INTRODUCTION

The United States Marine Corps traces its history to November 10, 1775, seven months before the 13 American colonies declared their independence from the British Crown. Since then, the role of the Marine Corps has evolved during two-and-a-half centuries of war and peace.

Initially conceived as shipboard infantry that would find among their primary tasks the maintenance of security between officers and crewmen—effectively a deterrent to mutiny—and the armed contingent that would board an enemy vessel in close combat, the Marines were also to be capable of fighting on land.

During its history, the Marine Corps has deployed to hotspots around the world, from Latin America to Southeast Asia, and from the Mediterranean coast of Africa to the continent of Europe. Its sternest test, however, occurred during World War II as the Marines served as the primary ground force during the offensive that traversed the Central and South Pacific through a series of bloody encounters against determined Japanese defenders, carrying the fight to the very doorstep of the Home Islands.

In the process, the Marines made otherwise obscure and practically worthless spits of land—Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and others—household words. Amphibious warfare—transport across a vast expanse of ocean and then landing on hostile beaches and advancing inland to take control of enemy-occupied territory—became the hallmark of the modern Marine Corps. From 1942 to 1945, the Marines experienced some of the harshest combat in modern military history. They suffered horrific casualties, often perfecting processes and tactics as they advanced, and refused to accept anything short of the ultimate victory.

The emergence of the Marine role in modern amphibious warfare emanated from the realization that safeguarding American interests in Europe and the Pacific, particularly in light of the nation’s overseas possessions gained following the Spanish-American War, required an expeditionary force that could be transported and deployed by naval vessels and capable of establishing advance bases and conducting sustained offensive or defensive operations.

Initial conceptualization of such a force was decidedly defensive in nature, and in 1913 the Advance Base Force was established. Comprised of two regiments, including infantry and field artillery for mobile defense and coast artillery, engineers, and other specialists for static defense, the fledgling force numbered 1750 officers and men. The following year, an aviation detachment was included with the Advance Base Force. Established in the spring of 1912, when Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham was detailed for flight training and later designated Naval Aviator No. 5 and Marine Aviator No. 1, Marine aviation was in its infancy.