This painting resembles the Battle of Chapultepec, a battle fought between the US Marine Corps and Mexican regulars. 130 Marines were killed in the battle, with 703 others wounded and 29 missing. Mexican losses in the battle were over 1,800 killed or wounded and 823 captured. The battle ended when the commander of the Mexican defenders, General Nicolás Bravo, was captured by the Marines and his forces retreated. |
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The proud man you see above is none other than the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael W. Hagee. A veteran of Vietnam, General Hagee commanded US Marines and has won many notable awards, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal. He began his service as CMC in the year 2003. |
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This painting resembles the Battle of Belleau Wood, the bloodiest and most ferocious battle fought by US forces in World War I. The battle was fought between June 1 and June 26 of 1918. 9,777 Allied soldiers were killed in this battle, including US Marines as well as elements of the French 6th Army and the British IX Corps. Also in this battle, Marine Captain Lloyd Williams uttered his famous retort to retreating French forces who repeatedly urged the Marines to turn back. His retort was "Retreat, hell. We just got here.". Another famous phrase was spoken by the legendary Marine Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly, one of only two Marines to be twice awarded the Medal of Honor. The phrase spoken by him was meant to motivate his platoon of pinned down Marines. The phrase: "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?". After the opposing German forces were defeated, the French renamed the wood "Bois de la Brigade de Marine" ("Wood of the Marine Brigade"). One more reason this battle is so famous is it happens to be the battle in which the Marines gained their nickname "Teufelshunde" (often misspelled "Teufel Hunden"), or Devil Dogs in German. The Germans themselves gave the Marines this nickname, due to their ferocity when assaulting the German lines. |
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