A Few Good Men

A Few Good Men
Author: Ronald J. Brown
Publisher:
Total Pages: 472
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN:

The service record of the Fighting Fifth covers almost all significant Marine Corps activities, combats and otherwise, of the twentieth century.

How the Few Became the Proud

How the Few Became the Proud
Author: Heather Venable
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2019-11-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1682474828

For more than half of its existence, members of the Marine Corps largely self-identified as soldiers. It did not yet mean something distinct to be a Marine, either to themselves or to the public at large. As neither a land-based organization like the Army nor an entirely sea-based one like the Navy, the Corps' missions overlapped with both institutions. This work argues that the Marine Corps could not and would not settle on a mission, and therefore it turned to an image to ensure its institutional survival. The process by which a maligned group of nineteenth-century naval policemen began to consider themselves to be elite warriors benefited from the active engagement of Marine officers with the Corps' historical record as justification for its very being. Rather than look forward and actively seek out a mission that could secure their existence, late nineteenth-century Marines looked backward and embraced the past. They began to justify their existence by invoking their institutional traditions, their many martial engagements, and their claim to be the nation's oldest and proudest military institution. This led them to celebrate themselves as superior to soldiers and sailors. Although there are countless works on this hallowed fighting force, How the Few Became the Proud is the first to explore how the Marine Corps crafted such powerful myths.

A Few Bad Men

A Few Bad Men
Author: Major Fred Galvin USMC (Ret.)
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2022-06-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1637584148

Ambushed in Afghanistan and betrayed by their own leaders—these elite Marines fought for their lives again, back home. A cross between A Few Good Men and American Sniper, this is the true story of an elite Marine special operations unit bombed by an IED and shot at during an Afghanistan ambush. The Marine Commandos were falsely accused of gunning down innocent Afghan civilians following the ambush. The unit’s leader, Maj. Fred Galvin, was summarily relieved of duty and his unit was booted from the combat zone. They were condemned by everyone, from the Afghan president to American generals. When Fox Company returned to America, Galvin and his captain were the targets of the first Court of Inquiry in the Marines in fifty years. “Fred Galvin is the real deal. His dramatic retelling of his experience as commander of Fox Company reads like a thriller, full of twists and turns, filled with unassuming heroes and deceitful villains.” — Rob Lorenz, Producer/Director, American Sniper, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Mystic River, The Marksman “Fred Galvin has written a real ‘page turner’ that demonstrates how politics permeates The Pentagon and posts abroad…I highly recommend this book.” — J.D. Hayworth, U.S. House of Representatives (Arizona), TV/Radio Host “This book is a must-read for every American who wants to know why, after twenty long years in Afghanistan, we did not win.” — Jessie Jane Duff, USMC, Analyst, CNN and FOX “A Few Bad Men is a must-read story of valor, betrayal, and keeping the Marines’ honor clean.” — Jed Babbin, USAF Judge Advocate, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Journalist, National Review, Washington Post “An incredible account and history of the fighting spirit of the ‘Marine Raiders’ under fire and the relentless fourteen-year campaign by their leader to clear their names.” — Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, U.S. Army (Ret.), Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command

First to Fight

First to Fight
Author: V H Krulak
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 1999-02-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612511619

In this riveting insider's chronicle, legendary Marine General "Brute" Krulak submits an unprecedented examination of U.S. Marines—their fights on the battlefield and off, their extraordinary esprit de corps. Deftly blending history with autobiography, action with analysis, and separating fact from fable, General Krulak touches the very essence of the Corps: what it means to be a Marine and the reason behind its consistently outstanding performance and reputation. Krulak also addresses the most basic but challenging question of all about the Corps: how does it manage to survive—even to flourish—despite overwhelming political odds and, as the general writes, ""an extraordinary propensity for shooting itself in the foot?"" To answer this question Krulak examines the foundation on which the Corps is built, a system of intense loyalty to God, to country, and to other Marines. He also takes a close look at Marines in war, offering challenging accounts of their experiences in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In addition, he describes the Corps's relationship to other services, especially during the unification battles following World War II, and offers new insights into the decision-making process in times of crisis. First published in hardcover in 1984, this book has remained popular ever since with Marines of every rank.

