WEBVTT 00:04.434 --> 00:06.059 (quiet horn music) 00:06.059 --> 00:09.177 - [Man] A lot of folks ask, what can you learn from history? 00:09.730 --> 00:11.830 History teaches no lessons. 00:11.830 --> 00:15.957 What history does is provides a context so you can look to the future. 00:17.248 --> 00:20.547 In fact, there is no ability to understand the future except from the past. 00:21.140 --> 00:23.370 - [Cpl Kyle Carpenter Voiceover] Our history makes us want to be brave. 00:23.370 --> 00:26.945 Our history is rich with a legacy of Marines 00:26.945 --> 00:31.224 that have made the ultimate sacrifice and have been very willing to do so 00:31.911 --> 00:34.759 because of that bigger purpose that we're taught. 00:35.237 --> 00:37.105 - Happy birthday, Marines. 00:37.105 --> 00:38.528 On 10 November each year, 00:38.709 --> 00:43.326 wherever we are, we pause to celebrate the anniversary of our Corps, 00:43.326 --> 00:47.125 and reflect on who we are, what we do, and why we do it. 00:47.633 --> 00:51.723 Seventy years ago, when our predecessors paused to mark the anniversary of our Corps, 00:51.723 --> 00:55.271 they reflected back on a year of extraordinary combat, 00:55.271 --> 00:58.719 in their amphibious drive across the Pacific. 00:58.719 --> 01:02.131 Despite the challenges and horrific conditions, Marines prevailed 01:02.680 --> 01:04.299 at places like Guam, Saipan and Peleliu. 01:04.299 --> 01:10.191 On 10 November 1944, Marines looked back with pride on their accomplishments, 01:10.191 --> 01:13.233 confident in their ability to meet future challenges. 01:13.233 --> 01:18.415 - [Narrator] During the Pacific Campaign, Marines fought many hard-won battles. 01:18.415 --> 01:24.771 From 15 September to 27 November 1944, the 1st Marine Division fought a determined enemy 01:25.362 --> 01:28.367 of 10,000 strong on the small volcanic island of Peleliu. 01:28.837 --> 01:33.834 - I can remember, I don't think many of us slept the night before, 01:33.834 --> 01:36.332 anticipating the landing the next day. 01:36.332 --> 01:40.965 - As usual, they'd feed you steak and eggs for breakfast, 01:41.218 --> 01:44.968 which is a terrible thing to do to you because you're not used to it at all. 01:44.968 --> 01:53.379 When we went ashore, we got splashed several times with near misses. 01:53.379 --> 01:59.834 - I was up on deck through the night and I remember seeing a crossfire of 01:59.834 --> 02:04.713 anti-aircraft fire in the sky like this, and all of a sudden it burst into flames 02:04.713 --> 02:07.465 and I saw my first airplane shot down. 02:07.465 --> 02:12.263 - We were supposed to go in and there was a Japanese airplane in there. 02:12.467 --> 02:14.289 It had crashed, and that was our pivot point. 02:14.408 --> 02:18.628 We were supposed to go in and pivot to the left and north. 02:18.628 --> 02:26.174 - We were in the middle of setting up a short defense to see which way we were going to go further north. 02:27.598 --> 02:30.187 When we got hit, 02:30.187 --> 02:33.658 it wasn't long after that when we 02:33.715 --> 02:38.546 found out that we were surrounded. 02:38.546 --> 02:43.362 - If there was one thing I believe that is the highest honor for a Marine, 02:43.362 --> 02:46.991 it is the opportunity to fight alongside another Marine. 02:47.493 --> 02:52.710 - And if you look back through our history, you study our history, that's one constant. 02:52.710 --> 02:54.935 And that's one thing that always stands out. 02:54.935 --> 02:58.307 And it's the camaraderie, the esprit de corps, the brotherhood 02:58.307 --> 03:03.350 of being a Marine and never failing, 03:03.770 --> 03:05.205 and always coming through mission accomplishment. 03:05.205 --> 03:10.300 - [Narrator] A costly and controversial battle that would claim the lives of 1,252 Marines 03:10.300 --> 03:12.125 and nearly 11,000 of the enemy, 03:12.573 --> 03:16.038 in an environment of utmost savagery, the Marines prevailed. 03:16.038 --> 03:18.725 They were victorious because they were well-prepared. 03:18.725 --> 03:21.191 They built mental and physical toughness. 