Veterans' Day Tribute, Nov '09

This year, as we have done in our first two years, New American Truth wants to express our sincere appreciation to all of the men and women who have served our great nation through military service. Last year our editor made the mistake of not including the Coast Guard in the November issue and had to do an apology piece in the December article. Properly chastised, he’s made sure we include the Coast Guard this year – the first time. The following is a brief history of each branch of service, how long they’ve been in existence, and the role they’ve played in our national defense and/or security. Even with only brief histories shared, this is a lengthy piece – an indicator of how important our military is to the success and continuation of our nation in general and of how much we should appreciate the sacrifices freely made by those who have served. Without them we wouldn’t enjoy the peace and freedoms of the United States of America today.

The Army

The Continental Army was created by the Continental Congress on June 14th, 1775. The purpose was to have a unified army to fight against Great Britain and George Washington was appointed as the first Commander of the Army. Original leadership was pulled from men who had previous experience in the British Army or the colonial militias and, of course, they tended to bring the cultural traits of such experience with them. As the Revolutionary war went on, assistance was received from French and Prussian forces and, obviously, they brought “flavors” of their military culture along as well. Ultimately the United States also received assistance from the Spanish and the Dutch and our independence was secured with the execution of the Treaty of Paris, September 3, 1783. The Treaty was ratified by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784 and then by the King of Great Britain on April 9, 1784. It wasn’t until that point that the Revolutionary War formally ended. It should be noted that the Treaty was signed, representing the United States, by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay. (This information is shared, not so much about the Army, but so the reader can see the timeline from the creation of the Army to the formal ending of the war it was created to support).

Our Army next had to prove itself during the War of 1812, and although an invasion from Canada failed, the British were successful in burning our new capital in Washington DC. Further military campaigns took place in 1814 when the Battle of New Orleans was fought from (approximately) December 23, 1814 through January 8, 1815. General Andrew Jackson defeated the invading British Army which was intent on seizing New Orleans as a toehold into taking all of the territory the United States had received via the Louisiana Purchase. The Treaty of Ghent – intended to stop the War of 1812, wasn’t communicated to the actual combatants until February of 1815. (Aren’t modern communications a beautiful thing?)

From 1846 to 1848 the Mexican-American War occurred, wherein Mexico claimed ownership of Texas – at that time a breakaway province of that country. Texas claimed independence but Mexico wasn’t prepared to accept that and the battles began. We should note that, from the Mexican perspective, that war was called (translated) the “American Intervention in Mexico”, or the “American Invasion of Mexico”, or – more simply – “The War of ‘47”. It was during the treaty negotiation and enactment ending this war that the United States received possession of what is today part of California, Arizona and New Mexico.

From 1861 to 1865 our country tore itself apart fighting the Civil War. After states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America, the war “officially” began when the first shots were fired on January 9, 1861 as Confederate troops prevented supplies from being delivered to Ft. Sumter, a Union fort in South Carolina. The war ended with the Confederate surrender at the Appomatox Courthouse in April of 1865. It took until June of 1865 before the news of the Confederate surrender could be communicated to all states and territories. Historical notes indicate that fully 8% of all white American males between the ages of 13 and 43 died in the Civil War.

In 1898 the Army saw action and victory in the Spanish-American War. From 1898 through 1913 the Army fought in the Philippine-American War. Events in that war are directly credited for the adoption of the Army’s first duty PISTOL, replacing the revolvers it had been using. In 1911 the Army adopted the Colt Government Model 1911 (originally presented in 1904 but not adopted until desired upgraded design features were added) .45ACP pistol. It replaced the .38 caliber revolver that had proven so ineffective in the early years of the Philippine-American War.

In 1910 the U. S. Signals Corps acquired the Army’s first aircraft and an air-wing of the Army was added to its capabilities.

The Army (quite obviously) saw action in World War I between 1914-1918. (Interesting personal trivia tidbit: the paternal grandfather of our editor, Frank Borelli, earned his U.S. citizenship after immigrating from Italy, by fighting in the U.S. Army during WWI)

World War II from 1941 to 1945 took U.S. Army troops to almost every corner of the planet and no one can argue that our involvement was key to the freedoms so many countries enjoy today.

From 1950 to 1953 the U.S. Army fought in the Korean War until a cease-fire returned “peace” to that peninsula. It should be noted that no action has been taken to ever formally withdraw the war decree there and our troops remain in Korea operating under an armistice – not under a declaration of peace.