The Chosen Few

The Chosen Few
Author: Gregg Zoroya
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2017-02-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 0306824841

The never-before-told story of one of the most decorated units in the war in Afghanistan and its fifteen-month ordeal that culminated in the 2008 Battle of Wanat, the war's deadliest A single company of US paratroopers--calling themselves the "Chosen Few"--arrived in eastern Afghanistan in late 2007 hoping to win the hearts and minds of the remote mountain people and extend the Afghan government's reach into this wilderness. Instead, they spent the next fifteen months in a desperate struggle, living under almost continuous attack, forced into a slow and grinding withdrawal, and always outnumbered by Taliban fighters descending on them from all sides. Month after month, rocket-propelled grenades, rockets, and machine-gun fire poured down on the isolated and exposed paratroopers as America's focus and military resources shifted to Iraq. Just weeks before the paratroopers were to go home, they faced their last--and toughest--fight. Near the village of Wanat in Nuristan province, an estimated three hundred enemy fighters surrounded about fifty of the Chosen Few and others defending a partially finished combat base. Nine died and more than two dozen were wounded that day in July 2008, making it arguably the bloodiest battle of the war in Afghanistan. The Chosen Few would return home tempered by war. Two among them would receive the Medal of Honor. All of them would be forever changed.

Through the Wheat

Through the Wheat
Author: Edwin H. Simmons
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2008
Genre: History
ISBN:

"The U.S. Marines entered World War I as a small force of seagoing light infantry that had rarely faced a well-armed enemy. On a single faced day, in their initial assault "through the wheat" on Belleau Wood against German machine guns and poison gas shells, the Marines suffered more casualties than they had experienced in all their previous 142 years. Yet at Belleau Wood, Soissons, Blanc Mont, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne the Marines proved themselves to be hard-nosed diehards with an affinity for close combat. Nearly a century later Belleau Wood still resonates as a touchstone battle of the Corps." "Two retired Marines, well known for their achievements both in uniform and with the pen, have recorded this rich history in a way that only insiders can. Brig. Gen. Edwin H. Simmons and Col. Joseph H. Alexander recount events and colorful personalities in telling detail, capturing the spirit that earned the 4th Marine Brigade three awards of the French Croix de Guerre and launched the first pioneering detachments of "Flying Leathernecks." Here, hand-to-hand combat seen through the lenses of a gas mask is accompanied by thought-provoking assessments of the war's impact on the Marine Corps."--Jacket.

-- and a Few Marines

-- and a Few Marines
Author: John C. Chapin
Publisher: U.S. Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 32
Release: 1997
Genre: History
ISBN:

Once a Marine

Once a Marine
Author: Nick Popaditch
Publisher: Savas Beatie
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1611210372

The Silver Star–awarded marine chronicles his service in Iraq in this “transcendent memoir of military service and its personal consequences” (Ralph Peters, Lt. Col., ret., author of Looking For Trouble). In April, 2003, an AP photographer captured a striking image seen around the world of Gunny Sergeant Nick Popaditch smoking a victory cigar in his tank, the haunting statue of Saddam Hussein hovering in the background. Though immortalized in that moment as “The Cigar Marine,” Popaditch’s fighting was far from over. The following year, he fought heroically in the battle for Fallujah and suffered grievous head wounds that left him legally blind and partially deaf. But he faced the toughest fight of his life when he returned home: the battle to remain the man and Marine he was. At first, Nick fights to get back to where he was in Iraq-in the cupola of an M1A1 main battle tank, leading Marines in combat. As the seriousness and permanence of his disabilities become more evident, Nick fights to remain in the Corps in any capacity and help his brothers in arms. Then, following a medical retirement, he battles for rightful recognition and compensation for his disabilities. Throughout his harrowing ordeal, Nick fights to maintain his honor and loyalty, waging all these battles the same way—the Marine way—because anything less would be a betrayal of all he holds dear.

First to Fight

First to Fight
Author: Oscar E. Gilbert
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2017-09-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612005098

“An amazingly detailed account of the American Expeditionary Force at Belleau Wood in 1918” from the authors of Tanks in Hell (Books Monthly). “Retreat, hell! We just got here!” The words of Capt. Lloyd Williams at Belleau Wood in June 1918 entered United States Marine Corps legend, and the Marine brigade’s actions there—along with the censor’s failure to take out the name of the brigade in the battle reports—made the Corps famous. The Marines went to war as part of the American Expeditionary Force, bitterly resented by the Army and Gen. Pershing. The Army tried to use them solely as labor troops and replacements, but the German spring offensive of 1918 forced the issue. The French begged Pershing to commit his partially trained men, and two untested American divisions, supported by British and French units, were thrown into the path of five German divisions. Three horrific weeks later, the Marines held the entirety of Belleau Wood. The Marines then fought in the almost-forgotten Blanc Mont Ridge Offensive in October, as well as in every well-known AEF action until the end of the war. This book looks at all the operations of the Marine Corps in World War I, covers the activities of both ground and air units, and considers the units that supported the Marine brigade. It examines how, during the war years, the Marine Corps changed from a small organization of naval security detachments to an elite land combat force. “The goal of revealing the thoughts and actions of individual soldiers in battle is achieved admirably here.” —The Journal of America’s Military Past