03:21.191 --> 03:25.932 They were disciplined and they trusted each other. 03:26.794 --> 03:29.436 (dramatic music) 03:31.468 --> 03:36.548 - In 2004, 20,000 Marines deployed to the Anbar Province in Iraq. 03:36.548 --> 03:43.012 Many Marines spent that birthday in combat in places like Ramadi, Al Qaim and Fallujah. 03:44.176 --> 03:45.432 (gunfire) 03:45.679 --> 03:49.276 - [Narrator] Marines would once again find themselves sent to root out an entrenched 03:49.872 --> 03:53.727 and determined enemy, this time in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, Iraq. 03:53.727 --> 03:57.872 It was some of the heaviest urban combat Marines had been involved in 03:58.331 --> 04:00.643 since Hue City in 1968. 04:00.643 --> 04:03.627 - [GySgt Aubrey McDade Jr] We received our mission statement as to what we were supposed to do 04:04.068 --> 04:06.788 when we entered the city of Fallujah. 04:06.788 --> 04:09.850 And pretty much it was eliminate all threats, for the most part, in a nutshell. 04:11.168 --> 04:13.779 They had already received a warning. 04:13.779 --> 04:15.556 Anyone that's left in the city 04:15.634 --> 04:19.709 were considered combatants or whatever the case may be. 04:19.709 --> 04:21.699 And our mission was pretty much to clear the city of Fallujah 04:22.204 --> 04:23.949 to return it to the people. 04:23.949 --> 04:28.194 - During the course of that battle, when I was trapped and wounded, 04:28.194 --> 04:32.709 bleeding outside the house, if I ever had any doubts during that period 04:33.197 --> 04:37.511 of making it out alive or making it out of that building, I always knew 04:37.511 --> 04:41.637 without any doubt whatsoever that I would make it out. 04:41.637 --> 04:46.954 Because those Marines that were a part of that unit, I just had that much confidence 04:46.954 --> 04:50.661 in them and their abilities that they would somehow figure out a way 04:50.661 --> 04:54.136 to find a way to never leave a Marine behind. 04:54.136 --> 04:56.492 - It's that camaraderie that makes us elite. 04:56.492 --> 04:59.468 It's the whole combined-arms team, so here we are as a tank company, 04:59.468 --> 05:02.471 and we couldn't move forward without the infantry to our left to our right. 05:02.471 --> 05:05.500 We couldn't move forward without the logisticians supporting the fuel, 05:05.500 --> 05:10.153 the trucks, the bulldozers, the close-air support, the artillery support that we were getting. 05:10.153 --> 05:16.350 The mortars, it all came together and I think every Marine in that city felt that. 05:16.350 --> 05:17.658 They understood that. 05:17.658 --> 05:20.242 - The Marines who fought in the Battle of Fallujah are 100% warriors. 05:20.242 --> 05:25.826 They should always been proud of the jobs they did and how well they performed 05:26.834 --> 05:28.713 and who they were and what they stood for. 05:28.713 --> 05:33.869 Like all times in history, through all generations of the Marine Corps, 05:33.869 --> 05:39.850 those young Marines stepped up to the plate and executed and overcame 05:39.850 --> 05:42.283 great odds to become victorious in the end. 05:42.283 --> 05:45.043 - [Lahm] I think I would rather fight in the jungle. 05:45.043 --> 05:51.264 Not all types of jungle, but rather a Guadalcanal type of jungle, 05:51.264 --> 05:57.392 or the Korea type of war, than Fallujah. 05:57.392 --> 06:01.699 From what I know about it, the door to door stuff, you don't know who your enemy is. 06:01.699 --> 06:07.290 That would be nerve-wracking, we at least knew where our enemy was most the time. 06:07.711 --> 06:11.584 - [Narrator] Like Peleliu, the battle for Fallujah was the bloodiest of the Iraq War. 06:11.584 --> 06:16.035 Coalition forces suffered more than 100 killed and 600 wounded. 06:16.035 --> 06:21.182 More than 2,000 insurgents died and 1,500 were captured. 