WAR HISTORY AND FACTS

The US Marine Corps’ “Longest Day” – June 6, 1918 “We wore the army uniform,” wrote Elton Mackin, a United States Marine on the Western Front in 1918, “and only an occasional insignia here and there on pistol holsters, caps, and such identified us as Marine Corps…We were outcasts of the AEF — the Leathernecks. We kept a fierce self-conceit and pride.” Although forced to wear the nondescript apparel of a regular “Doughboy,” the U.S. Marines in Europe during the closing year of World War I fought with no less distinction than in conflicts past or since. During the course of seven months in 1918, the “Teufelhunde” solidified their reputation as an elite fighting force and contributed to the Allied victory on the Western Front.   The lessons learned from their time spent in Europe transformed the corps’ approach to small unit tactics and strategic execution, not only preparing this courageous force for conflicts to come, but also establishing a legacy that Marines to the present day co...