Today is the day that the United States Marine Corps celebrates its birthday. On November 10, 1775, under authority of the Continental Congress, the USMC was founded.
There are several slangs used to describe Marines. The term "leatherneck" comes from the history of Marines wearing leather collars during the Revolutionary War period. Marines have also been referred to as Devil Dogs ( "Teufel Hunden" ) or stormtroopers by the Germans. Other, less flattering terms such as "gyrene" and "jarhead" have been attached as well.
The Marine Corps motto is Semper Fidelis: always faithful. By the way, the guy to the left there, is R. Lee Ermey. He was the drill instructor in Full Metal Jacket. If you thought he was really convincing in the movie that's because he's a retired Marine Drill Instructor. Some other Marines you just might have heard of include: Steve McQueen, Gene Hackman and Drew Carey. The USMC shares its birthday with a few people:
Some USMC blogs:
I have some former Marine friends and I didn't know about this. Shame on them for not letting me in on it. Happy Birthday Marine Corps! ;)