06:21.182 --> 06:26.427 - Looking back at our history, whether Marines are storming beaches 06:26.427 --> 06:29.528 in World War II, or Marines are patrolling the streets of Iraq, 06:29.528 --> 06:36.113 our warrior mentality, what we stand for, our customs and courtesies, 06:36.113 --> 06:38.257 our love for each other, our love for the Marine Corps, 06:38.257 --> 06:43.516 and our history, since the founding of this nation, the people that we've protected 06:43.516 --> 06:46.257 and the ideas and the freedoms that we've fought for. 06:46.257 --> 06:51.633 - As we celebrate the 239th birthday of our Corps, Marines are in combat in Helmand Province. 06:51.633 --> 06:54.102 And since we last gathered to celebrate, 06:54.577 --> 06:59.559 Marines responded to crises in the Philippines, South Sudan, Libya and Iraq. 06:59.559 --> 07:01.271 Some things change. 07:01.761 --> 07:05.024 This year found us in different climes and places than our predecessors. 07:05.494 --> 07:12.011 Our organization, our equipment, and our training has certainly changed 07:12.011 --> 07:13.077 since World War II. 07:13.077 --> 07:17.276 - What we do in recruit training, whether it's San Diego or Parris Island, 07:17.716 --> 07:22.867 what we do at Quantico in terms of training our officers and later all of our Marines, 07:22.867 --> 07:27.737 it instills something into each of us that's hard to explain. 07:27.737 --> 07:31.733 - I've lived on the side of civilian and child of the Marine Corps, 07:32.235 --> 07:35.437 so going in and gonna hopefully become a Marine myself, 07:35.437 --> 07:39.023 I know that the Marine Corps will properly train me for whatever situation is thrown my way. 07:39.023 --> 07:41.115 That's never been a question. 07:41.115 --> 07:42.297 They're the best of the best. 07:42.310 --> 07:46.846 - Honor, courage and commitment means to me that I'll be able to wear the title 07:46.846 --> 07:49.904 of United States Marine on my shoulders for the rest of my life, no matter how 07:49.904 --> 07:55.439 long I'm in the Marine Corps, if it's four years or 20 plus. 07:55.439 --> 07:58.781 - I joined the Marine Corps because I wanted to accept the challenge. 07:58.781 --> 08:02.425 Nobody thought I could do it, so it was to prove myself 08:02.425 --> 08:04.415 and everybody else wrong. 08:04.415 --> 08:07.398 - As I look and talk with some of the young Marines today, 08:07.398 --> 08:11.793 it's obvious that they're as eager to be a Marine as I was. 08:11.793 --> 08:13.886 And that makes me feel good. 08:13.886 --> 08:20.062 - The equipment of today that they have to fight with is awesome. 08:20.062 --> 08:24.690 - We've learned lessons going back from hand to hand combat in World War I 08:24.690 --> 08:29.257 to the house to house fighting in Hue City in Vietnam, 08:29.257 --> 08:33.171 and so as long as we keep up with the lessons that we've learned 08:33.171 --> 08:35.325 from the Marines that have come before us, we should be just fine. 08:35.325 --> 08:37.047 - Some things never change. 08:37.287 --> 08:40.380 Marines attack this year's challenges with the same courage, commitment, 08:40.380 --> 08:47.956 loyalty, self-sacrifice and adaptability as their predecessors at Peleliu and Fallujah. 08:47.956 --> 08:53.625 For that reason, on 10 November 2014, we Marines can look back with pride 08:53.625 --> 08:58.102 in our accomplishments, confident in our ability to meet future challenges. 08:58.102 --> 09:01.796 - [Man Voiceover] Marines are something special. 09:02.246 --> 09:06.537 They have a commitment to being at their best when the times are at their worst. 09:06.537 --> 09:11.429 They have the commitment to being the most ready when the nation's least ready. 09:11.894 --> 09:16.182 They have a commitment to each other that even at the cost of their own lives, 09:16.669 --> 09:20.514 they will stand by each other, no matter what is going on on the battlefield. 09:22.220 --> 09:25.317 (gentle horn music) 09:25.345 --> 09:28.196 - We are going to continue to live hard, train hard and fight hard, 09:28.629 --> 09:33.336 providing our nation the capability to contain crisis, fill the gap, or hold the line. 09:33.336 --> 09:36.546 And like yesterday, we are ready to leave tonight. 09:36.668 --> 09:39.813 - Happy Birthday, Marines, and semper fidelis. 09:39.813 --> 09:41.899 (cheering and laughing)