The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1942-11-05
a 70 M[% d a.
TO-DAY
and
TOMOR ROW
By DON ROBINSON
MARINES
By DON ROBINSON

thought of the U. S. Marines as
being something super-duper a
mong fighting men. I don't recall
any special stories which first
gave me that impression-but l
believe that most of my genera
ton thought of a marine in some
what the same way that the COM
ing generation thinks of Super
man - and that it would take
plenty of spinach eating to ever
become one.
Expressions like "Call out the
marines" and "Tell it to the ma
rines" were commonly used-and
although we didn't know just
where those expressions C a m e
from or just what the stood for,
they helped build up the feeling
that nothing very disastrous could
happen to this county as long as
the marines were taking care of
things.
Later, when I read about the
various exploits of the marines
and the heroic and important part
they have played in so many of
our wars, I was impressed by the
fact that their history actually is
a Superman story. '4} ."a +,
JAPS CUTS
Probably the expression which
has done the most to convince us
that the marines of today are per-
forming in the same heroic man.
ner as their predecessors is the
now famous reply of the COM
manding officer on Wake Island,
who, when asked what he needed
most, cabled back, "Send us more
Japs."
In this war the marines have
certainly had the tough end of the
fighting so far. But from the
Philippines, from Wake, from the
Solomon Islands and from other
Pacific outposts have come one
heroic tale after another telling
how, with typical daredevil spirit
and smart fighting, the marines
have beaten enemy forces which
were vastly superior in number,
in equipment and in everything
else but CUTS.
So the old saying, ''The marines
have landed and have the situa-
ton we'll in hand" seems to apply
in this war as much as ever be-
fore, and the people of this coun-
try already feel that things cant
60 too badly for us as long as
there is a handful of marines
waiting for action at each of the
dangerous crossroads of the world
SPIRIT tradition
Actually, I don't suppose ma
rine is any Drawer or any smarter
or any stronger than the mer
serving in the army or navy. All
so far. have given an excellent
account of themselves in any
fighting which they have en-.
countered.
But there is a spirit which
seems to stand out among the
marines-a spirit which has be.
come tradition and which is in
culcated into every new recruit
which makes him look forward tc
opportunities to tackle the i'm
possible.
AS a consequence, some people
get the impression that marines
are a hard-bitten, weatherbeaten
raucous bunch of veterans-ano
the term Leathernecks, which is
applied to them, emphasizes that
impression. But actually the term
Leatherneck came from a leather
collar which used to be part OF
the marine uniform, and the i'm
preston that they are tough
characters is not sustained by
the facts, except when they are
in contact with the enemy.
The average marine of today is
a young man of 20, from small
town, intelligent, educated and
sound-headed. He might be in
college or trade school learning
a business or profession, except
that he has elected to join the
marines and learn the serious
business of fighting hard enough
and we'll enough to crush the enc
mics of his country.
BIRTHDAY 167t
On November IS the marine
| are celebrating the 10Th anniver
airy of their founding of tn
'reation of the, first corps of ma
ines by a resolution of the Con-
mental Congress passed in ITS
On that day marines all over
he world will pause in their
'uties to listen while the COM
handing officers read the birth
lay proclamation of the United
States marine corps - which has
| L 1901