air Corps for victory in Europe. In reality, there are actually a few Marine veterans of fighting in Europe and a massive nu…
In World War II’s Pacific Theater, the United States had a big problem: the operating area was humongous. In one sense, it’s no surprise — the Pacific is the world’s largest ocean and they needed to get across that ocean in order to defeat Japa…
Douglas Carlton Denman was born in Tallapoosa, Georgia, in February 1922. At the age of 18, he decided to join the Coast Guard and travelled to Atlanta’s recruiting office where a Coast Guard chief boatswain filled out his paperwork. Early on, he m…