From 1959 through 1975 (16 long years) American Army forces were present and fighting in Vietnam. The Vietnam war is often seen as a “low point” in the Army’s history – and the U.S. Military history in general – due to several factors:
The use of the draft to maintain manpower levels
The lack of general support for the war amongst civilians at home
The political pandering that ham-strung our military from winning much of what they could have.

Finally, in our Army’s most recent history, wars have been fought in the middle-east. In January 1991, Operation Desert Storm signified the beginning of the First Gulf War which transitioned into Operation Desert Shield. In less than 100 hours of the kick off of Operation Desert Storm action, our military forces declared victory over the Iraqi insurgents which had invaded Kuwait.

In October 2001, after suffering attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States sent combined forces into Afghanistan to remove the Taliban “government”. In 2003 the United States, with support of various allied nations, invaded Iraq to remove the genocidal dictator there.

Today our U.S. Army forces are deployed all around the world with our largest military combat, counter-insurgency or peacekeeping missions still being fought in the middle-east in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Navy

During the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War our Continental Congress debated the need for an official and federal Navy. At that time all sea-going vessels that were considered “military” were the property of the individual colonies and taking on missions didn’t mean receiving orders from the Continental Congress; it meant fulfilling a request that was politely made. On October 13th, 1775, George Washington announced that he had taken command of three armed schooners to intercept any British supply ships near Massachusetts. Since continental control had been taken of the three schooners, it was easier for the Continental Congress members to authorize two more for addition to the “fleet” and October 13, 1775 became the official birth date of the U.S. Navy.

With the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Navy was considered dispensable because of its high cost to operate and its limited role in continental security. It wasn’t until a number of American vessels were attacked by the Barbary Pirates that the need for an expanded Navy was realized. On March 27th, 1794, Congress ordered the construction, manning and arming of six frigates. The first three – the USS United States, the USS Constellation and the USS Constitution – were put into action in 1797.

The Navy played an important part in the United States’ successful campaigns during the War of 1812, protecting our shores both at ocean and inland waterways. The Navy insured that the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were maintained free of British dominance, but didn’t have a strong enough presence to prevent British troops from landing on American soil. When the War of 1812 ended, the Navy returned to its “traditional” role of protecting American shipping interests around the world.

During the Mexican-American War the Navy saw battle and victory in the Gulf of California. The Navy and Army conducted the first amphibious joint operation by landing 12,000 Army troops with their equipment in one day at Veracruz, Mexico.

The Navy went on to play a significant role in the future of America as the Union Navy enjoyed a distinct advantage over the Confederacy on the seas. By blocking supply shipping to the Confederate states, the Navy hindered the south’s ability to fight back as efficiently as may have been possible. Both sides of the war put iron-clad war ships into service and thereby changed the face of the future Navy.

From the end of the Civil War through the beginning of the 20th century and on through World War I, the Navy didn’t receive a lot of attention or action. Certainly it played its role anytime it was called upon, but it simply was viewed as a significant and potentially war-altering force. Between WWI and WWII that began to change and the Navy was thrust into an ugly limelight when Pearl Harbor was attacked December 7th, 1941. Oddly enough, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters considered our Naval capabilities a great risk to that country’s success in the war and ordered the attack in an attempt to remove the U.S. Naval capability at a time when we weren’t even involved in the war. Of course, that attack sucked the United States into WWII and our Navy played an every growing and important role as we fought around the world. By 1943 the U.S. Navy’s size was reportedly larger than the combined fleets of all other nations involved in the conflict. By the end of the war in 1945, the Navy had added 18 aircraft carriers and 8 battleships. Of all of the world’s naval vessels, 1,000 tons or greater, 70% of them belonged to the U.S. Navy.

The Navy continued to play an intricate role in war both in controlling water ways or coastal areas and in delivery of troops and supplies. In Korea, Vietnam and both Gulf Wars the Navy displayed its value through victory in key campaigns the opening salvos of target softening sea-based artillery attacks. With the development of submarines – particularly the ballistic missile subs – our Navy increased the role it plays in our nuclear strategic deterrence policy.

In addition to combat operations and support the Navy often plays a greater role in Search and Rescue or Search and Recovery missions. The two most recent and probably best known such operations are the 1966 Palomares B52 crash which left the Navy searching for nuclear bombs and the Task Force 71 / 7th Fleet operation in search for Korean Air Lines Flight 007 which had been shot down by the Soviets in September 1983.

