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759. The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November,
1921, and hereafter on the 10th of November of every year. Should the
order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it will be read upon
receipt.
(1) On November
10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental
Congress. Since that date many thousand men have borne the name "Marine".
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.
(2) The record of
our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous
military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146
years of its existence the Marine Corps has been in action against the
Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have
won foremost honors in war, and is the long eras of tranquility at home,
generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both
hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country
and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.
(3) In every battle
and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves
with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until
the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest
in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.
(4) This high name
of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received
from those who preceded us in the corps. With it we have also received
from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation
to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in
every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will
be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in
the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors
to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers
of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.
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