FMF Corps History 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What historic event on November 10, 1775, marks the birthday of the United States Marine Corps?
- Signing of the Marine Corps Charter at Valley Forge
- Resolution of the Continental Congress establishing the Continental Marines (Correct answer)
- First Marine amphibious landing at Nassau
- Marines' first engagement at Bunker Hill
Correct answer: Resolution of the Continental Congress establishing the Continental Marines
On November 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution establishing two battalions of Continental Marines, considered the founding date of the Marine Corps.
Question 2: During the Mexican-American War, Marines participated in the capture of which city, referenced in the Marine Hymn as the 'Halls of Montezuma'?
- Veracruz
- Puebla
- Mexico City (Correct answer)
- Monterrey
Correct answer: Mexico City
Marines participated in the assault and capture of Mexico City in September 1847, fighting at Chapultepec Castle, which was nicknamed the 'Halls of Montezuma.'
Question 3: Which amphibious operation in August 1942 marked the first major American offensive of World War II and the first Marine offensive landing?
- Operation Watchtower (Guadalcanal) (Correct answer)
- Operation Galvanic (Tarawa)
- Operation Detachment (Iwo Jima)
- Operation Forager (Saipan)
Correct answer: Operation Watchtower (Guadalcanal)
Operation Watchtower, the invasion of Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942, was the first major U.S. offensive of World War II and the first offensive amphibious landing by Marines.
Question 4: The Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial) in Arlington, Virginia, is based on a photograph taken by which photographer?
- Robert Capa
- Joe Rosenthal (Correct answer)
- Eddie Adams
- Carl Mydans
Correct answer: Joe Rosenthal
Joe Rosenthal's photograph of the second flag raising on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, served as the model for the Marine Corps War Memorial.
Question 5: Which Marine officer is credited with developing modern amphibious warfare doctrine in the interwar period (1920s–1930s)?
- Holland Smith
- Pete Ellis (Correct answer)
- Clifton Cates
- Roy Geiger
Correct answer: Pete Ellis
Major Earl 'Pete' Ellis authored 'Advanced Base Operations in Micronesia' in 1921, which accurately predicted and detailed island-hopping warfare against Japan nearly 20 years before World War II.
Question 6: What was the primary role of Marines in the decades following the Civil War through the early 20th century?
- Strategic nuclear deterrence
- Convoy escort and anti-submarine warfare
- Small wars and interventions in Latin America and Asia (Correct answer)
- Coastal artillery defense of American ports
Correct answer: Small wars and interventions in Latin America and Asia
Marines were primarily deployed in numerous 'small wars' and interventions in countries such as Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and China from the 1880s through the 1930s.
Question 7: Which Marine Corps base, established in 1917, became the primary East Coast recruit training depot?
- Marine Corps Base Quantico
- Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (Correct answer)
- Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
- Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point
Correct answer: Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina became the primary East Coast recruit training depot, formally established during World War I in 1917.
FMF Corps History 3
What historic event on November 10, 1775, marks the birthday of the United States Marine Corps?