There is no doubt that the Navy continues to grow and play an important role in our country’s military force, particularly where mobile force projection is concerned. Even in areas where we don’t have large numbers of ground troops, having a carrier group in a nearby sea or port reminds the world – The United States is here.

The Marine Corps

On November 10th, 1775, by act of the Second Continental Congress held at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Continental Marines were created and ordered to raise two battalions of Marines. Captain Samuel Nicholas was tasked as primary recruiter and is considered the first commandant of the Marine Corps. The Continental Marines were authorized and created to support the Revolutionary War effort and worked cooperatively with the Continental Navy (see the section about the Navy).

Although the Continental Marines were disbanded in April 1783, many Marines stayed in service aboard the remaining American naval vessels. In March of 1794, by way of the “Act to provide a Naval Armament”, congress authorized a specific number of Marines to be recruited for each frigate. In August of 1797, recruitment of Marines began again. In 1798 Congress officially created the United States Marine Corps as the country prepared to war with France.

The Marines’ most famous action in that era was during the First Barbary War, fought between 1801-1805. The action to capture Tripoli has been immortalized in the Marine Corps Hymn and is signified by the Mameluke Sword carried by Marine Officers. Such a sword was presented to First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon by the Ottoman Empire viceroy, Prince Harnet, in December of 1804. The gift of the sword signified the respect held for, and praise given for, the Marines’ action during that war.

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) took part in the War of 1812, specifically serving aboard naval frigates in a manner credited with supporting the victories U.S. naval forces saw in the frigate duels. Marines played significant roles in that war delaying British forces from reaching Washington DC in the Battle of Bladensburg and in holding the center of General Andrew Jackson’s defensive line in the Battle of New Orleans. It was during the war of 1812 that the Marines first earned their reputation as expect marksmen.

The USMC’s expeditionary missions expanded under Commandant Archibald Henderson, with excursions sent to the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, the Falkland Islands and Sumatra. It was during Commandant Henderson’s tenure that there was an effort made to combine the Marine Corps with the Army – but Commandant Henderson is credited with thwarting said effort.

In 1835 the Marines participated in the Seminole Wars. From 1846-1848 the Marines participated heavily in the Mexican-American War and became renowned for their assault on Chapultepec Palace – an action noted in the Marine Corps Hymn in the line, “From the Halls of Montezuma”.

Because the Marines had a vast collection of international service, when the Civil War occurred in the 1860s, their role wasn’t as expansive. Some Marines left Union service to join the Confederate states and the Confederate States Marine Corps was formed. Interestingly, the CSMC performance history isn’t documented in nearly the same glowing fashion as that of the USMC in the same time frame.

The Marines led American forces ashore in a number of places during the Spanish-American War in 1898, repeatedly demonstrating their readiness for deployment and how quickly they could be deployed. It was during that conflict that the Marines seized the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – the base that remains in use today. Between 1899 and 1916, the Corps continued to lead the way in expeditions and actions that included the Philippine-American War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, action in Panama, Cuba, Morocco, Veracruz, Santo Domingo and Haiti as well as Nicaragua during the “Banana Wars”.

As a result of their continued action in the early part of the 20th century, the Marine Corps had more battle experienced NCOs and officers than any other branch of service when World War I started. The battle efficiency of the Marines as they fought in France against the Germans reportedly earned them the nickname “Teufel Hunden” (Devil Dogs) – a nickname that sticks to them today (and many of them are proud of it).

Between WWI and WWII under the command of Commandant John Lejeune, the Corps developed amphibious attack techniques that would ultimately prove vital to the successful war effort all around Europe in WWII. The most famous Marine actions during WWII were fought in the southern pacific in places with names many of us recognize: Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Peleliu, Okinawa and Iwo Jima. Certainly the photo of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, performed by four Marines and one Navy Corpsman (the one member of a different branch of service that the Marines truly love and appreciate), has become symbolic of the victory that can be achieved through sheer determination and a complete refusal to accept defeat.

In the late ‘40s, the existence of the Marine Corps was challenged again as efforts were undertaken by leadership in the Army and Navy to fold the Marine Corps into those branches of service. What resulted, to the benefit of the Marine Corps, was the National Security Act of 1947 providing statutory protection to the continued existence of the Corps. Added to that, in 1952, was the Douglas-Mansfield Bill that increased the voice of the Marine Corps Commandant, giving the Corps equal presentation on the Joint Chiefs of Staff where matters of the Corps are concerned.

