Evening star., 1943-11-12

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war. Denied an David Lawrence.
opportunity to participate on a big
scale in the North African or Medi-
terranean operations, the marines
have been concentrating on the
Pacific, where their prowess as the
greatest force of amphibious fight
ers in the world comes in handy
during : war in which island
hopping and the capture of air
fields is so vital to the ultimate
victory.
Today the war against Japan is
further along largely because of the
fact that the marines not only at
tackled, but held Guadalcanal and
made possible the gradual advance
OF our flag through the different
islands of the Solomons. The United
States Navy would not today have
bases to store fuel and supplies for
Its ships, and the air forces would
not have certain strategic airfields
in the Solomons for use in the attack
on Rabaul, if the American marines
had not fought so valiantly, not only
against the japanese, but against
the malarial climate.
Unparalleled Task.
The general public probably does
not realize that every gallon of oil
and every pound of ammunition has
to be carried from 1000 to 10000
miles across the Pacific, and that
the cargo ships and tankers must be
protected by naval escorts which. in
turn, consume oil and supplies, in
cluding enough to make also the
return journey.
To get bases established 1000 miles
or more away from a continental
United States has been the task Of
the marines-an assignment un-
paralleled in the history of this
country.
The marines are a self-contained
= unit only In the sense that they have
. distinctive insignia and organiza-
ton, but they are an integral part
OF the United States Navy. Their
training and traditional spirit fits in
we'll with the needs Of an amphibious
force to fight the Japanese.
The Marines are a highly trained
outfit and they have their own avia-
ton personnel and equipment but
they are taught to work with the
Navy. Thus the land operations of
the Marines are always accom-
panied so far as possible by dive
bomber squadrons which help to
clean out enemy artillery and ma
chlne-eun nests on the beaches. 1T
will be recalled that at Salerno the
Army suffered heavy losses because
OF the absence of dive bombing
planes to assist the ground troops.
The Army has not gone in for
dive-bombing, but the Navy and the
Marine Corps believe in it. AS a
matter Of fact, in the Pacific, the
Army flyers have adopted some of
the Navy ideas by developing a
mast-level bombing technique
which accomplishes some of the
same purposes as bombing. To
strike at ships, low-level bombing
has proved most effective.
Man to- Man Combat.
The Marines, to be sure, are pri-
marily concerned with ground oper-
ations after the landing has been
made. Their principal fighting has
been In the jungles where man-to-
man combat has been the rule
rather than the exception. The rig
orous physical routine given the
Marines before they are permitted
to embark for Pacific bases has been
especially helpful in fitting them for
the jungle warfare on which the
Japanese troops count so much.
A tough set Of men, possessed of
IN indomitable spirit, resourceful-
ness and skill in individual combat.
the Marines are not being used in
the European theater as they were
In the World War only because they
are being saved and trained espe-
cially for the big job that lies ahead
In the Pacific.
When the time comes to take
back the Philippines and the Meth
erlands East Indies, and when the
time comes to take back some of
those valuable islands in the middle
OF the Pacific from which we shall
send heavy planes to bomb Japan
some day, it will be the Marines who
will do the job protected. Of course
by the battleships, cruisers, destroy
ers and aircraft carriers of the
United States Navy.
1t Is no disparagement of the
Army units to speak of the Marines
as better qualified for smphibious
operations, but the fact is our mill
tary leaders planned it that way
and gave the Marines the training
especially for the tasks they are
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