For more information on
a Marine Corps League Detachment nearest you,
contact any of the Department Officers listed on
this web site. You may also check the Detachments
link on this site.
THE MARINE
CORPS LEAGUE
THE MARINE CORPS LEAGUE - is the
organization for all Marines and Navy Corpsmen who
served with Marines. It takes great pride in
crediting its founding in 1923 to World War I hero,
then 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Major
General Commandant John A. Lejune. It's Federal
Charter, approved by An Act of the Seventy-Fifth
Congress of the United States of America was signed
and approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on
August 4, 1937. Since it's earliest days, the Marine
Corps League has enjoyed the support and
encouragement of the active duty and Reserve
establishments of the U.S. Marine Corps.
PURPOSES - The purposes of the
Marine Corps League as prescribed in it's Federal
Charter are:
…to preserve the traditions and to promote the
interests of the United States Marine Corps;
…to band those who are now serving in the United
States Marine Corps and those who have been
honorably discharged from that service together in
fellowship that they may effectively promote the
ideals of American Freedom and democracy;
…to fit its members for the duties of citizenship
and to encourage them to serve as ably as citizens
as they have served the Nation under arms;
…to hold sacred the history and memory of the men
who have given their lives to the Nation;
…to foster love for the principles which they
have supported by blood and valor since the founding
of the Republic;
…to maintain true allegiance to American
Institutions;
…to create a bond of comradeship between those in
the service and those who have returned to civil
life;
…to aid voluntarily and to render assistance to
all Marines and former Marines as well as to their
widows and orphans;
…to perpetuate the history of the United States
Marine Corps and by fitting acts to observe the
anniversaries of historical occasions of peculiar
interest to Marines.
THE MARINE CORPS LEAGUE…
THE ORGANIZATION
FOR ALL MARINES AND CORPSMEN WHO SERVED
WITH MARINES
Active
Duty/Reserve/Former/Retired/Officer Enlisted
Marine
Corps League Preamble
Marines
Helping Marines
In the name of the Beneficent God of all, we who
have Honorably Served, or are now Honorably Serving
our country in the United States Marine Corps for
the common good of this nation, and all the nations
and people of our world, and in order that the
Fundamental Rights and Freedom of every person may
be preserved, to foster interest in the affairs of
the United states Marines Corps, TO PROTECT
AND ADVANCE THE WELFARE OF THE WOUNDED AND DISABLED
MARINES AND THEIR DEPENDENTS, and for the
further purposes set fourth after, do solemnly and
firmly associate ourselves together in a Nonprofit
Corporation, known as the Marin Corps League.
" THE TITLE "
The Title can not
be inherited.
It can never be
purchased.
You and no one
alive can buy it for any price.
It is impossible
to rent and can not be lent.
You alone have
earned it with sweat, blood, and lives.
You own it
forever.
The Title of...
"UNITED STATES MARINE"
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS CODE OF HONOR
Honor requires each Marine to
exemplify the ultimate standard in ethical and moral
conduct. Honor is many things; honor requires many
things. A U.S. Marine must never lie, never cheat,
never steal, but that is not enough. Much more is
required. Each Marine must cling to an
uncompromising code of personal integrity,
accountable for his actions and holding others
accountable for theirs. And, above all, honor
mandates that a Marine never sully the reputation of
his Corps.
THE RIFLEMAN'S CREED
Written by
Major General William H. Rupertus
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but
this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it
as I must master my life. Without me my rifle is
useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must
fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than the
enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him
before he shoots me. I will. My rifle and I know
that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire,
the noise of our burst, or the smoke we make. We
know that it is the hits that count. We will hit.
My rifle is human, even as I am human, because
it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I
will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts,
its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will
keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean
and ready. We will become part of each other.
Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and I
are the defenders of my country. We are the masters
of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life.
So be it, until victory is America's and there
is no enemy.
SEMPER FIDELIS
ALWAYS FAITHFUL
MORE THAN A MOTTO
A WAY OF LIFE
A MARINE'S LIFE
WILL BE FILLED WITH MANY FIRST'S AND LAST'S,
BUT THEY
WILL BE A MARINE FIRST, LAST, AND ALWAYS!