During the Korean War between 1950-1953, the newly formed Provisional Marine Brigade held the defensive line at Pusan while General Douglas MacArther ordered a Marine amphibious landing at Inchon. The action resulted in a complete defeat of the Korean troops and a pursuit of them until China joined the war effort on the side of North Korea. With Chinese support, the Koreans fought the Marines back, inspiring the withdrawal known as the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir.

The Marines, as always, played in intricate and important role during the Vietnam War – but were as much held back by politicians as their brothers in the Army. The Marine forces in Vietnam were withdrawn in 1971 but returned in 1975 to evacuate Saigon.

Between the Vietnam war and the first Gulf War, the Marines continued on with their expeditionary missions seeing action in Iran, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon and more. During both Gulf Wars the Marine Corps has proven itself an invaluable and capable fighting force, often leading the way into battle and performing missions other military branch leaders might consider impossible or impractical.

The Coast Guard

Tracing its roots to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service established by Alexander Hamilton under the Department of the Treasury in 1790, the U.S. Coast Guard holds as its “birthday” August 4th of that year. Reportedly, the first USCG station was in Newburyport, Massachusetts. During the years after the Revolutionary War, until the re-establishment of the Navy in 1798, the Revenue Cutter Service was the only naval force available to serve the needs of our new country.

The Revenue Cutter Service’s primary mission was to collect taxes from pirates or others attempting to avoid taxation as they smuggled goods into the United States. While they were at sea to perform that mission they were also authorized to rescue anyone in distress. It’s interesting that the rescue mission was secondary to tax collection in a new republic formed specifically in response to unfair taxation.

The modern Coast Guard can be traced to 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service (in continuous existence since 1790) was merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the mission was reprioritized as one of rescue first, enforcement second (or at least equal). In 1939 the U.S. Lighthouse Service was also added into the mix and in 1942 the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation was also added into the Coast Guard’s purview.

In 1967 the Coast Guard was moved from the Department of the Treasury to the newly formed Department of Transportation where it remained until the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002. Now operating under the DHS, the Coast Guard’s primary missions are those of law enforcement and sea rescue. They play an important and vital role in our country’s on-going war against drugs as they provide the primary patrol and surveillance force for our coasts. Boasting a rescue capability equal to or greater than that of the U.S. Navy, the Coast Guard has certainly performed admirably during weather crisis events such as Hurricane Katrina when many were rescued from boats and houses by USCG helicopter crews.

In times of war, components of the Coast Guard are “loaned” to the U.S. Navy while the rest of the Coast Guard continues its primary missions. The last (and only documented) time that the entire Coast Guard was placed under the control of the Navy was in WWII. Given the on-going war against terror and the primary mission of its parent organization, the Department of Homeland Security, it is highly unlikely that the Coast Guard will ever again be “handed over” to the Navy short of a full scale invasion of the United States.

The Air Force

The contemporary Air Force traces its roots to evolution of various parts of the U.S. Army. From 1907 to 1914, the Army had the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Signal Corps. From 1914 to 1918 it was the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps. For a mere four days in 1918 there existed the Division of Military Aeronautics and then from 1918 to 1926 there was the U.S. Army Air Service. That name was changed and from 1926 through 1941 there was the U.S. Army Air Corps which changed to the U.S. Army Air Forces as it remained from 1941 to 1947. In September 1947 with the passage of the National Security Act, the United States Department of Defense was created comprised of three separate and subordinate departments:
The Department of the Army
The Department of the Navy
The Department of the Air Force.

And the Air Force was born September 18, 1947. Prior to that date, the responsibility for military aviation was shared between the other branches of service:
The Army for land-based operations, the Navy for sea-based operations from aircraft carriers and amphibious craft, and the Marine Corps for close air support of infantry operations.

Because of the great reach available to the Air Force, its involvement in missions not attached to traditional ground wars has been vast. Where there are time frames in our country’s history with no “war” involvement, our Air Force has still been involved in support of our allies or in strategic operations designed to stop a war before it can get started. Air Force operations would include WWI and WWII under the Army Signal Corps designation, the Korean War, Vietnam, Grenada, a pre-emptive attack on Libya in 1983, the invasion of Panama in 1989, the first Gulf War, enforcing the Iraq no-fly zone for the entire time between the first and second Gulf Wars, and more.

In addition, the Air Force plays a key role in humanitarian operations since its creation. The Air Forces ability to quickly deliver and air-drop food, medical and comfort supplies has been a key component putting a friendly and helpful “face” on the world image of the United States. Few other countries in the world have the ability to deliver what the U.S. can to famine, draught, or crisis laden countries in such short periods of time.

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