In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.Ģ. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name "Marine". On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Should the order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it will be read upon receipt.ġ. The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November, 1921, and hereafter on the 10th of November of every year. Every year since he issued the order in November 1921, his words continue to honor the legacy of his beloved Marine Corps:ħ59. It is also because of Lejeune that the celebration of the Marine Corps birthday would become such a time-honored formal tradition. Shortly after returning from the war, he was appointed Major General and Commandant of the Marine Corps.ĭuring his time as Commandant, he is credited with founding the Marine Corps League, making marked improvements to training, equipping, education and organization, and transforming the Marine Corps into the amphibious fighting force that would dominate the Pacific theater of World War II. For his accomplishments, Lejeune was awarded the Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre from the French, as well as the US Army and US Navy’s Distinguished Service Medals. Lejeune become the second Marine to ever command a US Army division, leading the 2nd Division to victory in many battles to include the Battle of St. However, it was his success in World War I that would garner him renown.
From that point on, he would command Marines for the nearly forty years.įrom the Spanish-American War to the Philippine-American War, to the Battle of Veracruz during the Mexican Revolution and conflicts in Central America and the Caribbean, Lejeune’s battle proven prowess and exemplary leadership would earn him numerous awards, promotions, elevated positions within the Corps. After completing his two-year cruise, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1890. On this 247th Marine Corps birthday, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) salutes all Marines and pays tribute to the man who has been called the “greatest of all leathernecks,” the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune.īorn in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana in 1867, Lejeune entered the US Naval Academy in 1884 and graduated second in his class in 1888. WASHINGTON - We have all heard a lot about Camp Lejeune as of late, but what do we know about the man it is named for?
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