When Major General John A. Lejeune became Commandant in 1920, he inherited a Marine Corps that had proven itself at Belleau Wood but faced serious questions about its future. Post-World War I America wanted disarmament and drawdowns.

Over the years they have received many monikers, some more irreverent than others: Soldiers of the sea. Teufelhund. Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children. Leatherneck. Jarhead. Crayon eaters. But at the end of 13 grueling weeks of boot camp the most important title remains United States Marine.

A one-day trip to Washington, D.C., was a life-changing event for Marine Corps veteran Leland Dencklau. The trip was the September 2023 version of the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight, which took Iowa veterans from Fort Dodge Regional Airport to see the nation’s war memorials and brought them back that same night to

Most Marines had never seen combat when Peter Ortiz joined the Corps in June 1942. However, he had already survived five years in the French Foreign Legion and fought in Africa, faced the Nazis in France,