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Military trivia


Perro Del Diablo

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The blood stripe commemorates and honors the battle (don't recall where...possibly in the Mexican War) where all the NCO's were killed or wounded. Come on, gyrenes, what's the correct answer? This ol' Air Force missileer doesn't quite remember all the facts...he once knew.

Stay well and safe!

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USMC officers carry a sword named the Mameluke (after the N. African tribe of the same name). Who was the first Marine to receive this style sword?

 

And, what are the two traditional ceremonial uses for this sword today? {Hint USMC birthday remembrance and weddings}

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3 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

The blood stripe commemorates and honors the battle (don't recall where...possibly in the Mexican War) where all the NCO's were killed or wounded. Come on, gyrenes, what's the correct answer? This ol' Air Force missileer doesn't quite remember all the facts...he once knew.

Stay well and safe!

Yeah, Mexican war. At least that’s the legend. Supposedly from the battle of Chapultepec. But it’s just a legend according to the Marine History Division and the National Museum of the Marine Corps in San Diego. The Marines actually added the stripe to the uniform 6 years before the war. And there were over 400 Marines in the battle. 7 were KIA.

Tradition and Legends die hard. 

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If I had to guess, swords would be used to the wedding to form an arch of swords for the military groom and his bride to walk under. And then at the Marine birthday celebration you would use the Marine sword to cut the birthday cake.

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1 hour ago, Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 said:

They use it to  cut the cake at a wedding, maybe the Marines birthday cake as well.:FlagAm:

Correct on the Nov 10 birthday cake cutting. Take another crack at the wedding.....and it happens at the end of the aisle to the new bride
 

 

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1 hour ago, Alpo said:

If I had to guess, swords would be used to the wedding to form an arch of swords for the military groom and his bride to walk under. And then at the Marine birthday celebration you would use the Marine sword to cut the birthday cake.

Correct on the USMC Bday cake. Good on the sword arch at the end of aisle, but what does the junior officer do with his sword when the bride and groom have passed? 

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1 minute ago, Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme said:

Correct on the USMC Bday cake. Good on the sword arch at the end of aisle, but what does the junior officer do with his sword when the bride and groom have passed? 

Pops the bride on the butt with the flat of the blade.

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13 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Pops the bride on the butt with the flat of the blade.

Hang up callers we have a winner. And, he says “Welcome to the Corps Maam”

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I use my sword to cut The Birtday cake.

 

LT Presley O'Bannon was awarded a mameluke sword by the basha of Tripoli.

 

My sword is an enlisted version and has an enclosed hand guard so it is for a working Marine.  :D

I believe that it is the 1847 Army artillery sword. 

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I once worked with a Coast Guard lieutenant who told the story of cutting his wedding cake with the sword, then handing it to someone who immediately and dutifully put it away in it's scabbard.  

 

Icing and all.  :rolleyes:

 

 

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13 hours ago, Trailrider #896 said:

The blood stripe commemorates and honors the battle (don't recall where...possibly in the Mexican War) where all the NCO's were killed or wounded. Come on, gyrenes, what's the correct answer? This ol' Air Force missileer doesn't quite remember all the facts...he once knew.

Stay well and safe!

The halls of Montezuma

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58 minutes ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

I once worked with a Coast Guard lieutenant who told the story of cutting his wedding cake with the sword, then handing it to someone who immediately and dutifully put it away in it's scabbard.  

 

Icing and all.  :rolleyes:

 

 

That is appropriate for Marine wedding as well usually best man takes the responsibility

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3 minutes ago, Perro Del Diablo said:

That is appropriate for Marine wedding as well usually best man takes the responsibility

 

But the "Best Man" shoulda oughtta wiped the blade first.  Ol' Steve said it was a major mess... kinda hard to clean cake icing out of a sword scabbard - 'specially when it wasn't discovered until some time later.  :lol:

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1 hour ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Okay, how many of you know why Marine officers have a braided quatrefoil on dress covers.

 

Hint: it has to do with Marine snipers in a ship's rigging.

The story I got was that back during the First American Revolution, it being difficult to tell from up in the rigging who was a good guy and who was a bad guy, Marine officers would sew some rope to the top of their cover.

 

"Nope, there's some rope on top of his hat. He's one of us. Oh, okay, that one ain't got no rope. He must be a limey." Ka-POW!!

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9 hours ago, Perro Del Diablo said:

That is appropriate for Marine wedding as well usually best man takes the responsibility

When I got married, I wore my Air Force mess dress (only the one other time...the other was at a dining-in), and I wanted to cut our wedding cake with a sword. Trouble was, at that time, the AF didn't have any swords, sabers (except for the F-86), etc. So I borrowed one from an Army friend of mine.  Don't recall whether it was wiped off before returning it to the scabbard.  If it wasn't, my buddy never said anything. :unsure:

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The Army dress blue uniform has light blue trousers and a dark blue (almost black) jacket.  The story passed around the army is that is hearkens back to the blue uniform of the Civil War.  A soldier on detail would remove the jacket to work, but necessarily kept his trousers on.  Thus, the trousers faded more heavily than did the jacket.

 

The only problem with this is it is COMPLETELY FALSE!!!  The uniform of that time was designed with the trousers already lighter than the jacket, just like the modern one.  Furthermore, the blue uniform goes ALL THE WAY BACK TO WASHINGTON.  Some of you may never have had a blue uniform because throughout much our our recent (aka last 75 years) history it has been on a higher level of dress than the greens were, the equivalent of a tuxedo.  It existed, but it was not issued.  Officers have always been required to purchase it, but the enlisted mostly didn't even know what it was.  In any event, it has always been there, all the way back to Washington.

 

And the TRUE story about why the trousers are lighter than the jacket:  Because Washington liked the style.  Period.

 

 

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The army has a dress WHITE uniform, as well as a MESS WHITE uniform.

 

I'll bet you didn't know that trivia!!!  I've never owned one.  They are only used for formal functions where a dignitary at the rank of "diplomat" or higher are present.  The former is for daytime functions, the latter for evening functions.  

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Sadly, I lost my dress blues overboard.  :rolleyes:  Gee, golly, I was no longer "volunteered" to Marine funerals.:D

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Here’s a story from the Spanish American War. As the army was unloading at Daiquiri Beach a number of horses belonging to the cavalry (most horses were left in Florida but some did accompany the troops) got loose from their leads and began to swim in a herd straight out to sea. No one get them to turn back until a clever officer on the beach ordered the bugler to sound recall. Instantly the horses all did a 180 and swam directly and safely back to shore. 
 

Seamus

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