Pierre “Peter” Ortiz: The Marine Who Fought a Secret War
Few Marines lived a life quite like **Pierre “Peter” Julien Ortiz**. Before joining the United States Marine Corps, Ortiz had already served in the French Foreign Legion, fo…
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The Last Marines to Leave Saigon
## April 1975, the Embassy Evacuation, and the Final Hours of the Vietnam War For years, American Marines had arrived in Vietnam by helicopter. On the morning of April 30, 19…
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The Battle of Okinawa: Marines at the Gates of Japan
By the spring of 1945, the United States Marine Corps had fought its way across the Pacific. Guadalcanal. Tarawa. Saipan. Tinian. Peleliu. Iwo Jima. Each battle had moved Ame…
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The Corpsmen Who Go Into Battle With the Marines
When Marines go into combat, there is often a sailor among them. He wears the Marine uniform. He carries Marine equipment. He trains alongside Marines, sleeps where they sleep, …
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The Marine Corps’ Six-Barreled Monster
It looked like someone had taken a tiny armored vehicle and strapped six enormous rifles to the outside. That description isn't far from the truth. The **M50 Ontos** was one …
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The Battle of Hue
Before dawn on January 31, 1968, the ancient Vietnamese city of Hue erupted into battle. As part of the massive **Tet Offensive**, thousands of North Vietnamese Army and Viet Co…
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Tarawa: The 76 Hours That Changed Amphibious Warfare
The Marines were told the island would be taken quickly. Betio was tiny—barely two miles long and only a few hundred yards wide in places. Naval guns and aircraft would pound …
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The Marine Corps’ “Flying Boxcar”: The CH-46 Sea Knight
For more than half a century, one helicopter became one of the most familiar sights in the United States Marine Corps. It wasn't sleek. It wasn't particularly fast. And co…
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Marine Raiders: From World War II Island Raids to Modern Special Operations
Few names in Marine Corps history carry the same mixture of secrecy, courage and legend as the Marine Raiders. The original Raiders were created during the darkest days of World…
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Bridgeport: Where Marines Learn to Fight the Mountain
High in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains lies one of the Marine Corps’ most remote and demanding training installations: the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center. …
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End of an Era: Marine Corps Retires the AV-8B Harrier II
On June 3, 2026, the Marine Corps formally said farewell to one of the most distinctive aircraft ever to wear American military markings. Marines with Marine Attack Squadron 223 he…
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The History of the TOW Missile in the Marine Corps
For generations of Marine anti-tank missilemen, few sounds were as distinctive as the launch of a TOW missile. The blast, cloud of dust and guidance wires trailing behind the missi…
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