From Seamus' "All Hands" mailing list comes this information on the history of the Marine Corps emblem...
All Hands:
I have been doing this All Hands thing for a number of years now, and sometimes I get the opportunity to post an All Hands that is actually "fun to do." This is one of those All Hands.
The Marine Corps is steeped in traditions, young and old, and Marines thrive on our traditions. In 1990, one of these traditions was started, and I hope it remains, forever, in the lore of the Marine Corps.
The Eagle Globe and Anchor of our Corps has changed throughout the years, and the present emblem was established on 22 June, 1954, by executive Order, signed by President Dwight Eisenhower. The design was by Commandant General Lemuel C Shepard Jr.
From this date on, all enlisted Marines wore an emblem with the anchor fouled. A "fouled anchor" is defined as an anchor with chain or line (rope) wrapped around it one or more times. Marine officers did not adopt this fouled anchor until 1962, which is the year that I went into the Marine Corps. This means that after 1962, any Marine without the fouled anchor emblem is out of uniform, a very unsatisfactory thing for any Marine to do.
However, a continuing tradition does allow one Marine, who is authorized to wear unfouled emblems in the Marine Corps, and he is the Platoon Commander of the Marine Silent Drill Platoon. The "world's finest drill team" is stationed at Marine Barracks Washington (MBW), or also known as 8th & I. The Barracks is presently under the command of Col Terry Lockard.
The following, by LtCol Giles Kyser, is the history behind this living tradition in our Corps.
The Emblems
LtCol Giles Kyser, Silent Drill Platoon Commander, 1989-1990
In April of 1990, while I was Platoon Commander for the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, the Battle Color Detachment (made up of the Silent Drill Platoon, The Marine Corps Color Guard, and the Commandant's Own, United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps), conducted a Battle Color ceremony in Mobile, Alabama. At the conclusion of the ceremony, one of the patrons for our visit joined me at the hotel where the Detachment was staying for the weekend. The gentleman's name was Mr. Tom Krebs, and, as it turned out, he was a former Marine. He had served as a Captain in our Corps during Vietnam. In gratitude for the performance of the Marines, he provided some beer for our enjoyment and he and I proceeded to get to know each other over the next few hours as we watched the Marines get "ten feet tall and bulletproof."
During the course of our conversation, I was able to find out that Mr. Krebs was the son-in-law of General Holland M., "Howlin Mad," Smith of World War II fame. I was very intrigued about Mr. Krebs' knowledge of the General, and we had a magnificent conversation about one of the heroes of our Corps. Later during the conversation Mr. Krebs related that he "had some of the General's uniform items" to include his "dress blue" collar emblems that the General had worn at his commissioning at the Barracks during the early part of the century. He then related that he thought they should “stay in the Corps' as opposed to "collecting dust" and offered them to me personally.
I was of course speechless with respect to this generosity, but then thought of a different course of action. I recommended to Mr. Krebs, that rather than having the emblems stay with me personally that we make the emblems the possession of Marine Barracks Washington, DC and that the emblems be worn only by the serving Platoon Commander of the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. I related that I thought that having them remain at the Barracks and with the Platoon Commander in perpetuity would honor General Smith's memory through a highly visible manner and create yet another means to honor the memory of a legendary Marine and his leadership.
Mr. Krebs heartily agreed to the proposal and as a result, yearly, signs an agreement with each new Platoon Commander regarding the safeguarding and wear of General Smith's emblems. I also added a caveat for the wear of the emblems. I stipulated that the Platoon Commander would not be authorized to wear the emblems until he had completed reading the biography of General Smith, "A Fighting General" by Dr. Norman V. Cooper. To this day, the emblems remain in the custody of the Platoon Commander of the Silent Drill Platoon.
Very respectfully,
James Giles Kyser IV
Lieutenant Colonel, USMC
All Hands:
I have been doing this All Hands thing for a number of years now, and sometimes I get the opportunity to post an All Hands that is actually "fun to do." This is one of those All Hands.
The Marine Corps is steeped in traditions, young and old, and Marines thrive on our traditions. In 1990, one of these traditions was started, and I hope it remains, forever, in the lore of the Marine Corps.
The Eagle Globe and Anchor of our Corps has changed throughout the years, and the present emblem was established on 22 June, 1954, by executive Order, signed by President Dwight Eisenhower. The design was by Commandant General Lemuel C Shepard Jr.
From this date on, all enlisted Marines wore an emblem with the anchor fouled. A "fouled anchor" is defined as an anchor with chain or line (rope) wrapped around it one or more times. Marine officers did not adopt this fouled anchor until 1962, which is the year that I went into the Marine Corps. This means that after 1962, any Marine without the fouled anchor emblem is out of uniform, a very unsatisfactory thing for any Marine to do.
However, a continuing tradition does allow one Marine, who is authorized to wear unfouled emblems in the Marine Corps, and he is the Platoon Commander of the Marine Silent Drill Platoon. The "world's finest drill team" is stationed at Marine Barracks Washington (MBW), or also known as 8th & I. The Barracks is presently under the command of Col Terry Lockard.
The following, by LtCol Giles Kyser, is the history behind this living tradition in our Corps.
The Emblems
LtCol Giles Kyser, Silent Drill Platoon Commander, 1989-1990
In April of 1990, while I was Platoon Commander for the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, the Battle Color Detachment (made up of the Silent Drill Platoon, The Marine Corps Color Guard, and the Commandant's Own, United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps), conducted a Battle Color ceremony in Mobile, Alabama. At the conclusion of the ceremony, one of the patrons for our visit joined me at the hotel where the Detachment was staying for the weekend. The gentleman's name was Mr. Tom Krebs, and, as it turned out, he was a former Marine. He had served as a Captain in our Corps during Vietnam. In gratitude for the performance of the Marines, he provided some beer for our enjoyment and he and I proceeded to get to know each other over the next few hours as we watched the Marines get "ten feet tall and bulletproof."
During the course of our conversation, I was able to find out that Mr. Krebs was the son-in-law of General Holland M., "Howlin Mad," Smith of World War II fame. I was very intrigued about Mr. Krebs' knowledge of the General, and we had a magnificent conversation about one of the heroes of our Corps. Later during the conversation Mr. Krebs related that he "had some of the General's uniform items" to include his "dress blue" collar emblems that the General had worn at his commissioning at the Barracks during the early part of the century. He then related that he thought they should “stay in the Corps' as opposed to "collecting dust" and offered them to me personally.
I was of course speechless with respect to this generosity, but then thought of a different course of action. I recommended to Mr. Krebs, that rather than having the emblems stay with me personally that we make the emblems the possession of Marine Barracks Washington, DC and that the emblems be worn only by the serving Platoon Commander of the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. I related that I thought that having them remain at the Barracks and with the Platoon Commander in perpetuity would honor General Smith's memory through a highly visible manner and create yet another means to honor the memory of a legendary Marine and his leadership.
Mr. Krebs heartily agreed to the proposal and as a result, yearly, signs an agreement with each new Platoon Commander regarding the safeguarding and wear of General Smith's emblems. I also added a caveat for the wear of the emblems. I stipulated that the Platoon Commander would not be authorized to wear the emblems until he had completed reading the biography of General Smith, "A Fighting General" by Dr. Norman V. Cooper. To this day, the emblems remain in the custody of the Platoon Commander of the Silent Drill Platoon.
Very respectfully,
James Giles Kyser IV
Lieutenant Colonel, USMC
Graphic courtesy of Doug Kidd
(right click image, then "Save as")
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