We Are the Marines

Using filmed interviews with actual Marines, historical photographs, newsreels and re-enactments, this documentary relates the history and purpose of the U.S. Marine Corps: The Marines are the first military unit to fight in any land assault. Their historic function is to parry the first blow struck against the United States and to stay in the front lines until the end of the war. Offensive action is the Corps's speciality. The oldest American fighting force, the Marine Corps was founded by the Continental Congress in 1775 and has fought in every U.S. war. The Marines were nicknamed "leathernecks" for the rawhide collars they once wore as protection against the cutlasses of the Barbary pirates in Tripoli in 1801. Next, the film describes the current Corps, as it prepares to do battle with the Japanese: After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, thousands of men join the Marines' all volunteer force and are subjected to its physically demanding training program. "Boots," as the new recruits are called, refer to their rifles, which will remain with them during their military career, as their sweethearts. Some Marines attend special schools or learn to pilot planes in the Naval Air Force. Every pilot must be able to read and interpret reconnaissance photographs. They practice landing in small areas that simulate the deck of an aircraft carrier or the small, rough airfields near war zones. Paramarines, or paratroopers, who receive extra pay, are sent in behind the lines on dangerous hit-and-run missions. As one Marine says, "Training builds confidence; confidence builds courage; and courage plus anger makes the Marine dangerous to Nazis and Japs." During a mission, the first wave of troops land just before dawn in amphibious tractors called "alligators." The second wave accompanies light tanks. Finally, the film discusses the Corps's unprepared condition on 7 Dec 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor: At that time, the Marines have only small detachments on the Pacific islands. On American Samoa, for example, most of the Marines work in support of Pan American Airlines. When word arrives of the Japanese attack, the men there try to hold off the Japanese until reinforcements can arrive and, when reinforcements do not arrive, the Marines fight on until the end. By July 1942, new Marines are trained, confident and on the way to battle.