“We found a water pipe, tied the flag to it and put it up. Then all hell broke loose below. Troops cheered, ships blew whistles, some men openly wept.”  ~ Cpl. Charles Lindbergh, flag raising on Iwo Jima

"Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!" - Captain Henry P. "Jim" Crowe, USMC, Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943

"They told (us) to open up the Embassy, or "we'll blow you away." And then they looked up and saw the Marines on the roof with these really big guns, and they said in Somali, "Igaralli ahow" which means "Excuse me, I didn't mean it, my mistake"." ~ Karen Aquilar, in the U.S. Embassy; Mogadishu, Somalia, 1991

"I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." ~ 1stLt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC - in Belleau Wood, 19 July 1918

"Marines I see as two breeds, Rottweilers or Dobermans, because Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny and mean. They're aggressive on the attack and tenacious on defense. They've got really short hair and they always go for the throat." ~ RAdm. "Jay" R. Stark, USN; 10 November 1995

"Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines." ~ Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, USA; 12 February 1918

“We go forward with our heads held high, but look back and remember where we come from.” ~ Col. Michael Hudson | 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit

If a recruit can’t shoot, he can’t be a Marine.”  ~ Warrant Office Anthony Carbonari | Parris Island

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." - PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, 1985

“They say ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.’ In the Marine Corps, you make that horse wish to hell he had.” ~ USMC Drill Instructor